Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle-platformer that, on the Intel Core i5-12400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, demonstrates a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions but reveals the CPU's significant headroom at 1080p. The measured frame rates show that this combination is exceptionally capable, delivering playable performance across all tested settings, with the most demanding preset still hitting an average above 59 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that users can prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing smooth gameplay, making this combo a strong match for the game's atmospheric and mechanically precise nature.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides a textbook example of how resolution scaling impacts performance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 278.4 FPS, which drops to 201.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 124.3 FPS at 2160p. This scaling pattern—a 45% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and another 38% reduction to 4K—shows that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, but the system still maintains high frame rates even at the highest resolution.

The High settings preset tells a similar story: 137.6 FPS at 1080p, 101.1 FPS at 1440p, and 62.6 FPS at 4K. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep (38%), indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily at 2160p. However, the fact that the 4K High result remains above 60 FPS suggests the GPU is still managing the game's visual load effectively, even if it is nearing its limits.

The most demanding scenario, Ultra settings at 4K, yields 59.8 FPS—just shy of a 60 FPS target but still perfectly playable for a puzzle-platformer where precise timing is less critical than in fast-paced action games. The scaling from 1080p Ultra (133.4 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (96.2 FPS) shows a 28% drop, while the move to 4K Ultra (59.8 FPS) represents a further 38% reduction. This suggests that the GPU's raw compute power, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32, is the bottleneck at 4K, while the CPU with its 6 cores and 12 threads has ample reserve capacity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's art style but becomes increasingly relevant as resolution increases. The benchmark data shows that Low settings at 1080p (278.4 FPS) are nearly 2.24 times faster than Low settings at 4K (124.3 FPS), highlighting how memory bandwidth and pixel throughput—rated at 105.6 GPixel/s—scale with resolution.

The GPU's clock speeds of 1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost, combined with 2176 shading units, deliver strong performance in this title. The measured results show that the RTX 2060 SUPER outperforms its nearest rivals in the database: it is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 in average benchmark scores. This margin is small, but in Inside specifically, the data indicates that the GPU can handle even the most demanding settings without dropping below 59.8 FPS at 4K, which is notable for a card in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and 34 RT cores are not heavily utilized in this 2D-style puzzle-platformer, but the raw rasterization performance is what drives the frame rates. The texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s helps maintain consistent performance across varied scene complexity, from dark corridors to open outdoor areas. The data suggests that for Inside, the RTX 2060 SUPER provides a comfortable performance buffer at 1440p and below, while 4K Ultra is the only scenario where the card's limits become apparent.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 62.6 FPS at 4K High and 59.8 FPS at 4K Ultra, both of which are playable for this genre, though Ultra dips just below a 60 FPS target.

Q: How much performance headroom is there at 1080p?

A: Significant headroom. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 278.4 FPS, and even at Ultra it maintains 133.4 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

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

A: At 1080p, Low (278.4 FPS) is 2.09 times faster than Ultra (133.4 FPS). At 1440p, the gap widens to 2.10 times (201.9 vs 96.2 FPS), and at 4K it grows to 2.08 times (124.3 vs 59.8 FPS).

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER better than the RTX 2070 in this game?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 2060 SUPER is 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070, though this margin is minimal and in-game performance may vary.

Q: Does the i5-12400 limit the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate CPU limitation. The 6-core, 12-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz appears sufficient, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS experience with max settings?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the combo delivers 96.2 FPS, comfortably above 60 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 59.8 FPS, which is borderline, so 1440p is the safer choice for Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for Inside show consistent performance across all twelve tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 278.4 FPS, Medium 226.7 FPS, High 137.6 FPS, and Ultra 133.4 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra is minimal (4.2 FPS difference), suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little graphical overhead at this resolution while the GPU still has ample headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong: Low 201.9 FPS, Medium 162.1 FPS, High 101.1 FPS, and Ultra 96.2 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 27.5% reduction for Low, 28.5% for Medium, 26.5% for High, and 27.9% for Ultra. This consistent drop of roughly 27% across all settings indicates that the GPU is scaling predictably with pixel count, with no unexpected bottlenecks.

At 3840x2160, the results show the GPU's limits: Low 124.3 FPS, Medium 101.8 FPS, High 62.6 FPS, and Ultra 59.8 FPS. The Medium setting at 4K (101.8 FPS) is particularly notable, offering a solid 60+ FPS experience with better visuals than Low. The High setting at 4K (62.6 FPS) is the closest to a 60 FPS target, while Ultra (59.8 FPS) just misses it. The performance gap between Medium and High at 4K (39.2 FPS difference) is larger than the gap between High and Ultra (2.8 FPS), suggesting that High settings provide a significant visual improvement over Medium with a manageable performance cost.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU-GPU combination ranks 1205 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 28th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects that while the combo is far from the top-tier configurations, it still delivers excellent performance in this specific game. The rank is likely suppressed by the game's age—Inside is a 2016 release—and the fact that many modern high-end systems achieve much higher frame rates at 4K. However, the measured data shows that this combo outperforms its ranking would suggest, with playable frame rates at every tested setting.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 19850 puts it 0.1% above the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% above the Intel Core i5-11600K, while being 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-8700. The GPU's average score of 19774 puts it 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 1.3% above the NVIDIA Tesla K40m. These narrow margins indicate that the combo's performance is competitive with slightly older high-end components, but the 28th percentile rank suggests that in Inside specifically, other factors—likely the game's modest system requirements—make raw hardware power less relevant than in more demanding titles.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 plays a supporting role in Inside, providing ample processing power that never becomes a limiting factor in the measured results. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this Alder Lake-S processor delivers strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core help maintain smooth frame pacing in this puzzle-platformer, where the game's physics and AI calculations are relatively light.

The CPU's performance in multi-threaded tests, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a 3dmark max threads score of 5890, shows that it has significant headroom even when the GPU is fully loaded. The data indicates that at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, frame rates reach 278.4 FPS on Low settings, suggesting the CPU can handle high refresh rate displays without bottlenecking. However, the 27% performance drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings confirms that the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, with the CPU maintaining consistent performance regardless of graphical load.

The processor's 65 W TDP and DDR4/DDR5 memory support indicate a balanced design that pairs well with the RTX 2060 SUPER. The fact that the combo ranks 1205th out of 1671 suggests that while the CPU is not the strongest available, it is more than sufficient for Inside, where the game's 2016 release date means it does not require the latest multi-core optimizations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the measured data recommends High settings at 1440p, which delivers 101.1 FPS—well above the 60 FPS target while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium. This configuration maintains a comfortable performance margin for scenes with complex lighting or multiple interactive elements, ensuring smooth gameplay throughout the experience. The High preset at 1080p (137.6 FPS) is also excellent for users with high refresh rate monitors, offering a 137 FPS average that will fully utilize a 144 Hz display.

For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra settings at 1440p (96.2 FPS) are the sweet spot, delivering the best visuals while still maintaining a frame rate that is 60% above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, High settings (62.6 FPS) are recommended over Ultra (59.8 FPS), as the 2.8 FPS difference is minimal but the High preset ensures a stable 60 FPS experience. The data shows that Medium settings at 4K (101.8 FPS) are also viable for users who prefer higher frame rates over ultimate visual quality, offering a 74% performance boost over High with only a moderate visual reduction.

For the absolute highest frame rates, Low settings at 1080p (278.4 FPS) or 1440p (201.9 FPS) are available, but these are unnecessary for a game like Inside where visual atmosphere contributes significantly to the experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p (133.4 FPS) provides a compelling option for users with 144 Hz displays who want maximum quality without sacrificing the high refresh rate experience.