Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding than its minimalist art style suggests. The data shows this pairing is capable of high frame rates across all tested settings, with the CPU proving more than adequate for the game's logic while the GPU defines the performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo produces an average of 133.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and leaves plenty of headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average is 128.5 FPS, while at 2560x1440 Ultra it drops to 93.9 FPS. This 26.9% reduction indicates a growing GPU load, though the experience remains fluid.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in Inside?*

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 59.4, placing it just below the 60 FPS mark. Lowering to Medium settings yields 98.8 FPS, while Low settings push it to 122.9 FPS.

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

A: The spread is substantial. Low settings produce 122.9 FPS, Medium 98.8 FPS, and High/Ultra sit close together at 59.4 FPS and 59.9 FPS respectively. The jump from Medium to High nearly halves the frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations?

A: It ranks 1272 out of 1671 total combos, placing it in the lower-mid range of the database. This reflects the balanced but not top-tier nature of the hardware pairing.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the Arc B580 in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not a limiting factor at most settings, given the game's age. The GPU becomes the primary constraint when moving to higher resolutions and quality presets, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, operating at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features a 10 nm process node with an 18 MB shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB. This configuration provides ample computational power for a game like Inside, which does not demand high core counts.

The processor's benchmark scores support its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15935 multicore and 2249 single-core. The 3DMark tests show a single-thread score of 910 and a max-thread score of 5890, indicating strong single-thread performance that is often more relevant for older game engines. In PassMark, the multithread score is 18747 and single-thread is 3456.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400 is effectively tied. Its average benchmark score of 19850 is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771). It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% (19894) and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4% (19928). This shows the i5-12400 delivers comparable processing power to older mid-range and high-end chips.

The data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck in Inside. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 271.1 FPS, a figure that would be limited by the CPU if it were struggling. The fact that FPS increases dramatically with lower GPU loads indicates the processor has excess capacity. The 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms it is a solid, mid-range performer that can handle this title's physics and game logic without issue.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a boost clock of 2670 MHz and includes 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B580 scores 15748 in PassMark G3D and 3068 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its average benchmark score is 23021, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 760M (22999) and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA P106-100 (22950). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 by 0.7% (23181) but is 1.3% ahead of the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729).

The GPU's role in Inside is pivotal, as the FPS data shows a clear pattern of GPU dependency at higher settings. At 1080p Low, the frame rate is 271.1 FPS, but this drops to 128.5 FPS at Ultra. This scaling indicates the GPU is handling most of the rendering workload. The 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, and the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures texture streaming is not a bottleneck.

At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 59.9 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 59.4 FPS at 4K High. This plateau suggests the GPU is reaching its compute limit at these settings. The Arc B580's performance is consistent with its mid-range positioning, delivering playable frame rates at 4K only when settings are moderated.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1272 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 76th percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly a quarter of tested systems perform worse. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component drastically overpowers the other.

This rank is notable because the individual components sit at the 77th percentile (CPU) and 66th percentile (GPU) respectively. The combo's overall ranking is closer to the CPU's percentile, suggesting that the processor's capabilities help boost the system's standing despite the GPU's lower relative position. The data indicates this is not a top-tier combination for competitive frame rates, but it delivers a consistent experience.

The measured FPS data supports this mid-tier classification. At 1080p, the combo easily exceeds 120 FPS on all settings except Ultra, which averages 128.5 FPS. Even at 1440p, High settings yield 95.7 FPS. The system only struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K with High or Ultra settings, where it hovers near 59 FPS. This makes the combo well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming or smooth 1440p play.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the average is 271.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 195.1 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K Low, the average is 122.9 FPS, a 55% drop from 1080p. This steep decline is typical of GPU-bound scenarios, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the pixel fill rate.

For High settings, the scaling is less severe in percentage terms. The combo produces 133.9 FPS at 1080p, 95.7 FPS at 1440p, and 59.4 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.5%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.9%. This pattern indicates that the Arc B580's compute resources are being taxed more heavily at 4K, leading to a diminishing return on resolution scaling.

The limiting component becomes clear when examining Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS is 128.5, which is only slightly lower than the 133.9 FPS at High. However, at 4K Ultra, the FPS is 59.9, nearly matching the 59.4 FPS at High. This suggests the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU's performance headroom cannot compensate for the increased pixel workload. The data shows that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High or Medium settings are the sweet spot, offering 95.7 FPS and 156.2 FPS respectively.