Inside

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 178th out of 3,716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 4.8% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a puzzle platformer, where the combination of a high-end Blackwell GPU and a capable Alder Lake processor clearly delivers elite-level performance. The data shows this combo sits comfortably ahead of the vast majority of the database, with only a small fraction of exotic or newer pairings surpassing it.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 178 out of 3,716 represents an outstanding placement in the overall hierarchy. In percentile terms, this configuration outperforms roughly 95% of all recorded CPU-GPU pairings for Inside. The ranking reflects not just the raw power of the RTX 5090, but also the ability of the i5-12600KF to feed it frames without becoming a bottleneck in this particular title. Benchmark results indicate that the combo’s standing is driven primarily by the GPU’s immense fill-rate capabilities, which matter greatly in a game with Inside’s minimalist but visually dense 2D rendering. The CPU’s contribution is secondary here, yet still sufficient to avoid dragging the rank down; the i5-12600KF’s 16 threads ensure that any physics or logic overhead is handled without stutter. Compared to the broader field, this is a top-tier result, placing the combo in the 95th percentile of tested systems for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why the combo ranks so highly. The GPU carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Inside, which uses a muted color palette and simple geometric shapes, such bandwidth is overkill, but it allows the card to render at maximum settings with zero texture streaming issues. The GPU’s base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz are high for a 5 nm part, and the 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute ensures that even the most complex particle effects or lighting transitions are processed instantly. In this game, the GPU is never the limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS figures exceeding 140 at 4K Ultra. The 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs provide the pixel and texture throughput needed to maintain those high frame rates without any drops. The RTX 5090’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs further underscores its supremacy, and in Inside—a title that scales well with raw graphics horsepower—this card is effectively unchallenged. The data shows that even at 4K, the GPU is idle most of the time, waiting on the CPU to deliver the next frame.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, but the drops are surprisingly shallow given the GPU’s power. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 359 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 275 FPS—a reduction of 84 FPS, or about 23%. Moving to High settings, the drop from 1080p (276 FPS) to 4K (150 FPS) is steeper at 126 FPS, or 46%. This larger percentage drop at higher settings indicates that the GPU is becoming more engaged as resolution and quality increase, but it never becomes a bottleneck. At Medium settings, the spread is narrower: 331 FPS at 1080p versus 240 FPS at 4K, a 27% reduction. The most telling data point is at Ultra, where 1080p yields 271 FPS and 4K yields 143 FPS—a 47% drop. These numbers suggest that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K, but the RTX 5090’s massive bandwidth ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate remains above 140 FPS. The i5-12600KF’s single-thread performance (3,302 in Cinebench R23) is sufficient to keep frametimes stable at lower resolutions, where the CPU has more work per frame. The data shows that this combo is balanced, with no single resolution causing a catastrophic collapse in performance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: The data shows that 1440p offers the best balance, with 239 FPS on High and 228 FPS on Ultra. This resolution avoids the CPU-bound nature of 1080p while not pushing the GPU as hard as 4K, resulting in a smooth experience without excessive frame drops.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 ever become a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 143, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU’s 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS compute ensure that even the most demanding settings do not tax it fully. The limiting factor is the CPU at lower resolutions, not the GPU.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27,799 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K (27,872, -0.3% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27,896, -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27,712, +0.3%). In Inside, this means the CPU performance is effectively tied with these alternatives, and any FPS differences are negligible.

Q: Is there a big difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes. The average FPS doubles from 143 at Ultra to 275 at Low, a 132 FPS increase. This shows that the GPU is heavily leveraged by the higher settings, but the game remains playable at both extremes.

Q: Why does the Medium setting show min/max FPS values?

A: Only the Medium preset has recorded min and max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the range is 281 to 381 FPS, while at 4K Medium, it narrows to 204 to 276 FPS. This indicates that higher resolutions reduce variance, likely due to the GPU becoming the dominant constraint.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank relative to other configurations?

A: The combo ranks 178th out of 3,716, placing it in the top 4.8% of all tested systems. This is an exceptional result, driven by the RTX 5090’s raw power and the i5-12600KF’s adequate multi-core performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the most compelling balance. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 331, with a minimum of 281 and a maximum of 381, providing a wide headroom for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the average is 297 FPS, with a minimum of 252, which is still well above any display refresh rate. The Medium setting also shows the most consistent performance across resolutions, with only a 27% drop from 1080p to 4K (331 to 240 FPS). High settings are also viable, with 239 FPS at 1440p, but the jump to Ultra only costs a few frames (228 FPS at 1440p) while offering marginal visual gains. Given that Inside is a puzzle platformer with a dark, atmospheric art style, the visual difference between Medium and Ultra is likely minimal, making Medium the recommended choice to maximize framerate stability. The data indicates that Ultra provides no tangible benefit over High, as the FPS difference is less than 5% at any resolution, so users should prioritize High if they seek higher fidelity without sacrificing performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF plays a supporting but critical role in this combo. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it provides ample parallelism for any background tasks, but Inside is not a heavily threaded game. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.90 GHz and single-thread score of 3,302 in Cinebench R23 ensure that the game’s logic and physics calculations are handled with minimal latency. The data shows that at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU becomes the limiting factor: the FPS at Low (359) is only 30% higher than at Ultra (271), suggesting that the CPU cannot push frames much beyond 360 FPS. The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB of L1 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used data, which is crucial for maintaining consistent frametimes in a game with sudden scene changes. The i5-12600KF’s percentile rank of 79 vs all CPUs indicates it is a solid mid-to-high-end processor, and its 3DMark multi-thread score of 7,956 shows it can handle more demanding titles, but in Inside, its primary job is to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5090. The benchmark results confirm it does this admirably, as the combo’s rank is only 178th, not lower, meaning the CPU does not drag down the overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low yields an average of 359 FPS, Medium drops to 331 FPS (with a range of 281 to 381 FPS), High produces 276 FPS, and Ultra is slightly lower at 271 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 88 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU can easily handle the workload. At 2560x1440, the numbers remain high: Low averages 321 FPS, Medium 297 FPS (252 to 341 FPS), High 239 FPS, and Ultra 228 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is modest, averaging around 15% across settings, which shows the GPU is still not fully taxed. At 3840x2160, the performance scales down further: Low averages 275 FPS, Medium 240 FPS (204 to 276 FPS), High 150 FPS, and Ultra 143 FPS. The most significant drop occurs between Medium and High at 4K, with a 90 FPS reduction, suggesting that High settings introduce effects that heavily impact the GPU. Overall, the combo never falls below 143 FPS in any scenario, making it capable of driving a 144Hz display at 4K Ultra, and far exceeding the needs of any standard monitor at lower resolutions.