Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer where the GPU is the dominant scaling factor. The data shows this combination ranks in the 79th percentile of all tested configurations, placing it well above the median experience for this title. The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5070 is significantly over-provisioned for this game, with the CPU providing ample headroom even at 1080p. The most striking finding is the performance cliff between Medium and Ultra settings, which suggests a specific rendering feature is the primary bottleneck at the highest preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the sole limiting factor at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 244 FPS, which drops by 28% to 176 FPS at 1440p, and then by another 37% to 111 FPS at 4K. This progression shows that the RTX 5070’s rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at every resolution.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p, the difference between Low (317 FPS) and Ultra (234 FPS) is 83 FPS, but at 4K, the same comparison yields a 116 FPS gap (222 FPS vs 106 FPS). This widening difference at higher resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset’s additional effects impose a proportionally larger cost on the GPU’s shading units and memory subsystem, rather than on the CPU.

The most interesting data point is the 4K Medium result, which achieves 177 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS and maximum of 204 FPS. This represents a 60% performance uplift over Ultra at the same resolution, while still maintaining a frame rate well above the 144Hz refresh rate common on high-end displays. The 4K Low setting at 222 FPS shows that even at maximum pixel count, the RTX 5070 has substantial headroom, suggesting that the game’s art style and low geometric complexity do not stress the GPU’s rasterization pipeline as heavily as modern AAA titles.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings (262 FPS to 177 FPS) represents a 33% reduction, which is nearly identical to the 37% reduction seen at High settings. This consistency across presets indicates that the resolution scaling is purely a function of pixel throughput, with no unexpected memory or cache bottlenecks appearing at 4K. The measured minimum frame rates at Medium settings (249 FPS at 1080p, 223 FPS at 1440p, 151 FPS at 4K) all stay within 15% of their respective averages, showing stable frame pacing without stutter.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400’s specifications suggest it is more than sufficient for Inside, a game that does not demand high thread counts. With 6 cores and 12 threads, the processor provides a solid foundation for the game’s physics and logic, but the benchmark data indicates the CPU is rarely the bottleneck. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3456 demonstrate strong per-core performance, which is more relevant for this genre than raw multi-threaded throughput.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and base clock of 2.50 GHz place it in a performance tier that sits at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, according to the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643 (delta of -0.1%) and Intel Core i7-1355U (delta of -0.3%), but it outperforms the Intel Core i3-14100F by 0.9%. This comparison shows that the i5-12400 is a mid-range processor that provides adequate headroom for most gaming workloads, including this puzzle platformer.

At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 317 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what the game engine can produce. The fact that the 4K Low setting still reaches 222 FPS suggests that even at maximum pixel count, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 further confirm that the processor has sufficient computational power to feed the RTX 5070 at any resolution, even with the highest preset.

The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate memory locality for the game’s data structures. The PassMark physics score of 1105 and integer math score of 58366 indicate that the CPU handles the game’s collision detection and game logic without difficulty. Given that the measured frame rates at 1080p High (244 FPS) are more than four times the 60 FPS target, the CPU is delivering frame times well below 5 milliseconds, leaving no perceivable bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the clear performance driver in this configuration, with its specifications and benchmark results explaining the measured frame rates. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Inside’s relatively simple textures and effects. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 6144 shading units indicate a high-end graphics processor that is overkill for this title.

The RTX 5070 sits at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% faster), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% faster), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% slower), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 1.2% faster. These comparisons show that the RTX 5070 is a capable mid-to-high-end GPU, but its performance in Inside is more dependent on the game’s modest requirements than on raw compute power.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz provide consistent performance across different resolutions. The pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are more than adequate for the game’s 2.5D side-scrolling visuals, which feature limited geometric complexity. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are unused in this title, as Inside does not feature ray tracing or DLSS, meaning the GPU’s rasterization performance is the only factor that matters.

The 177 FPS average at 4K Medium settings demonstrates that the RTX 5070 is operating well within its comfort zone, with the GPU’s memory bandwidth (672.0 GB/s) not being stressed by the game’s texture streaming. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is also not a limiting factor, as Inside’s art assets are unlikely to exceed even 4 GB at 4K Ultra. The measured performance at 4K Ultra (106 FPS) shows that the GPU can handle the highest preset even at maximum resolution, albeit with a significant performance drop from Medium.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly from Medium to Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows a 40% reduction in average FPS from Medium to Ultra at 4K (177 FPS to 106 FPS), and a 20% reduction at 1080p (293 FPS to 234 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset enables a specific rendering feature that imposes a heavy cost on the GPU, likely related to advanced post-processing or shadow effects, rather than a gradual scaling of quality.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5070 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 317 FPS, and even at 4K Low, it maintains 222 FPS. The CPU’s single-thread performance (PassMark score of 3456) is sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across resolutions.

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, achieving 262 FPS with a minimum of 223 FPS. However, 4K Medium also delivers excellent results at 177 FPS, making it a viable option for users with high-resolution displays.

Q: How does this configuration compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 787th out of 3716 tested configurations, placing it in the top 21% of all systems. The GPU’s 82nd percentile ranking and CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking suggest that the combination is well-matched, with neither component significantly outperforming the other.

Q: Does the RTX 5070’s 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: No, the measured data shows no VRAM-related performance drops. The 4K Medium setting achieves 177 FPS, and the 4K High setting reaches 111 FPS, indicating that the 12 GB capacity and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game’s requirements.

Q: Why does the 4K High setting (111 FPS) perform worse than 1440p Ultra (168 FPS)?

A: This 34% reduction in performance is consistent with the increase in pixel count from 1440p to 4K (a 2.25x increase in pixels). The GPU’s rendering load scales with resolution, and the High preset’s effects compound this cost, resulting in a frame rate that is still well above the 60 FPS target.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that Medium settings provide the best overall experience for this configuration, offering a significant performance advantage over Ultra with minimal visual compromise. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 293 FPS with a minimum of 249 FPS, while Ultra reaches 234 FPS — a 20% reduction that is unlikely to be perceptible given the game’s art style. The Medium preset also provides the most stable frame pacing, with the minimum FPS staying within 15% of the average.

At 1440p, Medium settings deliver 262 FPS with a minimum of 223 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The jump to Ultra at 1440p (168 FPS) represents a 36% performance loss that cannot be justified by the visual improvements in a puzzle platformer. For users with 4K displays, Medium settings at 177 FPS (minimum 151 FPS) are strongly recommended over Ultra at 106 FPS, as the latter falls below the 120 FPS threshold that many high-end displays target.

The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution, as the performance gains over Medium (8% at 1080p, 8% at 1440p, 25% at 4K) are not worth the reduction in visual quality. The High preset offers a middle ground, with 244 FPS at 1080p and 111 FPS at 4K, but it does not provide the same stability as Medium. For the best experience, users should select Medium settings across all resolutions, with the option to increase to High at 1080p if they prefer the visual enhancements and can tolerate the 17% FPS reduction.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings achieve an average of 317 FPS, Medium reaches 293 FPS with a minimum of 249 FPS and maximum of 337 FPS, High produces 244 FPS, and Ultra tops out at 234 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 83 FPS, representing a 26% reduction in performance for the highest visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the system maintains excellent performance with a smaller spread between presets. Low settings average 284 FPS, Medium achieves 262 FPS with a minimum of 223 FPS and maximum of 302 FPS, High delivers 176 FPS, and Ultra produces 168 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 116 FPS, or a 41% reduction, showing that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance scaling becomes more pronounced. Low settings average 222 FPS, Medium reaches 177 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS and maximum of 204 FPS, High produces 111 FPS, and Ultra delivers 106 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that drops below the 120 FPS threshold, while all other 4K presets remain above it. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance of performance and quality, with its minimum FPS of 151 still exceeding the refresh rate of most gaming monitors.