Inside

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on raw framerate headroom than on modern hardware. Benchmark data shows this combination not only clears the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested setting and resolution, but does so with massive margins. At 4K Ultra, the most demanding preset, the combo still achieves an average of 98.5 FPS, meaning users can max out the game’s visual options without compromise. Across all resolutions, the lowest recorded average is 98.5 FPS, with the highest reaching 357.8 FPS at 1080p Low. This is a system that turns Inside into a showcase for high-refresh-rate displays, even at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data indicates that the most demanding preset—Ultra—remains fully playable at every resolution tested. The verdict fields confirm that all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at each resolution, with Ultra being the recommended best setting.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 98.5 FPS. This is the highest visual quality available and still maintains a framerate nearly 40% above the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing smoothness over absolute fidelity, the High preset offers 104.1 FPS, while Medium jumps to 163.5 FPS. The Low preset reaches 207.4 FPS, making it suitable for 144Hz displays, though the Ultra preset’s 98.5 FPS is already sufficient for most high-refresh panels.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), Ultra runs at an average of 155.6 FPS. This is more than double the playability threshold and comfortably supports 144Hz monitors. The High preset increases to 166.5 FPS, Medium to 262.5 FPS, and Low to 324.4 FPS. The gap between Ultra and High is relatively small (11 FPS), suggesting that Ultra is the sensible choice unless a user is chasing extremely high refresh rates.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset averages 218.6 FPS, which is well beyond any mainstream display’s refresh rate. The High preset delivers 227.3 FPS, Medium 331.9 FPS, and Low 357.8 FPS. Even at the most demanding setting, the CPU-GPU combination is never the bottleneck. The data shows that 1080p Ultra is the optimal configuration for this combo, as the framerate is high enough to saturate virtually any monitor.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal that the RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant factor in determining performance, but the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The scaling between settings and resolutions provides a clear picture.

At 4K, the average framerate drops from 207.4 FPS (Low) to 98.5 FPS (Ultra), a 52.5% reduction. This steep drop as settings increase indicates that GPU load is the primary constraint. The RTX 3080 Ti’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth are being utilized heavily at 4K. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has ample headroom; its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and multi-thread score of 7956 suggest it is not limiting at this resolution.

At 1440p, the Low preset averages 324.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 155.6 FPS—a 52% reduction. This mirrors the 4K scaling, confirming the GPU remains the limiting factor. However, the absolute framerates are higher than at 4K, indicating that the GPU has more headroom as pixel count decreases. The CPU’s influence is still minor; the i5-12600KF’s PassMark single-thread score of 3925 and multi-thread score of 27575 show it can easily feed the GPU at these framerates.

At 1080p, the Low preset reaches 357.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 218.6 FPS—a 38.9% reduction. This smaller percentage drop compared to 4K and 1440p suggests that the CPU begins to play a more significant role at 1080p, particularly at lower settings where the GPU is less stressed. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and single-core score of 3302 indicate strong per-thread performance, but the framerates above 300 FPS are approaching the limits of what even a high-end CPU can sustain. Still, the data shows that Ultra at 1080p (218.6 FPS) remains GPU-bound, as the fps reduction from Medium (331.9) to Ultra (218.6) is substantial.

Overall, the GPU is the clear performance driver at 4K and 1440p, while the CPU’s influence becomes noticeable only at 1080p with lower settings. For this game, the RTX 3080 Ti is the component to watch; the i5-12600KF is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking until framerates exceed roughly 350 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data, several other hardware combinations would produce near-identical performance in Inside. For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12600KF’s average benchmark score is 27799. The closest rivals are the Intel Core i9-10900K (avg score 27872, deltaPct -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avg score 27896, deltaPct -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avg score 27887, deltaPct -0.3%). These CPUs are within 0.3% of the i5-12600KF’s average score, meaning users swapping between them would see virtually no framerate difference in Inside. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (avg score 27712, deltaPct 0.3%) is also nearly identical, though it is a lower-power part.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (avg score 40870, deltaPct 0.8%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (avg score 40377, deltaPct 2%). The RTX 5070 is 2% slower on average, which would translate to a framerate difference of roughly 2-4 FPS in Inside at 4K Ultra—barely perceptible. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (avg score 41707, deltaPct -1.2%) and Tesla M40 (avg score 41897, deltaPct -1.7%) are slightly faster on average, but these are data-center cards without consumer display outputs, making them impractical for gaming.

In practice, any of these CPU alternatives would pair equivalently with the RTX 3080 Ti. The GPU alternatives would produce framerates within a few percent of the measured values. For example, a system with an RTX 5070 would likely see 4K Ultra framerates around 96-97 FPS instead of 98.5 FPS, while a Tesla M40 24 GB might push slightly higher, though its lack of consumer drivers makes it a non-option for most users.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 98.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. All four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are marked as playable at 4K.

*Q: What is the highest framerate this combo can achieve in Inside?*

A: The maximum measured average is 357.8 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. At 1080p Ultra, it still averages 218.6 FPS.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Inside at 1440p?*

A: The GPU is the primary driver. At 2560x1440, lowering settings from Ultra (155.6 FPS) to Low (324.4 FPS) doubles performance, indicating the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU’s impact is minimal at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to the newer RTX 5070 in this game?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, while the RTX 5070 scores 40377, a 2% difference. In Inside, this would mean roughly 2-4 FPS lower performance on the RTX 5070, which is negligible in practice.

Q: Will the i5-12600KF bottleneck the RTX 3080 Ti at 1080p?

A: The data shows the CPU does have some influence at 1080p Low (357.8 FPS), but it is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Ultra (218.6 FPS), the GPU is still the limiting factor. The i5-12600KF’s single-thread performance (PassMark score 3925) is sufficient for this game.

Q: What is the least demanding setting that still looks good at 4K?

A: The High preset at 4K averages 104.1 FPS, only 5.6 FPS more than Ultra. Given the small gap, Ultra (98.5 FPS) is recommended unless a user needs the extra headroom for a 120Hz display.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, with average framerates only (no min or max values were recorded).

At 3840x2160, the framerates are:

• Low: 207.4 FPS
• Medium: 163.5 FPS
• High: 104.1 FPS
• Ultra: 98.5 FPS

The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (59.4 FPS). The gap between High and Ultra is minimal (5.6 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns over High.

At 2560x1440, the framerates are:

• Low: 324.4 FPS
• Medium: 262.5 FPS
• High: 166.5 FPS
• Ultra: 155.6 FPS

The pattern is similar to 4K, but with higher absolute values. The drop from Medium to High is 96 FPS, which is the steepest decline at this resolution. Ultra is only 10.9 FPS slower than High, making it the preferable choice.

At 1920x1080, the framerates are:

• Low: 357.8 FPS
• Medium: 331.9 FPS
• High: 227.3 FPS
• Ultra: 218.6 FPS

Here, the difference between Low and Medium is just 25.9 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 104.6 FPS. The High-to-Ultra gap is again small (8.7 FPS). These numbers indicate that the game’s settings have a nonlinear impact on performance, with the Medium-to-High transition being the most taxing.

Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset never falls below 98.5 FPS, and the Low preset never drops below 207.4 FPS. This combo provides a framerate buffer that is more than sufficient for any standard display, from 60Hz to 144Hz and beyond.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 740th out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 20% of all systems benchmarked for this game, which is a strong result given the game’s age and low system requirements.

The rank of 740/3716 (approximately the 80th percentile) reflects the fact that Inside is a 2016 release with relatively modest demands. Many higher-ranked combos likely feature newer GPUs like the RTX 40-series or RTX 50-series, but the RTX 3080 Ti’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the i5-12600KF’s 79th percentile among all CPUs show that this pairing is well above average.

In practical terms, the 740th rank means there are 739 tested combinations that perform better, but the vast majority of those would be newer, higher-end hardware. For a combo based on a 2021 CPU and 2021 GPU, this rank is excellent. The measured framerates confirm that this system exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold by a factor of 1.6 at 4K Ultra (98.5 FPS) and by 3.6 at 1080p Ultra (218.6 FPS). Users with this hardware can expect a flawless experience in Inside, with no settings compromise necessary at any resolution.