Inside

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a game whose minimalist 2D aesthetic belies its demanding lighting and particle effects. The data shows this combination is more than capable of pushing the title well past playable thresholds at every tested setting, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the CPU at lower resolutions to the GPU as pixel count climbs. This analysis breaks down how the system scales across resolutions and settings, what the processor contributes, and how it ranks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas from 1080p to 4K reveal a classic GPU-bound curve, but with a twist: the scaling is not perfectly linear, indicating that the CPU still has a role to play at the lowest resolution. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 131.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 98.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a 25% reduction, and then further to 62.9 FPS at 3840x2160, a 36% drop from 1440p. This steepening decline confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor as resolution increases, with the GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth being taxed heavily by the 4K workload.

The pattern is more dramatic at lower settings, which highlights the CPU’s influence at 1080p. At Low settings, the average jumps from 279.7 FPS at 1080p to 202.8 FPS at 1440p (a 27% decrease), and then to 128 FPS at 4K (a 37% decrease). The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings — just 76.9 FPS — suggests that the i3-12100F’s four cores are nearing their ceiling in this scenario, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs. At Medium settings, the same trend holds: 223.3 FPS at 1080p, 158.4 FPS at 1440p, and 103.8 FPS at 4K.

The most telling data point is the High settings curve. At 1080p, the average is 140.6 FPS, which drops to 101.6 FPS at 1440p and then to 64.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K-to-1080p ratio here is 2.18x, which is closer to the theoretical 4x pixel-count difference than the Low settings ratio of 2.19x, but still far from it. This indicates that even at High settings, the CPU is providing a slight ceiling at 1080p, while at 4K the GPU is clearly the master. The Ultra setting at 4K, at 62.9 FPS, is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS mark, suggesting that this combo is best suited for High or Medium at 4K if a locked 60 FPS is desired.

CPU Role

The i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from Intel’s Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681, placing it in the 72nd percentile against all CPUs. This single-core strength is crucial for Inside, which, like many puzzle platformers, relies heavily on a single main thread for game logic and physics updates.

The multi-threaded scores are more modest — a 3DMark 8-thread score of 4026 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 — but they are sufficient for this title. The data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at 1440p or 4K, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS at these resolutions scales inversely with the pixel count. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the 279.7 FPS average is likely capped by the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls, not by the GPU’s rendering speed. This is a common scenario for a 4-core part in a game that is not heavily threaded.

The processor’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide enough on-die memory to keep the game’s assets close, while its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory allows for flexible platform pairing. The TDP of 58 W is modest, and the data suggests that the CPU’s boost clock of 4.30 GHz is being utilized effectively, as the performance gap between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (56.4 FPS) is smaller than the gap between Medium and High (82.7 FPS), implying that the CPU is not the sole limiting factor until the very highest frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1151st out of 1671 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower 31% of all configurations. This rank is somewhat surprising given the strong performance numbers, but it reflects the fact that Inside is not a demanding title, so even mid-range components can achieve high frame rates, pushing this combo down the list relative to systems with more powerful CPUs and GPUs.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 25120 puts it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all AMD parts — the Radeon RX 6700M (deltaPct -0.2), RX 6600 (deltaPct -0.5), and RX 580 2048SP (deltaPct -0.7). This indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is a solidly mid-range performer, and in Inside it is clearly capable of driving high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 13516 places it in the 72nd percentile, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (deltaPct -0.1), a much more expensive and powerful part in multi-threaded workloads, but the i3-12100F holds its own due to its excellent single-core performance.

The rank of 1151 suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier contender for this game, it is far from a weak setup. The data shows that the combination of a strong single-threaded CPU and a capable mid-range GPU is well-matched for Inside, as the game does not heavily utilize multi-core CPUs. The combo is likely ranked lower than many others because of the prevalence of more powerful GPUs in the database, but its real-world performance is excellent, with all but one setting/resolution combination exceeding 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full set of measured averages provides a clear picture of the combo’s capabilities across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the i3-12100F and RTX 3060 Ti produce outstanding results. Low settings yield an average of 279.7 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor. Medium settings drop to 223.3 FPS, and High settings come in at 140.6 FPS. Ultra settings are still remarkably fluid at 131.4 FPS, showing that the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution; the CPU’s 4.30 GHz boost clock is likely the primary constraint above 200 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility. Low settings average 202.8 FPS, which is a 27% reduction from 1080p but still exceptionally high. Medium settings average 158.4 FPS, and High settings hit 101.6 FPS. Ultra settings dip to 98.1 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings is a 25% drop, indicating that the GPU is becoming more heavily utilized but still has headroom.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings average 128 FPS, which is a 37% reduction from 1440p and a 54% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings average 103.8 FPS, and High settings come in at 64.5 FPS. Ultra settings dip to 62.9 FPS, which is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS line. The data shows that for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, users should stick to High settings or lower.

The delta between Low and High settings at each resolution is telling: at 1080p, the difference is 139.1 FPS; at 1440p, it is 101.2 FPS; and at 4K, it is 63.5 FPS. This shrinking gap as resolution increases confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher pixel counts, while the CPU is more relevant at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for a 60 FPS target?

A: For a locked 60 FPS experience, the data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that falls short, averaging 62.9 FPS. All other settings at 4K, as well as every tested setting at 1440p and 1080p, exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest non-4K result being 98.1 FPS at 1440p Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in raw performance?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534), a delta of -0.1%. This indicates that despite the i3’s modest 4-core configuration, its performance is on par with a much more expensive workstation processor in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at Low settings, where the average FPS of 279.7 is likely constrained by the i3-12100F’s single-thread performance. At High and Ultra settings, the GPU becomes more of a factor, but the CPU still prevents the frame rate from reaching the levels seen at lower settings.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings average 101.6 FPS, while Ultra settings average 98.1 FPS. This is a difference of just 3.5 FPS, or about 3.4%, indicating that the visual upgrade to Ultra comes at a very small performance cost at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1151st out of 1671 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 31% of all combos, which is expected given that Inside is a lightweight title that allows even mid-range hardware to perform well.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rival?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120, which is 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235). The closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, which scores 25180, a deltaPct of -0.2%. This shows the 3060 Ti is essentially tied with these parts in overall GPU benchmarks.