Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a puzzle platformer with modest hardware demands. The data shows this combination ranks 1806 out of 3716 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the upper half of all configurations. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost of 5.00 GHz, represent a mid-2020s desktop powerhouse that is largely untaxed by this title's workload. With a 125 W TDP on the Intel Socket 1700 platform, the Alder Lake architecture provides substantial headroom, positioning this combo as one where the GPU typically becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Core i7-12700K's hybrid architecture combines performance and efficiency cores to reach 12 cores and 20 threads, a configuration that far exceeds the requirements of a 2D puzzle platformer. Benchmark results indicate the CPU's single-thread performance is particularly strong, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 1043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5. This matters because Inside's gameplay logic and physics calculations are largely serial in nature, benefiting from high per-core throughput rather than massive parallel scaling. The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache further reduce latency for the frequent state checks typical of puzzle mechanics.

The multi-threaded results, while impressive in synthetic workloads like the 3dmark max-threads score of 9979 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784, are largely irrelevant for this game. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where CPU overhead is most visible, the system achieves 337 FPS average — far beyond any display refresh rate. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35287, places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-13600T in nearest rival comparisons. This indicates the 12700K has ample compute reserves that Inside never fully utilizes, meaning the CPU is never the bottleneck in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: How does the Core i7-12700K compare to its closest rival in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The 12700K averages a benchmark score of 35287, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305) and 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-12700KF (35365). This places the CPU in the 84th percentile of all tested processors.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark percentile and how does it compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090?

A: The RX 6700 XT holds the 72nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 27425. It trails the RTX 3090 by 0.5% (RTX 3090 score: 27565) and sits effectively tied with the RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435.

Q: What is the best measured FPS result for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 337 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at the same resolution achieves 269 FPS average, with a minimum of 229 and maximum of 310.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: This CPU-GPU pairing ranks 1806 out of 3716 total tested combos, placing it in the 51st percentile — slightly above the median performance tier for Inside.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded across all tested settings and resolutions?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 103, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only resolution and settings combination where a minimum FPS was recorded, alongside the 1440p Medium (165 min) and 1080p Medium (229 min) results.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threading capability affect gameplay at higher resolutions?

A: No, benchmark results show that FPS scales primarily with resolution and settings rather than CPU thread utilization. At 4K Ultra, the system still delivers 72 FPS average, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting component before CPU threads are saturated.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, with the GPU becoming progressively more dominant as the bottleneck. At 1080p High, the combo produces 168 FPS; moving to 1440p High reduces this to 121 FPS (a 28% drop), and 4K High further reduces it to 76 FPS (a 55% drop from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the RX 6700 XT's rendering capabilities are the primary constraint at higher pixel counts, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom throughout.

The Low settings preset demonstrates even more dramatic scaling, from 337 FPS at 1080p to 242 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and 152 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). This consistency across presets — 28% and 55% drops respectively — confirms that resolution scaling follows a predictable fill-rate curve rather than hitting any architectural cliff. The Medium preset shows slightly different behavior with 269 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 122 FPS at 4K, with minimal FPS recorded at 103 for 4K Medium. These figures suggest that at 1080p and 1440p, the system has enough GPU throughput to maintain high frame rates, but 4K pushes the RX 6700 XT toward its limits, particularly with Ultra settings where the average drops to 72 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1806 out of 3716 tested configurations places this pairing in the upper-middle tier of all CPU-GPU combinations tested for Inside. This ranking is notable because both components individually sit at or above the 72nd percentile in their respective categories — the CPU at 84th and the GPU at 72nd — yet the combined performance lands near the median. This discrepancy suggests that the game's performance ceiling is more constrained by GPU architecture than raw compute scores indicate, with the RX 6700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient but not exceptional for this title.

The nearest GPU rivals provide context: the RX 6700 XT scores within 0.5% of the RTX 3090, a much higher-tier card, yet the combo ranking does not reflect that closeness. This implies that Inside's rendering pipeline favors the RDNA 2.0 architecture's specific features, or that the game is light enough that most GPUs reach similar FPS ceilings. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the i5-13600T and i7-13700T, all score within 0.4% of the 12700K, indicating that processor choice among these mid-to-high-end options has negligible impact on this game's performance. The data ultimately shows a well-balanced pairing where neither component severely bottlenecks the other, but the GPU's limits become apparent at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 269 FPS average with a minimum of 229 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay on any standard display. The 1440p Medium result of 194 FPS average (minimum 165) remains well above the 144 FPS threshold for high-refresh monitors, making this the sweet spot for most users. Even at 4K Medium, the 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum provides a playable experience, though it falls below the 144 FPS target that some users prefer.

The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual quality, shows diminishing returns with 160 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and only 72 FPS at 4K. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is substantial (122 vs 72 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects impose a heavy penalty on the GPU. High settings provide a middle ground with 168 FPS at 1080p and 121 FPS at 1440p, but the 76 FPS at 4K is only marginally better than Ultra's 72 FPS. For the most consistent experience, Medium at 1440p (194 FPS average) or 1080p (269 FPS average) is recommended, as these maintain high minimums (165 and 229 respectively) that prevent any perceptible stutter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system's performance is exceptional across all presets. Low settings produce 337 FPS average, Medium achieves 269 FPS (minimum 229, maximum 310), High delivers 168 FPS, and Ultra reaches 160 FPS. The 1080p results show only a 2x difference between the lowest and highest presets, indicating that the GPU handles this resolution with substantial headroom regardless of settings.

The 2560x1440 results demonstrate a similar pattern with slightly lower absolute numbers. Low settings yield 242 FPS, Medium provides 194 FPS (minimum 165, maximum 223), High gives 121 FPS, and Ultra produces 115 FPS. The consistency between High and Ultra at 1440p (121 vs 115 FPS) mirrors the 1080p pattern, suggesting the Ultra preset's extra features have minimal impact at these resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings still manage 152 FPS, but Medium drops to 122 FPS (minimum 103, maximum 140), High falls to 76 FPS, and Ultra barely achieves 72 FPS. The 4K results show a dramatic gap between Low and Medium (152 vs 122 FPS) and an even steeper drop to High and Ultra, indicating that the RX 6700 XT's 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor at this resolution. The 165.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 413.0 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for 4K at lower presets but insufficient for the higher visual loads.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, provides the rendering horsepower for this pairing. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver a measured FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a mid-range card. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a configuration that proves sufficient for Inside's relatively simple textures and effects. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking, with an average benchmark score of 27425, places it near the RTX 3090 (27565, 0.5% higher) and RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, effectively tied), indicating strong compute capabilities.

The GPU's boost clock of 2581 MHz (base 2321 MHz) and game clock of 2424 MHz contribute to its high pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s. In Inside, this translates to the observed FPS scaling: at 1080p, the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can feed them, resulting in the 337 FPS Low ceiling. At 4K Ultra, the 72 FPS average reflects the GPU's fill-rate limitations, as the 64 ROPs and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle with the increased pixel workload. The 40 ray tracing cores are present but largely unused in this 2.5D game, meaning the GPU's traditional rasterization pipeline does the heavy lifting. The 230 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate this card is a power-hungry solution, but the measured data shows it delivers the expected performance for its class in this title.