To The Core

To The Core is an idle game, but the measured frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination are anything but idle. The data reveals a system that is massively overqualified for the task, delivering playable performance even at 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, examines the role of each component, and contextualizes this specific pairing within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the scaling is more academic than practical. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 432 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 290 FPS, a 33% reduction. At 4K, the average falls to 166 FPS, which is another 43% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, which is expected for a GPU-bound scenario.

However, the story changes when looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 255 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 171 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 98 FPS. This scaling pattern—a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K—mirrors the Low preset's scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor across all settings, with the CPU having enough headroom to feed it frames regardless of the graphical load.

The data shows a clear inflection point between 1440p and 4K. The jump from 1080p to 1440p represents a roughly 1.5x increase in pixel count, and the FPS drops accordingly. The jump from 1440p to 4K represents a 2.25x increase in pixels, and the FPS drop is proportionally larger. This is classic GPU-bound behavior. The RTX 4070 is a very capable card, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K is a significant challenge, even for an idle game with simpler visuals.

For the gamer, this means that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is essentially wasted potential. The frame rates are so high that they exceed the refresh rate of most monitors. At 4K, the system becomes more balanced, with the Ultra preset still delivering a smooth 98 FPS average. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming or smooth 4K gaming, rather than competitive 1080p play where the extra frames are often imperceptible.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured rows, the best experience hinges on the target resolution. The data shows that the "Ultra" preset is always the most demanding, and the "Low" preset is always the fastest. However, the gap between them is consistent across resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 177 FPS. At 1440p, it is 119 FPS. At 4K, it is 68 FPS. This suggests that the cost of enabling higher settings is a fixed percentage of performance, not a fixed number of frames.

For 1080p users, the recommendation is simple: use Ultra. The average FPS of 255 is still far beyond the 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rates common on high-end monitors. There is no practical reason to lower settings for a competitive advantage, as the frame rate is already so high that input lag is minimal. The Ultra preset will provide the best visual quality without any perceptible downside.

For 1440p users, the Ultra preset remains the best choice. The average of 171 FPS is still exceptionally high, easily driving a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor. The Medium preset offers 245 FPS, which is a significant jump, but the visual fidelity loss is likely not worth it for a game like this where the pace is slower. The data suggests that the GPU has enough headroom at 1440p to handle the highest settings without dropping below the refresh rate of most displays.

For 4K users, the recommendation is more nuanced. The Ultra preset averages 98 FPS, which is playable on a 60Hz or 120Hz display, but it does not guarantee a locked 120 FPS experience. The High preset averages 122 FPS, which is a 24% improvement over Ultra. This is a meaningful boost that could be the difference between a stable 120 FPS and occasional dips. If a 120Hz or higher refresh rate 4K monitor is in use, dropping from Ultra to High is a sensible trade-off for a more consistent frame time. The Medium preset at 140 FPS is also viable, but the jump from High to Medium is smaller (18 FPS) than the jump from Ultra to High (24 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns on lowering settings further. The Low preset at 166 FPS is overkill and sacrifices too much visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the clear workhorse for this game. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the textures and assets in an idle game. The VRAM capacity is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested, as even the 4K Ultra preset does not show a min FPS that suggests memory pressure. The card's 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs are ample for the pixel and texture throughput required.

The clocks are a key factor in the performance. The base clock of 1920 MHz boosts to 2475 MHz, which is a substantial increase. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is running at high utilization, as the FPS scales inversely with resolution. The card's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is the theoretical maximum, and the measured frame rates suggest it is being leveraged effectively.

In the context of the benchmark database, the RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648 and sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, according to the data, are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, 0.1% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.4% slower). The RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% faster, and the Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% slower. This puts the RTX 4070 in a tight performance band, but the measured FPS in To The Core shows it punching well above its weight, likely due to the game's low graphical complexity.

The GPU's 200W TDP is a consideration for system builders, but the performance delivered is excellent for the power draw. The data shows that the card is not thermally throttling, as the FPS scales consistently. The 12 GB VRAM is a forward-looking feature, ensuring that this card will not be obsolete for a while, even if future updates to the game add more demanding assets. The card's architecture, Ada Lovelace, is well-suited for this workload, providing efficient rasterization performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 659th out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 22% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing. The data suggests that this combo is faster than the majority of systems, but it is not a top-tier flagship pairing. The rank is a reflection of the CPU's and GPU's individual performance levels combined.

The combo's percentile rank is likely driven by the GPU's strong 81st percentile standing and the CPU's 83rd percentile standing. However, the rank of 659 out of 2991 indicates that there are many systems with more powerful components, likely with higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, or CPUs with more cores. For an idle game, this rank is more than sufficient, as the game does not require extreme hardware to run well.

The rank also implies that this combo is well-balanced. It is not a case of a weak CPU bottlenecking a strong GPU, or vice versa. The CPU and GPU are in the same performance tier, which is why the system performs consistently across resolutions. If the CPU were too weak, we would see the FPS stagnate at lower resolutions; if the GPU were too weak, we would see the FPS collapse at higher resolutions. The data shows neither, confirming that this is a harmonious pairing.

For a builder, this rank is a useful data point. It shows that this combo is a solid mid-to-high-end choice that will handle any game, not just idle titles. The fact that it ranks in the top 22% for a game with low system requirements means it will likely rank higher in more demanding games, as the GPU and CPU's strengths are fully utilized. The combo is a safe bet for a general-purpose gaming rig.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz are high, and the benchmark results indicate that it has excellent single-thread performance for gaming. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072 is strong, and the PassMark single-thread score of 3689 confirms this. In an idle game, where the simulation logic is often single-threaded, this is critical.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache is a significant asset. It helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support, with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, ensures that the CPU is not starved for data. The PCIe Gen 5 interface, with 24 lanes, provides ample bandwidth for the GPU and other peripherals.

In the benchmark data, the CPU has an average benchmark score of 32750, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0.1% slower), the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697, 0.2% slower), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812, 0.2% faster), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.3% slower). This shows that the 7400F is in a competitive performance band with these other processors, with differences of less than a percent.

The CPU's role in To The Core is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle the game's logic. The measured FPS shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates scale with resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 432 FPS average reflects the CPU's ability to process frames quickly. The fact that the FPS drops to 255 at 1080p Ultra shows that the GPU is taking on more work, but the CPU is still keeping up. The 65W TDP is also a benefit, as it keeps the system cool and efficient.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 25645 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 show that the CPU has solid multi-threaded performance, even if it is not a top-tier workstation chip. For this game, the single-thread performance is the most important factor, and the 7400F delivers it in spades. The data confirms that the CPU is a capable partner for the RTX 4070.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 432. Medium settings produce an average of 365 FPS, with a minimum of 310 and a maximum of 420. High settings yield 316 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 255 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 41% reduction in FPS, which is a significant but acceptable cost for maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains high. Low settings average 290 FPS. Medium settings average 245 FPS, with a minimum of 209 and a maximum of 282. High settings produce 213 FPS, and Ultra produces 171 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is a roughly 33% drop in FPS across all settings, which aligns with the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its limits. Low settings average 166 FPS. Medium settings average 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and a maximum of 161. High settings produce 122 FPS, and Ultra produces 98 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset is the only configuration that drops below the 100 FPS mark, but it still provides a smooth experience on a 60Hz display.

The min FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 310 FPS, which is 85% of the average. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 209 FPS, which is 85% of the average. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 119 FPS, which is also 85% of the average. This consistent ratio suggests that the frame time variance is stable across resolutions, indicating no unexpected stutters or drops. The system maintains a consistent level of performance, which is excellent for a smooth gaming experience. The lack of min FPS data for other presets means we cannot draw conclusions about their frame time consistency, but the average FPS figures are all within a reasonable range.