Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a dramatically different experience in Inside depending on the resolution you choose. At 1080p, the system is so overpowered for this Puzzle Platformer that it produces frame rates well beyond what any display can show, while at 4K, the load shifts decisively to the GPU, bringing performance down to more conventional levels. The data reveals a system that is severely CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU only becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but with an unusually steep drop-off that highlights the immense headroom of the Core i7-12700KF. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 281 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops that figure to 202 FPS, a reduction of approximately 28%. The jump to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 127 FPS, representing another 37% decrease from the 1440p result. This scaling curve is far steeper than what you would expect from a purely GPU-limited scenario, indicating that at 1080p, the CPU is holding the system back from reaching even higher frame rates.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. With High settings, the system produces 140 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is less than half of the 1080p result, which strongly suggests that the Radeon RX 6600 XT is the limiting component at that resolution. At 1080p, however, the i7-12700KF's 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU, meaning the frame rate caps reflect the CPU's single-thread performance ceiling rather than any graphics bottleneck.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with more granular data. At 1080p, the average is 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 161 FPS with a 137 FPS minimum and 186 FPS maximum. At 4K, the average falls to 101 FPS with an 86 FPS minimum and 117 FPS maximum. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the spread between minimum and maximum, remains tight across all resolutions, suggesting that neither component is experiencing severe stress spikes.

What is most telling about the resolution scaling is the Ultra preset. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 60 FPS, which is exactly at the threshold for smooth console-like gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, it achieves 96 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, 134 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra is 38 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Ultra is 36 FPS. This near-linear scaling with pixel count confirms that the RX 6600 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a 60 FPS experience, the data shows that Ultra settings at 4K are right at the edge, producing exactly 60 FPS on average. However, this leaves no headroom for dips, and the lack of minimum frame rate data for that preset makes it a risky choice. The Medium preset at 4K offers a more comfortable margin, with an average of 101 FPS and a documented minimum of 86 FPS, ensuring that even demanding scenes stay well above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation is more forgiving. High settings deliver 101 FPS average, while Ultra achieves 96 FPS. The difference between these presets is only 5 FPS, making High the better choice if you want a small safety margin without sacrificing much visual fidelity. For players with 144 Hz displays, the Medium preset at 1440p is the clear winner, providing 161 FPS average with a 137 FPS minimum, which comfortably exceeds the refresh rate.

The 1080p results are almost absurd in their headroom. Even at Ultra settings, the system produces 134 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Low preset at 1080p hits 281 FPS, making it ideal for competitive play or for users with 240 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 225 FPS (191 FPS minimum, 258 FPS maximum) is arguably the sweet spot for 1080p, offering a balance between visual quality and frame rate that exceeds what most displays can even show.

The recommendation hierarchy is clear: if you own a 4K display, Medium settings provide the best experience with a 101 FPS average and 86 FPS minimum. For 1440p, High settings at 101 FPS are optimal, though Ultra at 96 FPS is nearly identical. At 1080p, the choice depends entirely on your refresh rate—Medium for 144 Hz panels, Low for 240 Hz panels, and Ultra if you prioritize image quality over raw speed.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT plays a defining role in this combo's performance, particularly at higher resolutions where its specifications become the deciding factor. The GPU features a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, giving it substantial compute throughput for a card in its class. Its 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units are paired with 32 ray accelerators, though the latter are unlikely to matter much in a game like Inside.

The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results suggest it is the primary constraint at that resolution. The card's FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are sufficient to drive the frame rates observed, but the 165.7 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes a limiting factor at 4K where pixel count quadruples from 1080p.

The GPU's position in the benchmark hierarchy places it at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 at 24277 (0.7% difference), the Intel Arc A350M at 24647 (-0.8% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 24236 (0.8% difference). Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER also appears as a near rival with a score of 24170, showing a 1.1% difference, which underscores how close these disparate cards are in aggregate benchmarks.

The 4K results in Inside specifically show the GPU's limits. The drop from 127 FPS at Low to 60 FPS at Ultra at 4K represents a 53% performance penalty for higher settings, which is a larger relative drop than what is seen at 1080p (281 FPS to 134 FPS, a 52% penalty) or 1440p (202 FPS to 96 FPS, a 52% penalty). This consistency across resolutions suggests that the GPU's compute resources are being scaled uniformly, with memory bandwidth acting as a persistent ceiling rather than a cliff.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 281 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this combo. Medium settings reduce this to 225 FPS, with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS, indicating excellent frame pacing. High settings yield 140 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 134 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 6 FPS, suggesting that Ultra settings are not significantly more demanding than High in this title.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the first signs of GPU limitation. Low settings average 202 FPS, which is still far beyond what most displays can show. Medium settings average 161 FPS, with a minimum of 137 FPS and a maximum of 186 FPS. High settings drop to 101 FPS, and Ultra settings to 96 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is just 5 FPS, mirroring the 1080p pattern and suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have minimal impact on this GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more grounded. Low settings still manage 127 FPS, which is respectable for 4K. Medium settings average 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS, making it the only 4K preset with documented frame time data. High settings drop to 63 FPS, and Ultra settings to 60 FPS. The 4K results show a clear hierarchy where Medium is the only preset that provides both high average FPS and a comfortable minimum, while High and Ultra hover right at the 60 FPS mark.

The complete dataset reveals a system that is remarkably consistent in its scaling behavior. The ratio between 1080p and 1440p performance is nearly identical across all settings, and the ratio between 1440p and 4K is similarly uniform. This consistency indicates that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution, and that the RX 6600 XT's performance characteristics are well understood by the engine.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT holds a rank of 2594 out of 3716 total combinations. This places the combo in the lower third of all tested systems, which may seem surprising given the frame rates observed. However, this ranking is relative to all other CPU-GPU pairings tested in this game, many of which feature significantly more powerful GPUs.

The CPU component of this combo is exceptionally strong, sitting at the 85th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 35365 places it in close competition with the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, -0.1% difference), the Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2% difference), the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, 0.2% difference), and the Intel Core i7-12700K (35287, 0.2% difference). This CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combo's rank.

The GPU, on the other hand, ranks at the 70th percentile among all GPUs, which is notably lower than the CPU's standing. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is heavily imbalanced in compute capability, which explains why the combo's overall rank in Inside is lower than what the CPU alone would suggest. The data indicates that this pairing would benefit from a stronger GPU to achieve a higher rank, though the current configuration still delivers playable frame rates at all tested settings and resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings offers the best balance, achieving 101 FPS average. At 4K, Medium settings are recommended with 101 FPS average and an 86 FPS minimum, while 1080p provides excessive frame rates that exceed most display refresh rates.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Inside?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings or lower. The 4K Medium preset averages 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS, while High settings drop to 63 FPS and Ultra to 60 FPS, leaving no headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's aggregate benchmark score of 24442 places it within 1.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170, and within 0.8% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 24236. This indicates that the RX 6600 XT performs at a level comparable to those older high-end cards in general benchmarks.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 281 FPS Low preset result. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, with frame rates dropping to 60-127 FPS depending on settings. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 70th percentile confirms this imbalance.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 134 FPS average at 1080p Ultra. This is only 6 FPS lower than High settings at 140 FPS, suggesting that Ultra is a viable preset for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2594 out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the lower third. This rank reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning despite the CPU's strong performance, as the GPU's 70th percentile ranking drags down the overall system capability.