Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a clear performance curve in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer that proves surprisingly demanding at higher settings. The measured frame rates show a distinct pattern: at 1080p, the system is almost certainly CPU-bound at lower settings, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. Across all resolutions, the data indicates a well-balanced pairing that scales predictably with workload, though the RTX 4060’s 8GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become limiting factors at maximum quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 166.3 at 1080p to 119.4 at 1440p, then to 77.5 at 4K. That represents a 53.4% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. The pattern intensifies at Ultra settings, where the 1080p average of 155.9 FPS drops to 113.2 at 1440p and further to 71.8 at 4K—a 54% total loss.

The Low settings data tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 334.8 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and suggests the CPU is the ceiling at this point. Moving to 1440p Low yields 238.8 FPS, and 4K Low produces 152.9 FPS. The scaling here is much more linear, with each resolution step costing roughly 25-35% performance. This indicates that at Low settings, both the CPU and GPU are working in tandem, with neither component fully saturated at any resolution. The Medium settings curve sits between these extremes: 264.3 FPS at 1080p, 193.3 at 1440p, and 119 at 4K.

The resolution scaling suggests that Inside is not a particularly demanding title for this hardware at 1080p, but the 4K numbers show the RTX 4060 hitting its limits. The 77.5 FPS average at 4K High is still playable, but the 71.8 FPS at 4K Ultra barely maintains 60 FPS headroom. The data implies that for 4K gaming, users should stick to High or Medium settings, while 1080p and 1440p give the system ample room to push maximum quality.

CPU Role

The Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from Intel’s Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It features a hybrid design with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, though the specific core layout is not detailed in the data. The processor’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 29,241, while single-core hits 4,128. Geekbench multicore scores 13,892, and single-core 2,561.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the 334.8 FPS average indicates the processor is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and 2-thread score of 2,065 suggest the game benefits from strong single-core performance, which the i7-12700K delivers with its 5.00 GHz boost. The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking among all processors puts it well above average, and its nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (-0.3% delta), Intel Core i7-13700T (+0.6%), Intel Core i5-14500HX (-0.7%), and Intel Core i7-13800H (+0.8%)—are all within 1% of its average benchmark score, indicating tight competition at this performance tier.

The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside, which is not a heavily multi-threaded title. The PassMark multithread score of 34,404 and physics score of 1,790 suggest the processor has ample headroom for background tasks while gaming. The data indicates the i7-12700K is not the bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases, pointing to GPU limitation instead.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 is built on NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5nm process from TSMC, featuring 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. It has 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The core runs at a base clock of 1830 MHz and boosts to 2460 MHz, with memory clocked at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). The GPU includes 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, plus 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 15.11 TFLOPS.

The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (-0.6% delta), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (-0.7%), Intel Arc B580 (+0.7%), and AMD Radeon 760M (+0.8%), all within 1% of its average benchmark score of 23,181. The PassMark G3D score of 19,545 and GPU compute score of 9,213 show solid DirectX performance, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,302 indicates modern API capability.

In Inside, the GPU’s 8GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become notable constraints at 4K Ultra. The 71.8 FPS average at 4K Ultra is the lowest measured in the dataset, and the 128-bit bus likely struggles with the higher memory pressure at that resolution. The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K numbers suggest the memory subsystem is a limiting factor. The GPU’s 48 ROPs and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for the game’s 2D-style rendering, but the resolution scaling shows clear GPU-bound behavior at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 869th out of 1,671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 48th percentile of all tested systems. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component percentiles (CPU at 89th, GPU at 66th), but it reflects the game’s relatively low demands on high-end hardware. The combo’s performance is likely limited more by the GPU than the CPU, as the processor’s strong single-thread scores (3DMark single-thread 1,043, PassMark single-thread 4,013) are more than sufficient for this title.

The data suggests that the i7-12700K is overkill for Inside at most settings, while the RTX 4060 is the component that determines the upper limits of performance. At 1080p, the combo achieves 166.3 FPS on High and 155.9 on Ultra, both well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Ultra settings drop to 113.2 FPS, still smooth. Only at 4K do the numbers approach the 60 FPS line, with Ultra at 71.8 FPS and High at 77.5 FPS. The ranking of 869 out of 1,671 indicates that many combinations perform better, likely those with more powerful GPUs, but this pairing delivers consistent, playable results across all tested resolution and settings combinations.

FAQ

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

A: At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 155.9 FPS, which is the highest quality-to-performance ratio. For 4K, High settings at 77.5 FPS is the best balance, as Ultra drops to 71.8 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. Frame rates drop consistently from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, with the 4K High average of 77.5 FPS being significantly lower than the 1080p High average of 166.3 FPS, a drop that points to GPU rendering limits.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060’s average benchmark score of 23,181 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (-0.6% delta), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (-0.7%), Intel Arc B580 (+0.7%), and AMD Radeon 760M (+0.8%), placing it within 1% of all four rivals.

*Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Inside?*

A: Yes. At 4K High, the average is 77.5 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it is 71.8 FPS, both above 60 FPS. Even 4K Medium achieves 119 FPS, providing a comfortable margin.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-threaded performance relative to its rivals?

A: The i7-12700K’s average benchmark score of 35,684 is within 1% of its closest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (-0.3%), Intel Core i7-13700T (+0.6%), Intel Core i5-14500HX (-0.7%), and Intel Core i7-13800H (+0.8%).

Q: Does the game benefit more from CPU or GPU upgrades?

A: The data shows the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. Upgrading the GPU would yield larger frame rate gains at 4K, while the CPU already delivers 334.8 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating it is not a limiting factor in this title.