Inside

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a combination that sits near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for Inside, ranking 1468 out of 1671 tested combos. This position places it in the 12th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it does so with less headroom than the vast majority of configurations in the database. The ranking reflects a pairing where the GPU is the primary constraint, a conclusion supported by the frame rate data across resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1468 out of 1671 is a clear indicator of its standing. This is a low-tier result, meaning the system is capable of playable frame rates but lacks the performance buffer seen in higher-ranked configurations. The data shows that this pairing is not optimized for high-refresh-rate displays or maximum visual fidelity, as its position is driven by the GTX 1660 SUPER’s mid-range capabilities. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-performance part with strong benchmark scores, yet it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limits in this specific title. The rank is a holistic measure of the combo’s performance, and it suggests that users should expect a playable but not exceptional experience, with the need to adjust settings to achieve smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the defining component in this combo. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it houses 1408 shading units. The GPU’s percentile ranking against all GPUs is 55, placing it just above the median. In the context of Inside, a puzzle platformer with a distinct visual style, the GPU’s VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game’s demands, but its raw compute power, measured at 5.027 TFLOPS, limits performance. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the bottleneck: at 1080p Ultra, the average frame rate is 104.7 FPS, which drops to 49.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card’s processing throughput determines the final output. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s performance is close to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, which shows a delta of -0.2%, and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at -0.2%, indicating that it is a mid-tier solution in the broader GPU landscape.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 214.3 FPS, but this falls to 100.8 FPS at 4K Low, a reduction of approximately 53%. This significant drop is expected, as the pixel count increases by a factor of four, and the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity become the limiting factors. The trend continues across all settings: 1080p High produces 110.7 FPS, while 4K High yields 51.3 FPS, a 54% decrease. The most demanding setting, Ultra, shows a similar pattern, with 104.7 FPS at 1080p dropping to 49.6 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER is fully utilized at higher resolutions, and the CPU’s role becomes less relevant as the resolution increases. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU has more headroom, but at 4K, the GPU is working at its maximum capacity, resulting in frame rates that are just above the threshold for smooth gameplay at the lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across all tested combinations. At 1080p, the results are as follows: Low settings yield an average of 214.3 FPS, Medium produces 171.1 FPS, High delivers 110.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104.7 FPS. These numbers show that the game is highly playable at 1080p, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a frame rate above 100 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the averages are 156.2 FPS at Low, 124.2 FPS at Medium, 79.9 FPS at High, and 72.0 FPS at Ultra. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is modest, but the gap between Medium and High is more pronounced, indicating a point of diminishing returns. At 4K, the performance becomes more constrained: Low averages 100.8 FPS, Medium 76.3 FPS, High 51.3 FPS, and Ultra 49.6 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal, suggesting that the GPU is saturated at these settings. Overall, the data shows a consistent pattern of decreasing frame rates with increasing resolution and settings, with the most significant drops occurring between 1440p and 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are robust: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 23444, and single-core hits 3309. The CPU’s percentile ranking is 84, placing it well above the average, and its average benchmark score of 27827 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27829 with a delta of 0%. This indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in Inside. The game’s frame rate data supports this, as the performance scales with resolution and settings rather than CPU load. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the frame rate is 214.3 FPS, which suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates without bottlenecking. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2529, is adequate for the game’s logic and physics, leaving the GPU as the sole determinant of performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset offers an excellent balance, delivering 110.7 FPS, which is smooth for most monitors. The Ultra preset provides only a marginal improvement in visual quality over High, as the frame rate drop from 110.7 to 104.7 FPS is not substantial, but the extra load on the GPU is minimal. For 1440p, the Medium preset is the best choice, yielding 124.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1440p drops to 79.9 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium setting provides a more comfortable margin. At 4K, the Low preset is the only option for smooth gameplay, achieving 100.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K produces 76.3 FPS, which is acceptable, but the High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS, making them less desirable for a consistent experience. In summary, the data suggests using High at 1080p, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K to maximize frame rates while maintaining reasonable visual fidelity. The GPU’s limitations are most apparent at 4K, where even the Low preset requires significant compromises.