Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that is unusually forgiving on hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti confirm this. The data shows a system that can push very high frame rates at mainstream resolutions, but the performance curve across settings and resolutions reveals where the bottlenecks lie. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to give practical settings advice for this specific combination.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for this combo points to the Medium preset as the optimal choice for most users, but the reasoning differs by resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 173 FPS average, which is a substantial jump from the High preset's 108 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 65 FPS, a 60% improvement, while the step from Low to Medium is smaller—216 FPS to 173 FPS, a 43 FPS difference. The data indicates that the Medium preset captures nearly all the visual uplift from High while maintaining a frame rate that is effectively double what most displays can show. The Ultra preset drops to 103 FPS, which is still smooth but only 5 FPS below High, suggesting the extra visual fidelity is not worth the performance cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out, producing 124 FPS average. This is a comfortable margin above the 78 FPS of High, and the 106 FPS minimum recorded for Medium shows it stays well within a smooth range even during demanding scenes. Low at this resolution reaches 155 FPS, but the jump from Low to Medium only costs 31 FPS while adding noticeable quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 74 FPS, which is playable but begins to approach the threshold where the puzzle platformer's precise timing could suffer.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Medium still leads with 78 FPS, but High drops to 49 FPS and Ultra to 46 FPS. The Medium preset is the only 4K option that maintains a solid 60+ FPS experience, and its 66 FPS minimum shows it stays above the critical 60 FPS threshold. Low at 4K reaches 98 FPS, but the visual compromise on a large screen is likely too severe. The recommendation across all resolutions is clear: use Medium. It provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, with the data showing it consistently outperforms High and Ultra while remaining close to Low in speed.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 Ti plays the dominant role in this game's results, and its specifications explain why. The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The core clocks are 1500 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost, with 1536 shading units. The data shows that this is a GPU-limited scenario at higher settings, as the frame rate drops significantly when moving from Low to Ultra at every resolution.

The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is sufficient for Inside, as the game's art style does not require massive texture pools. The measured FPS does not show any catastrophic dips that would indicate memory swapping, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 41st percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the lower-mid range, but the game's modest requirements allow it to perform well above that positioning would suggest. The nearest rivals for the GPU are the AMD Radeon 540 with a 0.7% higher score, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 1.9% higher, and the AMD Radeon R7 250 at 2.2% higher—all within a tight band, confirming the GTX 1660 Ti is a consistent performer in its class.

The GPU's 120 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical fit for this CPU pairing. The 12 nm process node and 6,600 million transistors give it enough compute power for this game's 2D-style rendering with 3D lighting effects. The FP32 performance of 5.437 TFLOPS is the raw compute available, and the measured results show it is well-utilized at Medium settings, where the frame rate scales almost linearly with resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU as the primary limiter. At Medium settings, the frame rate goes from 173 FPS at 1920x1080 to 124 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction, and then to 78 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 37% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound workload. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 95 FPS, which means the 4K resolution delivers only 45% of the 1080p frame rate.

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 108 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is 45% of the 1080p result, nearly identical to the Medium scaling. This consistency indicates the GPU is the bottleneck across all quality presets. The CPU's role is minimal here; the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with 10 cores and 10 threads has ample headroom, given its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 show it is more than capable of feeding the GPU in this game.

The Low preset shows a different pattern. At 1080p, it hits 216 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame delivery limit for this game. At 1440p, it drops to 155 FPS, and at 4K to 98 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is a 37% reduction, similar to the other presets, but the 1080p to 1440p drop is only 28%. This suggests that at Low settings and 1080p, the system is approaching a CPU or engine limit, as the GPU has less work to do. For practical purposes, the data shows that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering high frame rates without pushing the GPU to its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings produces playable results. Low leads with 216 FPS average. Medium follows at 173 FPS, with a minimum of 147 FPS and a maximum of 199 FPS, showing excellent consistency. High drops to 108 FPS, and Ultra to 103 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS, making the Ultra preset a poor choice at this resolution since it offers negligible performance difference with presumably higher quality demands.

At 2560x1440, the results show a similar hierarchy. Low achieves 155 FPS. Medium delivers 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. High and Ultra fall to 78 FPS and 74 FPS, respectively. The 1440p High and Ultra results are nearly identical, differing by only 4 FPS, which suggests the game's quality settings have diminishing returns on this hardware at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance gap between settings widens. Low reaches 98 FPS, which is still smooth for 4K. Medium maintains 78 FPS, with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS, keeping the experience above the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra drop to 49 FPS and 46 FPS, respectively. These sub-60 FPS results are noticeable in a puzzle platformer where timing is critical. The 4K data clearly shows that Medium is the ceiling for a consistently smooth experience, and even it has a minimum that dips close to the 60 FPS line.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 3201 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower 14% of all configurations, which is surprising given the frame rates measured. The explanation lies in the game's age and the fact that many tested combos likely include much newer, higher-end hardware. The rank reflects the absolute performance ceiling of this combo, not its suitability for the game.

The CPU's ranking among all processors is 85th percentile, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a 0% delta, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at -0.2%, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at -0.4%, and the Intel Core i9-12900T at -0.5%. These are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the Ultra 5 225 is perfectly competitive with these CPUs. The GPU's 41st percentile ranking and its tight rival group—AMD Radeon 540 at 0.7% higher, AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 at 1.9% higher, AMD Radeon R7 250 at 2.2% higher—confirm it is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The combo rank of 3201 is heavily influenced by the GPU's lower-tier position. For a game like Inside, which is not demanding by modern standards, this rank is misleading. The measured FPS at 1440p Medium, 124 FPS, is objectively excellent. The rank simply shows that many other combos can push even higher frame rates, but for this game, the performance is more than sufficient.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset delivers 173 FPS average with a minimum of 147 FPS, which is the best balance between visual quality and performance. Low reaches 216 FPS, but the visual compromise is unnecessary, and High and Ultra are only 108 FPS and 103 FPS, respectively.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which produce 78 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum. High and Ultra drop to 49 FPS and 46 FPS, which are below the smooth 60 FPS threshold. Low achieves 98 FPS but sacrifices too much visual quality.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low if the frame rates are high?

A: The combo ranks 3201 out of 3716, which puts it in the lower 14%. This is because the GPU is in the 41st percentile of all GPUs, and many tested combos use much more powerful hardware. The rank is relative, not a measure of absolute playability.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The FPS drops by roughly 37% from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings, which is a classic GPU-bound pattern. The CPU ranks in the 85th percentile and has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891, indicating it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS, with an average of 124 FPS. This 37 FPS spread is acceptable for a puzzle platformer)Skip. The minimum ensures the frame rate stays above 100 FPS even in demanding scenes.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti scores 7723 on average, with the AMD Radeon 540 scoring 0.7% higher, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 1.9% higher, and the AMD Radeon R7 250 2.2% higher. These differences are negligible, meaning the GTX 1660 Ti is directly comparable to these cards.