Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a strong performance profile for Inside, a Puzzle Platformer released on 2016-07-06. The measured data, which is derived from actual benchmarking, shows that this combination handles the game with significant headroom across most settings and resolutions. The i7-12700KF sits in the 85th percentile among all tested CPUs, while the RX 6600 ranks in the 63rd percentile for GPUs, creating a balanced system where the CPU's substantial lead in processing power supports the GPU's capable 1080p and 1440p performance. Across all twelve measured configurations, average frame rates range from 57.6 FPS at 4K Ultra to 257.1 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the primary limitation emerges only at the highest resolution and preset combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows exceptional performance at every preset. The Low setting produces an average of 257.1 FPS, while Medium reaches 203.7 FPS and High achieves 129.7 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still maintains a robust 120.7 FPS average. These figures demonstrate that at 1080p, the system never approaches the playable threshold of 60 FPS, regardless of visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain comfortably high but show a predictable decline from the 1080p results. Low settings deliver 183.5 FPS, Medium drops to 147.7 FPS, and High settles at 94.2 FPS. Ultra at 1440p produces 90.3 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of roughly 30-35% across presets, with the gap narrowing slightly at higher settings due to the increased GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes more dramatically. Low settings yield 113.3 FPS, Medium provides 93.8 FPS, but High falls to 58.4 FPS and Ultra dips to 57.6 FPS. This represents a substantial drop from the 1440p results, with the High preset falling just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal, only 0.8 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is nearing its computational limits at this resolution.

The measured FPS data does not include min or max values, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. This means the data presents a stable performance picture without capturing potential frame time spikes or drops that would appear in percentile metrics.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the best settings that remain at or above 60 FPS are Ultra, which delivers 120.7 FPS on average. This is the most demanding preset tested, and the system clears the playable threshold with double the required frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also achieves playable performance, averaging 90.3 FPS. All four settings—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—stay above 60 FPS at this resolution, so the most visually demanding option is the recommended choice for players prioritizing image quality.

For 3840x2160, the situation becomes more selective. The verdict data lists Low and Medium as playable, with Medium being the best playable setting at 93.8 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 58.4 FPS and 57.6 FPS respectively. Players targeting 4K should use Medium settings to maintain smooth gameplay, as the jump to High provides no benefit in playability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload for Inside. At 1080p, the CPU's strength is evident: the i7-12700KF's multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838, allow the system to push frame rates above 250 FPS at Low settings. The GPU, with its 1792 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a GPU-bound shift. The average FPS drops by approximately 30% across all presets, which aligns with the increased pixel count requiring more GPU throughput. The RX 6600's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 performance are sufficient for 1440p, but the scaling indicates the GPU is doing the heavy lifting at this resolution.

At 4K, the GPU clearly dominates the performance equation. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 19.5 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 35.4 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests the GPU's compute resources, particularly its 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs, are saturated when handling the 8.3 million pixel workload of 2160p. The CPU's role diminishes at 4K, as evidenced by the small performance gap between High and Ultra settings, which are typically more CPU-intensive in terms of draw calls and physics calculations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2865 out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's position relative to other tested hardware, as the RX 6600's 63rd percentile among all GPUs is the limiting factor. The CPU, ranking in the 85th percentile, does not constrain performance in this title.

The rank of 2865 out of 3716 means that approximately 77% of tested combinations outperform this setup. However, this ranking must be contextualized by the game's modest requirements as a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The measured FPS data shows that this combo still achieves playable frame rates at 1440p Ultra and 1080p Ultra, suggesting the low rank is more indicative of the GPU's mid-range positioning than any inability to run the game smoothly.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals provide insight into what other processors would behave similarly. The Intel Core i7-13700T has an average score of 35403, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-12700KF's average of 35365, indicating near-identical performance. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, a 0.2% difference, while the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, also 0.2% different. The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35287, representing a 0.2% gap. All four alternatives would deliver virtually indistinguishable frame rates in Inside, with deltas under one percent.

On the GPU side, the RX 6600's nearest rivals show similar performance parity. The NVIDIA Quadro K6000 has an average score of 19030, matching the RX 6600's 19036 with a 0% delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049, a 0.1% difference, and the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 19089, a 0.3% delta. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 18954, which is 0.4% lower. Any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Inside, with the Quadro K6000 being the closest match.

The Verdict

This PC can run Inside at playable frame rates in most configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 120.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same holds true: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra all exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra at 90.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system is partially playable. Low settings average 113.3 FPS and Medium averages 93.8 FPS, both comfortably above the threshold. However, High and Ultra fall short, averaging 58.4 FPS and 57.6 FPS respectively. These sub-60 FPS results mean players using 4K displays should stick to Medium settings for smooth gameplay. The verdict data confirms this, listing only Low and Medium as playable at 4K, with Medium being the best option.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 3840x2160, delivering an average of 93.8 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 58.4 FPS and 57.6 FPS respectively.

Q: Can this system run Inside at 1440p Ultra?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 90.3 FPS, which is well above the playable threshold of 60 FPS. All four presets at this resolution are playable.

Q: How does the i7-12700KF compare to the i7-12700K in performance?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287, which is 0.2% higher than the i7-12700KF's 35365. This means the two CPUs deliver virtually identical performance in Inside.

Q: What GPU rivals would perform similarly to the RX 6600 in this game?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K6000 is the closest match with a 0% performance delta. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile is 0.1% faster, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m is 0.3% faster and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation is 0.4% slower.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Inside at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU's strength allows for very high frame rates, with Low settings reaching 257.1 FPS. The GPU becomes the limiting factor only at higher resolutions, as shown by the 30% average FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 2865 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database despite achieving playable frame rates at most settings.