Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer from 2016, and the measured frame-rate data for this specific configuration—the Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580—reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, but which scales back to very playable territory when the resolution and settings are lowered. The benchmark results show a clear and consistent pattern across the four tested quality presets and three resolutions, with the most significant performance jumps occurring when moving from 4K down to 1440p, and then again to 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame-rate scaling from 4K to 1080p demonstrates exactly where the bottleneck lies in this pairing. At the Ultra preset, the average frame rate jumps from 29.6 FPS at 3840x2160 to 53.8 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 70 FPS at 1920x1080. This progression shows a 43.9% increase in performance when stepping down from 4K to 1440p, and a further 30.1% increase when moving to 1080p. The pattern is even more pronounced at the Low preset, where the average frame rate nearly doubles from 66.1 FPS at 4K to 108.1 FPS at 1440p, and then reaches 149.4 FPS at 1080p.

The data strongly indicates that the RX 580’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor at 4K. The GPU’s 32 ROPs and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160, regardless of the CPU’s capability. At 4K, even the Low preset only manages 66.1 FPS, which is below the 70 FPS achieved by the Ultra preset at 1080p. This suggests that the game’s rendering load at 4K is so heavy that the GPU cannot keep up, and reducing the quality settings does not fully compensate for the raw pixel count.

At 1440p, the scaling becomes more linear and the GPU starts to show more headroom. The difference between the Low preset (108.1 FPS) and the High preset (53.5 FPS) is roughly a 2x gap, which is consistent with the GPU being the primary constraint. However, the fact that the Ultra preset (53.8 FPS) nearly matches the High preset (53.5 FPS) at this resolution is notable; it suggests that the High and Ultra presets are placing a similar load on the graphics pipeline, and that the extra visual features in Ultra are not causing a disproportionate performance hit at 1440p. This is different from the 4K results, where the gap between High (34.7 FPS) and Ultra (29.6 FPS) is a 14.7% drop, showing that the GPU is more stressed at the higher resolution.

At 1080p, the system finally shows its full potential. The Low preset achieves 149.4 FPS, and the Medium preset reaches 120.5 FPS, indicating that the CPU and GPU are much better balanced at this resolution. The High preset (73.4 FPS) and Ultra preset (70 FPS) are both comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is consistent across all presets, with an average improvement of roughly 35-40% in frame rate, which aligns with the reduction in total pixel count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309. This CPU is clearly not the bottleneck in Inside, as even the most demanding scenarios at 1080p with the Low preset (149.4 FPS) do not appear to be limited by processor speed.

The game’s 2D nature and relatively simple physics mean that even a single core is likely sufficient to handle the game logic. The i5-12600KF’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample headroom for the game’s data. The processor’s 16 threads are largely idle during gameplay, as the frame rate scaling across resolutions is almost entirely dependent on the GPU. The fact that the 1080p Low preset hits 149.4 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset drops to 29.6 FPS, is a clear indication that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more data than the GPU can process at higher resolutions.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 84 among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 27827, puts it in the upper tier of desktop chips. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, has a nearly identical average score of 27829 with a deltaPct of 0, confirming that the i5-12600KF is performing at a level comparable to a flagship 10th-gen part. In the context of Inside, this means the CPU is more than adequate, and the performance ceiling of this combo is dictated by the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580, based on the Polaris 20 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, is a much older and less powerful component relative to the CPU. It features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. Its 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is modest by modern standards, and its benchmark results place it in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs.

The RX 580 is clearly the limiting factor in this configuration for Inside. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 149.4 FPS, but this drops to 73.4 FPS at High and 70 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 28.9 FPS (149.4 vs 120.5), while the gap between Medium and High is 47.1 FPS (120.5 vs 73.4). This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU’s shader units (2304) and texture mapping units (144) are being pushed harder as the quality preset increases, but the memory bandwidth is sufficient to avoid a major bottleneck at 1080p.

At 1440p, the GPU’s limitations become more apparent. The Low preset (108.1 FPS) is still very playable, but the High preset drops to 53.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth motion. The 4K results are even more telling, with only the Low preset (66.1 FPS) reaching playable levels, while High (34.7 FPS), Medium (53.4 FPS), and Ultra (29.6 FPS) all fall below the 60 FPS mark. The GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor here, as the game’s textures are unlikely to exceed even 4 GB at any resolution, but the raw compute and rasterization capabilities of the Polaris 20 chip are insufficient for high-resolution high-detail play.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 580 holds a combo rank of 1563 out of 1671 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 6.5% of all configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU’s age relative to the CPU. The CPU is highly capable, but the GPU’s performance ceiling drags the overall ranking down significantly.

The data shows that this combo is not competitive with modern mid-range systems, but it is also not a failure. For a game like Inside, which is not graphically demanding, the combo can still deliver a good experience at 1080p. The rank of 1563 is primarily a measure of raw aggregate performance across all games, and in a lighter title like this, the actual gameplay experience is much better than the rank might suggest. The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals show that it is essentially on par with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (deltaPct 0) and GTX 950 (deltaPct 0.1), which are both significantly older cards, confirming the RX 580’s position as a mid-tier part from its generation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average frame rates, the best experience for this combination is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset, which delivers 120.5 FPS. This provides a high frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS standard, while also offering better visual quality than the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p (73.4 FPS) is also a viable option for those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, but the Medium preset offers the best balance of smoothness and quality.

At 1440p, the Low preset (108.1 FPS) is the only setting that maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS. The Medium preset (83.4 FPS) is still playable, but the High (53.5 FPS) and Ultra (53.8 FPS) presets dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which may result in noticeable stutter during fast-moving sections. For 4K, the Low preset (66.1 FPS) is the only playable option, and even then, it is only marginally above 60 FPS. The Medium preset (53.4 FPS) at 4K is borderline, but the High (34.7 FPS) and Ultra (29.6 FPS) presets are not recommended due to the low frame rates.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset provides almost no tangible benefit over High at 1440p (53.8 vs 53.5 FPS) and only a 3.4 FPS difference at 1080p (70 vs 73.4), making High the more efficient choice if the user wants the best visuals without a significant frame rate penalty. Overall, the recommended setup is 1080p Medium for a smooth, high-refresh experience, or 1080p High for a more detailed image.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 149.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which averages 66.1 FPS. The Medium preset averages 53.4 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 34.7 FPS and 29.6 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K’s score of 27829, with a deltaPct of 0.

Q: Why is the frame rate so much lower at 4K compared to 1080p?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering. The 32 ROPs and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 29.6 FPS average at 4K Ultra versus 70 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a balance of quality and performance at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 120.5 FPS, offers the best balance. The High preset (73.4 FPS) is an alternative if visual quality is prioritized.

Q: What is the overall rank of this combo in the database?

A: This combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1563 out of 1671 tested combos.