Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer that appears to be remarkably undemanding on modern hardware. The measured data shows this combination achieves triple-digit frame rates at nearly every setting and resolution, with the only exception being the most demanding configuration. The data suggests that players have an extraordinary amount of headroom, making the choice of settings more about preference for visual fidelity versus chasing extremely high refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, High produces an average of 230.8 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. Moving to 1440p drops this to 163.1 FPS, still exceptionally smooth, while 4K High maintains a playable 101.7 FPS. This preset provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low settings while sacrificing only about 27% of the performance at 1080p.

For players with 1440p or 4K displays, the Medium preset presents an intriguing alternative. At 1440p, Medium achieves 263.2 FPS, which is significantly higher than High's 163.1 FPS, representing a 61% performance increase. The jump from Medium to High at 4K is steeper, with Medium delivering 164 FPS versus High's 101.7 FPS. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, shows the most significant performance cost, dropping to 217.9 FPS at 1080p and 99 FPS at 4K. Given that the game is a puzzle platformer where precise timing matters more than fast-twitch reactions, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a substantial improvement over Medium while remaining well above 100 FPS even at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than adequate for Inside, which is a visually stylized game rather than a texture-heavy open world. The GPU's 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs, running at a boost clock of 2475 MHz, appear to be the primary driver of the high frame rates observed.

The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 316.8 FPS, suggesting the CPU may be approaching its limit. However, at 4K Ultra, performance drops to 99 FPS, indicating the GPU is now the bottleneck. The RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is clearly sufficient for this game's rendering demands. Interestingly, the GPU's percentile ranking of 81 places it above the majority of tested graphics cards, yet its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.6% lower average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (2.2% higher average score), which shows that raw benchmark scores don't always translate directly to gaming performance in a title like this.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals interesting insights about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 316.8 FPS at 1080p to 282.4 FPS at 1440p, a modest 11% decrease, but then falls more sharply to 205.9 FPS at 4K, a 27% reduction from 1440p. This pattern suggests that at lower settings, the CPU is playing a significant role in limiting performance, as the GPU has ample headroom.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 29% drop (230.8 to 163.1 FPS), and moving to 4K causes another 38% reduction (163.1 to 101.7 FPS). This steeper decline indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more important as visual complexity increases. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with a 29% drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 36% reduction to 4K. The data suggests that Inside is generally CPU-bound at 1080p with lower settings, but transitions to GPU-bound behavior at 4K with higher settings. The fact that even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) maintains 99 FPS demonstrates that this combination has substantial performance reserves.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware?*

A: The data shows all three tested resolutions are viable. At 1080p High, the system produces 230.8 FPS, while 1440p High delivers 163.1 FPS. Even 4K High maintains 101.7 FPS, so the choice depends on the display's native resolution and refresh rate.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: At 1080p, Ultra runs at 217.9 FPS versus 230.8 FPS for High, a 5.6% difference. At 1440p, the gap widens to 155.1 versus 163.1 FPS (4.9% difference). The 4K comparison shows 99 versus 101.7 FPS, meaning Ultra costs only about 2.7% performance at that resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 overkill for this game?

A: The data indicates yes. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 316.8 FPS, which is far beyond any display's refresh rate. Even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 99 FPS, suggesting the hardware has significant headroom for this title.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from Medium to High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium achieves 263.2 FPS while High drops to 163.1 FPS, a 38% reduction. This significant gap suggests the High preset enables more demanding rendering features that substantially increase GPU workload.

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

A: Yes, all four settings presets produce playable frame rates at 3840x2160. The lowest result is 99 FPS on Ultra, while Low reaches 205.9 FPS, confirming that 4K is thoroughly playable.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 910, appears to be the limiting factor at 1080p Low. The system achieves 316.8 FPS there, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 99 FPS, suggesting the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 features 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake processor has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249.

In Inside, the CPU's role appears to be significant at lower resolutions and settings. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 316.8 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's frame rate limit for this game. The processor's 3dmark_2_threads score of 1692 and 4_threads score of 3012 suggest that the game may not be heavily multithreaded, but the CPU's high single-thread throughput keeps the system from bottlenecking. The i5-12400's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (0.2% lower average score), which shows that this CPU sits in a competitive performance tier. The fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low (316.8 FPS) is only 10% higher than at 1440p Low (282.4 FPS) suggests that the CPU is indeed the limiting factor at these lower graphics settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured performance data provides a comprehensive picture of this system's capabilities in Inside. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 217.9 FPS on Ultra to 316.8 FPS on Low, with High at 230.8 FPS and Medium at 295 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 31% performance reduction, showing that even the highest settings remain well above any practical refresh rate limit.

At 2560x1440, the results show a similar pattern with more pronounced differences. Low settings produce 282.4 FPS, Medium drops to 263.2 FPS, High falls to 163.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 155.1 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is particularly notable, representing a 38% performance drop. This suggests that the High preset introduces rendering features that are significantly more demanding at this resolution.

The 3840x2160 results demonstrate the system's 4K capabilities. Low settings achieve 205.9 FPS, Medium reaches 164 FPS, High produces 101.7 FPS, and Ultra delivers 99 FPS. The transition from Medium to High at 4K represents a 38% performance reduction, consistent with the pattern observed at 1440p. Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Low preset consistently delivers more than double the frame rate of the Ultra preset at the same resolution, confirming that the game's visual settings have a substantial impact on GPU workload.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 431 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 26% of all configurations tested. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the exceptional absolute performance numbers, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations also achieve very high frame rates in this undemanding game.

The rank suggests that while this combo is clearly powerful, the game's low system requirements mean that a wide range of hardware can achieve playable performance. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 and the GPU's percentile rank of 81 indicate that both components sit above the median of their respective categories. However, in a game like Inside where even modest hardware can produce high frame rates, the relative ranking may be influenced by combos with even more powerful components that push frame rates to extremes. The data shows this combo is not at the absolute top of the rankings, but its performance in absolute terms (never dropping below 99 FPS even at 4K Ultra) makes it a formidable configuration for this title. The gap between this combo's rank and its actual performance suggests that the ranking is influenced by the very large number of tested combinations, many of which likely feature top-tier CPUs and GPUs that achieve even higher frame rates in this lightweight game.