Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is an exceptionally strong combination for Inside, ranking 89th out of 1671 tested combos in this game. This places the pairing in the top 6% of all systems tested, which is a remarkable result given the game's 2016 release date and its relatively modest demands on modern hardware. The data indicates that this combo delivers extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, making it a system that will not struggle with this title under any configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 89 out of 1671 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems for Inside. This is a strong showing, though the game's age and simple 2D side-scrolling nature mean that even mid-range hardware tends to perform well. The data suggests that the bottleneck here is rarely the hardware itself, but rather the engine's frame rate limits or V-sync constraints. The average benchmark scores for the individual components support this high ranking: the CPU sits at the 89th percentile against all processors, while the GPU is at the 88th percentile against all graphics cards. These are nearly identical percentile positions, indicating that neither component is significantly holding back the other in this particular title. The result is a system that can push Inside to its limits without breaking a sweat, and the ranking reflects that the combination is well-balanced for this game's specific workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals that even at the most demanding settings, this combo produces exceptionally high frame rates. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the system achieves 276.1 FPS, which is already far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. However, the data shows a clear pattern: the Low preset at 1080p yields 366.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset at the same resolution drops to 276.1 FPS. That is a difference of 90.3 FPS, or roughly 25%, between the two extremes. For a game like Inside, which is a slow-paced puzzle platformer, the visual fidelity gains from Ultra settings are substantial and come at a negligible practical cost, as even 276.1 FPS exceeds 240Hz display capabilities. The best experience per the measured rows is the Ultra preset at 1440p, which delivers 201.7 FPS. This combines the highest visual quality with a frame rate that is still well above any high-refresh-rate monitor's capabilities. Choosing anything lower than Ultra at 1440p or 4K would sacrifice visual quality without providing any perceptible benefit, since the frame rates are already so high.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the system remains comfortably playable at every resolution tested. At Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 276.1 FPS at 1080p to 201.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 125.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54.5% drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K. A similar pattern emerges across all settings. At Low settings, the drop is from 366.4 FPS at 1080p to 263.6 FPS at 4K, a 28% reduction. The fact that the 4K Ultra score (125.8 FPS) is still well above 60 FPS indicates that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting here, but the CPU is not a limiting factor either. The scaling behavior suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates as resolution increases, which is typical for a game with simple geometry and minimal CPU overhead. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, and with 12 cores and 20 threads, it does so without becoming a bottleneck, even at 4K where the GPU's workload increases dramatically.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system's performance is nothing short of extraordinary. With Low settings, the combo produces 366.4 FPS. Moving up to Medium yields 336.3 FPS, a 30.1 FPS reduction. High settings deliver 281.1 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 276.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 90.3 FPS, which is the largest absolute spread across all resolutions. This indicates that the GPU's shading and texture units are being exercised more as settings increase, but the CPU's 12 cores are more than capable of keeping up with the frame rate demands.

At 2560x1440, the performance is still extremely high. Low settings produce 326.6 FPS, Medium settings yield 300.4 FPS, and High settings deliver 208.2 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 201.7 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is only 6.5 FPS, which suggests that the Ultra preset adds effects that are not particularly demanding on the GPU. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 124.9 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p, showing that resolution scaling is interacting with settings to create a wider performance envelope.

At 3840x2160, the system still produces triple-digit frame rates across the board. Low settings yield 263.6 FPS, Medium settings produce 210.7 FPS, and High settings deliver 132.1 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K produce 125.8 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 6.3 FPS, mirroring the pattern seen at 1440p. The jump from Medium to High at 4K, however, is significant: 210.7 FPS down to 132.1 FPS, a 78.6 FPS drop. This indicates that the High preset introduces a specific rendering feature that heavily impacts the GPU at 4K resolution, likely related to shadow quality or post-processing effects.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The measured data shows the system achieves 125.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a 144Hz monitor?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers 201.7 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz display. Even the High preset at 4K, producing 132.1 FPS, would also work well if you prefer higher resolution over maximum settings.

Q: How does the CPU's core count affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has 12 cores and 20 threads. For Inside, the data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as even at 1080p Low settings the system produces 366.4 FPS, indicating the CPU can handle the game's draw call overhead without issue.

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

A: The difference is minor. At 1080p, the gap is only 5 FPS (281.1 vs 276.1). At 1440p, it is 6.5 FPS (208.2 vs 201.7). At 4K, it is 6.3 FPS (132.1 vs 125.8). The Ultra preset adds negligible cost for the visual upgrade.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in this system?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 53610, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT's score of 53489. In practical terms, this is a negligible difference for Inside's frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 300.4 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. This is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor and leaves significant headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.00 GHz. The CPU has a 25 MB shared L3 cache, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. For a game like Inside, which is a 2D puzzle platformer with relatively simple scene complexity, the CPU's role is primarily to manage the game's logic and render thread. The benchmark scores indicate that the CPU is exceptionally capable: its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 28979, and its single-core score is 4091. In the 3DMark 16-thread test, it scores 9282, while the single-thread test yields 1043. These numbers show that the CPU has both high multi-threaded throughput and strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for game engines that often rely on a few fast cores.

In terms of its position among rivals, the i7-12700KF's average benchmark score is 35355. This is only 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-14400's score of 35336, and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i9-12900HX's score of 35289. The nearest competitor, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35256, which is 0.3% lower. These tiny deltas mean that in synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700KF is effectively tied with its closest rivals. However, for Inside, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 366.4 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate limit. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for this game, and the 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled with minimal latency. The processor's 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs further confirms that it is a high-end part, although for this specific game, even a much weaker CPU would likely produce playable results. The data suggests that the i7-12700KF is not a bottleneck in this configuration, and its performance headroom leaves room for more demanding titles that can utilize its multi-core capabilities.