Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, by its nature, does not demand the same level of hardware as a modern AAA title. Yet, the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a set of measured results that are nonetheless revealing about the behavior of both components. This analysis examines the recorded frame rates across resolutions and settings, contextualizing them within the benchmark database to provide a clear picture of where this combo stands.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Inside, the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D pairing holds the 296th position out of 2,887 tested combos. This places the system well inside the top 10% of all recorded configurations, which is a strong showing for a game that is not typically used as a stress test for high-end hardware. The rank is a reflection of the combo’s ability to maintain very high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions, rather than its ability to handle graphically intensive scenes that would push the GPU to its limits.

The rank becomes more meaningful when compared to the individual performance percentiles of the components. The CPU, for instance, sits at the 72nd percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 92nd percentile against all GPUs. The discrepancy between the GPU’s higher percentile and the combo’s overall rank suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. In a title like Inside, which is more likely to be CPU-bound at high frame rates, the CPU’s relative position compared to the GPU is the primary determinant of the final ranking. The data shows that while the GPU is exceptionally powerful, the combo does not break into the top 100 because the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to fully utilize its potential in this particular game. This is not a criticism of the CPU, as its 72nd percentile is respectable, but it highlights the imbalance of pairing a mid-range 12th-generation processor with a top-tier 50-series graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a massive piece of hardware, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its memory configuration is particularly notable, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. These specifications are far beyond what a 2D puzzle platformer requires. The base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and the memory runs at an effective speed of 28 Gbps. The sheer size of the memory pool and the bandwidth available are not stressed by a game like Inside, which has simple textures and geometry.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its raw power. Its average benchmark score is 77,712, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. In the Passmark G3D test, it scores 44,065, and in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores 14,326. These numbers are far higher than what any game from 2016 could produce. The nearest rivals to the RTX 5090 D in terms of average score include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a score of 78,940 and a delta of -1.6%, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a score of 79,605 and a delta of -2.4%. This shows that the RTX 5090 D is positioned at the very top of the performance hierarchy, even compared to other high-end cards.

In the context of Inside’s measured frame rates, the GPU’s role is mostly to ensure that frame rates are not limited by graphics processing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 317 FPS, which is a frame rate that is more likely to be limited by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls. The GPU is essentially idle at these settings. As the resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes more involved, but even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate remains at 153 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 5090 D has more than enough raw power to handle this game at any setting, and the bottleneck is clearly elsewhere in the system.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. Its TDP is rated at 65 W, which is modest compared to the GPU’s 575 W TDP. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, but the measured data does not specify which type was used in the test.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show a processor that is capable but not at the top of its class. Its average benchmark score is 18,683, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15,989 in multi-core and 2,257 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 8,564 multi-core and 1,848 single-core. These scores are competitive with its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7643 with a score of 18,697 and a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i7-1355U with a score of 18,730 and a delta of -0.3%. The close deltas between these rivals show that the i5-12400 is in a crowded performance band.

For a game like Inside, the CPU’s single-thread performance is more critical than its multi-thread capabilities. The game’s logic, physics, and rendering calls are often handled by a limited number of threads. The CPU’s single-core score of 2,257 in Cinebench R23 is decent, but it is not exceptional. The data suggests that this is the component that limits the combo’s performance. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 317 FPS, which is high, but it is not as high as the GPU could theoretically produce. In contrast, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 153 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra is 164 FPS, which is a significant reduction, but the frame rates remain playable. The CPU is likely the reason that the 1080p frame rates are not higher, as it cannot keep up with the GPU’s ability to render frames.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination for Inside?

A: The combo ranks 296th out of 2,887 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the top 11% of all configurations.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18,683. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, has a score of 18,697, which is a -0.1% difference. The Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18,730 (a -0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18,811 (a -0.7% delta). The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18,519 (a 0.9% delta).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking, and what does that indicate?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. This indicates it is a top-tier graphics card, far more powerful than what a puzzle platformer typically requires.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 317 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the GPU or the CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor. The GPU is at the 92nd percentile, while the CPU is at the 72nd percentile. The frame rates at 1080p are high but not maximized, indicating the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough.

Q: How much memory does the RTX 5090 D have, and what type is it?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern across the three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 317 FPS (Low), 293 FPS (Medium), 244 FPS (High), and 240 FPS (Ultra). Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 284 FPS (Low), 262 FPS (Medium), 218 FPS (High), and 215 FPS (Ultra). At 3840x2160, the averages are 243 FPS (Low), 225 FPS (Medium), 160 FPS (High), and 153 FPS (Ultra).

The most telling comparison is the drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low. The average frame rate falls from 317 FPS to 243 FPS, a decrease of 74 FPS or roughly 23%. This is a relatively modest drop for a 4x increase in pixel count, which indicates that the system is not fully GPU-bound at 1080p. The more significant drop is observed when comparing 1080p Low to 4K Ultra, which goes from 317 FPS to 153 FPS, a 164 FPS or 52% reduction. This larger drop suggests that as the resolution and settings increase, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role, but it still never becomes the bottleneck that would cause severe frame rate collapse.

The fact that the frame rates remain above 150 FPS even at 4K Ultra shows that the GPU is overprovisioned for this workload. The limiting component is the CPU, which is responsible for the upper ceiling of frame rates. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint, as evidenced by the relatively small difference between Low and Ultra settings (a 77 FPS drop from 317 to 240). At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is larger (90 FPS drop from 243 to 153), which shows the GPU is starting to become more involved, but it is still not the primary bottleneck. The system is effectively CPU-bound at all resolutions in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the choice of settings is more about matching the frame rate to a monitor’s refresh rate than about achieving a playable experience, since all settings produce high frame rates. The data shows that the combo is capable of running the game at maximum settings at all tested resolutions.

For a 4K display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, the Ultra setting at 153 FPS is slightly below that target, while the High setting at 160 FPS is above it. The Medium setting provides a more comfortable margin at 225 FPS. At 1440p, all settings are well above 215 FPS, meaning the Ultra setting can be used without any concern. At 1080p, even the Ultra setting at 240 FPS is exceptionally high.

The most balanced recommendation for a high-refresh 4K display is the High preset. It offers an average of 160 FPS at 4K, which is a 4.6% improvement over the Ultra preset’s 153 FPS, while the visual difference between High and Ultra in a game like Inside is likely minimal. For 1440p and 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as the frame rates are so high that there is no reason to reduce quality. The data shows no scenario where dropping to Low or Medium is necessary for performance reasons, as even the lowest frame rate recorded (4K Ultra at 153 FPS) is far above the standard 60 FPS target.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured average frame rates for the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination in Inside.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 317 FPS.
• Medium: Average 293 FPS, with a minimum of 249 FPS and a maximum of 337 FPS.
• High: Average 244 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 240 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 284 FPS.
• Medium: Average 262 FPS, with a minimum of 223 FPS and a maximum of 302 FPS.
• High: Average 218 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 215 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 243 FPS.
• Medium: Average 225 FPS, with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS.
• High: Average 160 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 153 FPS.

The only rows with reported minimum and maximum frame rates are the Medium settings at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate fluctuates between 249 and 337 FPS, a spread of 88 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 223 to 302 FPS, a spread of 79 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 191 to 258 FPS, a spread of 67 FPS. These ranges show that the frame pacing is consistent, with no severe stutters, and the minimums are all well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The absence of min/max data for other settings suggests they are either stable enough to not report or were not recorded, but the average values provide a clear picture of the performance tier.