Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti produces a performance profile in Inside that is heavily skewed by the game's low graphical demands. At 1080p, the system delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all settings, but the scaling to 4K reveals a clear shift in the bottleneck. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to show where this combo excels and where its limitations appear.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is the single most informative metric for this combination. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an average of 366.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, that figure drops by 22.4% to 284.4 FPS. The jump to 4K Low yields 179.2 FPS, which is a 51.1% reduction from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, though even at 4K Low the frame rate remains far above playable thresholds.

The pattern persists across all settings. At High settings, the system produces 201.9 FPS at 1080p, 142.7 FPS at 1440p, and 89.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result represents a 55.9% drop from 1080p High, showing that the RTX 3070 Ti's pixel throughput is the constraint. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is consistently smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, which confirms a non-linear scaling curve typical of GPU-bound workloads. At 1080p, the CPU still has headroom, but by 4K the GPU's 608.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 169.9 GPixel/s pixel rate are fully engaged.

The Ultra preset amplifies this effect. From 190.4 FPS at 1080p to 133.6 FPS at 1440p and 84.6 FPS at 4K, the 4K Ultra result is 55.6% lower than the 1080p figure. The consistency of this drop across presets suggests that resolution, not settings, dictates the performance ceiling. The data shows a system that can comfortably exceed 300 FPS at 1080p Medium but falls to below 90 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that users targeting 4K should expect the GPU to dominate the performance equation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds a rank of 541 out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the 67.6th percentile of all systems. This mid-to-upper tier ranking reflects the hardware's balance: the CPU is a top-tier performer, but the GPU, while capable, sits in the 74th percentile against all GPUs. The ranking suggests that in a game with modest requirements like Inside, this combination is not near the top because higher-end GPUs can push frame rates even further, especially at lower resolutions.

The CPU's percentile of 89 against all processors indicates that the i7-12700KF is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14400, which scores 0.1% higher on average, and the Intel Core i7-13800H, which scores 0.2% lower. This level of parity means the CPU contributes little variance to the final combo ranking. The GPU's rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6700 with a 0.8% higher average score, show that the RTX 3070 Ti is positioned in a crowded mid-range segment where small percentage differences translate to minor FPS variations in Inside.

Given that the game is a Puzzle Platformer from 2016, the combo's rank of 541 is more about the sheer number of combos tested than about any deficiency. The data indicates that this system will deliver smooth gameplay at every resolution tested, with the only question being how much headroom remains for high refresh rate displays.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a playable frame rate?*

A: Yes. The lowest recorded average at 4K is 84.6 FPS on the Ultra preset, which is well above standard 60 FPS targets. At 4K High, the average rises to 89.1 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rate with this hardware?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers between 190.4 FPS (Ultra) and 366.4 FPS (Low). For maximum performance, 1080p Low yields the highest average, but even 1080p Ultra far exceeds typical refresh rate limits.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: The difference is modest. At 4K, Ultra averages 84.6 FPS versus 89.1 FPS for High, a 5.0% reduction. At 1440p, the difference is 133.6 FPS versus 142.7 FPS, a 6.4% drop.

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

A: The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking and 12 cores provide ample headroom, while the GPU's performance drops by more than half from 1080p to 4K on most presets.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded in the data?

A: The lowest average is 84.6 FPS, achieved at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. No measured row falls below this figure.

Q: Does the Low preset offer a significant advantage over Medium?

A: Yes. At 4K, Low averages 179.2 FPS versus 142.5 FPS for Medium, a 25.8% increase. At 1080p, the gap is 366.4 FPS versus 320.2 FPS, a 14.4% increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides twelve measured rows covering three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system produces 366.4 FPS on Low, 320.2 FPS on Medium, 201.9 FPS on High, and 190.4 FPS on Ultra. The step from Low to Medium costs 12.6% performance, while the step from Medium to High costs 37.0%, and High to Ultra costs 5.7%. This indicates that the Medium preset is a substantial upgrade over Low, but High and Ultra are closer in cost.

At 2560x1440, the figures are 284.4 FPS (Low), 229.3 FPS (Medium), 142.7 FPS (High), and 133.6 FPS (Ultra). The percentage losses between presets are 19.4% from Low to Medium, 37.8% from Medium to High, and 6.4% from High to Ultra. The Medium to High drop is the largest single-setting penalty across all resolutions, suggesting that High enables effects that significantly tax the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the results are 179.2 FPS (Low), 142.5 FPS (Medium), 89.1 FPS (High), and 84.6 FPS (Ultra). The Low to Medium penalty is 20.5%, Medium to High is 37.5%, and High to Ultra is 5.1%. The 4K High result of 89.1 FPS is the first measured value below 100 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 84.6 FPS is the lowest overall. The consistency of the Medium to High penalty across resolutions (37.0%, 37.8%, 37.5%) confirms a fixed cost for that settings tier.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti features 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1575 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it houses 6144 shading units alongside 192 texture mapping units and 96 ROPs. These specifications produce a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS.

In the context of Inside, the GPU's memory configuration is more than sufficient. The game's visual style, typical of a Puzzle Platformer from 2016, does not require large texture pools. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities, not its memory capacity, define performance. The steep drop from 1080p to 4K, where pixel count quadruples, aligns with the pixel rate limits. The 169.9 GPixel/s figure becomes the practical ceiling, and the measured 4K results of 84.6 to 179.2 FPS are consistent with that constraint.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 74 places it below the CPU's 89, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6700 with a 0.8% higher average benchmark score. In Inside, this means the RTX 3070 Ti is a competent but not exceptional performer, capable of high frame rates but not the extreme numbers seen with higher-tier cards. The 8 GB VRAM is never a bottleneck in this game, as even the Ultra preset at 4K does not produce a min FPS below the average.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest measured average of 366.4 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors. However, the jump to Medium at 1080p still yields 320.2 FPS, which is only a 12.6% reduction, making Medium a strong choice for a balance of visual quality and performance. The data shows that High at 1080p drops to 201.9 FPS, which remains excellent, while Ultra at 190.4 FPS offers diminishing returns.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 229.3 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 144 Hz displays, while High at 142.7 FPS barely exceeds the 144 Hz threshold. For 4K users, the choice is between High at 89.1 FPS and Ultra at 84.6 FPS. The 5.0% difference favors High, as it provides a more stable experience with minimal visual compromise. The Low preset at 4K (179.2 FPS) is viable for those who want high refresh rates at 4K, but the visual downgrade may not be worth the 25.8% improvement over Medium.

The overall recommendation based on the measured rows is to use the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p, as it offers the best ratio of visual fidelity to frame rate. For 4K, High is the optimal preset, as it stays above 85 FPS while avoiding the minor penalty of Ultra. The data does not support using Ultra at any resolution unless frame rate headroom is abundant, as the cost over High is consistently around 5% with no corresponding benefit in the measurements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus and connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes. Its TDP is 125 W.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, alongside a Geekbench multicore score of 13596. These figures place it in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35355. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14400 (0.1% higher) and Intel Core i7-13800H (0.2% lower), show that the 12700KF is at the top of its immediate performance class.

For Inside, the CPU's role is largely to avoid becoming a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 366.4 FPS result indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. The 20 threads and high boost clock ensure that even the most demanding physics or logic scenes in a Puzzle Platformer do not stall. The measured data shows no scenario where the CPU limits performance, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent variables. The CPU's 12 cores are overkill for this game, but they guarantee consistent frame pacing at the high rates observed.