Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a surprisingly robust experience in Inside, with the data showing that the game is highly scalable but ultimately constrained by the GPU at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern: the transition from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings produces a dramatic performance drop, indicating that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck when visual fidelity is maximized. Specifically, the average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 106.3, which falls to 72.8 at 1440p, and then plummets to 47.4 at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that underscores the GTX 1660 Ti's limitations at extreme resolutions despite its otherwise capable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling behavior across resolutions tells a clear story about where the system’s limits lie. At Low settings, the frame rates are exceptionally high at every resolution, with the combo achieving 216.9 FPS at 1080p and still maintaining a playable 102 FPS at 4K. This suggests that when the GPU’s workload is light, the Intel Core i5-12400 has ample headroom to push frames, as the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads are more than sufficient for the game’s physics and logic. However, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 110.6 FPS (216.9 vs 106.3), but at 4K that gap shrinks to 54.6 FPS (102 vs 47.4), indicating that the GPU is no longer able to keep pace at higher pixel counts.

The data confirms that the GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting component at 4K, particularly when settings are pushed beyond Medium. At 4K Medium, the system still manages 76.3 FPS, which is respectable, but Ultra drops below 60 FPS to 47.4, making it less than ideal for smooth gameplay on high-refresh displays. Conversely, at 1080p, even Ultra settings produce 106.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the CPU is never the primary constraint at lower resolutions. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (81.5 to 51 FPS) further reinforces this, as the 37% performance hit is directly attributable to the GPU’s rendering workload rather than any CPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested hardware combinations for Inside, this pairing sits in the lower-middle tier. The combo ranks 1443 out of 1671 total combinations, placing it in the 86th percentile from the bottom, which means it outperforms roughly 14% of all tested systems. This rank is somewhat surprising given the strong raw FPS numbers at 1080p, but it reflects the fact that many other combos include higher-end graphics cards that handle 4K Ultra far more effectively. The CPU itself is a strong performer, with an average benchmark score of 19850 that places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, nearly matching the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831, deltaPct 0.1) and slightly trailing the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894, deltaPct -0.2). However, the GTX 1660 Ti is a more modest component, with an average benchmark score of 13925 and a percentile rank of 55, placing it just ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871, deltaPct 0.4) and slightly behind the NVIDIA Tesla K10 (14029, deltaPct -0.7).

The combination’s overall rank is dragged down by the GPU’s performance ceiling, particularly at 4K. While the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, the GPU’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus width are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering in this title, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS results at Ultra. For gamers targeting 1080p or 1440p, this combo performs admirably, but it is not competitive with systems featuring more powerful graphics cards in the upper percentiles of the benchmark database.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p is the sweet spot, with all settings producing at least 106.3 FPS, while 1440p is also viable at Medium (126.8 FPS) and High (81.5 FPS), but 4K should be avoided at Ultra due to the 47.4 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771), but 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894).

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes, the data indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting factor at 4K, as the average FPS drops from 76.3 at Medium to 47.4 at Ultra, while the CPU has sufficient headroom to maintain higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: What settings should be used for 1440p?

A: For a smooth experience at 2560x1440, Medium settings (126.8 FPS) or High settings (81.5 FPS) are recommended, as Ultra drops to 72.8 FPS, which is still playable but less consistent.

Q: How does the GPU rank against its direct competitors?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti’s average benchmark score is 13925, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871) and 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821), but 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla K10 (14029).

Q: Can this combo handle 1080p Ultra?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 106.3, which is well above the 60 FPS standard, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 216.9 FPS on Low, 172.5 FPS on Medium, 110.9 FPS on High, and 106.3 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that the game is highly playable at all settings, with even the most demanding preset maintaining triple-digit frame rates. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong: 155.2 FPS on Low, 126.8 FPS on Medium, 81.5 FPS on High, and 72.8 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is 33.5 FPS, which is a significant but expected penalty for the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more variable and clearly GPU-limited. Low settings still produce a respectable 102 FPS, but Medium falls to 76.3 FPS, High drops to 51 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 47.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 54.6 FPS difference, which highlights the GPU’s struggle with higher fidelity settings. Notably, the 4K High result of 51 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline experience for smooth gameplay, while 4K Ultra is clearly not recommended for consistent performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. In the context of Inside, this CPU provides ample processing power, as the game is not particularly demanding on multi-threaded workloads. The PassMark multithread score of 18747 and the 3DMark max-threads score of 5890 indicate that the CPU can handle the game’s physics and AI without becoming a bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

The data supports this conclusion: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 216.9 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s practical limit for this game, but the CPU still has headroom as resolution increases. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3456 suggest that the CPU’s per-core performance is sufficient for the game’s logic, and the 18 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce latency. Overall, the CPU’s role in this combo is to provide a stable foundation that never limits the GPU, which is exactly what the benchmark results show from 1080p through 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p, Ultra settings are recommended because the 106.3 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the visual fidelity improvements are worth the modest performance cost. At 1440p, Medium settings (126.8 FPS) offer the best balance between visual quality and smoothness, as High (81.5 FPS) and Ultra (72.8 FPS) are still playable but do not provide the same margin for frame rate drops in complex scenes. For 4K, Low settings (102 FPS) are the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, as Medium (76.3 FPS) is acceptable but High (51 FPS) and Ultra (47.4 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS standard.

The data suggests that the “High” preset is a poor middle ground at 4K, offering only a marginal improvement over Medium while costing a significant amount of performance. For most users, the recommended approach is to prioritize the resolution and then adjust settings downward until the frame rate exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p, this means Ultra; at 1440p, this means Medium or High; and at 4K, this means Low or Medium, with the understanding that the latter will not sustain 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is a Turing-architecture GPU built on a 12 nm process, featuring 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s benchmark scores are modest, with a PassMark G3D score of 12871 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1061, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. In Inside, this GPU is clearly the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the data shows a steep performance drop when moving from 1440p to 4K.

The GPU’s 6 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in this game, but at 4K, the increased texture and geometry demands likely push the VRAM to its limits, contributing to the sub-60 FPS results at High and Ultra settings. The pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s and texture rate of 169.9 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p but become strained at 4K, where the GPU must process four times as many pixels. The data indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it delivers excellent performance across all settings, and can handle 1440p with some compromises. It is not designed for 4K gaming, as the benchmark results clearly demonstrate, making it a solid choice for budget-conscious gamers targeting mainstream resolutions.