Inside

Inside is a puzzle-platformer that is far more forgiving on hardware than most modern releases, and the data for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT confirms this. The measured FPS across all resolutions and settings are exceptionally high, indicating that this combination is massively overqualified for the game’s demands. The following analysis breaks down the optimal settings, the specific roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this pairing performs relative to other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combo shows that even the most demanding preset, Ultra, produces frame rates that are well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on standard displays. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 160 FPS, while the High preset yields 168 FPS. The difference between these two is minimal in terms of playability, but the High preset provides a slight performance advantage with a 5% higher average frame rate. For those using 1440p monitors, the High preset again proves to be the sweet spot, offering an average of 121 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a responsive experience without the need to compromise on visual fidelity.

However, the data reveals a clear anomaly when examining the Medium preset. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 194 FPS, which is significantly higher than the High preset’s 121 FPS. This trend is consistent across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium hits 269 FPS compared to High’s 168 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Medium achieves 122 FPS versus High’s 76 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset is not a linear step down from High but rather a distinct configuration that removes certain graphical effects that heavily tax the GPU. Given this data, the optimal experience for most users is the High preset, as it balances visual quality with the high frame rates that this hardware can easily produce. For players who prioritize maximum smoothness over visual polish, the Medium preset offers a substantial performance jump with presumably minor visual differences, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays, particularly at 1440p and 4K.

The Low preset is the only setting that pushes the frame rates into extreme territory, with 315 FPS at 1080p and 242 FPS at 1440p. While these numbers are impressive, they are unnecessary for almost all display setups and would only be relevant for competitive play at 360Hz or higher refresh rates. The Ultra preset, while playable, offers the lowest performance of the four, and the data shows that the High preset is a better choice for maintaining higher frame rates without a significant loss in visual quality. The benchmark results indicate that the High preset is the recommended starting point, with Medium as a fallback for those seeking even higher performance headroom.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary driver of the performance seen in these results. Its specifications, including 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, provide ample resources for a game like Inside, which does not require massive texture memory or bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz ensure that the rendering pipeline remains fully fed, allowing the card to push the high frame rates observed in the data.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 27425. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435 (a 0% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which scores 27565 (0.5% higher). This indicates that the RX 6700 XT is a high-performance part, though the game itself is not particularly demanding. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, as even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 72 FPS, which is perfectly playable. The GPU’s 40 ray accelerators and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are largely irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not utilize ray tracing or heavy compute effects. The data suggests that the GPU has significant headroom, and the frame rate differences between settings are more related to the shader complexity and fill-rate demands of each preset rather than memory capacity or bandwidth constraints.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with the High preset?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset is 168 FPS.

Q: Is the Medium preset better for high refresh rate monitors?

A: Yes, the data indicates that the Medium preset delivers significantly higher frame rates than High. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 194 FPS compared to High’s 121 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Medium reaches 269 FPS versus 168 FPS. This makes Medium the better choice for 240Hz or faster displays.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 72 FPS, while the High preset averages 76 FPS. The Medium preset is the best 4K option, averaging 122 FPS, which provides a much smoother experience on 4K displays.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset is 103 FPS at 3840x2160, 165 FPS at 2560x1440, and 229 FPS at 1920x1080.

Q: Does this CPU and GPU combo provide a consistent experience across all settings?

A: Yes, the data shows that even the lowest average FPS (72 FPS at 4K Ultra) is above the standard 60 FPS threshold, ensuring a playable experience across all tested configurations.

Q: How does the GPU rank compared to other cards?

A: The Radeon RX 6700 XT is in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. It is closely matched with the RTX 4070 Mobile, which has a 0% delta, and is 0.5% behind the RTX 3090.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is ranked 1889 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the upper half of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range pairing. The rank is more indicative of the GPU’s capability than the CPU’s, as the game is not particularly CPU-intensive. Given that the average FPS across all settings is well above playable thresholds, the combo’s rank reflects that it offers more than enough performance for this title, but it is not the absolute top-tier configuration. The data suggests that many higher-end combos will achieve similar or higher frame rates, but this pairing provides a balanced experience that is more than adequate for the game’s puzzle-platformer gameplay. The combo’s rank shows the RX 6700 XT’s strength, as it allows the i3-12100F to keep pace without becoming a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F plays a supporting role in this game’s performance. With 4 cores and 8 threads, it is a modest processor, but its Alder Lake architecture and high boost clock of 4.30 GHz ensure that it can handle the single-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads that Inside presents. The CPU’s benchmark scores are solid for its class, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674. Its 3DMark scores, such as 2859 for 4 threads and 4026 for 8 threads, indicate that it has enough multi-threaded capability to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios.

The CPU’s percentile rank among all CPUs is 68, with an average benchmark score of 13494. It is closely matched with the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% higher). For Inside specifically, the CPU is not a limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rates scale primarily with resolution and GPU settings, not with CPU load. At 1080p Low, the CPU is able to feed the GPU enough data to achieve 315 FPS, which is a clear indication that there is no significant CPU bottleneck. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is working harder, the average FPS of 72 is still well within the CPU’s ability to maintain. The i3-12100F’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are more than sufficient for this game’s requirements. In summary, the CPU provides a stable foundation, allowing the RX 6700 XT to operate at its full potential without being held back by processor limitations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo performs across different resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 315 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 269 FPS, with a minimum of 229 FPS and a maximum of 310 FPS. The High preset averages 168 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 160 FPS. The performance gap between Medium and High is substantial, suggesting that the High preset introduces effects that significantly increase GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 242 FPS. The Medium preset averages 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. High averages 121 FPS, and Ultra averages 115 FPS. The trend continues, with Medium offering a significant boost over High, this time by 60%.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 152 FPS. The Medium preset averages 122 FPS, with a minimum of 103 FPS and a maximum of 140 FPS. High averages 76 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. Even at 4K, the Medium preset provides a smooth experience, while High and Ultra remain playable but with lower frame rates.

The data clearly shows that the Medium preset is an outlier, providing performance that is much closer to Low than to High. This suggests that the Medium preset likely disables certain high-cost graphical features, making it the best choice for maximizing frame rates without fully sacrificing visual quality. For all resolutions, the frame rates are high enough that users can choose their preferred balance between visual fidelity and performance, with the knowledge that even the most demanding settings are playable on this hardware.