Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a robust experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The benchmark data shows this combination ranks 1478th out of 1671 tested combos in this specific title, placing it in the lower half of the database. The measured frame rates, however, tell a story of a system that is more than capable of handling the game’s demands, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings. The following analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU roles, resolution scaling behavior, and exact measured performance figures.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This is a high-end desktop part, and its benchmark scores reflect that positioning. In Cinebench R23, it scores 28979 points in multi-core and 4091 points in single-core tests. Its average benchmark score of 35355 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong overall compute capability.

In the context of Inside, the CPU’s role is primarily to ensure that frame times remain consistent, as the game is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with a relatively simple visual workload. The data shows that the processor is likely not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The i7-12700KF’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14400 (avg score 35336, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Core i7-13800H (avg score 35416, deltaPct -0.2), the Intel Core i9-12900HX (avg score 35289, deltaPct 0.2), and the Intel Core i5-13600T (avg score 35256, deltaPct 0.3). These deltas are minuscule, all within 0.3% of each other, suggesting that for a game like Inside, any of these CPUs would yield nearly identical performance. The high single-thread score of 4091 in Cinebench R23 is particularly relevant, as it indicates the processor can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations with ease, leaving the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The card operates at a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 5.027 TFLOPS. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 14286, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs.

For Inside, the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB VRAM is sufficient, as the game’s art style does not demand large texture pools. The GPU’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (avg score 14314, deltaPct -0.2), the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (avg score 14315, deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (avg score 14352, deltaPct -0.5), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (avg score 14389, deltaPct -0.7). These competitors are within 0.7% of the GTX 1660 SUPER’s score, indicating that this performance tier is tightly packed. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the primary driver of FPS changes when settings are adjusted, particularly at higher resolutions. The card’s boost clock of 1785 MHz and memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s are adequate for the game’s 2D rendering, but the data suggests that the GPU’s compute capabilities become the limiting factor at 4K with Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling from 1080p to 4K, highlighting the shift in system bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 217.9 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. This suggests that at this resolution and setting, the CPU and GPU are both working efficiently, and the frame rate is likely constrained by the game’s engine or the CPU’s single-thread performance. Moving to 1440p Low, the average FPS drops to 155.1, a reduction of 62.8 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 97.9 FPS, a decrease of 57.2 FPS from 1440p.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 100.3, while at 1440p Ultra it drops to 72.5, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 47.0. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is approximately 53.1%, whereas at Low settings the drop is approximately 55.1%. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases, regardless of the quality preset. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system is only able to maintain an average of 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. This suggests that for 4K gaming, the GTX 1660 SUPER is the bottleneck, and users would need to lower settings to achieve higher frame rates. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a less severe drop in FPS than from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shader throughput are being stressed more heavily at the higher resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the system performs across all combinations of resolution and settings. The following are the exact average frame rates recorded:

1080p:

• Low: 217.9 FPS
• Medium: 173.4 FPS
• High: 108.4 FPS
• Ultra: 100.3 FPS

1440p:

• Low: 155.1 FPS
• Medium: 123.6 FPS
• High: 80.3 FPS
• Ultra: 72.5 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 97.9 FPS
• Medium: 79.3 FPS
• High: 50.1 FPS
• Ultra: 47.0 FPS

At 1080p, the system delivers exceptionally high frame rates, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 100 FPS. This suggests that the i7-12700KF is providing ample headroom, and the GTX 1660 SUPER is not being fully utilized at this resolution. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p results in a 44.5 FPS drop, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 8.1 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the highest settings. At 1440p, the frame rates are still very playable, with all settings above 70 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 31.5 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 7.8 FPS. At 4K, the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS on High and Ultra settings, but Low and Medium settings are still playable, with 97.9 FPS and 79.3 FPS respectively. The data shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary limit at 4K, as the CPU’s performance is unlikely to be a bottleneck at these frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 100.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 47.0, which is 53.3 FPS lower than the 100.3 FPS recorded at 1080p Ultra, representing a roughly 53% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 80.3. Given that the CPU is in the 89th percentile and the GPU is in the 55th percentile, the data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution and setting.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 217.9, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, while the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT has a slightly higher average score of 14389, which is a deltaPct of -0.7.

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K with Medium settings smoothly?*

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 79.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.