Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places almost no stress on modern hardware, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT confirm this. The data shows that this combination is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but at 1080p the CPU becomes a more significant factor, though both components remain well within their comfort zones. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, indicating that users with 60Hz displays will have a flawless experience, while those with high-refresh-rate monitors will also be satisfied at 1440p and even 4K with adjusted settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but predictable, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 147 FPS at 1920x1080 to 106 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent with the GPU’s pixel throughput becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, since the RX 7600 XT’s 176.3 GPixel/s pixel rate must fill progressively larger framebuffers.

At the other end of the spectrum, Low settings show a similar trend but with much higher absolute values. The frame rate climbs from 133 FPS at 4K to 212 FPS at 1440p and 295 FPS at 1080p. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28%, and from 1440p to 4K it is 37%, which is nearly identical to the High settings scaling. This consistency indicates that the resolution scaling behavior is largely independent of the quality preset, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel processing capabilities are the limiting factors at higher resolutions.

Medium settings provide the only rows with min and max frame data, which offers additional insight into frame pacing. At 4K Medium, the average is 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS, showing a relatively tight 32 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the average jumps to 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 195, a 51 FPS spread. The 1080p Medium results show an average of 236 FPS with a minimum of 201 and maximum of 271, a 70 FPS spread. The widening variance at lower resolutions suggests that the CPU begins to introduce frame time inconsistency as the GPU becomes less burdened, though the absolute minimums remain far above any playability threshold.

The transition from Ultra to High settings at each resolution is particularly telling. At 4K, Ultra averages 63 FPS while High averages 67 FPS, a mere 6% difference. At 1440p, the gap is 101 FPS versus 106 FPS, again about 5%. At 1080p, it is 140 FPS versus 147 FPS, a 5% difference. This minimal performance cost for dropping from Ultra to High suggests that the visual quality difference between these presets is not worth the small frame rate penalty, and users should default to High for the best balance.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data strongly favors High settings as the optimal choice for this hardware combination. Across all three resolutions, High delivers frame rates that are nearly identical to Ultra while presumably requiring less GPU resources. At 4K, High produces 67 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 63 FPS. The 4 FPS difference is unlikely to be visually noticeable, but the lower load on the GPU from High settings could help with thermal management and noise levels.

For users targeting 1440p, High settings yield 106 FPS, which is excellent for most gaming monitors. The jump to Ultra only provides 101 FPS, a 5% reduction, making High the clear winner for maintaining high refresh rates. At 1080p, High delivers 147 FPS, which is sufficient for 144Hz displays, while Ultra drops to 140 FPS, which is still acceptable but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes.

Low settings are only advisable if the user prioritizes maximum frame rates above all else. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 295 FPS, which is nearly double the High preset result. This could matter for competitive play, but Inside is a single-player puzzle platformer where such extreme frame rates offer no tangible benefit. Medium settings present a middle ground, with 107 FPS at 4K, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 236 FPS at 1080p, but the additional visual fidelity from High is worth the modest frame rate reduction.

Ultra settings are generally not recommended based on the measured data. The performance cost over High is consistently around 5% across all resolutions, and this penalty is unlikely to be offset by visual improvements that are imperceptible in a game with Inside’s minimalist art style. The only scenario where Ultra might be justified is on a 60Hz 4K display, where the 63 FPS average still meets the refresh rate target, but even then High’s 67 FPS provides a safer margin.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674. Multi-threaded performance is modest by modern standards, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and a 3dmark max-threads score of 4023, but this is more than sufficient for a game like Inside that does not demand high core counts.

The CPU’s performance percentile of 68 against all CPUs places it in the upper third of processors, and its average benchmark score of 13494 is nearly identical to the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492 (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% ahead). This indicates that the i3-12100F offers competitive processing power for its class, though its 4 physical cores may limit scalability in heavily threaded workloads. For Inside, however, the game’s puzzle platformer genre typically uses only a few threads, so the CPU’s single-thread performance is the more relevant metric.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 295 FPS. At this resolution and setting, the GPU has minimal work to do, and the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The fact that 1080p Low achieves nearly double the frame rate of 4K High (295 versus 67 FPS) shows that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach very high rates, but the GPU’s pixel processing limits higher resolutions. The 8 threads of the i3-12100F are likely sufficient to handle the game’s logic and physics without becoming a limiting factor, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across different settings at the same resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 2301 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the 38th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking might seem low given the high frame rates measured, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations feature more powerful CPUs and GPUs that achieve even higher scores in this undemanding game. The rank is more indicative of the hardware’s absolute performance ceiling rather than its suitability for this specific title.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 17083 places it at the 60th percentile against all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (0.3% behind), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019 (0.4% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 at 17208 (0.7% ahead). This shows that the RX 7600 XT is a mid-range performer that sits in a crowded field, but its 16 GB of VRAM and modern RDNA 3.0 architecture give it advantages in memory capacity and feature support that older rivals lack.

The CPU’s ranking is more favorable, sitting at the 68th percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 with a 0% delta, the Intel Core i5-9500 at 0.3% ahead, and the Intel Core 5 120UL at 0.7% behind. This places the i3-12100F in a competitive position among budget processors, though it lacks the multi-core muscle of higher-end chips. For Inside, the combo’s rank of 2301 out of 3716 suggests that many other systems can achieve similar or better results, but the measured frame rates show that this combo is more than adequate for a smooth experience.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz provide substantial compute throughput, with an FP32 performance of 22.57 TFLOPS. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs give it a pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s, which is the key specification for understanding the resolution scaling observed in the benchmark data.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 60 against all GPUs, combined with an average benchmark score of 17083, places it as a solid mid-range option. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, scores 17208, which is only 0.7% higher, indicating that the RX 7600 XT trades blows with a well-regarded previous-generation card. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly notable for a card in this performance class, as it provides ample headroom for high-resolution textures, though Inside’s minimalist art style likely does not require such capacity.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s role is clearly dominant at 4K resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 63 FPS, which is just at the edge of smooth gameplay, while 4K High manages 67 FPS. The GPU’s 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 176.3 GPixel/s pixel rate become the limiting factors at this resolution, as the card must process over 8 million pixels per frame. The fact that 4K Low achieves 133 FPS shows that the GPU can handle the resolution when the shading workload is reduced, but the pixel fill rate still caps performance.

At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 295 FPS is likely close to the CPU’s limit, while 1080p High at 147 FPS gives the GPU more breathing room. The GPU’s 22.57 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than enough for Inside’s simple geometry and lighting effects, and the 16 GB VRAM ensures that memory capacity is never a concern. Overall, the RX 7600 XT is well-suited for this game, providing excellent performance at all but the most demanding 4K settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the tested settings produce the following average frame rates: Low at 295 FPS, Medium at 236 FPS (with a minimum of 201 and maximum of 271), High at 147 FPS, and Ultra at 140 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 59 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from High to Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum of 201 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay well above refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 212 FPS, Medium at 170 FPS (minimum 144, maximum 195), High at 106 FPS, and Ultra at 101 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low falling 28%, Medium falling 28%, High falling 28%, and Ultra falling 28%. The Medium preset’s minimum of 144 FPS still provides a flawless experience on 144Hz displays, while High’s 106 FPS is suitable for 100Hz+ monitors.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 133 FPS, Medium at 107 FPS (minimum 91, maximum 123), High at 67 FPS, and Ultra at 63 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data at this resolution, showing a 32 FPS spread that indicates some frame pacing inconsistency but remains playable. High and Ultra both hover near 60 FPS, which is acceptable for 60Hz displays but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. Low at 133 FPS is the only setting that provides a high-refresh-rate experience at 4K, though the visual quality trade-off is significant.