Inside

Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with a restrained visual style, but that does not exempt it from demanding hardware at high resolutions. The recorded data for the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 shows a wide performance spread depending on resolution and preset. At 1080p, the combination is overwhelmingly capable, delivering smooth frame rates across every tested setting. At 1440p, it remains strong, though the Ultra preset begins to strain. At 4K, only the Low preset maintains a playable average, with Medium, High, and Ultra all falling below the 60 FPS threshold. The benchmark results indicate a system that is heavily limited by the GPU, especially as pixel count rises, but one that can still offer a fully playable experience for most users at standard monitor resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B390 combination produces its best results. The Low preset averages 156 FPS, which is the single highest average recorded across all tests. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 125 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. The High preset averages 78 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. Every preset at 1080p clears the 60 FPS playability threshold, and even the lowest recorded minimum at Medium stays well above it.

At 2560x1440, performance remains respectable but scales downward. Low averages 112 FPS. Medium averages 90 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. High drops to 56 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 53 FPS. This resolution marks the point where the High and Ultra presets lose playable status, while Low and Medium remain comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Low averages 70 FPS, which is the only playable result at this resolution. Medium averages 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. High averages 35 FPS. Ultra averages 34 FPS. The gap between Low and High at 4K is substantial, a 35 FPS difference, and the Ultra preset falls to roughly half the frame rate of Low.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent. At each resolution, Ultra is the most demanding preset and Low the least. The delta between Low and Ultra grows as resolution increases: at 1080p the difference is 82 FPS, at 1440p it is 59 FPS, and at 4K it is 36 FPS. This reflects the GPU being pushed harder at higher pixel counts, where the relative cost of each preset becomes more pronounced in percentage terms.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-12700K are all close in average benchmark score, with negligible deltas. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, which is 0.1% lower than the 12700K, making it effectively identical in general compute performance. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, 0.4% lower. For a game like Inside, which is not heavily multithreaded, these CPU differences would be imperceptible in practice.

The Intel Arc B390 sits in a very different position. Its nearest rivals are older, low-end NVIDIA parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower than the Arc B390. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. The Arc B390 outperforms all of these, but the margins are small, and the overall GPU percentile ranking of 9 indicates that this is a very low-tier graphics solution.

In the context of Inside, a system with a CPU from this immediate rival group would produce nearly identical results, since the game is not CPU-bound. A system with a GPU from the Arc B390's rival group would likely perform slightly worse, but in the same general performance class. The data suggests that swapping the 12700K for any of its listed rivals would not change the measured FPS in any meaningful way, while swapping the Arc B390 for a GT 710 or GT 625 OEM would push the system further below the playable threshold at higher resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data shows that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing for Inside. The CPU, an Intel Core i7-12700K with 12 cores and 20 threads, has a percentile ranking of 84 among all CPUs, indicating a strong general-purpose processor. The GPU, an Intel Arc B390, has a percentile ranking of 9 among all GPUs, indicating a very weak graphics processor in comparison. This asymmetry explains the performance pattern.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the system achieves 156 FPS on Low, but at 1440p the same preset drops to 112 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 70 FPS. The frame rate falls by roughly 28% from 1080p to 1440p, and by another 38% from 1440p to 4K. This behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing pixel count directly reduces output.

The scaling between presets further supports this. At 1440p, Low averages 112 FPS while Ultra averages 53 FPS. At 4K, Low averages 70 FPS while Ultra averages 34 FPS. The cost of enabling Ultra settings is consistent regardless of resolution, but the absolute headroom is much smaller at 4K, so the system falls below 60 FPS. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at all tested settings, since even the most demanding GPU-limited cases still show the GPU as the constraining factor.

The CPU's role is therefore supportive rather than decisive. The 12700K's single-thread and multi-thread scores, such as a Geekbench single-core score of 2308 and a multi-core score of 15790, are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer. The recorded data shows no scenario where the CPU would limit frame rates, and the differences between the 12700K and its nearest CPU rivals are all under 0.5%, which would not change the measured FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Inside at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system averages 74 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p?

A: Medium is the best preset at 2560x1440, averaging 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings. At 3840x2160 with Low, the average is 70 FPS. Medium averages 56 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 34 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 outperforms all of its nearest listed rivals. It is 1.3% faster than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GeForce GT 710.

Q: Does the CPU matter much for this game?

A: No. The CPU is far more powerful than the GPU, and the frame rates are limited by the GPU at all resolutions. The 12700K's nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its average score, so any of them would perform nearly identically.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded?

A: The lowest average is 34 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

The Verdict

This PC can run Inside, but the experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable. Low averages 156 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. Users at 1080p can select any preset and remain well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the system is only partially playable. Low averages 112 FPS and Medium averages 90 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. High averages 56 FPS and Ultra averages 53 FPS, both below the threshold. A 1440p user should stick to Medium or Low for a consistent experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is playable only at Low settings, with an average of 70 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 56 FPS, 35 FPS, and 34 FPS respectively. The verdict by resolution confirms this: 4K offers only Low as a playable setting, while 1440p offers Low and Medium, and 1080p offers all four presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which averages 74 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and it delivers the highest visual quality available in the game.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are Medium, which averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. Medium is the most demanding preset at this resolution that remains playable.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, which averages 70 FPS. Low is the only preset at this resolution that clears the 60 FPS threshold, and it is the recommended choice for 4K users.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 3296 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the lower portion of the database, which is consistent with the GPU's weak overall performance. The CPU is strong, ranking in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile, and the GPU is the decisive factor for this game.

The rank reflects the system's inability to handle Ultra settings at 1440p or anything beyond Low at 4K. Against the full field of tested combinations, this pairing is below average, but it is still fully capable at 1080p across all presets. The data shows a system that is well balanced for 1080p gaming, adequate for 1440p at medium settings, and limited at 4K.