Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a highly playable experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of high frame rates across all tested resolutions, with performance scaling predictably as graphical load increases. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on resolution scaling, optimal settings, and the respective roles of the CPU and GPU in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 257.5 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset, the frame rate drops to 184 FPS, a reduction of approximately 28.5%. At 4K (3840x2160) with Low settings, the average falls further to 117 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU’s single-thread performance is a limiting factor, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

The situation changes as we increase resolution and graphical fidelity. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 127.8 FPS at 1080p to 91.1 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 61 FPS at 4K. The scaling between 1440p and 4K is a 33% performance hit, which is more severe than the 28.5% drop seen at Low settings between the same resolutions. This steeper decline at higher settings suggests that the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the primary constraint at 4K High, moving the system from a CPU-bound state at 1080p Low to a GPU-bound state at 4K High.

The data confirms that the RX 6600, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, is the component that dictates performance at the highest resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS bottoms out at 57.4, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal for smooth gameplay. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is substantial, with Ultra delivering less than half the frame rate of Low (57.4 FPS vs. 117 FPS). This wide performance envelope shows that while the GPU can handle the game at 4K, users must be selective with settings to maintain high refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average FPS, the best experience for this hardware depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset is entirely viable, delivering an average of 119.8 FPS. This provides a fluid experience on high-refresh-rate monitors without requiring any compromises. The High preset at 1080p is also excellent at 127.8 FPS, but the Ultra preset offers more visual features for a minimal performance cost.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset still performs admirably with an average of 88.9 FPS, which is smooth for most players. However, for those seeking frame rates closer to 144 FPS, the High preset is the better choice, yielding 91.1 FPS, and the Medium preset provides a significant jump to 148.6 FPS. Given the modest difference between High and Ultra at this resolution, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, balancing visual quality with a comfortable performance margin.

For 4K resolution, the choices become more critical. The High preset is the recommended setting, as it produces an average of 61 FPS, which is right at the standard 60 Hz refresh rate target. The Ultra preset, at 57.4 FPS, dips below this threshold and may result in noticeable stutter on a 60 Hz display. The Medium preset, at 94.4 FPS, offers a significant performance boost over High and is a strong option for users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, though it will reduce visual fidelity. The Low preset at 4K, yielding 117 FPS, is only necessary for the most demanding high-refresh-rate scenarios.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: The data shows an average of 57.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. While playable, this falls just short of a consistent 60 FPS, so the High preset, which averages 61 FPS, is recommended for a smoother 4K experience.

Q: What performance can I expect at 1080p?

A: The combination is very capable at 1920x1080. Benchmark results show an average of 257.5 FPS on Low, 208 FPS on Medium, 127.8 FPS on High, and 119.8 FPS on Ultra, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays at all settings.

Q: Is the game more CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1440p?

A: The performance scaling suggests a balance. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 184, which is lower than the 257.5 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating the CPU is still a factor. However, the larger drop to 88.9 FPS at 1440p Ultra shows the GPU’s workload becomes the dominant constraint at higher settings.

Q: How does the RX 6600's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 25235. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 890M, has an average score of 25246, a delta of 0%. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 0.2% behind, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 0.5% ahead.

Q: What is the framerate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The difference is substantial. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 117 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 57.4 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of over half when enabling the highest visual settings.

Q: Does the i5-12400 hold the GPU back in this game?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS of 257.5 suggests the CPU's single-thread performance is the limiting factor, as the GPU could likely produce more frames. At higher resolutions like 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks at position 1323 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places the system in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is consistent with the game's age and the hardware's capabilities. The rank reflects that while this pairing is competent, there are many more powerful combinations in the database that achieve higher average frame rates.

The ranking is not a measure of the hardware's ability to play the game well, but rather its absolute performance relative to all other tested systems. Given that Inside is from 2016, this modern mid-range CPU and GPU combination still performs admirably, but it cannot compete with the high-end CPUs and GPUs that are also in the database. The 1323rd position out of 1671 total combinations puts it in the 79th percentile of tested systems for this specific title, meaning it outperforms 79% of all recorded configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In Inside, which is not a highly threaded title, the CPU's single-core performance is more critical than its multi-core capabilities. The benchmark data supports this, as the CPU’s single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 2249, while its multi-core score is 15935. The game's frame rates at lower resolutions, such as 257.5 FPS at 1080p Low, are likely limited by this single-thread performance.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory help ensure it can feed the GPU with data efficiently. The processor's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs indicates it is a solid performer for its generation. In this game, the difference between the i5-12400 and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (0.2% lower average score), is negligible in terms of overall CPU benchmarks. The data suggests that at 4K resolution, the CPU's role is diminished, and the GPU is the clear limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact average FPS measurements for the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination in Inside, across all tested resolutions and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | ----------: |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 257.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 208 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 127.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 119.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 184 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 148.6 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 91.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 88.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 117 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 94.4 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 61 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 57.4 |

The data shows a consistent hierarchy of settings, with Low always providing the highest frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and then Ultra. The performance deltas between settings are not uniform. For instance, at 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium results in a 49.5 FPS drop, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 8 FPS. This indicates that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p. At 4K, the drop from Medium to High is 33.4 FPS, which is a significant penalty, reinforcing that users targeting 60 FPS at 4K should consider the High preset.