Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places unusual demands on a high-end system. With an Intel Core i7-12700K paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the data reveals a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but begins to show CPU limitations at 1080p. The measured frame rates indicate that this combo is capable of extreme performance, yet the scaling patterns suggest that users will see diminishing returns when pushing settings beyond the High preset.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling metric in this dataset is the performance delta between 1080p and 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 367 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 329 FPS, a reduction of 38 FPS or roughly 10.4%. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 281 FPS, which is 86 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern—where FPS drops by approximately 10% at 1440p and then another 14.6% at 4K—indicates that the RTX 4090 is still the primary bottleneck even at the lowest settings, though the CPU is starting to matter more at lower resolutions.

The story changes when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 282. At 1440p High, it falls to 234 FPS, a drop of 17%. At 4K High, the average is 147 FPS, which is 47.9% lower than the 1080p figure. This steeper decline compared to Low settings suggests that the GPU's workload increases disproportionately with resolution when more visual effects are active. The 4K High result of 147 FPS is still exceptionally high, but the scaling shows that the game becomes increasingly GPU-dependent as settings rise.

Ultra settings present the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 277 FPS, dropping to 222 FPS at 1440p (a 19.9% reduction) and then to 140 FPS at 4K (a 49.5% reduction from 1080p). The fact that the 1080p Ultra result is only 5 FPS lower than 1080p High suggests that the CPU is beginning to limit performance at lower resolutions when the GPU has less work to do. The near-identical results between High and Ultra at 1080p—282 vs 277 FPS—indicate that the i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads are being saturated, preventing the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential.

The Medium preset offers the only min/max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 339 FPS with a minimum of 288 and a maximum of 389. At 1440p Medium, the average is 303 FPS (min 258, max 349). At 4K Medium, the average is 235 FPS (min 200, max 270). The consistency of these frametimes—where the min FPS stays within 85-88% of the average—indicates that the system maintains stable performance without significant stuttering, even under load.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 367 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak performance point in the measured data, representing the combination of the i7-12700K's single-thread performance and the RTX 4090's raw throughput.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 140. This is the lowest recorded average in the dataset, but it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the RTX 4090 handles this game's highest visual demands without issue.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p with higher settings. The average FPS at 1080p High is 282, and at 1080p Ultra it is 277—a difference of only 5 FPS. This small delta, compared to the larger drops seen at higher resolutions, indicates that the i7-12700K's processing capacity is being reached, capping performance.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset?

A: For the Medium preset, the minimum FPS values are 288 at 1080p, 258 at 1440p, and 200 at 4K. These minimums are notably high, suggesting that even the most demanding scenes in Inside do not cause significant framerate dips.

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

A: The combo ranks 156th out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configurations. This high percentile ranking confirms that the i7-12700K and RTX 4090 pairing is exceptionally well-suited for Inside.

Q: Is there a significant difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: Based on the averages, the difference is minimal. At 4K, High yields 147 FPS while Ultra yields 140 FPS, a 7 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap is 12 FPS (234 vs 222), and at 1080p it is only 5 FPS (282 vs 277). These small deltas suggest that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra may not justify the slight performance cost.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. The High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 4K High, the combo delivers 147 FPS, which is 88.6% of the maximum 4K average (281 FPS at Low) while providing substantially better visuals than the Low preset. The jump from High to Ultra yields only a 4.8% performance decrease at 4K (147 to 140 FPS) and a 1.8% decrease at 1080p (282 to 277 FPS), but the visual difference between these presets is typically subtle in a puzzle platformer with Inside's art style.

For users with 1440p displays, the High preset at 234 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a 5.1% improvement over Ultra (222 FPS) while maintaining the same visual fidelity that most players would consider optimal. Those with 1080p monitors should note that the High and Ultra presets produce nearly identical results—282 vs 277 FPS—so choosing High saves GPU resources without a noticeable framerate penalty.

The Medium preset is a viable option for users who prioritize framerate stability. The minimum FPS values for Medium are consistently high: 288 at 1080p, 258 at 1440p, and 200 at 4K. These minimums are 85-88% of the average, indicating a stable experience. However, since the High preset at 4K still achieves 147 FPS average, there is little reason to drop to Medium unless targeting a very high refresh rate display.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full spectrum of settings produces the following results. Low settings deliver an average of 367 FPS, the highest in the dataset. Medium settings reduce the average to 339 FPS, with a minimum of 288 and a maximum of 389. High settings yield 282 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 277 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a performance penalty of 24.5% (367 to 277 FPS), but the incremental decreases from High to Ultra are minimal.

At 2560x1440, the results show a similar pattern with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 329 FPS, Medium averages 303 FPS (min 258, max 349), High averages 234 FPS, and Ultra averages 222 FPS. The drop from Low to High is 28.9%, and from High to Ultra is 5.1%. The Medium preset's minimum of 258 FPS is particularly strong, indicating that this resolution is well within the system's comfort zone.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales down further but remains exceptional. Low settings average 281 FPS, Medium averages 235 FPS (min 200, max 270), High averages 147 FPS, and Ultra averages 140 FPS. The most significant drop occurs between Medium and High, a 37.4% reduction in average FPS, suggesting that the High preset introduces a substantial increase in GPU workload. The Ultra preset's 140 FPS average is still 3.3x higher than the 60 FPS standard for console-quality smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 156 out of 3716 tested combinations places it in the 95.8th percentile of all configurations tested for Inside. This is an exceptionally strong showing, indicating that the i7-12700K and RTX 4090 pairing is among the top 5% of systems for this game. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of both components: the CPU's strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Passmark single-thread score of 4013, and the GPU's massive compute power.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 84th versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287, places it slightly below its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305 (0.1% higher), the i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% higher), the i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% higher). These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming performance, as the measured FPS data shows the i7-12700K is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 in Inside.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 88th versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347, shows a more interesting comparison. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60326 (0.0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896 (2.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657 (2.9% higher). These rival cards are wildly different in architecture and target market, but the RTX 4090's 88th percentile ranking confirms its elite status.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The 3DMark benchmarks show a single-thread score of 1043 and a max-thread score of 9979, indicating that the CPU scales well with multithreaded workloads.

In the context of Inside, a puzzle platformer with a 2016 release date, the game's engine is unlikely to utilize all 20 threads effectively. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2065 is particularly relevant, as it suggests the CPU's dual-thread performance is strong but not extraordinary. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p, the difference between High (282 FPS) and Ultra (277 FPS) is only 5 FPS, suggesting the CPU is reaching its limit in feeding the GPU. At 4K, the same settings show a 7 FPS difference (147 vs 140), indicating that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and single-core score of 1850.5 demonstrate strong overall capability, but for a game like Inside, the single-thread performance is more critical. The Passmark single-thread score of 4013 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 both indicate that the i7-12700K has sufficient per-core performance to avoid being a major limiting factor, except in the most GPU-light scenarios at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster of a GPU, built on Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. With 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Inside, the RTX 4090's role is to render a visually stylized 2.5D world with minimal geometric complexity. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is capable of extremely high frame rates: at 1080p Low, it achieves 367 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra, it maintains 140 FPS. The Passmark G3D score of 38194 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 confirm the GPU's dominance, with the 88th percentile ranking placing it above 88% of all GPUs.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM is far more than Inside requires, as the game's visual assets are relatively simple. The measured FPS data shows no indication of VRAM limitations, with the minimum FPS values staying high even at 4K. The RTX 4090's TDP of 450 W and suggested PSU of 850 W are the only power-related figures in the pack, but they are not a factor in the measured performance. The GPU's 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth ensures that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the memory subsystem is not a bottleneck, as evidenced by the 140 FPS average at that resolution.