Inside

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces a fascinating benchmark result in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The data shows this combo ranks 196th out of 1671 tested combinations, placing it in the top 12% of all systems. This pairing leverages a 10nm Alder Lake processor with 4 cores and 8 threads, boosting up to 4.30 GHz, alongside a 5nm Blackwell GPU with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured frame rates are exceptional across all resolutions, with the lowest average being 135.1 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, indicating that this combination is overwhelmingly capable of running the game at maximum fidelity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 313.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 243.6 at 3840x2160 on Low, showing a significant but manageable performance scaling with resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59188, placing it 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580. It trails the Intel Arc Pro A60 by 1.9%, which scores 60326.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance rating?

A: The Core i3-12100F scores 893 in the 3dMark single-thread test and 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Its Passmark single-thread score is 3444, indicating strong per-core capabilities for a 4-core processor.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 240.8 at 1920x1080 to 135.1 at 3840x2160. This represents a 43.9% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the increased GPU load at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the combo rank higher than the CPU or GPU alone?

A: The combo rank is 196 out of 1671, which is 11.7% from the top. The CPU has a percentile rank of 72 against all CPUs, while the GPU has a percentile rank of 89 against all GPUs, suggesting the combination performs better than the CPU's percentile alone.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 5080?

A: The launch MSRP is 999 USD. This figure is provided for reference; the benchmark data shows the GPU's performance justifies its position in the high-end segment.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5nm process node. It features 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operations pipelines, which are the core building blocks for rendering Inside's 2D side-scrolling environments. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2617 MHz, with a memory clock of 1875 MHz providing an effective 30 Gbps data rate. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s, which are more than sufficient for the game's relatively simple visual effects.

The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a critical factor for maintaining high frame rates at 4K resolution. In Inside, the game's atmospheric lighting and shadow effects can consume significant memory bandwidth, but the data shows this GPU handles them with ease. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 135.1 on Ultra to 243.6 on Low, with the High preset achieving 141.6 FPS. These figures demonstrate that the GPU is never the limiting factor, even at the highest settings, because the game's 2016 release date means its graphical demands are far below what the RTX 5080 can deliver.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 196th out of 1671 tested combinations, putting it in the top 11.7% of all systems evaluated. This high ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's exceptional performance, as the RTX 5080 sits in the 89th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 59188. The CPU, while less impressive in isolation, still performs admirably, ranking in the 72nd percentile against all CPUs with an average score of 13516. The combination of a top-tier GPU and a mid-range CPU proves effective for this title, as the game's workload is heavily GPU-bound.

Examining the CPU's nearest rivals provides context for its contribution. The Core i3-12100F scores 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which averages 13534, and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-1250U, which scores 13462. More notably, it outperforms the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8%, a significant margin for a processor with fewer cores. On the GPU side, the RTX 5080 is 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580, but it trails the Intel Arc Pro A60 by 1.9%, showing that even high-end GPUs have close competitors in synthetic benchmarks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 240.8 on Ultra to 313.2 on Low, with Medium achieving 290.2 and High reaching 242.8. The gap between Low and Ultra is 72.4 FPS, representing a 23.1% performance drop when maximizing settings. This resolution shows the highest frame rates, with even the most demanding preset comfortably exceeding 240 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS scales down slightly: Low delivers 282.4 FPS, Medium 261.2, High 218.1, and Ultra 215.7. The difference between Ultra and Low is 66.7 FPS, a 23.6% reduction. This resolution still provides excellent performance, with all presets maintaining at least 215 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay on 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops more significantly: Low achieves 243.6, Medium 222.5, High 141.6, and Ultra 135.1. The gap between Ultra and Low expands to 108.5 FPS, a 44.5% reduction. Despite this, the lowest measured average is still 135.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, confirming that the RTX 5080 handles 4K in Inside without issue.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system's components respond to increasing resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 313.2 at 1920x1080 to 243.6 at 3840x2160, a 22.2% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 290.2 to 222.5, a 23.3% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 242.8 to 141.6, a 41.7% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 240.8 to 135.1, a 43.9% reduction.

The data indicates that higher settings exacerbate the resolution scaling, with the Ultra preset showing nearly double the performance loss compared to Low. This suggests that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are more heavily taxed at 4K when effects are maximized. However, even the worst-case scenario of 135.1 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates that the RTX 5080 has substantial headroom. The relatively modest scaling at Low and Medium settings indicates that the CPU may be providing a slight bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the frame rate increases are not proportional to the pixel count reduction.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 12 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core. Its benchmark scores show strong single-threaded performance, with a 3dMark single-thread score of 893 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3444. The multicore scores are more modest, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and a Geekbench multicore score of 7413.

In Inside, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, the CPU's single-thread performance is crucial. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 313.2 FPS, which is likely close to the CPU's maximum frame generation capacity. The 3dMark 2-thread score of 1659 and 4-thread score of 2859 indicate that the processor can handle the game's logical threads efficiently. The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking, with an average benchmark score of 13516, places it near the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX and ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8%, confirming that it is not a limiting factor for this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 240.8 FPS, which is only 2.2% lower than High's 242.8 FPS but offers the best visual quality. At 1440p, Ultra achieves 215.7 FPS, still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on such monitors, making it the recommended choice. At 4K, Ultra provides 135.1 FPS, which is above 120 FPS and suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, though High at 141.6 FPS offers a small performance boost if maximum frame rates are desired.

For players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 4K delivers 243.6 FPS, which is 80.3% higher than Ultra. However, given that even the most demanding preset never drops below 135 FPS, the Ultra settings are recommended for the best experience. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 222.5 FPS at 4K, but the visual differences in a puzzle platformer like Inside are likely minimal. The data shows that this combo can run the game at maximum settings across all resolutions, so the only reason to lower settings would be to push frame rates above 240 FPS for esports-level responsiveness, which is unnecessary for this genre.