Inside

Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with a stark, monochrome art style, but its benchmark results reveal a demanding workload that scales significantly across resolutions and settings. The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti produces a wide range of frame rates, from highly playable at 1080p to borderline at 4K, depending on the graphics preset. The data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's physics and logic at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is heavily influenced by the graphics preset. At Low settings, the system delivers an average of 216 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 155 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 98 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest fidelity, the rendering load at 4K is substantial.

The scaling pattern shifts with higher presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 173 at 1080p, to 124 at 1440p, and down to 78 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 55% again, but the absolute numbers are lower, suggesting a more consistent load on the GPU. For High settings, the averages are 108 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K, with the 1080p to 4K reduction also being roughly 55%.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. The average FPS at 1080p is 103, falling to 74 at 1440p, and finally to 46 at 4K. This is a 55% decrease from 1080p to 4K as well. The consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel count and fill rate, which is a classic GPU-bound characteristic. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is notable: 98 FPS versus 46 FPS, a 53% performance difference purely from settings changes. This indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting component at 4K, as reducing settings can nearly double the frame rate, whereas the CPU's contribution remains relatively static.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the decisive factor in this game's performance, particularly as resolution climbs. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Inside at 1080p and 1440p, where the average FPS remains well above 60 on High settings. However, at 3840x2160, the higher pixel throughput demands more from the memory subsystem and the GPU's compute units.

The card's specs are modest by modern standards, but they align with its 41st percentile ranking among all GPUs. The 1536 shading units and 48 ROPs, running at a boost clock of 1770 MHz, deliver a pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s. This explains why the 4K Ultra preset, with its maximum draw calls and effects, pushes the card to its limit, resulting in a 46 FPS average. The data shows that the GTX 1660 Ti is not a 4K-capable card for this title at high fidelity, but it is a solid performer at lower resolutions.

The GPU's performance relative to its peers is tight. Its average benchmark score of 7723 places it just ahead of the AMD Radeon 540, which scores 7673, a delta of 0.7%. It also leads the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (7580) and the AMD Radeon R7 250 (7557) by 1.9% and 2.2%, respectively. Interestingly, the Intel Arc A310 trails closely with a score of 7550, putting the GTX 1660 Ti 2.3% ahead. This suggests that in synthetic tests, the card is not significantly faster than its nearest rivals, yet in Inside, it manages to deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, indicating the game is not overly demanding on raw GPU compute at those settings.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is a potential concern for 4K, but the measured results at Medium settings, which yield a 78 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS, suggest that the game does not exceed this capacity even at that resolution. The lack of min FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra presets at 4K makes it difficult to assess frame time stability, but the Medium preset's minimum of 66 FPS indicates the GPU can maintain a playable experience when textures and effects are moderated.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a supporting role in Inside, providing more than enough processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck. With 14 cores and 14 threads, the CPU has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration, part of the Arrow Lake architecture on a 3 nm process, delivers strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics.

The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its capability. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. In PassMark, it scores 4394 on the single-thread test and 38706 on the multi-thread test. These numbers place the Ultra 5 245 in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performance processor. For Inside, a game that is not known for heavy multi-threaded workloads, the single-core performance is likely the most relevant, and the data suggests it is more than sufficient.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G has an average score of 49196, which is 0.4% lower than the Ultra 5 245's average of 48995. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is similarly close at 49228, a 0.5% difference. On the other side, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698) and the Intel Core i5-14600K (48618) are 0.6% and 0.8% slower, respectively. This indicates that the Ultra 5 245 is competitively positioned in synthetic workloads, though these differences are unlikely to translate into meaningful FPS variations in a game like Inside.

Given that the FPS scales almost linearly with resolution changes while keeping settings constant, the CPU is not the limiting factor. For instance, at High settings, the FPS drops from 108 to 78 to 49 as resolution increases, a pattern that is purely GPU-driven. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support at 102.4 GB/s ensure fast data access, but the game's demands are not high enough to stress these components. The data confirms that the Ultra 5 245 is a capable partner for the GTX 1660 Ti, ensuring that the GPU is always the performance ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 2482 out of 2887 combos for Inside. This places it in the lower 14% of all tested systems, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's modest standing. The CPU is a high-end part, but the combo's rank is dragged down by the GTX 1660 Ti's 41st percentile GPU score.

This rank suggests that while the system is far from the weakest, it is also not competitive with modern mid-range or high-end configurations. The combo's performance is sufficient for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve over 100 FPS on High and Ultra settings, but it lacks the headroom for 4K at high fidelity. The data shows that the system is balanced in the sense that neither component is drastically underpowered for the other, but the overall result is constrained by the GPU.

The rank also highlights the disparity between the two components. The CPU's 90th percentile standing is a stark contrast to the GPU's 41st percentile. This indicates a potential upgrade path for users: replacing the GTX 1660 Ti with a more powerful GPU would likely yield significant FPS gains without requiring a CPU upgrade. The current combo, however, is a functional entry-level to mid-range gaming system that handles Inside well at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The measured data shows an average of 98 FPS at 4K Low and 78 FPS at 4K Medium. At 4K High and Ultra, the average drops to 49 FPS and 46 FPS, respectively, which are less smooth.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At 1080p, the system delivers an average of 108 FPS on High and 103 FPS on Ultra, ensuring a fluid experience. At 1440p, the average on High is 78 FPS, which is still playable, but 4K is inconsistent.

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

A: The GPU is the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The FPS drops significantly when moving from 1080p to 4K, while CPU performance remains constant. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking suggests it is not a limiting factor.

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

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has an average benchmark score of 7723, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon 540 (7673), 1.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (7580), and 2.2% higher than the AMD Radeon R7 250 (7557).

Q: Does the game use more than 6 GB of VRAM?

A: The data does not show VRAM usage, but the measured performance at 4K Medium (78 FPS average) suggests the 6 GB frame buffer is sufficient for this title, as the game remains playable without severe stutters.

Q: What is the processor's standing compared to other CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, has a score that is 0.4% lower, while the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% lower.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point. It delivers an average of 108 FPS, which is well above the smooth threshold for a platformer. If a higher frame rate is desired for a competitive edge or a very fast display, the Low preset at 1080p yields 216 FPS, but this comes at a significant visual cost.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains viable with a 78 FPS average. This is a good option for users with a 1440p monitor who want a sharp image without sacrificing too much smoothness. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a higher average of 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, making it the best choice for consistent high refresh rate play at this resolution.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only sensible option. It produces a 78 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS, ensuring a playable experience. The High and Ultra presets at 4K drop to 49 FPS and 46 FPS, respectively, which may be acceptable for a slow-paced puzzle game but are not ideal. The Low preset at 4K offers 98 FPS but severely degrades the game's visual atmosphere.

Ultimately, the data suggests that the Ultra preset offers no significant advantage over High in terms of gameplay, as the FPS difference is only 5 FPS at 1080p (103 vs 108). Therefore, High settings provide the best visual quality per frame rate cost across all resolutions. Users with 4K displays should prioritize Medium settings to maintain a stable frame rate.