Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a well-matched combination for Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The data, which reflects measured results rather than estimates, shows that this combo handles every tested resolution and settings level with strong playable performance, though its overall ranking among all tested combos is surprisingly low. The following analysis breaks down exactly what the benchmark numbers mean.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 103 FPS. This is the lowest average at 1080p across all tested presets, while Low settings reach 216 FPS, Medium reaches 173 FPS, and High reaches 108 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3166 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the lower portion of all tested system configurations.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1660 SUPER than its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile. It is also 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 580, and 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon 740M.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance in Inside?*

A: The data shows a very high FPS ceiling: at 2560x1440 Low, the system averages 156 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Low it averages 216 FPS. At these high frame rates, the GPU is the primary limiting factor, but the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures it does not hold multi-core efficiency back. The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for this type of game.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the GPU and CPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER had a launch MSRP of 229 USD, and the Intel Core i7-12700K had a launch MSRP of $409.

Q: Which preset provides a 60 FPS experience at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 78 FPS, with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. High and Ultra at 4K average 49 and 47 FPS respectively, so Medium is the first preset to secure a stable 60 FPS average.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture, using the TU116 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. This memory configuration yields a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is generous for a GPU in this class and directly benefits the high frame rates seen in Inside. The memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz, with an effective data rate of 14 Gbps. This buffer allows the card to keep up with the simple geometry and low texture overhead of the game, even at high resolutions where fill rate becomes more important.

The base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The card has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the pixel fill rate is crucial for the game’s signature dim, high contrast lighting and shadow effects. The FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is ample for this title, and the FP16 rate of 10.05 TFLOPS (2:1) indicates this card is not specialized for half-precision heavy workloads.

In the game data, the card drives 4K Ultra to 47 FPS, but at 4K Low it jumps to 98 FPS. This shows that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and ROPs are the main resources being taxed at 4K, and that lowering settings can roughly double the performance. At 1920x1080, the GPU delivers between 103 FPS (Ultra) and 216 FPS (Low), which suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is rarely the limiting factor at 1080p. The synthetic benchmark results reinforce this: the card scores a 104 in Passmark DirectX 11, a 50 in DirectX 12, and a 65 in DirectX 10, but these are low-level API tests. The game’s engine appears to favor the card’s strong geometry throughput, as seen in the much higher real-world FPS.

The GPU’s overall benchmark percentile ranks it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12986. It is a mid-range card, and it shows in Inside: it can handle 4K but only at lower presets. The nearest rivals in terms of synthetic average score are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (score 12940, delta of +0.4%), AMD Radeon RX 580 (score 12928, delta of +0.4%), and AMD Radeon 740M (score 12870, delta of +0.9%). These scores indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER is positioned right at the edge of the mid-range tier, and its performance in Inside aligns with that classification.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3166 out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside. This is a low rank, putting this configuration in the lower 15% of all tested combos. The rank is not a measure of playability, however; it reflects the overall performance ceiling of the system. The GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-range GPU, and while it handles this game well, there are many faster combinations in the database. The CPU is a high-end part, but the GPU holds the system back from higher scores.

The combo’s rank is driven by the GPU’s modest capabilities when compared to the entire database. The game is not demanding, but the GPU still has to render at the selected resolutions. The data shows the system is capable of excellent frame rates, but the rank indicates that many other tested combos with more powerful GPUs achieve even higher averages. The CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the high scores at Low/Middle. In the context of all tested combos, this system is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not near the top of the leaderboard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system produces excellent frame rates across all presets. The Low preset yields an average of 216 FPS, which is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. Medium settings average 173 FPS, with a minimum of 147 FPS and a maximum of 199 FPS. High settings average 108 FPS, and Ultra settings average 103 FPS. The data shows that moving from Ultra to Low at 1080p increases performance by about 110%, from 103 FPS to 216 FPS. This is a significant jump, and it demonstrates that the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p; the game engine is scaling well with the reduced graphics load.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 156 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS (minimum 106, maximum 143), High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal (only 4 FPS), while the difference between Low and Medium is 31 FPS. This indicates that the Medium preset is a sweet spot at 1440p, as it provides a 60 FPS average with comfortable headroom. The High and Ultra presets are also playable, but they dip closer to 60 FPS, and the minimum for Medium is 106 FPS, which is well above the average for High.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are more varied. Low settings average 98 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS (minimum 66, maximum 90), High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is substantial: a drop of 29 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that delivers a truly high refresh rate experience at 4K. The Medium preset is still playable with an average above 60 FPS and a minimum of 66 FPS, but High and Ultra require a 60 Hz monitor to feel smooth, as they hover in the high 40s.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12th Gen desktop processor from Intel, based on the Alder Lake architecture and fabricated on a 10 nm process at Intel. It has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy is substantial: 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a 25 MB shared L3 cache. This large cache, combined with the high boost clock, provides excellent single-thread performance, which is crucial for the physics and puzzle logic in Inside.

The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with a dual-channel memory bus. The PCIe Gen 4 interface provides 20 lanes from the CPU. The integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 770, but they are not used in this discrete GPU configuration. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W, with a launch MSRP of $409. It is multiplier unlocked, for those who want to overclock.

In the synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700K scores 1043 in 3DMark single-thread and 9276 in 3DMark 16-thread. Cinebench R23 results are 1850.5 single-core and 19784 multi-core. Geekbench single-core is 2308 and multi-core is 15790. PassMark scores show 4013 for single-thread and 34404 for multi-thread. These scores place the CPU in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T (score 35305, delta -0.1%), Intel Core i7-12700KF (score 35365, delta -0.2%), and Intel Core i7-13700T (score 35403, delta -0.3%). This shows the i7-12700K is a high-end CPU, but its performance in this game is not the limiting factor.

The game Inside is a 2D side-scroller with simple geometry, so the CPU’s multi-core performance is not heavily stressed. However, the high single-thread boost of 5.00 GHz and the large L3 cache ensure that any physics or logic calculations are handled with minimal latency. The data shows that the system can reach 216 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not bottlenecking the GTX 1660 SUPER in this scenario. If the CPU were weaker, we would see frame rates cap at a lower value due to the game’s logic thread, but the measured results show no such limitation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and the user’s preference for visual quality versus frame rate.

For 1920x1080 (1080p) users, the High preset offers a balanced experience with an average of 108 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good compromise between visual fidelity and speed. The Ultra preset averages 103 FPS, only 5 FPS lower, so users with a 144Hz monitor can still benefit from Ultra. For those who want the highest possible frame rate, the Medium preset at 173 FPS is a good choice, but the visual difference between Medium and High is noticeable in a title like Inside due to its atmospheric lighting. If the user has a standard 60 Hz monitor, even the High preset is more than enough, and there is no need to lower the settings.

For 2560x1440 (1440p) users, the Medium preset is the best balance. It delivers an average of 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on most high refresh rate monitors. The High preset drops to 78 FPS, which is still fine for 60 Hz, but the average of 125 FPS on Medium is 60% higher than High, making it the better choice for 144 Hz panels. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is only a few frames below High, so users who prefer visuals over raw speed can select the High preset without major penalty. The Low preset at 156 FPS is also an option, but it sacrifices some of the game’s shadow and lighting quality.

For 3840x2160 (4K), the Medium preset is the only one that reliably hits 60 FPS, with an average of 78 FPS and a minimum of 66 FPS. The High and Ultra presets average 49 and 47 FPS respectively, which is below the 60 FPS standard and may exhibit stuttering on any display with a 60 Hz refresh. The Low preset at 98 FPS is acceptable for 4K gaming, but the Medium preset retains more of the game’s visual atmosphere while still maintaining a 78 FPS average. Therefore, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for 4K, as it provides a playable experience without sacrificing too much fidelity.

In summary, the optimal preset is a function of resolution: Medium at 1440p and 4K, and High at 1080p for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. For users who prioritize clarity over speed at 1080p, the High preset is the best option, while the Medium preset at 1440p and 4K offers a robust experience with frame rates above 60 FPS.