Inside

Can Intel Core i7-12700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 run Inside? The benchmark data answers with a definitive yes, and more: this combination does not merely run the game, it overwhelms it. At every resolution tested, from 1920x1080 up to 3840x2160, the average framerate never drops below 126 FPS, even at the Ultra preset. The pairing ranks 251st out of 3716 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 7% of all systems. This is a hardware pairing that turns a puzzle platformer into a showcase for high refresh rate displays.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have close neighbors in the benchmark database that would produce nearly identical results in Inside. For the Intel Core i7-12700KF, the nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores within 0.1% (35403 vs 35365 average benchmark score). The Intel Core i5-13600T and Intel Core i7-12700K are also effectively equivalent, with delta percentages of 0.2% in both directions (35305 and 35287 respectively). The Intel Core 5 213PE sits at 35428, just 0.2% above the i7-12700KF. For a game as undemanding as Inside, any of these CPUs would be indistinguishable in practice, as the workload rarely stresses even a single core heavily.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080's nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, with an average score of 54209 versus 54247, a delta of just 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1% (54828), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S are 2.6% and 2.7% behind (55698 and 55757 respectively). Since Inside is a 2D side-scroller with minimal 3D rendering, the GPU's raw compute headroom is vast; any of these cards would deliver framerates far beyond the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data suggests that users with these near-identical alternatives should expect the same experience: max settings, max resolution, and no performance concerns.

CPU and GPU Roles

For Inside, the GPU is the primary performance driver, but the CPU is far from irrelevant. The measured FPS scaling between resolutions and presets reveals a clear pattern: as resolution drops, framerates climb dramatically, indicating that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average is 126 FPS; at 2560x1440 Ultra, it jumps to 201 FPS; at 1920x1080 Ultra, it reaches 276 FPS. This 119% increase from 4K to 1080p at the same preset is classic GPU-bound scaling. The CPU, an i7-12700KF with 12 cores and 20 threads, is never a bottleneck here; its single-thread score of 1043 in 3dmark and 4071 in Cinebench R23 single-core are far above what a puzzle platformer requires.

Preset scaling further confirms the GPU's dominance. At 3840x2160, going from Low to Ultra drops the average from 265 FPS to 126 FPS, a 52% reduction. The same preset change at 2560x1440 reduces from 327 FPS to 201 FPS (39% drop), and at 1920x1080 from 364 FPS to 276 FPS (24% drop). This diminishing impact of settings at lower resolutions is typical for a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and with a 3dmark max-thread score of 9983 and a passmark multithread score of 34092, it does so effortlessly. In short, the RTX 4080 dictates the framerate, while the i7-12700KF ensures there is no ceiling from the processor side.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides exact figures for every resolution and preset combination. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 133 FPS, while Low averages 265 FPS. Medium shows an average of 212 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS and maximum of 244 FPS. Ultra averages 126 FPS. Notably, the min/max data is only provided for Medium settings, so those are the only verified bounds; the other presets report only averages.

At 2560x1440, High averages 211 FPS, Low averages 327 FPS, Medium averages 301 FPS with min/max of 256/347 FPS, and Ultra averages 201 FPS. The gap between Medium and Ultra here is substantial — 100 FPS — but both are far above playable. At 1920x1080, High averages 280 FPS, Low averages 364 FPS, Medium averages 336 FPS with min/max of 286/387 FPS, and Ultra averages 276 FPS. The lowest recorded average across all tests is 126 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest is 364 FPS at 1080p Low, which is near the practical limit for most displays.

The min/max data at Medium settings shows tight frametime consistency: at 4K, the spread from min to max is 63 FPS (181 to 244), at 1440p it is 91 FPS (256 to 347), and at 1080p it is 101 FPS (286 to 387). This indicates no stuttering or frame drops, even in a game that occasionally loads large scene transitions. The i7-12700KF's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory ensure that asset streaming never causes hitches.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average framerate is 126 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data lists Ultra as one of the playable settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 201 FPS. Since all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, Ultra is the best choice for visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Is there any resolution where the frame rate drops below 60 FPS?

A: No. The lowest average framerate recorded across all tests is 126 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. This is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no risk of dropping below playable levels.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 251st out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 6.8% of all systems tested. This is a high ranking, but the game's low requirements mean many mid-range systems also perform well.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU matter more for this game?

A: The GPU matters more, as shown by the framerate scaling between resolutions. Dropping from 4K to 1080p increases FPS by over 100% at the same preset, indicating GPU-bound performance. The CPU is never a limiting factor given its high single-thread and multithread scores.

Q: What is the difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium averages 336 FPS while Ultra averages 276 FPS, a difference of 60 FPS. Both are far above playable, so the choice comes down to visual preference rather than performance necessity.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 126 FPS. This is the best possible visual quality and it still delivers more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 201 FPS, again the best preset available. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 276 FPS, completing a clean sweep: at every resolution, the highest quality setting is not just playable, it is exceptionally smooth.

The data shows no reason to compromise on settings. Even at 4K Ultra, the system has 66 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS minimum. For users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the 1440p and 1080p Ultra presets (201 FPS and 276 FPS respectively) will fully saturate those refresh rates. For 4K displays, the 126 FPS average at Ultra is sufficient for 120Hz panels, though it falls short of 144Hz. Lowering to High at 4K (133 FPS) provides only a marginal gain, so Ultra remains the recommended setting.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination holds the 251st position out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, which places it in the 93rd percentile of all systems. This is a strong rank, but the context matters: Inside is a lightweight game, so the top 250 combos are likely dominated by extreme hardware that still cannot exceed the game's engine framerate cap. The RTX 4080's passmark G3D score of 34457 and the i7-12700KF's passmark multithread score of 34092 are both in the 85th and 86th percentile of all CPUs and GPUs respectively, confirming that this is a top-tier pairing.

The rank of 251 out of 3716 means that 93.2% of tested systems are slower, but it also means 250 systems are faster. Those systems likely include combinations like the RTX 4090 with flagship CPUs, which would push even higher framerates in this undemanding title. However, the practical difference is moot: at 1080p Ultra, this combo already averages 276 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most exotic gaming monitors. The rank is a statistical curiosity, not a practical limitation. For Inside, this system is effectively maxed out at every resolution and preset, with no meaningful upgrade path that would change the gaming experience.