Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a playable experience in Inside, but the performance profile is heavily dictated by the graphics card. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, while the CPU’s substantial headroom remains largely untapped at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured results to explain how this combination behaves across the four tested presets and three resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a predictable but pronounced drop as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 216 FPS at 1080p to 155 FPS at 1440p, then to 98 FPS at 4K. That represents a 28% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 37% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is steeper at higher presets, suggesting the GPU is being pushed harder.

At High settings, the average FPS drops from 108 at 1080p to 78 at 1440p, and then to 49 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition cuts performance by 37%, identical to the Low preset drop. However, the 1080p to 1440p drop is only 28% for Low, but 28% for High as well—the percentages align closely, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor throughout. For Ultra settings, the numbers are 103 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 46 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28%, and from 1440p to 4K is 38%, again pointing to a consistent GPU-bound scenario.

The Medium preset offers the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 and maximum of 199. Moving to 1440p, the average falls to 124 FPS, with a min of 106 and max of 143. At 4K, the average is 78 FPS, with a min of 66 and max of 90. The scaling here shows a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistent ~28% and ~37% reductions across all presets strongly indicate that the GTX 1660 Ti’s rendering throughput is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 Ti is a Turing-architecture part built on a 12 nm process, with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Its memory configuration includes 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s compute capabilities are modest, with 5.437 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s. These specifications align with the measured FPS data, which shows the card can handle Inside at high frame rates but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 7723, placing it in the 41st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon 540 (0.7% higher score), AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (1.9% higher), AMD Radeon R7 250 (2.2% higher), and Intel Arc A310 (2.3% higher). These deltas are small, suggesting the 1660 Ti performs in a tight cluster with entry-level cards, which is consistent with its 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 46, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and even 4K High only reaches 49 FPS. The card’s 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game’s demands, as the data shows no signs of texture swapping or stutter at any resolution.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 score of 51 in Passmark is notably low, but Inside is a puzzle platformer with simple geometry, so this does not translate to poor real-world performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1061 is also modest, yet the game’s art style and low polygon count allow for high frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the card achieves 216 FPS, which is more than adequate for any display, and even at 1440p High, it hits 78 FPS. The bottleneck only becomes evident at 4K, where the pixel fill rate and shading units are overwhelmed.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Core i7-14700F and GTX 1660 Ti ranks 3201 out of 3716 combos for Inside. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, which is unsurprising given the GPU’s 41st percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, is far more powerful, ranking in the 91st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 53620. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P (0.2% lower score), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% higher), AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% higher), and AMD EPYC 7313P (0.8% higher).

The rank of 3201 out of 3716 indicates that most other CPU-GPU combinations tested outperform this one in Inside. This is primarily due to the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. The CPU’s capabilities are largely wasted in this pairing, as the game does not demand significant processing power. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the limiting component in every measured scenario, meaning the combo’s rank is driven by the 1660 Ti’s performance ceiling rather than the 14700F’s strengths. For a game like Inside, which is not graphically demanding, this rank is acceptable, but it highlights the mismatch between the high-end CPU and mid-range GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings achieve 78 FPS, and Ultra settings hit 74 FPS, both above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low settings (98 FPS) and Medium settings (78 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while High (49 FPS) and Ultra (46 FPS) fall below.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No, the data shows the opposite. The GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops when moving to higher resolutions. The CPU has a 91st percentile ranking, but the game’s low processing demands mean the 14700F’s power is not fully utilized.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 7723, which is within 2.3% of its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon 540 scores 0.7% higher, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 scores 1.9% higher, and the AMD Radeon R7 250 and Intel Arc A310 score 2.2% and 2.3% higher, respectively.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 216 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 103 FPS. This represents a 52% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Is the 6 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gameplay?

A: The measured results show no VRAM-related issues. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 78 with a minimum of 66, indicating stable performance. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory is adequate for this game’s texture requirements.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 3201 out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the bottom 14% of tested systems, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range performance relative to other pairings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the results are as follows: Low settings average 216 FPS, Medium settings average 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 and maximum of 199, High settings average 108 FPS, and Ultra settings average 103 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 20% drop, while High to Ultra is only a 5% drop, indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 155 FPS, Medium settings average 124 FPS with a min of 106 and max of 143, High settings average 78 FPS, and Ultra settings average 74 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, averaging around 28%. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 106 at 1440p ensures no noticeable stutter, even during busy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is pushed to its limits. Low settings average 98 FPS, which is still smooth, while Medium settings average 78 FPS with a min of 66 and max of 90. High settings drop to 49 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 46 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium presets are viable for a consistent 60 FPS experience. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 78 FPS and a minimum of 66, offers the best balance for high-resolution play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It has 33 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958. Its Geekbench multicore score is 19620, and its Passmark multithread score is 41317.

Despite this raw power, the CPU plays a minimal role in Inside’s performance. The game’s 2016 release date and puzzle platformer genre mean it does not require high core counts or fast single-thread performance. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and preset, as the frame rates scale directly with resolution and settings, not with CPU load. The CPU’s 91st percentile ranking suggests it could drive much more powerful GPUs, but in this pairing, its capabilities are underutilized.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Xeon 6505P (0.2% lower score), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% higher), AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% higher), and AMD EPYC 7313P (0.8% higher). These deltas are negligible, confirming that the 14700F performs at the top tier of desktop processors. However, for Inside, the CPU’s contribution is limited to ensuring the GPU is never starved of data, which it does easily. The result is that all performance differences in this game are attributable to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS experience at 1920x1080, all presets are viable, with even Ultra averaging 103 FPS. However, the jump from High to Ultra only yields a 5 FPS difference, so High settings at 1080p are recommended for a balance of visual quality and headroom.

At 2560x1440, the choice is between High and Ultra. High averages 78 FPS, while Ultra averages 74 FPS, a difference of only 4 FPS. Given the minimal performance cost, Ultra settings at 1440p are acceptable, but High settings provide a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For players who prioritize frame rate, Medium settings at 1440p offer 124 FPS, which is smooth but with reduced visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the data clearly shows that only Low and Medium presets are suitable for 60 FPS gameplay. Low averages 98 FPS, and Medium averages 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below 50 FPS, making them unsuitable for a consistent experience. The Medium preset at 4K is the best option, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining an average of 78 FPS and a minimum of 66 FPS, ensuring no significant stutter.

For the best overall experience, Medium settings at 1440p or 4K are recommended. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 124, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for demanding scenes. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 78 FPS, but the minimum of 66 FPS still provides a smooth experience. The Low preset at any resolution offers the highest frame rates but sacrifices visual quality, which is unnecessary given the game’s simple art style. The data shows that Medium settings strike the best balance between performance and fidelity across all tested resolutions.