Inside

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016, achieving a combo rank of 427 out of 1671 tested combinations. The data shows this configuration is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions but still maintains triple-digit frame rates at 4K, making it a formidable choice for this title. The benchmark results indicate that the 4-core, 8-thread CPU is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 4070, even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 300 FPS on Low settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo averages 104.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This makes 4K a viable option, while 2560x1440 and 1920x1080 offer progressively higher headroom.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance influence the game?

A: The i3-12100F scores 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 1681 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. Given that Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer with lighter physics, these strong single-core results are critical for maintaining high frame rates, especially at 1080p where the CPU becomes more of a factor.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM a limiting factor?

A: The benchmark data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations, as the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for this game's visual complexity. The highest settings at 4K still produce an average of 97.6 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to other CPUs in the database?

A: The i3-12100F holds a 72nd percentile rank among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 13516 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534, showing a negligible 0.1% difference.

Q: What is the most demanding setting configuration?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 is the most demanding, yielding an average of 97.6 FPS. This is the lowest score in the measured data, but it remains highly playable.

Q: Does the GPU maintain high performance across all settings?

A: Yes. The RTX 4070, which sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, shows a wide performance range from 97.6 FPS at 4K Ultra to 315.7 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating it is never a bottleneck in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the data strongly supports this. With a boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units, the GPU delivers raw throughput that far exceeds the demands of Inside. This is evident from the 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 3854 and a passmark_g3d score of 26927, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, operating at 21 Gbps effective with a 192-bit bus, provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for handling the game's atmospheric lighting and shadow effects at higher resolutions without stutter.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when examining the frame rate scaling. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the combo achieves 208.4 FPS, but this drops to 104.6 FPS at High settings. This 50% reduction in performance is a direct result of the GPU's workload increasing with texture quality and post-processing effects. The RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power ensures that even the most complex scenes in Inside are rendered without issue. The data also shows the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as it can push frame rates past 300 FPS, which points to the CPU becoming the upper bound in those scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but with a notable inflection point. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 231.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 165.2 FPS, a 28.5% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 104.6 FPS, representing a 54.7% drop from 1080p. This scaling indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting component, as its pixel throughput (158.4 GPixel/s) is being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions.

However, the Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 315.7 FPS, but at 4K Low, it still achieves 208.4 FPS. The smaller performance gap here—34% drop from 1080p to 4K—suggests that the CPU's 4 threads are starting to cap the frame rate at lower resolutions. The 3dmark_4_threads score of 2859 and the 3dmark_16_threads score of 4051 (which is nearly identical to the max threads score of 4023) show that the CPU's performance does not scale much beyond 4 cores, making it a potential bottleneck only when the GPU is underutilized.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 427th out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 25.6% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, and it underscores how well this game responds to GPU horsepower. The ranking is likely higher than many combos with more expensive CPUs, since Inside does not require massive multi-core processing. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, has a nearly identical average score (13534 vs. 13516), but the Threadripper's additional cores provide no benefit in this title, as evidenced by the combo's position in the rankings. The data confirms that the RTX 4070's 81st percentile GPU rank is the primary driver of this high placement.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, plays a supporting but crucial role in this configuration. The CPU's base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, combined with a 12 MB shared L3 cache, provide solid responsiveness for a game like Inside. The benchmark scores reinforce this: a single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark and 2224 in Geekbench show strong per-core performance, which is vital for the game's main thread logic. The multi-threaded scores, such as 11912 in cinebench_r23_multicore, are respectable but not exceptional, reflecting the limited core count.

In this context, the CPU is rarely the bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 315.7 FPS is likely near the CPU's ceiling, as the GPU could theoretically render more frames. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1659 and the 4_threads score of 2859 indicate that the CPU's performance scales well with the threads typically used by a game engine. The i3-12100F is positioned 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10105 and 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K in average benchmark score, confirming it is a capable modern budget processor that does not hold back the RTX 4070 in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 315.7 FPS on Low, 290.5 FPS on Medium, 231.2 FPS on High, and 218.7 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that even the most demanding preset at 1080p maintains a frame rate far above any display's refresh rate, making the experience perfectly smooth. At 2560x1440, the results are 284.6 FPS on Low, 262.7 FPS on Medium, 165.2 FPS on High, and 154.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Medium to High at this resolution is significant (37.1%), indicating a sharp increase in GPU workload with the High preset's effects.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains strong but shows more variation. The Low preset averages 208.4 FPS, Medium averages 163.7 FPS, High averages 104.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 97.6 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 36.1%, similar to the 1440p drop. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra is smaller at 4K (6.7%) than at 1440p (6.2%) or 1080p (5.4%), suggesting that Ultra settings add diminishing returns at higher resolutions. All measured results are well above 60 FPS, confirming that this combo can handle Inside at maximum quality on any resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 3840x2160 is the recommended choice, as it delivers 104.6 FPS while preserving the game's atmospheric effects. The data shows that upgrading from High to Ultra yields only a 6.7% performance penalty at 4K (from 104.6 to 97.6 FPS), which is a minor cost for the extra visual polish. However, for players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the Medium preset is ideal, providing 262.7 FPS, which is a massive 59% improvement over High settings at that resolution. This makes Medium the sweet spot for competitive or fast-paced gameplay.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is fully viable, with 218.7 FPS, so users should not hesitate to max out settings. The Low preset, while hitting 315.7 FPS, offers no practical benefit over Ultra given the already high frame rates. Ultimately, the data suggests that the Ultra preset is only worth using at 4K if the user prioritizes maximum quality over the slight frame rate reduction, while Medium at 1440p is the most efficient configuration for high refresh rates. The RTX 4070's performance headroom ensures that no setting combination will drop below 97.6 FPS, making this combo exceptional for Inside.