Inside

Inside, a deliberately minimalist puzzle-platformer with a muted palette and oppressive atmosphere, is not the kind of title that typically stresses high-end hardware. Yet the measured data for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 reveals a fascinating performance curve that hinges almost entirely on resolution and the game's surprisingly steep settings scaling. The results show a combo that is utterly dominant at 1080p, comfortably playable at 1440p, and only at 4K does the system begin to show signs of strain, and only then at the highest quality presets. The data set offers a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality settings, allowing for a clear analysis of where the bottleneck lies and what the optimal configuration is for this classic title.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling number in the entire dataset is the performance delta between 1080p and 4K at the same settings. At High settings, the average frame rate plunges from 128 FPS at 1920x1080 to 92 FPS at 2560x1440, and then further down to 58 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a drop of roughly 55% from 1080p to 4K, a scaling factor that strongly implicates the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The story is even more dramatic at the Low preset, where the 1080p result of 256 FPS falls to 184 FPS at 1440p and then to 116 FPS at 4K. A 140 FPS difference between the lowest and highest resolution at Low settings indicates that the GPU is being pushed far harder as pixel count increases, while the CPU has ample headroom.

The Medium preset, which is the only one with min/max frame data in the dataset, provides additional context. At 1080p Medium, the average is 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 and a maximum of 236. Dropping to 1440p Medium reduces the average to 147 FPS with min/max of 125/169. At 4K Medium, the average is 93 FPS with min/max of 79/106. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 28% reduction, while 1440p to 4K is a 37% reduction. This non-linear drop-off is typical of a system where the GPU is becoming progressively more saturated, and the frame time consistency (the spread between min and max) also widens at lower resolutions, suggesting that at 1080p the CPU is occasionally causing a hitch, though the absolute values remain high.

This scaling pattern definitively answers the question of the limiting component. At 1080p, the system is almost always CPU-limited, as evidenced by the sheer frame rates above 200 FPS, which are far beyond what this mid-range GPU typically achieves in more demanding titles. At 4K, however, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with the frame rate dropping to 58 FPS at High and 55 FPS at Ultra. The data shows a system that is balanced for high-refresh 1080p or 1440p gaming, while 4K is only viable at Medium or Low settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, based on the TU106 chip and Turing architecture, is the star of the show in this pairing. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s, and the GPU is clocked at a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz. In the context of Inside, these specifications are more than sufficient. The game is not particularly VRAM-hungry, and the 6 GB capacity is never a concern at any of the tested resolutions. The GPU's performance percentile of 58 versus all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 15290 place it solidly in the mid-range, which is reflected in the frame rates.

The data shows that the RTX 2060's performance scaling with resolution is the central feature. At 1080p Ultra, the card produces 122 FPS, which is a strong result for a demanding preset. At 1440p Ultra, it produces 88 FPS, which is still very good. At 4K Ultra, it produces 55 FPS, which is the only sub-60 result in the entire dataset. This shows that the GPU is the decisive factor at 4K, and the 58 FPS at High and 93 FPS at Medium at that resolution confirm that the card can handle 4K only when the settings are dialed back. The card's 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate are clearly being fully utilized at the higher resolutions. The RTX 2060 is positioned in the nearestRivals data as roughly equivalent to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (deltaPct 0) and within 1% of the AMD Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600. This is a very tight grouping, meaning the RTX 2060's performance is well-understood in the context of its peers.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 nm process node make it a budget-friendly powerhouse for gaming. In the context of Inside, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. The benchmark results show a multi-threaded score of 11860 in Cinebench R23 and a single-thread score of 1674, indicating a solidly capable processor. However, the game's engine does not typically stress heavily multi-threaded performance. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the CPU is likely the bottleneck, as the frame rate of 256 FPS is a ceiling imposed by the CPU's ability to feed the GPU, not the GPU's raw rendering power.

The CPU's performance is reflected in its percentile rank of 68.1 among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (deltaPct 0), Intel Core i5-9500 (deltaPct 0.3), and Intel Core 7 1250U (deltaPct 1.1), which shows it is closely matched to previous-generation mid-range processors. In Inside, the CPU role is to ensure that frame times are consistent, and the min/max data at Medium settings indicates that the CPU does cause a few frame hitches, but the averages remain very high. The game's physics and AI are not particularly demanding, so the i3-12100F has more than enough headroom at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU takes over the limiting role. This is a classic case of a CPU that will not hold back the GPU in a well-optimized, older title like Inside.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has a combined rank of 2915 out of 3716 tested combos in this game. This places it in the bottom half of all tested systems, which is surprising given the actual frame rates. The rank is a relative measure that likely includes many high-end combinations with much more powerful CPUs and GPUs, so the 2915th spot is not a reflection of poor gaming performance but rather a signal of the fact that Inside is a game that many high-end systems can run at extremely high frame rates, pushing the rank lower. The data shows that this combo is in the 21st percentile, which means it is better than 21% of the other combos tested. This is a low rank, but it does not tell the whole story.

The rank is a more valuable indicator of how this combo compares to the absolute fastest systems. For instance, a system with a top-tier CPU and GPU might achieve 500 FPS at 1080p, while this combo delivers 256 FPS at the same settings. The rank is therefore a function of the game being very CPU-light and GPU-light, allowing even the most expensive hardware to stretch its legs. The data shows that the combo is not a top-tier system for this game, but it is also not the kind of system that would struggle. It sits in a position where it is more than enough for a smooth experience, and the rank is more a curiosity than a concern. The rank is 2915, and the total combos are 3716, so it is in the bottom 21.5% of all combos tested. This is a data point that should be interpreted with the frame rates in mind, not in isolation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data makes it simple to recommend the best settings for various priorities. For the absolute highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p yields a 256 FPS average, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual quality is a trade-off. Medium at 1080p provides 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS, which is still far beyond 144 Hz and offers a more balanced visual experience. At 1440p, the Medium settings are the best blend, delivering 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS, which is perfect for a 144 Hz monitor. The High preset at 1440p is also viable at 92 FPS, but the Medium is better for smoothness. At 4K, the only way to get above 60 FPS is to use the Medium preset, which produces 93 FPS, while Low produces 116 FPS. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High at 4K is a 35 FPS drop (from 93 to 58 FPS), while the jump from High to Ultra is a 3 FPS drop (58 to 55 FPS). This indicates that the High preset is the sweet spot for visual fidelity at 4K, but the Medium is the only settings that provides a 60+ FPS experience. The Low preset at 4K delivers a 116 FPS average, which is a significant improvement over the 93 FPS at Medium, showing that the GPU's time is spent on the pixel count, and reducing the quality is the best way to get high frame rates at 4K. The overall recommendation is to use Medium at any resolution if the goal is to maintain a high frame rate, as it provides the largest min/max consistency and a solid trade-off between visual quality and performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting to use for a 60 FPS experience?

A: Based on the measured data, the 4K Medium preset is the only way to get a 60+ FPS experience at 4K, with an average of 93 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset is 92 FPS, and at 1080p, the Ultra preset is 122 FPS, all of which are well above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. The data shows that the highest settings at 4K still produce an average of 55 FPS at Ultra, which is a playable frame rate, and the memory is not mentioned as a limiting factor, so the 6 GB is sufficient for Inside.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread CPU with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. At 1080p Low, the frame rate is 256 FPS, which is likely a CPU-limited scenario, but the CPU does not become a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The game is not very CPU-intensive, and the CPU is able to provide enough frames.

Q: Is this a good combo for 1440p gaming?

A: Yes. The 1440p Medium preset produces an average of 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS, and the High preset produces 92 FPS, both of which are smooth experiences. The only time the system falls below 60 FPS is at 4K Ultra.

Q: What are the main differences between the Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets?

A: The differences are significant. At 1080p, the Low preset is 256 FPS, Medium is 205 FPS, High is 128 FPS, and Ultra is 122 FPS. At 4K, the Low is 116 FPS, Medium is 93 FPS, High is 58 FPS, and Ultra is 55 FPS. The largest gap is between 1080p and 4K, and the settings have a similar effect at each resolution.

Q: How does this combo compare to the absolute best in the game?

A: The combination of the Core i3-12100F and RTX 2060 is ranked 2915th out of 3716 combos. This puts it in the bottom 21% of tested combos, but the frame rates are still very playable. The rank reflects the high performance of many other systems, not a flaw in this one.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 deliver the following results: the Low preset achieves an average of 256 FPS. The Medium preset achieves an average of 205 FPS, with a minimum of 174 FPS and a maximum of 236 FPS. The High preset is at 128 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 122 FPS. The 1080p results show that the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at the two lowest settings, and the gap between High and Ultra is 6 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 184 FPS. The Medium preset is at 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. The High preset is at 92 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 88 FPS. At 1440p, the frame rates are still high, with the Low and Medium presets remaining above 144 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are just below 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 116 FPS. The Medium preset is at 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. The High preset is at 58 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 55 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: at 4K, the system can only maintain above 60 FPS if the settings are set to Medium or below, and even the Medium preset has a minimum of 79 FPS, which is still above 60. The High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS, making them less ideal for smooth play. The 4K results are the most demanding, and the RTX 2060 is the limiting component, as evidenced by the 35 FPS difference between the Low and Medium presets at 4K compared to a 51 FPS difference at 1080p. The data is complete for all 12 tested configurations.