Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-14600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER confirm this. The data shows a combination that can push very high frame rates at standard resolutions, but one where the GPU's capabilities and the settings chosen significantly dictate the experience. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark data for this specific pairing, focusing on what the numbers mean for gameplay, optimization, and system balance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance headroom for this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate ranges from 102.2 FPS on Ultra settings to 213.5 FPS on Low settings. This indicates the CPU has ample power to feed the GPU at this resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary factor in determining the final output, as seen by the large spread between presets.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. It sits slightly behind the AMD EPYC 4345P, which scores 0.5% higher, and is 1.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks in the 55th percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 14286. Its performance is very closely matched with rivals like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, which is only 0.2% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, which is 0.7% ahead.

Q: Is this combination ranked highly in the database for this game?

A: No, the combo ranks 1493 out of 1671 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the lower portion of the database, not because it runs poorly, but because the game is very lightweight and many other, potentially higher-spec, combos achieve higher frame rates.

Q: What is the difference in performance between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS on High settings is 76.5, while on Ultra settings it drops to 74.1. The performance difference is minimal, suggesting the visual uplift from High to Ultra may come at a negligible cost to frame rate.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth compare to its pixel fill rate?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER features a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s. These specs are relevant for rendering at higher resolutions, where the demand for both data throughput and pixel processing increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing for Inside. Its specifications, including 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, are more than sufficient for this title's visual style. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate on High settings is 46.5 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 76.5 FPS seen at 2560x1440 on the same preset. This 30 FPS reduction highlights the increased load on the GPU's pixel processing and memory subsystem at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 48 ROPs and 88 TMUs, combined with its 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, are well-utilized by the game's 2D side-scrolling perspective and dynamic lighting. The benchmark results show that the GTX 1660 SUPER is not a bottleneck at 1080p, where even the most demanding Ultra preset achieves 102.2 FPS. However, the scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates that the card's architecture is pushed to its limits when the pixel count quadruples. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial, with a 52.4 FPS gap, indicating that the GPU's shading and texture units are heavily taxed by higher quality settings at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 appears to be the optimal choice. The data shows an average of 122.2 FPS at this setting, which is 45.7 FPS higher than High at the same resolution. This frame rate provides a very smooth experience and is well above the threshold for most displays. Moving up to High at 1440p yields 76.5 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 37.3% drop in performance for what may be a marginal visual improvement in this art style.

At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 106.5 FPS, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p only drops the frame rate to 102.2 FPS, a negligible difference, so players with a 1080p display can comfortably max out the settings. At 4K, users will need to make a trade-off. The Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves 99.1 FPS, but this may sacrifice too much visual quality for the game's atmospheric presentation. The Medium preset at 4K, with 76.4 FPS, offers a better balance and is the most reasonable way to experience the game at this resolution, as High and Ultra both fall below 50 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is ranked 1493 out of 1671 combinations tested in our database for Inside. This places it in the 11th percentile of tested systems, which seems low given the frame rates achieved. However, this ranking is a reflection of the entire test pool, which includes many systems with far more powerful GPUs. The data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor; its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 are robust, but the game simply doesn't require that much processing power.

The ranking indicates that while this combo performs adequately, it is far from the top of the leaderboard. The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, is the bottleneck in this system. The benchmark results show that the CPU's potential is not fully realized in this game at lower resolutions, as the GPU is the first to hit its limit. This is a classic case of a strong CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, resulting in a system that is balanced for many modern games but falls behind in a lightweight title like Inside, where high-end GPUs can achieve much higher frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p on High settings, the combo delivers 106.5 FPS. When moving to 1440p, the frame rate drops to 76.5 FPS, a reduction of 28.2%. At 4K, the average FPS falls to 46.5, which is a 56.3% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling is a strong indicator that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the workload on the CPU remains relatively constant while the GPU's rendering load grows exponentially with pixel count.

Further evidence of the GPU bottleneck is seen in the scaling of the Low preset. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 213.5 FPS, but this drops to 153 FPS at 1440p and 99.1 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of performance from 1080p to 4K across all presets—even at Low where CPU constraints might be expected to appear—confirms that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 336.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 5.027 TFLOPS of compute power are the deciding factors. The CPU, with its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 20 threads, has more than enough headroom to handle the game's logic and physics at any of these resolutions. The data shows that users targeting 4K will need to significantly lower settings to maintain a high frame rate, while those at 1080p can enjoy a near-maximum experience.