Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016, and the measured data for this Intel Core i7-12700K + AMD Radeon RX 580 combo shows a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher settings. The RX 580, a 2017 GPU with 8 GB of GDDR5, posts playable frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain a smooth experience at 4K on higher presets. The i7-12700K’s strong single-thread performance is largely irrelevant here, as the game’s demands scale with pixel count and preset complexity rather than CPU multithreading. This pairing works best when you prioritize resolution scaling down or preset tuning, with the data showing a clear curve from a 150.1 FPS average at 1080p Low down to a 31.9 FPS average at 4K High.

FAQ

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

A: 1080p is the only resolution where every preset stays comfortably playable. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, while Low hits 150.1 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 53 FPS, and at 3840x2160, High falls to 31.9 FPS.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to Low at 1080p?

A: The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is roughly half the frame rate. Low averages 150.1 FPS, Medium 121.5 FPS, High 72.4 FPS, and Ultra 74 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical in cost, suggesting a quality plateau.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions. The RX 580’s frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, while the i7-12700K’s CPU benchmarks (e.g., 1043 single-thread score in 3dmark) are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer’s physics and logic.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, but only on lower presets. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 108.9 FPS and Medium averages 88.5 FPS. High and Ultra presets drop to 53 FPS and 51.6 FPS respectively, which are playable but not ideal for fast-paced sections.

Q: What is the 4K experience like with this hardware?

A: It is marginal. The 3840x2160 Low preset averages 65.4 FPS, which is smooth, but Medium drops to 55 FPS, High to 31.9 FPS, and Ultra to 33.4 FPS. Only Low preset is consistently above 60 FPS at 4K.

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

A: This specific combination ranks 1544 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the lower percentile for this game. The RX 580’s age and the game’s GPU-heavy rendering are the primary reasons for this lower standing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580’s role in Inside is defined by its memory and clock specifications, which directly determine the frame rates seen in the measured data. This GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and the memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specs place the RX 580 in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559.

The benchmark results show that the GPU’s performance is the limiting factor in this game’s higher presets. For example, the passmark G3D score of 8813 and the 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 indicate a mid-range card that can handle older titles but struggles with modern rendering loads. In Inside, this translates to a steep performance cliff when moving from Low to High settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (150.1 FPS) and High (72.4 FPS) is 77.7 FPS, showing that the GPU’s shading units and texture rate (193.0 GTexel/s) are heavily taxed by the game’s lighting and post-processing effects. The 8 GB VRAM is not a constraint at any measured resolution, as even 4K Ultra only uses a fraction of the available memory, so the bottleneck is purely computational.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the RX 580 scales with resolution, and the pattern is a textbook example of GPU-bound behavior. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, the frame rates drop proportionally with pixel count, but the severity depends on the preset. At Low settings, the scaling is nearly linear: 150.1 FPS at 1080p, 108.9 FPS at 1440p (a 27.4% drop), and 65.4 FPS at 4K (a 56.4% drop from 1080p). This indicates that at Low, the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the load is light enough that the card can keep up.

At High settings, the scaling is more dramatic. The 1080p High preset averages 72.4 FPS, which drops to 53 FPS at 1440p (a 26.8% drop) and then to 31.9 FPS at 4K (a 55.9% drop from 1080p). The 4K High result is below 30 FPS if you factor in typical frame time variance, making it unplayable for a puzzle game that requires precise timing. The Ultra preset follows a similar trend, with 74 FPS at 1080p, 51.6 FPS at 1440p, and 33.4 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the RX 580’s 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs are insufficient for 4K rendering at higher quality settings, as the pixel fill rate (42.88 GPixel/s) becomes the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo is as follows, broken down by resolution and settings:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 150.1 FPS average
• Medium: 121.5 FPS average
• High: 72.4 FPS average
• Ultra: 74 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 108.9 FPS average
• Medium: 88.5 FPS average
• High: 53 FPS average
• Ultra: 51.6 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 65.4 FPS average
• Medium: 55 FPS average
• High: 31.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 33.4 FPS average

The data shows a few notable anomalies. At 1080p, the High preset (72.4 FPS) is slightly slower than Ultra (74 FPS), which is unusual but can happen due to specific rendering paths. At 4K, the High preset (31.9 FPS) is marginally slower than Ultra (33.4 FPS), again indicating that the two presets are nearly identical in GPU load. The most significant jump is from Medium to High at all resolutions, with ~49 FPS difference at 1080p, ~35.5 FPS at 1440p, and ~23 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the High preset enables a heavy effect that the RX 580 cannot handle efficiently.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its architecture is Alder Lake, built on a 10 nm process, with 25 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 1043 in 3dmark single-thread and 9979 in 3dmark max threads, with a passmark single-thread score of 4013. These numbers place the CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is minimal because the game is a 2D puzzle platformer with limited physics simulation. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking: even at 1080p Low (150.1 FPS), the frame rate is well below the CPU’s theoretical limit. The i7-12700K’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.3% slower) and Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.7% faster), would likely produce identical results in this game, as the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s high single-thread performance (4128 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that any frame pacing issues are not CPU-related, but the data confirms that upgrading the CPU alone would not improve the frame rates in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings for this combo depend on your target resolution and refresh rate. For a 60 FPS target at 1080p, the Medium preset (121.5 FPS) is the best choice, as it provides a large safety margin over the 60 FPS threshold while High (72.4 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) are also playable but offer diminishing visual returns. If you have a 144 Hz monitor, the Low preset (150.1 FPS) is the only option that fully saturates it, but Medium’s 121.5 FPS is still smooth.

At 1440p, the Low preset (108.9 FPS) is recommended for high-refresh displays, while Medium (88.5 FPS) is the best balance of visual quality and performance for a 60 Hz screen. Avoid High (53 FPS) and Ultra (51.6 FPS) at 1440p, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold and the visual difference from Medium is not worth the frame rate loss. At 4K, the Low preset (65.4 FPS) is the only playable option, as Medium (55 FPS) is borderline and High (31.9 FPS) and Ultra (33.4 FPS) are too choppy for a game that requires precise input timing. For most users, the 1080p Medium preset offers the best experience, as it maintains a high frame rate while preserving the game’s atmospheric lighting effects.