Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers an exceptional experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far more demanding at high frame rates than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and presets are extraordinarily high, with the lowest average recorded at 69.5 FPS in 4K Ultra. For the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset is the clear recommendation. At 1080p, High yields 169.3 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display, while at 1440p it delivers 118.8 FPS, keeping gameplay smooth on high-refresh monitors. Even at 4K, the High preset maintains 75.7 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. While Ultra offers marginally better visuals, the performance cost is steep: dropping to 159.3 FPS at 1080p, 117.3 FPS at 1440p, and 69.5 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that High provides nearly the same frame rates as Ultra at lower resolutions but with a significant cushion at 4K, making it the most robust setting for consistent performance. The Medium preset is a viable fallback for 4K, offering 121.7 FPS, but High is superior for image quality with only a moderate FPS trade-off at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database ranks this specific CPU-GPU combination at 846th place out of 1671 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all possible pairings. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the absolute frame rates, but it reflects the fact that Inside is not a demanding title for modern hardware, meaning even mid-range components can achieve high scores. The ranking is more indicative of the CPU’s performance ceiling than the GPU’s, as the game’s engine is heavily dependent on single-thread performance. The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a high-end processor with an average benchmark score of 35355, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14400, which scores 35336 (a negligible 0.1% difference), and the Intel Core i7-13800H at 35416 (a 0.2% gap). The data shows that the i7-12700KF is effectively performance-equivalent to these chips in synthetic tests, yet the combo’s rank in-game is moderate because the GPU, while capable, is not the absolute top-tier for this title. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721, placing it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (scoring 33493, a 0.7% delta) and the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (scoring 33294, a 1.3% delta). The GPU’s percentile is lower than the CPU’s, suggesting that in Inside, the RX 6700 XT is the limiting factor preventing this combo from ranking higher, especially at 4K where GPU load increases.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The GPU’s memory clock is rated at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), with a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz. For Inside, the 12 GB VRAM is far more than sufficient, as the game’s textures and geometry are not memory-intensive even at 4K Ultra. The data confirms this: the frame rate drop from High to Ultra at 4K is substantial (75.7 FPS to 69.5 FPS), but this is not due to VRAM exhaustion; rather, it reflects the increased shading and pixel work. The GPU’s pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s, which are the key metrics for a 2D-driven puzzle platformer. The benchmark results show that the GPU is highly capable, with a PassMark G3D score of 19786 and a DirectX 12 score of 77. The GPU’s 40 ray accelerators are irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not use ray tracing. The most telling performance indicator is the scaling: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 338 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 159.3 FPS, showing that the GPU’s fillrate and shader throughput are the primary bottlenecks at higher settings, not the CPU. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 33721, which is 0.7% lower than the RX 6800 and 1.3% higher than the RTX A5000, underscores that it is a solid mid-to-high-end part that can handle Inside with ease across all tested configurations.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 338 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This indicates a massive headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost at 1440p?

A: No. At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 117.3 FPS, which is only 1.5% lower than High’s 118.8 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra is minimal, while High provides better stability.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K on the High preset?

A: The average FPS drops from 169.3 at 1080p to 118.8 at 1440p, and further to 75.7 at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU’s workload increases significantly with resolution.

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a 120Hz monitor?*

A: Only if you reduce settings. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 121.7 FPS, which just exceeds 120 FPS. The High preset at 4K falls short at 75.7 FPS, so you would need to use Medium or lower for a 120Hz display.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the frame rate at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo hits 338 FPS, which is close to the CPU’s single-thread limit. The Intel Core i7-12700KF has a single-thread benchmark score of 1043 in 3DMark, suggesting that at lower resolutions, the CPU plays a more significant role, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest GPU rival, the RX 6800?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 6800’s 33493. In practice, this translates to a negligible performance difference in Inside, meaning the two GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 338 FPS, which drops to 239.6 FPS at 1440p (a 29% reduction) and 151.8 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is typical for a CPU-limited scenario at low settings, where the processor’s capabilities cap the frame rate. The Intel Core i7-12700KF’s strong single-thread performance (scoring 412 in Cinebench R15 single-core and 4091 in R23 single-core) allows it to push very high frame rates at 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU’s fillrate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factor. This is most evident on the Ultra preset: at 1080p, Ultra yields 159.3 FPS, while at 4K, it drops to 69.5 FPS—a 56% reduction. The High preset shows a similar trend, falling from 169.3 FPS at 1080p to 75.7 FPS at 4K, a 55% drop. The consistency of this ~55% decline across presets indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT’s pixel throughput (165.2 GPixel/s) and memory bandwidth (384.0 GB/s) are the primary constraints at higher resolutions. The data shows that the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate remains playable. The scaling also highlights that the combo is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, as the performance drop from 1080p to 1440p (roughly 29-30%) is less severe than the jump to 4K, making 1440p High (118.8 FPS) the sweet spot for a high-refresh experience without compromising on settings.