Inside

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread Alder Lake-S desktop processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3. The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong balance between single-threaded and multi-threaded performance: it achieves a 3dmark single-thread score of 1016 and a 3dmark max-threads score of 7952, with Cinebench R23 scores of 3309 (single-core) and 23444 (multi-core). This places the CPU at the 84th percentile among all tested processors.

For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining frame pacing and avoiding bottlenecks at high frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 310.3 FPS average — this is well beyond the refresh rate of most displays, and it indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates to sustain very high frame rates. The i5-12600KF's 16 threads handle the game's physics and entity updates efficiently, but the game is not heavily threaded; the 3dmark 16-thread score of 7956 is nearly identical to the max-threads score of 7952, suggesting that the extra threads beyond 16 provide no measurable benefit here.

The CPU sits within a tight performance cluster among its nearest rivals. Its average benchmark score of 27827 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829, deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851, deltaPct -0.1), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (27872, deltaPct -0.2). It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700H (27716). This means that swapping between these CPUs would yield virtually no difference in Inside's frame rates at any resolution, as the game is not CPU-bound at the tested settings.

FAQ

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its closest CPU rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12600KF scores 27827 on average, which is within 0.1% of the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851) and exactly tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829). The deltaPct values range from -0.2% to +0.4%, indicating these CPUs are effectively interchangeable for this game.

Q: What frame rate can this combo achieve at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 149.7. This is well above 144 Hz, making the combo suitable for high-refresh-rate displays even at maximum quality.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo drops to 70.2 FPS on High settings and 64.5 FPS on Ultra. The Low setting at 4K reaches 139.6 FPS, which is still smooth, but the GPU's workload at higher settings is the limiting factor.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER sits at the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. It is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006).

Q: What is the measured FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 221.9 FPS, while Ultra yields 105.8 FPS. That is a 116.1 FPS drop between the two presets, representing a 52% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threaded performance matter for this game?

A: The game shows no sensitivity to thread count beyond 16. The 3dmark 16-thread score (7956) and max-threads score (7952) are nearly identical, and the CPU's 10 cores / 16 threads are more than sufficient for Inside's workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that the Ultra preset provides the most visually complete experience while still maintaining high frame rates. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 149.7 FPS average, which is just below the 155.5 FPS of High settings but above the 144 Hz threshold for most gaming monitors. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 5.8 FPS (155.5 vs 149.7), making Ultra the recommended preset for 1080p users who want maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness.

For 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 105.8 FPS average, while High runs at 113.8 FPS. The 8 FPS gap is modest, and both are playable on 60 Hz and 100 Hz displays. Given that the game is a puzzle platformer where frame timing consistency matters more than raw speed, the Ultra preset at 1440p is still viable, though some users may prefer High for the extra headroom. The Medium preset at 1440p (177.6 FPS) is overkill for most displays and sacrifices visual fidelity unnecessarily.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation shifts. Ultra drops to 64.5 FPS, which is below the 70.2 FPS of High settings. Since the game is not a fast-paced shooter, 64.5 FPS is playable, but High settings at 4K (70.2 FPS) offer a better balance, staying above 60 FPS with more headroom. The Medium preset at 4K (115.2 FPS) is the best choice for users with high-refresh 4K monitors, as it more than doubles the Ultra frame rate while still providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 972nd out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places the combo in the 42nd percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 58% of combos perform better in this specific game. The rank reflects the RTX 2070 SUPER's mid-range standing (65th percentile among GPUs) combined with the i5-12600KF's strong CPU performance (84th percentile among CPUs).

The rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU than the CPU. The CPU's nearest rivals all have nearly identical average scores (within 0.4% of the i5-12600KF), so swapping the CPU would not change the combo's rank materially. Conversely, the GPU's nearest rivals show more variance: the RTX 2070 SUPER is 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729) and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670). This suggests that the GPU is the differentiator in determining where this combo lands in the overall ranking.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At High settings, the combo delivers 155.5 FPS at 1080p, 113.8 FPS at 1440p, and 70.2 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 26.8% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a further 38.3% reduction. This steep decline at 4K is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 310.3 FPS at 1080p, 221.9 FPS at 1440p, and 139.6 FPS at 4K. The fact that Low settings at 4K still achieve 139.6 FPS indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck — if it were, the frame rates would plateau regardless of resolution. The consistent ~50% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K across all settings (from 310.3 to 139.6 at Low, and from 155.5 to 70.2 at High) confirms that the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary constraint.

The resolution scaling also reveals that the game is not particularly demanding on the GPU until you reach 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, even Ultra settings maintain playable frame rates (149.7 and 105.8 FPS respectively), suggesting the RTX 2070 SUPER has ample headroom for this title at lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 64.5 FPS is the only measured configuration that dips below the 70 FPS threshold, making 4K Ultra the most demanding scenario for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 310.3 FPS average
• Medium: 246.3 FPS average
• High: 155.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 149.7 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 221.9 FPS average
• Medium: 177.6 FPS average
• High: 113.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 105.8 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 139.6 FPS average
• Medium: 115.2 FPS average
• High: 70.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 64.5 FPS average

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently offers a large FPS advantage over High and Ultra. At 1080p, Medium (246.3 FPS) is 58% faster than High (155.5 FPS) and 64% faster than Ultra (149.7 FPS). At 1440p, Medium (177.6 FPS) is 56% faster than High (113.8 FPS) and 68% faster than Ultra (105.8 FPS). At 4K, Medium (115.2 FPS) is 64% faster than High (70.2 FPS) and 79% faster than Ultra (64.5 FPS). The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it avoids the most expensive visual effects that disproportionately impact the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU104 chip manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 40 ray tracing cores, and 320 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial for this game: it delivers 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 18.12 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). Its pixel rate is 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate is 283.2 GTexel/s. These specifications place the RTX 2070 SUPER at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, scores 22307 (0.5% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 21670 (2.5% lower).

For Inside, the GPU's role is to handle the game's atmospheric lighting, shadow rendering, and post-processing effects. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra settings, where it drops to 64.5 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this title, as the game's release date of 2016-07-06 predates the GPU's 2019 release, and the game's art style does not require large texture sets. The RTX 2070 SUPER's dual-slot design and 215 W TDP make it a capable card for this puzzle platformer, delivering smooth frame rates at all tested resolutions except the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration.