Inside

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is a desktop combination that targets high-refresh gaming. For the puzzle platformer Inside, measured frame rates are available across three resolutions and four presets. This analysis examines resolution scaling, settings recommendations, and the role of each component. The CPU has a launch MSRP of $264, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 499 USD.

Resolution Scaling

At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 204.9 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 145.5 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 91.2 FPS. The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 360.7 FPS at 1080p, 294.7 at 1440p, and 184.5 at 4K. Medium goes from 327.2 to 235.7 to 148.7, and Ultra from 194 to 141.9 to 87. The consistent reduction across all presets indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases. The 4K Ultra average of 87 FPS is still playable, but the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is small, with High at 91.2 and Ultra at 87. The scaling suggests that the game is not heavily demanding, as even the highest preset at 4K remains at a level that most players would consider smooth.

The near-linear drop from 1080p to 4K – roughly halving – points to a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1016, Cinebench R23 single-core of 3309) ensures it is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 360.7 FPS Low result. The pattern holds across all presets: the frame rate at 4K is approximately half of that at 1080p, which is typical for a workload where the GPU's pixel throughput is the deciding factor. This also means that players with high-refresh 1080p or 1440p displays will see the GPU fully utilized, while the CPU has headroom to spare.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p, all presets exceed 194 FPS, so Ultra is the obvious choice for maximum visual quality. At 1440p, High and Ultra both deliver above 140 FPS (145.5 and 141.9 respectively), while Medium reaches 235.7 FPS. If the display supports high refresh rates, Medium offers a significant frame rate advantage with only a modest reduction in settings. For 4K, the data suggests Medium is the sweet spot: it delivers 148.7 FPS, which is a substantial improvement over High's 91.2 and Ultra's 87. Low at 4K is 184.5 FPS, but that sacrifices visual fidelity. Therefore, for a 4K display, Medium provides the best balance of frame rate and quality. For 1440p, High is recommended for a balance, while Ultra is also viable. For 1080p, Ultra is the best choice.

The measured rows show that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 166.7 FPS (360.7 vs 194), but at 4K it is only 97.5 FPS (184.5 vs 87). This reinforces the idea that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, and that the CPU is not constraining performance even at the lowest settings. For players who prioritize frame rate over visual detail, Low at 4K is an option, but Medium offers a better visual experience while still exceeding the frame rates of High and Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 87 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos for Inside?

A: It ranks 499th out of 1671 combos.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock?

A: The boost clock is 4.90 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The memory bandwidth is 624.1 GB/s.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1080p?

A: The 1080p Low average of 360.7 FPS indicates that the CPU is not the primary limiter; the GPU is the more likely constraint even at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread count?

A: The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 91.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 184.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 148.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 87 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 145.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 294.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 235.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 141.9 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 204.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 360.7 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 327.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 194 |

The range spans from 87 FPS at 4K Ultra to 360.7 FPS at 1080p Low. The highest preset at each resolution consistently yields the lowest frame rate, while Low yields the highest. The gap between Low and Ultra is largest at 1080p (360.7 vs 194) and narrows at 4K (184.5 vs 87), further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the workload. At 1440p, the spread is 294.7 to 141.9, and at 4K it is 184.5 to 87. These numbers show that the combo is capable of delivering high frame rates even at the most demanding settings, and that the GPU is the component that scales with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Inside, this pairing sits at rank 499 out of 1671. That places it in the top third of all tested systems. The CPU itself is at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (delta 0), the i5-12600K (delta -0.1), the Core Ultra 5 125H (delta -0.2), and the i7-13700H (delta 0.4). The GPU is at the 76th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 32619. Its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (delta 0.2), NVIDIA P104-100 (delta -0.4), NVIDIA T600 Mobile (delta -0.7), and AMD FirePro S10000 (delta 0.7). The combo's rank of 499 suggests that while both components are strong individually, the game's performance is not solely determined by raw compute power; the measured FPS data shows that the pairing is more than capable of delivering high frame rates across all tested settings. The CPU's near-tie with the i9-10900K (delta 0) and the GPU's slight edge over the FirePro S9300 X2 (delta 0.2) indicate that this combination is well balanced for a game like Inside, which does not heavily stress multi-core CPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It is built on the Alder Lake architecture with a 10 nm process, and it has 20 MB of shared L3 cache. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, which is not heavily threaded, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant than its multi-core capability. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 indicate strong per-core performance. The measured frame rates at 1080p, especially the 360.7 FPS Low result, demonstrate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. Even at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and system responsiveness. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27827 places it at the 84th percentile, and its nearest rival, the i9-10900K, is within 0 delta, meaning the i5-12600KF offers comparable performance to a higher-tier chip from a previous generation. This makes it a solid choice for pairing with a high-end GPU like the RX 7800 XT. The CPU also supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with a dual-channel memory bus, and offers PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes, which is sufficient for the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The 20 MB shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which can benefit games that rely on frequent data access. Overall, the i5-12600KF provides the single-thread speed and multi-core headroom that Inside needs, while the RX 7800 XT handles the graphical load across all resolutions.