To The Core

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an Idle genre title. The data shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU proves sufficient to feed the flagship GPU even at 1080p, resulting in a smooth experience across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the scaling pattern reveals where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 385 at 1920x1080 to 301 at 2560x1440, a 21.8% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average drops further from 301 to 172, a 42.9% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4090 is the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the workload becomes increasingly pixel-bound.

The scaling is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 356, which drops to 242 at 1440p (a 32.0% decrease), and then plummets to 139 at 4K (a 42.6% decrease from 1440p). This pattern is typical for a high-end GPU, where the raw compute and memory bandwidth of the RTX 4090 are being saturated by the increasing pixel count. The GPU has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, which are ample for this title, but the rendering workload at 4K still overwhelms the architecture.

Conversely, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less dramatic for lower settings. At Low settings, the average FPS only drops from 429 at 1080p to 376 at 1440p (a 12.4% decrease), and then to 235 at 4K (a 37.5% decrease from 1440p). This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is more capable of keeping up, but the GPU still takes over as the bottleneck at 4K. The Ryzen 5 5600F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides enough single-thread performance to avoid severe frame pacing issues at lower resolutions, but the data indicates that the GPU's limits are reached when pushing 4K.

The Medium preset shows a middle ground. The average FPS at 1080p Medium is 405, at 1440p it is 347, and at 4K it is 199. The measured minimum FPS for Medium settings is 169 at 4K, 295 at 1440p, and 344 at 1080p, while maximum FPS reaches 228, 399, and 466 respectively. This variability at Medium settings suggests that the CPU is still keeping up, but the GPU is working harder to maintain those frames. The 4K Medium average of 199 FPS is still far above the refresh rate of most monitors, indicating that this combination is overkill for this idle game at any resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target monitor's refresh rate. For a 4K 144Hz display, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 172 FPS. This is comfortably above the refresh rate, providing headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 139 FPS, is also viable for a 120Hz display, but it may occasionally dip below that threshold, as the minimum FPS for Medium at 4K is 169, and Ultra typically has lower minimums. The data shows that High is the sweet spot for 4K.

For 1440p displays with a 240Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point. It delivers an average of 347 FPS, which is well above 240Hz, and the measured minimum of 295 FPS ensures that frame drops will be rare. The High preset at 1440p averages 301 FPS, which is also above 240Hz, but the extra headroom from Medium (347 FPS) makes it more future-proof. The Low preset at 1440p averages 376 FPS, which is excellent, but the visual fidelity of Medium is likely worth the slight FPS cost.

For 1080p esports-style play, the Medium preset provides the best balance. It averages 405 FPS, with a minimum of 344 FPS and a maximum of 466 FPS. This is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 356 FPS, which is also excellent, but the data shows that the CPU is starting to become a factor at this resolution. The Ryzen 5 5600F has a boost clock of 4.00 GHz and a single-thread score of 2872, which is sufficient, but the difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p (405 vs 356 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck, but rather the GPU's rendering overhead at Ultra settings.

Choosing the Low preset is rarely necessary for this combination. At all resolutions, Low delivers the highest frame rates (429 at 1080p, 376 at 1440p, 235 at 4K), but the visual downgrade is significant for an idle game where you may be staring at static screens. The data indicates that Medium or High provides a much better visual experience with only a marginal FPS loss.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in To The Core?*

A: Yes, easily. The data shows an average of 172 FPS at 4K High settings and 139 FPS at 4K Ultra. Even the lowest measured average, 139 FPS at Ultra, is smooth for most displays.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests it is not a severe bottleneck. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 405, and at Ultra it is 356. The Ryzen 5 5600F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, are sufficient to keep the RTX 4090 well-fed, though the scaling from Medium to Ultra (a 12.1% FPS drop) indicates some CPU sensitivity.

Q: What is the best preset for a 240Hz monitor?

A: For a 240Hz monitor at 1440p, the Medium preset is the best choice. It delivers an average of 347 FPS, with a minimum of 295 FPS, ensuring that the refresh rate is consistently met. At 1080p, Medium also works well, averaging 405 FPS.

Q: How does the minimum FPS compare across resolutions at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 344 at 1080p, 295 at 1440p, and 169 at 4K. This shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the minimum frame rate drops more significantly than the average.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests it is. At 4K High, the average FPS is 172, which is far above the refresh rate of most monitors. The GPU is clearly capable of running To The Core at maximum settings with ease, and its performance headroom is substantial.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU's high single-thread performance?

A: The data indicates that the CPU's single-thread performance is adequate. The Ryzen 5 5600F has a single-thread score of 2872, which places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, remain above 350 FPS at all settings, showing that the CPU is not holding back the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 196th out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 6.5% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result. The high rank is driven primarily by the GPU's massive performance, as the RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347 and sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, while not the top performer, is still respectable, with an average benchmark score of 36945 and an 85th percentile ranking.

The ranking indicates that this combo is significantly faster than the majority of systems tested. The 196th rank out of 2991 combos means that only 195 other combinations can output higher frame rates in this game. Given that the RTX 4090 is the most powerful consumer GPU available, it is likely that the few combos ahead of this one are paired with even faster CPUs, such as those with higher multi-thread scores. However, the data shows that the Ryzen 5 5600F does not bottleneck the GPU in this title, as the frame rates are consistently high across all settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (-0.5%). These scores are all incredibly close, indicating that the 5600F's performance is competitive with modern mid-range and older high-end chips. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3%), have similar average scores, but they are professional-grade cards, not consumer gaming GPUs like the RTX 4090. This ranking confirms that the 5600F + RTX 4090 is a top-tier gaming combination.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer). It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The CPU has a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory. In the context of To The Core, an idle game, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, UI updates, and background simulation, which are typically not as demanding as in action games. The benchmark results show that the CPU is sufficient for this task, as the frame rates are limited by the GPU at higher resolutions.

The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the CPU has more influence on performance. The frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 429 vs 356 FPS (a 17.0% decrease), while at 4K, the difference is 235 vs 139 FPS (a 40.9% decrease). This indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, but at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance (2872 in PassMark) and multi-thread performance (19236) are adequate to maintain over 350 FPS. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking versus all CPUs supports this, showing that it is a solid performer for gaming.

The CPU's multi-thread score of 19236 and integer math score of 59339 are relevant for this genre, as idle games often have complex background calculations. The data shows that the CPU can handle these tasks without causing frame drops, as the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 344, which is still very high. The Ryzen 5 5600F's 6 cores are likely sufficient for To The Core, as the game does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the scaling patterns. The boost clock of 4.00 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are executed quickly, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in any game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all settings. The Low preset averages 429 FPS, Medium averages 405 FPS (with a minimum of 344 and maximum of 466), High averages 385 FPS, and Ultra averages 356 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 73 FPS, which is relatively small in percentage terms (17.0%), showing that the CPU is not a major limiter at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain excellent. The Low preset averages 376 FPS, Medium averages 347 FPS (with a minimum of 295 and maximum of 399), High averages 301 FPS, and Ultra averages 242 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable, with the High preset falling from 385 to 301 FPS (a 21.8% decrease). This indicates that the GPU is beginning to become more of a factor, but the performance is still far above any refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still very playable, but the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 235 FPS, Medium averages 199 FPS (with a minimum of 169 and maximum of 228), High averages 172 FPS, and Ultra averages 139 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial, with the High preset falling from 301 to 172 FPS (a 42.9% decrease). The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 144 FPS, but it still provides a smooth experience on a 120Hz display. The data confirms that this combo is capable of running To The Core at maximum settings with high frame rates at any resolution, with the 4K Ultra preset being the most demanding test.