Inside

The data for Inside on the Intel Core i3-12100F with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT shows a system that is thoroughly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions into a more balanced state at 1080p. The measured frame rates across the four quality presets reveal a wide performance envelope, from a near-60 FPS floor at 4K Ultra to a 280.1 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the hardware’s capabilities based strictly on the measured results and the component specifications provided.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this system?

A: The highest average frame rate is 280.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is more than double the next highest result at that resolution (Medium, 224.5 FPS).

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system averages 59.9 FPS. This is the lowest result in the dataset, sitting just below the 60 FPS threshold, while the High preset at the same resolution averages 63.8 FPS.

Q: Is this combination better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming?

A: The data strongly favors 1080p. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset averages 129.4 FPS, which is higher than any result at 2560x1440. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (124.7 FPS) manages to exceed the 1080p High result.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 200.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 96.1 FPS. This represents a significant drop of 104.7 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

*Q: Where does this system rank among all tested combinations for Inside?*

A: The combination ranks 1243 out of 1671 total combinations. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, despite achieving high frame rates in absolute terms.

Q: Does the system achieve a playable frame rate at 4K High?

A: Yes, the 3840x2160 High preset averages 63.8 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS playability threshold. This is the only 4K preset other than Low that exceeds 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the primary driver of performance in Inside, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings. The GPU’s specifications include 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is listed at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The GPU’s base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1905 MHz and a game clock of 1755 MHz.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial, with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 9.754 TFLOPS. These figures explain why the GPU can handle the geometric and shading demands of Inside effectively, but the data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

The benchmark results for the GPU show an average score of 24731, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores 24763, a delta of -0.1%, which is essentially a statistical tie. The Intel Arc A350M is 0.3% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile is 0.6% behind. This indicates that the RX 5700 XT’s raw compute capability is competitive with these mobile parts, but its performance in Inside is more dependent on the specific workload.

The measured FPS data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck. The difference between the Low preset (124.7 FPS) and the Ultra preset (59.9 FPS) at 3840x2160 is 64.8 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU’s fill rate and shading power are heavily taxed by the higher resolution and quality settings. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not a limiting factor in this game, as even the highest settings do not suggest a memory capacity issue based on the measured results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB of L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU’s TDP is 58 W.

The CPU’s benchmark scores reveal its single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 1681 in single-core and 11912 in multi-core. The Geekbench scores are 2224 for single-core and 7413 for multi-core. The 3DMark results show a single-thread score of 893, a 4-thread score of 2859, and a max-thread score of 4023. These scores indicate a strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics in titles like Inside.

The CPU’s percentile ranking is 72, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, a delta of -0.1%. The Intel Core i7-1250U is 0.4% behind, and the Intel Core i3-10105 is 0.6% behind. This places the i3-12100F in a performance tier that is competitive with much higher-end parts in synthetic benchmarks, but its role in Inside is less pronounced.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU does not appear to be the primary bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 280.1 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require a capable CPU to feed the GPU. However, the fact that the frame rate scales significantly with resolution and settings—from 280.1 FPS at 1080p Low to 59.9 FPS at 4K Ultra—suggests that the GPU is the limiting component in most scenarios. The CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient for the game’s threading model, as the data does not show any anomalies that would indicate a CPU limitation, such as a plateau in frame rates across different GPU loads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the system’s performance across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across the board. The Low preset averages 280.1 FPS, the Medium preset averages 224.5 FPS, the High preset averages 136.3 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 129.4 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is substantial at 88.2 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is smaller at 6.9 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain highly playable. The Low preset averages 200.8 FPS, the Medium preset averages 156.3 FPS, the High preset averages 100.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 96.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with the Low preset losing 79.3 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 33.3 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count, but the relative performance between settings remains similar.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to struggle with the higher quality presets. The Low preset averages 124.7 FPS, the Medium preset averages 100.7 FPS, the High preset averages 63.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 59.9 FPS. The drop from Medium to High at 4K is 36.9 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline in the dataset. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, and it does so by a margin of 0.1 FPS.

The overall pattern shows that the system is capable of maintaining high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, even on the Ultra preset. At 4K, the system is only suitable for Low or Medium settings if the target is 100 FPS or higher, or High settings if the target is 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is borderline, with an average of 59.9 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals how the system’s performance degrades as the pixel count increases. The data shows a clear trend: higher resolutions disproportionately impact the GPU, which is the expected behavior for a game like Inside that is primarily GPU-bound.

Comparing the Low preset across resolutions, the system achieves 280.1 FPS at 1080p, 200.8 FPS at 1440p, and 124.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.3%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.9%. This indicates that the scaling is not linear, with the 4K resolution imposing a heavier penalty due to the quadrupling of pixels from 1080p.

For the Ultra preset, the system achieves 129.4 FPS at 1080p, 96.1 FPS at 1440p, and 59.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.7%. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component at that resolution.

The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor until the frame rates become extremely high. At 1080p Low, the 280.1 FPS result is likely near the CPU’s maximum capability for this game. However, the fact that the frame rate continues to scale down smoothly with resolution indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck in all measured scenarios. The system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can still deliver high frame rates without being overwhelmed, but the 4K results show that the RX 5700 XT’s performance ceiling is reached at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend on the target resolution and frame rate. The data shows that the system is capable of delivering high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but requires careful preset selection at 4K.

For 1920x1080, the High preset is the recommended choice for a balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset averages 136.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset (224.5 FPS). The Ultra preset averages 129.4 FPS, which is only 6.9 FPS lower than High, but the visual difference between High and Ultra may not justify the performance cost if the user prefers higher frame rates.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is also recommended, as it averages 100.8 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for most users and offers a good balance between quality and performance. The Ultra preset averages 96.1 FPS, which is slightly lower but still above 60 FPS. Users with high-refresh-rate monitors may prefer the Medium preset, which averages 156.3 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is noticeable.

For 3840x2160, the settings recommendations are more constrained. The High preset averages 63.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold and is the best visual quality option that maintains playability. The Medium preset averages 100.7 FPS, which provides a large performance margin and is a better choice for users who prioritize frame rate stability over visual fidelity. The Ultra preset averages 59.9 FPS, which is technically playable but may result in occasional drops below 60 FPS. The Low preset averages 124.7 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced.

Overall, the data suggests that the system is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with the High preset, which provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K, users should choose between the High preset for a 60 FPS experience or the Medium preset for a higher frame rate with reduced visual fidelity.