Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer from 2016, and the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 confirm that this combination is dramatically overqualified for the title. The data shows average frame rates ranging from 95.6 FPS at 4K Ultra to 320.8 FPS at 1080p Low, which places this hardware configuration in the 492nd spot out of 1671 tested combos for this game. The performance ceiling is so high that the primary analytical question is not whether the game is playable, but rather how the scaling patterns reveal the balance between the CPU and GPU at different settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is unusually steep, which directly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 becomes the limiting component as resolution increases. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 214.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 155.4 FPS at 2560x1440, then further down to 97 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 54.7% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial penalty that points to pixel fill-rate and memory bandwidth constraints rather than CPU limitations.

The pattern intensifies at the lower preset levels. With Low settings, the frame rate falls from 320.8 FPS at 1080p to 285.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 196.8 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling — a 31.1% decrease — because at Low settings the CPU has more headroom, yet the GPU still struggles to maintain the same throughput when pixel count quadruples. At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 297.4 FPS at 1080p, 251.4 FPS at 1440p, and 158.8 FPS at 4K.

Ultra settings show the most consistent scaling behavior, with 203.8 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 95.6 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured scenario that falls below the 100 FPS threshold, which suggests that even a high-end GPU like the RX 9070 meets its match when the game's maximum visual fidelity is combined with a 2160p output. The data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution, since the frame rates at 1080p across all settings remain well above 200 FPS, which is far beyond the typical refresh rate of most displays.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this CPU and GPU combination in Inside?

A: The highest average frame rate is 320.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the game become unplayable at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the average frame rate at 3840x2160 Ultra is 95.6 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, though it is the lowest measured result in the dataset.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 214.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 54.7% reduction in performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests it is not, as the frame rates at 1080p Low reach 320.8 FPS, which is far higher than what most displays can show, indicating the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 285.7 FPS, while Ultra averages 151 FPS, a difference of 134.7 FPS in favor of Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest benchmark rivals in general GPU performance?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, which places it 0.2% behind the NVIDIA A2 but 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GV100, showing very close performance parity with those cards.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F 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. Its benchmark results show a strong single-threaded capability, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2221 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332. This is relevant for Inside because the game's 2D side-scrolling nature relies heavily on consistent frame pacing, which benefits from strong single-thread performance.

The CPU's multithreaded results are also respectable for a mainstream desktop chip, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a Passmark multithread score of 19433. However, the measured frame rates in Inside suggest that the game does not heavily tax these resources, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario produces an average of 95.6 FPS, which is not indicative of a CPU bottleneck. The processor's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation, but the game's modest requirements mean that the CPU's performance headroom is largely untapped.

The i5-12400F's nearest rivals in general benchmark averages include the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores 19210 (0.1% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which scores 19364 (0.7% higher). The differences are minimal, indicating that the CPU's overall compute capability is well within the expected range for its class. For Inside specifically, the CPU's single-threaded score of 909 in 3DMark single-thread testing is more relevant than the multi-threaded scores, since the game's logical complexity is low but the frame rate targets are extremely high.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are uniformly high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 320.8 FPS, Medium produces 297.4 FPS, High produces 214.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 203.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 117 FPS, which is substantial, but even the lowest 1080p result exceeds 200 FPS, making the resolution a non-issue for any modern display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages remain above 150 FPS in every configuration. Low settings hit 285.7 FPS, Medium drops to 251.4 FPS, High falls to 155.4 FPS, and Ultra reaches 151 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 4.4 FPS, which suggests diminishing returns from the highest preset tier. The step from Medium to High is more pronounced, with a 96 FPS reduction, indicating that the High preset introduces a significant visual load increase.

At 3840x2160, the results show a clear hierarchy. Low settings average 196.8 FPS, Medium averages 158.8 FPS, High averages 97 FPS, and Ultra averages 95.6 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K is a 61.8 FPS drop, which is the largest single-settings penalty in the dataset. The Ultra preset's 95.6 FPS average is only 1.4 FPS lower than High, showing that the Ultra settings add minimal extra cost over High at this resolution. Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Low preset consistently offers more than double the frame rate of the Ultra preset, except at 4K where the ratio is closer to 2.06x.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is a RDNA 4.0 architecture GPU built on a 4 nm process, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s and boost clock of 2520 MHz are the key specifications that drive the high frame rates observed in Inside. The GPU's 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs provide ample pixel throughput, which is the primary requirement for a game with simple geometry but potentially demanding post-processing effects at higher presets.

The RX 9070's benchmark scores show it is a capable performer in general workloads, with a Passmark G3D score of 25381 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 165532. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA A2 with an average score of 34866 (0.2% higher) and the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 with a score of 34677 (0.3% lower). These small deltas indicate that the RX 9070 sits in a competitive performance tier, though the specific game results in Inside are more dependent on the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth than on its compute capabilities.

The data reveals that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K, particularly with High and Ultra settings. The 97 FPS average at 4K High and 95.6 FPS at 4K Ultra are the only results below 100 FPS, which aligns with the GPU's 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, as the game's textures and effects are not memory-intensive, and the 20.1 Gbps effective memory speed ensures that bandwidth is not a limiting factor even at 4K when the frame rate drops, the cause is more likely the shader and ROP throughput reaching its limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 155.4 FPS. This is comfortably above 144 Hz refresh rates, and the visual upgrade from Medium (251.4 FPS) to High (155.4 FPS) is substantial, while the additional cost of moving to Ultra (151 FPS) is negligible at only 4.4 FPS. For users with high-refresh-rate 1440p displays, High is the clear choice.

For 1080p displays, the Medium preset is recommended as the optimal setting, delivering 297.4 FPS average. This is nearly 100 FPS higher than High (214.1 FPS), and the visual difference between Medium and High in a 2D platformer is often less noticeable than in 3D titles. The Ultra preset at 1080p (203.8 FPS) does not justify the 93.6 FPS loss compared to Medium, especially since the game's art style is minimalist and atmospheric rather than geometrically complex.

At 4K, the Low preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 196.8 FPS. This provides a massive 99.8 FPS advantage over High (97 FPS) and 101.2 FPS over Ultra (95.6 FPS), and for a puzzle platformer, the visual differences at 4K are often subtle. The Medium preset (158.8 FPS) is a viable alternative for users who prioritize image quality, but the Low preset's frame rate headroom makes it the safest option for maintaining consistent performance on 4K displays with variable refresh rates.