Inside

# Inside — Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the combination never falls below 83 frames per second, indicating that this hardware is far more than sufficient for the game's demands. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at lower settings and increasingly CPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet always maintaining playable performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 315, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 291 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, followed closely by 276 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: Does this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 83. This is comfortably above 60 FPS, and the data indicates that even the heaviest preset at the highest resolution remains playable.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 4901, placing it in the 29th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD FirePro W5130M with a score of 4904, a delta of -0.1%, followed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 at 4893 (0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon R7 M265 at 4929 (-0.6% delta).

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its nearest competitors?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. It is essentially tied with the Intel Core 3 N355 (13492, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, 0.3% delta), while slightly trailing the Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, -0.7% delta) and leading the Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, 1.1% delta).

Q: Is there a setting where the frame rate drops below 100 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 131. While this is still above 100, it is notably lower than the High preset (138 FPS), Medium (221 FPS), and Low (276 FPS) at the same resolution.

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

A: The combo ranks 1060 out of 2887 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier. This ranking reflects that while the hardware is capable, there are many other configurations that achieve higher frame rates in Inside.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration, particularly at lower resolutions and settings. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2407 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The card has 4608 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs.

For a game like Inside, which is visually simple by modern standards, the GPU's raw compute power is more than adequate. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 315 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not a bottleneck at this configuration. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is pushed hardest, it still manages 83 FPS, demonstrating that the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures and effects.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores tell an interesting story. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4019, while Passmark G3D scores 21981. However, its percentile rank of 29 among all GPUs suggests that many other cards outperform it in general compute tasks. That said, for Inside, the measured FPS data shows the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB handles the game with ease, and the GPU's role becomes more about maintaining high frame rates at higher settings rather than struggling to reach playable levels.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1060 out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all tested setups. This is a solid mid-tier ranking, reflecting that the i3-12100F and RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB together are capable of running the game well, but not at the very top of the performance spectrum.

To contextualize this rank, consider the measured FPS across all settings. The lowest average FPS recorded is 83 at 4K Ultra, which is still very playable. The highest is 315 at 1080p Low. This wide range of frame rates indicates that the combo is flexible enough to adapt to different quality preferences, but the rank of 1060 suggests that many other combinations achieve higher peak frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU might become a limiting factor.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is also relevant. The i3-12100F scores 13494 on average, essentially tied with the Core 3 N355 and Core i5-9500. This means that the CPU is not a standout performer, but it is adequate for Inside. The GPU, while ranking in the 29th percentile of all GPUs, still delivers high frame rates due to the game's modest requirements. The combination of a mid-tier CPU and a lower-tier GPU (relative to all GPUs) results in a rank that is above average but not exceptional.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's priority: maximum smoothness or maximum visual quality. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance with an average of 291 FPS and a minimum of 247 FPS. This is nearly as fast as Low (315 FPS) while providing better visuals. High at 1080p drops to 192 FPS, which is still very smooth, and Ultra is 183 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset stands out with 221 FPS average and a minimum of 188 FPS. This is the best choice for high refresh rate monitors at this resolution. The High preset at 138 FPS is also viable, but Medium offers a significant performance boost with minimal visual difference in a game like Inside. Ultra at 1440p is 131 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for 144Hz displays.

For 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. At 3840x2160, Medium achieves 139 FPS with a minimum of 118 FPS, which is excellent for 4K gaming. High drops to 87 FPS, and Ultra falls to 83 FPS, both of which are playable but may not fully utilize high refresh rate displays. Low at 4K is 173 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely not worth it given that Medium is over 60% faster than High and still looks good.

Overall, the Medium preset provides the best experience across all resolutions, offering the highest frame rates while maintaining reasonable visual quality. For users with 144Hz or 165Hz displays, Medium at 1080p or 1440p is the clear winner.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers outstanding performance. Low settings produce an average of 315 FPS, Medium 291 FPS (with a minimum of 247 and maximum of 334), High 192 FPS, and Ultra 183 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is small (24 FPS), but there is a significant drop from Medium to High (99 FPS), suggesting that High settings introduce heavier effects that impact performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a similar pattern. Low averages 276 FPS, Medium 221 FPS (minimum 188, maximum 254), High 138 FPS, and Ultra 131 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 55 FPS, and from Medium to High is 83 FPS, indicating that the GPU is working harder at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, performance is still very good but more varied. Low averages 173 FPS, Medium 139 FPS (minimum 118, maximum 160), High 87 FPS, and Ultra 83 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 34 FPS drop, Medium to High is 52 FPS, and High to Ultra is only 4 FPS, suggesting that Ultra adds little over High at 4K.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 247 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 188 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 118 FPS. These minimums are all well above 60 FPS, indicating consistent frame delivery without stutters.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. Its TDP is 58 W, and it supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1674 in single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 14015, and single-thread is 3444. These scores place it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid mid-range performance.

For Inside, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU, as the game is not heavily threaded. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 315 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for this game. However, at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid limiting frame rates. The CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are more than enough for a puzzle platformer, and its high single-thread performance (1674 in Cinebench R23) ensures smooth gameplay.

The comparison to rivals shows that the i3-12100F is essentially on par with the Core i5-9500 and Core 3 N355, with deltas of 0.3% and 0%, respectively. This means that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo; its performance is adequate but not exceptional, which is expected for a budget-oriented processor.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 315 at 1080p to 276 at 1440p (a 12.4% decrease) and then to 173 at 4K (a 37.3% decrease from 1440p). This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is more of a limiting factor at 1080p, but the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as resolution rises.

At Medium settings, the frame rates are 291 at 1080p, 221 at 1440p (a 24.1% drop), and 139 at 4K (a 37.1% drop from 1440p). The larger percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p compared to Low settings suggests that Medium settings place more load on the GPU, making it the primary bottleneck even at 1440p.

At High settings, the drop is more pronounced: 192 FPS at 1080p, 138 at 1440p (28.1% drop), and 87 at 4K (37.0% drop from 1440p). This consistent ~28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~37% drop from 1440p to 4K across Medium and High settings indicates that the GPU is scaling as expected with resolution, while the CPU is not a significant constraint.

At Ultra settings, the FPS is 183 at 1080p, 131 at 1440p (28.4% drop), and 83 at 4K (36.6% drop from 1440p). The similarity in scaling percentages across Medium, High, and Ultra suggests that the GPU is the limiting component at these settings. The data strongly indicates that the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p, while the i3-12100F is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's demands at all tested settings.