Inside

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a wide performance envelope in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable at standard resolutions but begins to show its limits when pushed to 4K with maximum settings. The measured FPS ranges from a fluid 219.6 FPS at 1080p Low to a still-playable 47.4 FPS at 4K High, indicating that the component bottleneck shifts depending on the workload.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 219.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 155.7 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 102.1 FPS. This scaling pattern—a 29% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 34% reduction to 4K—shows the GTX 1660 Ti's fill rate and memory bandwidth becoming the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

The story changes when looking at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 102.2 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 4K Low result of 102.1 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU are both working hard, but the GPU has enough headroom to handle the extra graphical load. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 48.9 FPS. That represents a 52% drop from 1080p Ultra, a much steeper decline than the resolution scaling alone would predict, indicating that the 6 GB GDDR6 memory buffer and the 192-bit bus are saturated.

The data also shows a peculiar inversion: 4K High (47.4 FPS) performs slightly worse than 4K Ultra (48.9 FPS). This is likely a driver or game optimization quirk specific to Inside, as the difference is within a margin of error. However, it does suggest that the High preset may not be optimally configured for this hardware combination. The real takeaway is that for 60 FPS gameplay, 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, with High settings delivering 79.8 FPS and Ultra hitting 72.4 FPS. At 4K, the system can manage 60 FPS only on Low settings (102.1 FPS), while Medium drops to 81.9 FPS, still playable but not consistently smooth.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but just barely. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 48.9. This is below the 60 FPS threshold but remains playable for a puzzle platformer where precise timing is less critical.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the combo delivers 79.8 FPS, and at Ultra, it reaches 72.4 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The significant frame rate drops at 4K Ultra (48.9 FPS) compared to 4K Medium (81.9 FPS) suggest that the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor when texture and shader complexity increase.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: At lower resolutions, yes. The jump from 1080p Low (219.6 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (102.2 FPS) shows the GPU taking on more work. However, the CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to keep the GPU fed at 1080p, as evidenced by the high frame rates.

Q: How does the combo rank against other tested systems?

A: This specific configuration ranks 1432 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle percentile, meaning many other CPU/GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates, but it is still far from the bottom of the list.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 155.7 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 72.4 FPS. This represents a 53.5% reduction in performance when maxing out the graphical presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

In Inside, the CPU's role is to maintain a high minimum frame rate and ensure the GPU is not starved of data. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 219.6 FPS, which is a CPU-limited scenario—the GTX 1660 Ti is capable of rendering far more frames, but the i5-9400's single-thread performance caps the output. This is supported by the fact that the i5-9400's single-core Cinebench R23 score of 1125 is modest by modern standards. However, when the resolution increases to 4K, the frame rate drops to 102.1 FPS on Low, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The processor's 6 threads are adequate for Inside, which is not a heavily multi-threaded title. The absence of hyper-threading means the CPU relies on its raw clock speed and IPC. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz is sufficient to keep the game running smoothly at 1440p, where the combo achieves 155.7 FPS on Low and 126 FPS on Medium. Interestingly, the CPU's performance relative to rivals is tight: the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4 are within 0.2% of its average benchmark score, while the Intel Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% faster. This means that swapping the CPU for a similarly priced alternative would likely yield negligible differences in Inside.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 1432 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 14th percentile from the top, meaning that 239 other configurations deliver better performance. The ranking reflects the age of the components; both are end-of-life products with release dates from 2018 and 2019 respectively. The GTX 1660 Ti, despite being a capable card, sits at the 55th percentile of all GPUs, and the CPU sits at the 50th percentile.

The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1080p Ultra, it achieves 102.2 FPS, which is a solid result for a puzzle platformer. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 72.4 FPS, still very playable. The ranking is dragged down by the 4K results, where the system cannot maintain 60 FPS on High or Ultra settings. For context, the GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 570X (0.4% faster) and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (0.8% slower), so the GTX 1660 Ti is a mid-tier performer. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8809G, is 0.6% faster, indicating that the i5-9400 is competitive within its segment. Overall, this rank of 1432 is a fair representation of the hardware's capabilities: it is a mainstream setup that excels at lower resolutions but struggles to push 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings levels, providing a comprehensive view of performance.

At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable. Low settings yield an average of 219.6 FPS, making the experience exceptionally smooth. Medium settings drop to 177.8 FPS, while High settings produce 111.1 FPS. Ultra settings bring the frame rate down to 102.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 53.4%, which shows that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased graphical demands without the CPU becoming a bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low settings deliver 155.7 FPS, Medium achieves 126 FPS, and High produces 79.8 FPS. Ultra settings result in 72.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 53.5%, mirroring the 1080p pattern. This resolution is the sweet spot for the combo, as even the most demanding preset stays above 70 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the limitations of the GTX 1660 Ti become apparent. Low settings produce 102.1 FPS, Medium drops to 81.9 FPS, and High falls to 47.4 FPS. Ultra settings yield 48.9 FPS, which is slightly higher than High. This anomaly aside, the data shows that 4K requires significant compromises. The gap between Medium (81.9 FPS) and High (47.4 FPS) is a 42.1% drop, suggesting that the High preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive on this hardware. For anyone using this combo, sticking to 1440p or reducing settings to Medium at 4K is recommended to maintain playable frame rates.