Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware, yet the measured FPS data for the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti reveals a fascinating scaling pattern that tells a more complex story. The benchmark results show this combination handling the game with extreme ease, but the way performance degrades from 1080p to 4K offers a clear window into where the bottleneck shifts between the CPU and GPU. This analysis breaks down the measured frames, the combo's standing among 1671 tested configurations, and what the specific hardware characteristics imply for gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, but the shape of that curve is more revealing than the raw numbers. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 281.8 FPS, which falls to 203.2 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 126.3 FPS at 4K. That is a 55.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU is still the primary limiter, though the CPU is clearly capable of feeding it frames at lower resolutions.

Moving to High settings, the pattern shifts slightly. The 1080p High result of 142.3 FPS drops to 100.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 65.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 29.4%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 35.0%. This suggests that as the pixel count increases, the GPU workload grows disproportionately, confirming that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push well beyond what the GPU can render, but at 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the hard ceiling.

The most telling comparison is between the Ultra and Low presets at each resolution. At 4K, Ultra yields 61.1 FPS while Low yields 126.3 FPS—a 106.7% difference. At 1080p, the same comparison shows 137.1 FPS versus 281.8 FPS, a 105.5% difference. The consistency of this roughly 2x gap across resolutions indicates that the settings are scaling the GPU load nearly linearly, and the CPU is never the constraint, even at 1080p with Low settings where the frame rate exceeds 280 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1671 tested combos for Inside, this pairing of the i5-12400F and RTX 3060 Ti holds the 1121st position. That ranking places it in the 67th percentile of all tested configurations, which is surprisingly low for a system with a dedicated GPU and a modern six-core processor. The data suggests that Inside is a game where many older or less powerful GPUs can achieve high frame rates due to its simple 2D side-scrolling visuals, meaning the competition is fierce and the margins between combos are slim.

The CPU's own benchmark percentile is 77, meaning the i5-12400F outperforms 77% of all CPUs tested on the site. The GPU sits at the 69th percentile. The fact that the combo rank (1121 out of 1671) is lower than both individual component percentiles indicates that the game itself is not particularly demanding on either component, allowing even mid-range or older hardware to post comparable scores. This combo is not a top-tier performer in this specific title, despite the hardware being capable of far more demanding workloads.

The nearest rivals for the CPU show a tight cluster: the Intel Core i7-8700K is just 0.1% higher in average score, the Intel Core i5-1335U is 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is 0.7% lower. This near-tie with older and newer chips confirms that the i5-12400F's raw compute power is sufficient for Inside, and the game's frame rates are unlikely to be CPU-bound in any meaningful way.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Inside, which was released in 2016 and has relatively simple textures, this bandwidth is more than adequate. The measured data confirms this: even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 61.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's base clock of 1410 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are moderate, but the architecture's 4864 shading units and 152 texture mapping units provide ample pixel-pushing power.

With 80 ROPs and a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s, the GPU can handle the 3840x2160 resolution without issue, as evidenced by the 65.3 FPS at 4K High. The 17,400 million transistors on the GA104 chip are arranged in a configuration that excels at rasterization, which is the primary workload for a 2D puzzle platformer. The GPU's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is far beyond what this game requires, which is why the frame rates are so high across all settings.

The memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) combined with 8 GB of capacity means the game's assets fit easily into VRAM, preventing any texture streaming bottlenecks. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, but not because it lacks memory or bandwidth—rather, the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 forces the GPU to work harder, reducing frame rates by roughly half compared to 1080p at the same settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the display's native resolution. For 1080p displays, Ultra settings provide 137.1 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors, making it the clear choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. Even at 1440p, Ultra delivers 97 FPS, which is still excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming.

For 4K displays, the choice becomes more nuanced. Ultra yields 61.1 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS standard, but the drop to High settings provides 65.3 FPS—a small gain of 6.9% that might not justify the visual downgrade. However, the Medium preset at 4K offers 102.7 FPS, which is a massive 68.1% improvement over Ultra. If the display supports 120 Hz or higher, Medium is the recommended setting, as it provides a fluid experience while still maintaining decent visual quality.

The Low preset is only advisable for competitive play or if the user has a 240 Hz monitor, as it achieves 126.3 FPS at 4K and 281.8 FPS at 1080p. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 56.5 FPS (281.8 vs 225.3), which is negligible for most users, so Medium is the better balance of quality and performance. For the majority of users, the data suggests that Medium at any resolution offers the best frame rate headroom, while High is the sweet spot for those prioritizing visual quality over raw FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates are consistently high across all presets. Low settings produce 281.8 FPS, Medium produces 225.3 FPS, High produces 142.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 137.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 56.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 5.2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain impressive. Low settings yield 203.2 FPS, Medium yields 160.7 FPS, High yields 100.5 FPS, and Ultra yields 97 FPS. The pattern is similar: Medium offers a 42.5 FPS advantage over High, while High and Ultra are nearly identical with only a 3.5 FPS difference.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results show the most significant scaling. Low settings produce 126.3 FPS, Medium produces 102.7 FPS, High produces 65.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 61.1 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 37.4 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline in the entire dataset, highlighting how the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast memory for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's benchmarks show a single-thread score of 3481 in Passmark, which is critical for a game like Inside that likely relies on a single main thread for gameplay logic.

The 3DMark scores are revealing: the single-thread score is 909, while the 2-thread score is 1699, and the 4-thread score is 3067. The scaling from single to multi-thread is not linear, indicating that the game may not fully utilize all 12 threads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 suggest that the CPU has plenty of headroom, and the measured FPS data confirms this—even at 1080p Low with 281.8 FPS, the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 10nm process node indicate efficient power delivery, which is irrelevant to frame rates but relevant to sustained performance. The data shows that the i5-12400F is never the bottleneck in this game, as evidenced by the fact that lowering resolution from 4K to 1080p at the same settings always increases FPS, proving the GPU is the constraint. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors, and for Inside, it is more than sufficient.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured frame rate is 281.8 FPS, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 137.1 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 3060 Ti or the i5-12400F the bottleneck in Inside?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate increases when lowering resolution from 4K to 1080p. The CPU is never the limiting factor, even at 1080p Low with over 280 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a 60 Hz monitor?

A: Yes. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 61.1 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K High, it produces 65.3 FPS, providing a small safety margin.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: It ranks 1121st out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the 67th percentile. This low ranking is due to the game's low hardware requirements, allowing many older or weaker GPUs to achieve high frame rates.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce 100.5 FPS, while Ultra produces 97 FPS. The difference of 3.5 FPS is minimal, making High the better choice for a slight performance gain.

Q: Does the GPU's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Inside?

A: No. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is far more than the game requires, and no texture streaming or memory-related performance drops are evident in the measured data.