To The Core

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For “To The Core,” an idle game that clearly does not stress the RTX 5090’s immense compute resources, the measured rows reveal a fascinating pattern: the gap between presets narrows dramatically as resolution drops. At 3840x2160, the spread from Low (245.9 FPS) to Ultra (143.1 FPS) is a substantial 102.8 FPS, indicating that at 4K the GPU’s shading and pixel throughput are still meaningfully engaged. However, at 1920x1080, the same spread collapses to just 126 FPS (500.4 Low vs 374.4 Ultra), suggesting the CPU begins to assert itself as the limiting factor.

The data strongly favors the High preset as the best experience-per-measured-row choice. At 4K, High delivers 180.6 FPS, which is 37.5 FPS above Ultra (143.1) and only 23 FPS below Medium (203.6). The visual fidelity jump from Medium to High is typically more perceptible than the incremental gain from High to Ultra, especially in an idle game where the screen is often static. At 1440p, High hits 313.4 FPS, which is over 60 FPS above Ultra’s 252.9, and at 1080p it achieves 448.1 FPS, a figure that exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all mainstream displays.

Ultra is the only preset that dips below 200 FPS at 4K (143.1), and even that is far beyond playable thresholds. Yet the data implies diminishing returns: the jump from High to Ultra costs roughly 37 FPS at 4K, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 73.7 FPS at 1080p. For an idle game, those frame-rate sacrifices buy little in terms of gameplay responsiveness. Low settings, while fastest, are likely to compromise the visual clarity that makes idle games engaging. Therefore, High strikes the optimal balance across all three resolutions, offering 180.6, 313.4, and 448.1 FPS respectively—all comfortably above 144Hz thresholds.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 occupies the 55th position out of 1,756 tested combos in “To The Core,” placing it in the top 3.1% of all configurations. That ranking is remarkable given the CPU’s modest standing in general benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 5600 sits at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,765, while the RTX 5090 ranks at the 94th percentile among GPUs with an average score of 84,306. The combo’s top-55 placement suggests that the game’s workload is heavily GPU-bound, allowing the flagship GPU to dominate despite a mid-range processor.

The data reveals an interesting mismatch: the CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (0.6% ahead, avg 21,635), AMD EPYC 9554P (0.6% behind, avg 21,899), and AMD EPYC 9534 (0.6% behind, avg 21,900). These are server-class processors with vastly different feature sets, yet their benchmark scores are nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 5600’s. This indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck in this game. Meanwhile, the GPU’s nearest rivals—the RTX 5090 D (0.1% ahead), RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% ahead), and Radeon PRO W6600 (1.3% ahead)—are within a tight 1.6% band, showing that the RTX 5090’s raw compute is consistently delivered.

The rank of 55 suggests that most higher-ranked combos likely pair the RTX 5090 with faster CPUs, yet the frame rates here are already so high that the CPU’s impact is minimal. The data implies that for “To The Core,” the RTX 5090 is the dominant contributor to the combo’s elite standing, and the Ryzen 5 5600’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed it.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090’s specifications are staggering: 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Its 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs drive a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. In “To The Core,” these numbers translate into frame rates that are almost absurdly high for an idle game, yet the measured FPS reveals that even this GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions.

The 32 GB VRAM is far beyond what any idle game requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is similarly excessive. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s workload is heavy enough to drop FPS to 143.1, indicating that the game can scale to use available resources. The boost clock of 2407 MHz (base 2017 MHz) ensures that the GPU maintains high throughput, and the measured 4K Low result of 245.9 FPS demonstrates that even when pixel-bound, the GPU has massive headroom.

Interestingly, the GPU’s passmark G3D score of 39,650 and directx_12 score of 185 suggest that synthetic benchmarks may not perfectly predict idle-game performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,411 aligns better with the observed 4K results. The GPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs is consistent with its top-tier status, but the data implies that in “To The Core,” the RTX 5090 is often waiting on the CPU, especially at 1080p where it hits 500.4 FPS on Low. The VRAM and bandwidth are clearly not limiting factors—the GPU’s raw compute and the game’s engine efficiency are what drive these extraordinary numbers.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for an idle game like “To The Core”?

A: The measured data suggests yes, but with nuance. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 500.4 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra it maintains 143.1 FPS. The GPU’s 32 GB VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are far beyond the game’s needs, yet the 4K Ultra result shows the game can still leverage the GPU’s power.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600 perform relative to its closest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 21,765, which is 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21,635) and 0.6% behind the AMD EPYC 9554P (21,899) and EPYC 9534 (21,900). It is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11700F (21,957). These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p for a high-refresh-rate monitor?

A: High delivers 313.4 FPS at 2560x1440, which is 60.5 FPS above Ultra (252.9) and only 48.5 FPS below Medium (361). For most 144Hz or 240Hz displays, High provides a comfortable margin without sacrificing visual quality.

Q: Does the combo’s rank of 55 out of 1,756 mean it is well-balanced?

A: The rank places it in the top 3.1% of all tested combos, indicating strong overall performance. However, the CPU’s 79th percentile versus the GPU’s 94th percentile shows an imbalance, but the game’s workload masks this because it is not CPU-intensive.

Q: How much FPS is lost when switching from Low to Ultra at 4K?

A: The drop is 102.8 FPS, from 245.9 FPS on Low to 143.1 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that Ultra costs roughly 42% of the Low-setting frame rate at 4K, which is a significant penalty for marginal visual gains.

Q: Is the RTX 5090’s performance consistent with its benchmark scores?

A: The GPU’s passmark G3D score of 39,650 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 14,411 align with its top-tier status. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 is only 0.1% behind the RTX 5090 D (84,241) and 0.2% behind the RTX 5050 Mobile (84,171), showing consistent performance across tests.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, but with an unusual twist at the top end. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 448.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 313.4 FPS (a 30.1% reduction), and then to 4K High at 180.6 FPS (another 42.4% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 267.5 FPS, or 59.7%. This scaling is consistent with the GPU being the primary driver, as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

However, the Low setting tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 500.4 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 422.9 FPS (15.5% reduction), and at 4K Low it falls to 245.9 FPS (41.9% reduction from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p on Low suggests the CPU is limiting performance at 1080p—the Ryzen 5 5600’s single-thread score of 882 in 3DMark and 2,584 in Cinebench R23 cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain a linear scaling path. The larger drop from 1440p to 4K indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck as pixel load increases.

This pattern is even clearer on Ultra: 1080p Ultra (374.4 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (252.9 FPS) is a 32.5% drop, while 1440p to 4K Ultra (143.1) is a 43.4% drop. The data implies that at 1080p, the RTX 5090 is idling, waiting for the CPU to deliver draw calls. At 4K, the GPU’s massive pixel throughput (423.6 GPixel/s) is finally exercised, but even then, the 180.6 FPS High result shows the game cannot fully saturate this flagship. The limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p to GPU at 4K, with the crossover occurring somewhere between 1440p and 4K.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, built on TSMC’s 7 nm process with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 882 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,584 indicate solid per-core performance, but not exceptional. The multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multicore: 18,309) show the CPU is capable, yet in “To The Core,” the data reveals it is often the bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the combo produces 500.4 FPS, but the CPU’s 12 threads are likely saturated, preventing higher frame rates. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,737 and 4-thread score of 3,313 suggest that the game may rely on few cores, and the Ryzen 5 5600’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key driver here. The CPU’s 65W TDP and DDR4 memory support (dual-channel, 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are modest, but the game’s idle genre means physics and AI calculations are minimal.

The CPU’s 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs (average score 21,765) places it just 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11700F. These rivals have different core counts and architectures, yet their scores are nearly identical, confirming that “To The Core” does not heavily tax the CPU. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (143.1) is still above 120 FPS, proving the CPU can keep up with the GPU when the resolution is high enough. The data implies that upgrading to a faster CPU would yield minimal gains at 4K, but could push 1080p frame rates even higher, though the utility of exceeding 500 FPS is questionable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low leads at 500.4 FPS, followed by Medium at 472.7 FPS, High at 448.1 FPS, and Ultra at 374.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 126 FPS, with Ultra representing a 25.2% reduction from Low. These numbers are far beyond any display’s refresh rate, indicating the GPU is heavily underutilized at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the hierarchy remains, but the gaps widen. Low produces 422.9 FPS, Medium 361 FPS, High 313.4 FPS, and Ultra 252.9 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 170 FPS, and Ultra is now 40.2% slower than Low. The jump from High to Ultra costs 60.5 FPS, while Medium to High costs 47.6 FPS. The data shows a linear degradation as settings increase, with each preset tier costing roughly 50-60 FPS at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly but remain playable. Low hits 245.9 FPS, Medium 203.6 FPS, High 180.6 FPS, and Ultra 143.1 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 102.8 FPS, and Ultra is 41.8% slower than Low. The Medium-to-High gap narrows to 23 FPS, while High-to-Ultra costs 37.5 FPS. This compression at the top end suggests that Ultra’s additional effects are increasingly expensive at 4K, but the absolute numbers remain excellent.

Across all resolutions, Low is consistently the fastest setting, while Ultra is the slowest. The 1080p Low result of 500.4 FPS is the highest measured frame rate, and the 4K Ultra result of 143.1 FPS is the lowest. The data indicates that for “To The Core,” even the most demanding preset at 4K maintains over 140 FPS, making this combo effectively future-proof for any display technology currently available.