Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Inside, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary constraint only at the highest resolutions. The measured data shows this pairing is overwhelmingly capable of delivering smooth frame rates across all tested settings, with the CPU rarely becoming a bottleneck due to the game's modest threading requirements.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 137.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 102.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 25%, before settling at 65.8 FPS at 3840x2160. This trajectory indicates that the RX 6600 XT is doing progressively heavier lifting as pixel count rises, with the 4K High result representing a 52% performance decrease compared to 1080p High.

The scaling pattern shifts when analyzing Low settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo produces 281.2 FPS, which drops to 200.6 FPS at 2560x1440 and then to 127.4 FPS at 4K. This steeper relative decline at lower settings suggests that while the GPU remains the limiting factor, the CPU's contribution becomes relatively more significant at lower graphical loads. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial—127.4 FPS versus 60.4 FPS—indicating that the GPU's rendering capabilities are the dominant variable at this resolution.

Interestingly, the data shows that resolution scaling is not uniform across settings. At 1080p, the difference between Medium (224.4 FPS) and High (137.5 FPS) is 86.9 FPS, while at 4K the same settings gap narrows to 36.4 FPS (102.2 FPS versus 65.8 FPS). This compression at higher resolutions further confirms that the RX 6600 XT's memory bandwidth and shading capacity become the binding constraint, rather than any CPU limitation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration proves sufficient for Inside at all tested resolutions, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset achieves 60.4 FPS without apparent VRAM-related stuttering. The GPU's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs, operating at boost clocks up to 2589 MHz, provide the computational foundation for the measured results.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27985. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, scores 27956, representing a 0.1% delta, while the AMD Radeon R9 M395X trails by 0.4%. The RX 6600 XT sits 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, which scores 28238. These synthetic benchmarks suggest the GPU is well-positioned among its peers, and the Inside results corroborate this—the card easily exceeds 60 FPS at 4K on High settings, a feat that would challenge many older architectures.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) aligns well with Inside's rendering requirements, though the game's 2016 release date means it does not heavily leverage ray tracing or mesh shaders. The measured performance shows the GPU's raw rasterization throughput is the key factor, with the 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability translating directly into the frame rates observed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide ample data locality for a puzzle platformer like Inside, which typically features small, predictable data sets. The CPU's 10 nm Alder Lake architecture delivers strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249.

The CPU's benchmark results show it ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, scores 19831, a mere 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i7-8700 is 0.2% ahead. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX leads by 0.4%, and the Intel Core i5-11600K trails by 0.4%. These tight margins indicate the i5-12400 is competitively positioned, though for Inside, even the single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 910) is far beyond what the game demands.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low (281.2 FPS) approaches the practical ceiling for many display refresh rates, and the CPU's 12 threads are likely underutilized. The game's puzzle-platformer nature means physics and logic updates occur at a modest rate, so the CPU's 65 W TDP envelope rarely becomes a thermal or power constraint. The data shows no scenario where the CPU appears to bottleneck the GPU, as even at 4K Ultra the frame rate remains playable.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1172 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 70th percentile of all pairings. This ranking reflects the GPU's 71st percentile standing more heavily than the CPU's 77th percentile, consistent with the resolution scaling analysis that identifies the GPU as the primary limiter in demanding scenarios.

This mid-tier ranking does not indicate weakness—the sheer number of combos above this pairing includes those with far more expensive GPUs and CPUs that excel in other games. For Inside specifically, the measured data shows the combo outperforms many higher-ranked pairings in absolute terms at 1080p, where the 132.5 FPS Ultra result exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The ranking reflects the broad spectrum of hardware combinations, and this pairing's position is respectable given its component class.

The delta between this combo's components and their nearest rivals is minimal. The CPU is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K, while the GPU is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. These margins suggest that swapping either component for a direct rival would produce nearly identical Inside performance, reinforcing that the pairing is well-balanced for this title.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo handle Inside at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, the data shows 65.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings and 60.4 FPS at Ultra, both comfortably above playable thresholds.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: At 2560x1440, the combo delivers 102.6 FPS on High and 97 FPS on Ultra, offering a strong balance between visual quality and smoothness, though 1920x1080 Ultra achieves 132.5 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 6600 XT scores 27985 on average benchmarks, 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956) and 0.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (28238).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting component, especially at 4K where FPS drops significantly; the CPU's 12 threads provide ample headroom.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured average is 224.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which far exceeds typical display refresh rates.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested pairings?

A: It ranks 1172 out of 1671 combos, placing it in the 70th percentile, with performance driven primarily by the GPU's 71st percentile standing.

Settings Recommendations

The data clearly favors Ultra or High settings for the best experience. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 132.5 FPS and High delivers 137.5 FPS, both excellent, so the choice between them can be based on personal preference for minor visual enhancements. At 2560x1440, High (102.6 FPS) is the recommended sweet spot, as Ultra (97 FPS) offers only a marginal visual gain for a 5.6 FPS loss.

For 4K, High settings at 65.8 FPS provides the best experience, as Ultra drops to 60.4 FPS, which approaches the edge of smoothness for some users. Medium at 4K (102.2 FPS) is also viable and offers a significant performance buffer. Low settings are only advisable for users targeting extremely high refresh rates, as even 4K Low achieves 127.4 FPS, though the visual trade-off is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces 281.2 FPS on Low, 224.4 FPS on Medium, 137.5 FPS on High, and 132.5 FPS on Ultra. These results demonstrate the GPU's capability to saturate virtually any display at this resolution, with even the most demanding preset exceeding 130 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 200.6 FPS on Low, 159.3 FPS on Medium, 102.6 FPS on High, and 97 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 51.6% performance reduction, highlighting the increasing GPU load at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 127.4 FPS on Low, 102.2 FPS on Medium, 65.8 FPS on High, and 60.4 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 52.6% drop from Low to Ultra, consistent with the 1440p scaling pattern and confirming the GPU-bound nature of 4K performance. The data shows no min or max FPS values, indicating stable frame delivery across all tested configurations.