Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers an exceptional experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer released on 2016-07-06. Measured data shows this combination handles the game with massive headroom across all tested resolutions and settings. The benchmark results indicate that even the most demanding preset at 4K produces an average frame rate of 95 FPS, far exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold. This hardware pairing, ranked 827 out of 3716 tested combos in this game, demonstrates that CPU and GPU resources are largely underutilized, as the game's art style and mechanics do not heavily tax modern components.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 367 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. This is over six times the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating the game runs with extreme fluidity at this resolution.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 95, which is 35 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data confirms that all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 317 on Low settings to 151 on Ultra settings. This represents a 166 FPS difference, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity, though both remain far above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest gap between Medium and High settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS for Medium is 159, while High is 99, a 60 FPS difference. This is the largest gap among all resolutions, suggesting that the High preset at 4K introduces a substantial load increase compared to Medium.

Q: Is the combo's performance in this game better than its average benchmark scores suggest?

A: The data shows the combo ranks 827 out of 3716 combos, placing it in the top 22% of tested systems. The CPU has a percentile rank of 84 versus all CPUs, and the GPU has a percentile rank of 68 versus all GPUs, yet the game runs at over 90 FPS even at 4K Ultra, indicating the hardware is more than sufficient.

Q: Are there any settings where the minimum FPS drops below 60?

A: No, the only recorded minimum FPS values are 135 at 4K Medium, 215 at 1440p Medium, and 288 at 1080p Medium. All minimums are at least 75 FPS above the playable threshold, confirming no frame drops below 60 FPS in any tested configuration.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 95. This is the highest quality setting available, and the data shows it maintains a comfortable 35 FPS margin above the playable threshold. Lower presets also clear the threshold easily, with High at 99 FPS, Medium at 159 FPS, and Low at 199 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, delivering an average FPS of 151. This is 91 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a very smooth experience. The scaling from 4K to 1440p shows a 56 FPS improvement at Ultra settings, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset again provides the highest quality, with an average FPS of 210. This is 150 FPS above the playable threshold, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The performance headroom is so large that even the most demanding settings are unlikely to cause any perceptible stutter or frame pacing issues.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals an interesting dynamic between CPU and GPU workloads in Inside. At 4K, the average FPS drops from 199 on Low to 95 on Ultra, a 104 FPS reduction. This 52% performance decrease suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings, as the increased pixel count and shader complexity directly impact the RTX 3080's workload. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures, but the rendering load at 4K Ultra clearly scales with resolution.

At 1440p, the same settings change from Low to Ultra results in a 166 FPS drop (317 to 151). This larger absolute difference compared to 4K indicates that the GPU still dominates performance scaling, but the lower resolution allows the CPU to push higher frame rates when the GPU is less constrained. The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, appears more than capable of feeding the GPU, as the single-thread and multi-thread benchmarks (Cinebench R23 single-core 1850.5, multi-core 19784) suggest strong processing power.

At 1080p, the Low to Ultra transition shows a 157 FPS drop (367 to 210). The fact that the 1080p Low average of 367 FPS is nearly double the 4K Low average of 199 FPS highlights how resolution scaling affects the GPU. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p, where the high frame rates require efficient draw call processing, but the i7-12700K's PassMark single-thread score of 4013 indicates it handles this easily. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in all resolutions, as the CPU never appears to constrain performance, even at the highest frame rates.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Inside at all tested resolutions and settings, with a massive performance margin. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with Ultra averaging 95 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra at 151 FPS. At 1920x1080, the same holds true, with Ultra at 210 FPS. The playable threshold of 60 FPS is exceeded by at least 35 FPS in the worst case (4K Ultra) and by 307 FPS in the best case (1080p Low).

The data indicates that this combination is overkill for Inside, as even the most demanding configuration at the highest resolution produces frame rates that are well above what is needed for smooth gameplay. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the 1080p and 1440p results show the potential to utilize displays with refresh rates of 144 Hz or higher, particularly at medium or low settings. The only caveat is that the game's puzzle-platformer nature does not require such extreme performance, but the headroom ensures zero compromises in visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 199, Medium at 159 (with minimum 135 and maximum 183), High at 99, and Ultra at 95. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing a range of 48 FPS between the lowest and highest observed frames.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 317, Medium at 253 (with minimum 215 and maximum 291), High at 158, and Ultra at 151. The Medium preset again shows a range, with a 76 FPS difference between minimum and maximum, indicating some frame variability during intense scenes.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are: Low at 367, Medium at 339 (with minimum 288 and maximum 389), High at 220, and Ultra at 210. The Medium preset at this resolution has a 101 FPS range between minimum and maximum, the largest recorded, but even the minimum of 288 FPS is far above the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 827 out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the top 22% of all systems tested. This ranking is notable because the game is not particularly demanding, so the rank reflects the hardware's overall capability rather than its optimization for this specific title. The CPU's percentile rank of 84 versus all CPUs and the GPU's percentile rank of 68 versus all GPUs suggest that the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU in this pairing, but both are well above average.

The rank of 827 indicates that many other combos perform similarly or better, likely due to the game's low requirements. However, the measured FPS data shows this combo achieves over 200 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is more than sufficient for any display. The high rank relative to the game's simplicity suggests that users with this hardware will have no issues, and the performance headroom allows for other tasks, such as streaming or recording, without impacting frame rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark score are: Intel Core i5-13600T (avgScore 35305, deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i7-12700KF (avgScore 35365, deltaPct -0.2), Intel Core i7-13700T (avgScore 35403, deltaPct -0.3), and Intel Core 5 213PE (avgScore 35428, deltaPct -0.4). These processors have scores within 0.4% of the i7-12700K's average of 35287, meaning they would behave nearly identically in Inside, as the game is not CPU-bound. The i7-12700KF is essentially the same chip without integrated graphics, while the i5-13600T and i7-13700T are lower-power variants that would still provide similar gaming performance.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are: NVIDIA P106-100 (avgScore 23249, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (avgScore 23250, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (avgScore 23273, deltaPct -0.4), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (avgScore 23276, deltaPct -0.4). These GPUs have average scores within 0.4% of the RTX 3080's 23172, suggesting they would produce very similar frame rates in Inside. The RX 6600M is a mobile GPU, while the others are older or specialized parts, but the data implies they all offer comparable performance in this game, likely due to the low graphical demands. Users with these alternatives would experience nearly identical results, with all configurations comfortably exceeding 60 FPS at every resolution and setting.