Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the combination of an Intel Core i3-12100F with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX demonstrates how a high-end GPU can be held back by a mid-range CPU, even in a game that is not traditionally demanding. The measured frame rates are consistently high, but the data reveals a clear pattern of CPU limitation at lower resolutions and GPU scaling at higher ones. This analysis uses the provided benchmark results to break down the roles of each component, the measured FPS across settings, and the overall ranking of this combo among tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 238 frames per second.

Q: Does the combo hit higher frame rates at 1080p or 1440p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 315. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS drops to 282. The 1080p resolution provides the higher frame rate.

Q: What is the biggest performance drop between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS on High settings is 121, while on Ultra settings it drops to 115. This represents a decrease of 6 frames per second.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Inside?

A: The combo ranks 657th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 18% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: For the 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 221, with a maximum of 299.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and High settings at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows a substantial gap. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 242 FPS, while the High preset averages 121 FPS, a difference of 121 frames per second.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In the context of Inside, a game with a 2016 release date and relatively simple physics and logic, this CPU is more than sufficient for achieving playable frame rates. The benchmark data shows strong synthetic scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, which indicate capable per-thread performance. The processor’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation for game logic.

The CPU's role becomes evident when examining the FPS ceiling at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 315 FPS. However, this is likely near the limit of what the CPU can feed to the GPU, as the frame rate does not scale linearly with GPU capability. The processor’s performance percentile is 68, placing it above average among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-9500, has an average score only 0.3% lower. This suggests that while the i3-12100F is not a top-tier part, it is a competent performer for this workload.

The data indicates that the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 1080p. When the resolution is increased, the GPU takes on more of the rendering load, which allows the CPU to keep up more easily. The 3DMark scores, such as 4051 in the 16-thread test and 893 in the single-thread test, suggest that the CPU is powerful enough to avoid severe frame drops in a game like Inside, which does not heavily utilize multi-threading. The absence of an integrated GPU also means all graphics tasks are offloaded to the discrete Radeon card, which is the expected configuration for this benchmark.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a high-end graphics card based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip. It features 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The GPU has a boost clock of 2498 MHz and a game clock of 2365 MHz, with a base clock of 1929 MHz. These specifications make it an extremely powerful card, capable of handling modern titles at 4K with high settings. However, its role in this benchmark is constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmarks show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841 and a Passmark G3D score of 31238. Its percentile versus all GPUs is 64, which is surprisingly low for such a high-end card, likely due to the benchmark database's methodology. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, with a delta of 0.4%, which is an unusual comparison that highlights the GPU's mid-pack percentile ranking in this database, despite its raw power. This suggests that the database may not fully capture the card's true gaming performance or that the comparison set skews toward older or less powerful cards.

In this game, the GPU’s power becomes apparent at 4K. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 115, which is still very high for a 4K resolution. The GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rates are capped by the CPU. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU begins to scale more effectively, with the 4K High preset achieving 121 FPS. The 24 GB of VRAM is far more than Inside requires, but it ensures that memory capacity is never a constraint. The GPU's role is to provide the raw pixel-pushing power that the CPU cannot, and the data shows it does so effectively once the resolution is high enough to utilize its full potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 315 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 291 FPS, with a minimum of 247 and a maximum of 334. High settings drop to an average of 242 FPS, and Ultra settings average 238 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 77 FPS, which is substantial but still results in a very smooth experience at all presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. The Low preset averages 282 FPS, which is a 33 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 260 FPS, with a minimum of 221 and a maximum of 299. High settings average 193 FPS, and Ultra settings average 184 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 98 FPS, indicating that the settings presets have a larger impact at this resolution compared to 1080p. At 1440p, the GPU is beginning to take on more work, but the CPU is still a factor, as evidenced by the relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p on the Low preset.

At 3840x2160, the data shows a significant shift. The Low preset averages 242 FPS, which is a 40 FPS drop from the 1440p Low result. The Medium preset averages 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 and a maximum of 223. High settings average 121 FPS, and Ultra settings average 115 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 127 FPS, which is the largest gap in the dataset. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and changing settings has a much more pronounced effect on performance. The frame rates at 4K are still high, but the scaling pattern shows that the GPU is being fully utilized.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks 657th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 17.7% of all configurations, which is a strong result. The ranking is likely influenced by the CPU's limitations, as the GPU is capable of much higher performance in more demanding games. The data suggests that this combo is well above average for Inside, but not at the very top of the leaderboard.

The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 68, and its average benchmark score is 13494. The nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355, which has a delta of 0%, and the Intel Core i5-9500, which is 0.3% higher in average score. This indicates that the i3-12100F is a solid mid-range CPU, but not a top performer. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 64, with an average score of 19410. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, which is 0.4% higher, and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp, which is 1.2% lower. This suggests that the RX 7900 XTX is not ranked as highly in this database as its specifications would imply, but it is still a capable part.

The combo's rank of 657 is likely due to the CPU holding back the GPU in a game that is not very demanding. In a more GPU-intensive title, this combo might rank higher, but for Inside, the CPU is the limiting factor. The high frame rates at all resolutions ensure that the combo delivers a smooth experience, but the ranking reflects that other combinations, likely with more powerful CPUs, achieve even higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Ultra preset is the most demanding, with average FPS ranging from 115 at 4K to 238 at 1080p. For a 60 FPS target, the Ultra preset is playable at all resolutions, but it provides the lowest margin of headroom. The High preset offers a better balance, with average FPS of 121 at 4K, 193 at 1440p, and 242 at 1080p. The Medium preset is the most consistent, with average FPS of 194 at 4K, 260 at 1440p, and 291 at 1080p, and it also has the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS data, showing a stable frame delivery.

For the best experience in terms of visual quality and performance, the High preset is recommended for most users. It provides a significant visual improvement over Medium, while still maintaining average frame rates above 120 FPS at 4K and above 190 FPS at 1440p. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, as it achieves 238 FPS, but it offers diminishing returns over High. The Low preset is unnecessary for this combo, as it only serves to maximize frame rates at the expense of visual fidelity, and the GPU is powerful enough to handle higher presets.

The Medium preset is a strong alternative if frame rate consistency is the priority, as the recorded minimum FPS of 165 at 4K is the highest minimum among all presets. For a 144Hz monitor at 1440p, the High preset is the best choice, as it averages 193 FPS, which is above the refresh rate. For a 4K 60Hz display, the High preset at 121 FPS provides ample headroom, and even the Ultra preset at 115 FPS would be sufficient. The data suggests that the High preset offers the best visual-to-performance ratio for this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 315 at 1080p to 282 at 1440p, a decrease of 10.5%, and then to 242 at 4K, a further decrease of 14.2%. This pattern indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p, as the frame rate does not drop proportionally with the increased pixel count. The GPU has enough headroom to handle the extra load, but the CPU cannot feed it faster.

At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 238 at 1080p to 184 at 1440p, a decrease of 22.7%, and then to 115 at 4K, a further decrease of 37.5%. This steeper decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the increased pixel count requires more GPU processing time. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 127 FPS, which is much larger than the 77 FPS gap at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU's performance scales with resolution, while the CPU's performance is capped.

The resolution scaling data shows that this combo is CPU-limited at 1080p and 1440p, and GPU-limited at 4K. At 1080p, the CPU is unable to push frame rates higher than 315 FPS, even with the Low preset. At 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rates drop significantly with higher settings. The 4K Low preset at 242 FPS is still higher than the 1080p Ultra preset at 238 FPS, which illustrates the GPU's capability. The limiting component shifts from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases, which is typical for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU.