To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that, on the surface, might not seem demanding, but the data reveals a clear and consistent performance hierarchy for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combo. This pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested settings, with the bottleneck shifting from the GPU at lower resolutions to a more balanced load as resolution increases. The measured results show that this system is not just capable, but overqualified for the game's demands, providing a fluid experience even at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provides a total bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. For an idle game like To The Core, the memory subsystem is more than sufficient, as the data shows no signs of a VRAM capacity or bandwidth limitation even at the highest settings. The GPU's core clocks, with a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz, are the primary drivers of the frame rate differences seen across the settings presets.

The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 2060's compute capabilities, rated at 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32, are the deciding factor in this game. When comparing the 4K results, the difference between Low (91.4 FPS) and Ultra (58 FPS) settings is a substantial 33.4 FPS drop. This scaling demonstrates that while the 6 GB frame buffer is not a constraint, the shading units (1920), TMUs (120), and ROPs (48) are being pushed harder as the graphical load increases. The GPU's percentile ranking of 58 against all GPUs, alongside its average benchmark score of 16074, places it in the mid-range tier, yet its performance in this specific title is exceptionally strong, likely due to the game's art style and rendering demands being well-suited to the Turing architecture.

The RTX 2060's 30 RT cores and 240 Tensor cores are present but their specific impact on To The Core is not isolated in the data. However, the consistent performance suggests that the game does not rely heavily on these specialized units, instead favoring raw rasterization throughput. The card's 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are standard, but the performance delivered per frame is high, as evidenced by the ability to maintain over 140 FPS at 1080p Ultra. In essence, the GPU is the primary scaling factor when moving between presets, with the data showing a predictable and linear reduction in frame rate as settings are increased.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best average frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded at 1920x1080 is 241.5 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. This is the only tested configuration that breaks the 240 FPS barrier, indicating the system is heavily CPU-bound at this resolution and setting combination.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the combo averages 58 FPS. This is the lowest average frame rate in the entire dataset, but it remains playable. The delta between this and the 4K High preset is 10.3 FPS, showing a significant but manageable performance cost for the highest visual quality.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate drops by 23.1 FPS when going from Low (91.4 FPS) to High (68.3 FPS), which is a GPU-side scaling. However, at 1080p, the frame rates are so high (201.5 FPS on Medium) that the CPU's single-thread performance, scoring 951 in the 3dmark single thread test, is likely the ceiling preventing even higher numbers.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 134.7 FPS, while the High preset averages 121.1 FPS. This is a difference of 13.6 FPS, indicating that the High preset offers a modest visual upgrade for a relatively small performance penalty.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations?

A: This specific configuration of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1435 out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core. This places it in the lower half of the database, despite delivering high absolute frame rates, suggesting that many other systems are capable of even higher performance in this undemanding title.

Q: Does the CPU's boost clock impact the 1080p results?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. At 1080p, where the GPU load is lower, the high frame rates (e.g., 178 FPS on High) are likely dependent on this boost clock. The CPU's passmark single-thread score of 3684 supports its capability to feed the GPU effectively at these lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset yields an average of 241.5 FPS, which drops to 201.5 FPS on Medium, 178 FPS on High, and 140.2 FPS on Ultra. The performance cost from Low to Ultra is 101.3 FPS, representing a 42% reduction in frame rate for the highest visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced impact from the GPU. The Low preset averages 164.3 FPS, followed by Medium at 134.7 FPS, High at 121.1 FPS, and Ultra at 94.3 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 70 FPS. Compared to the 1080p results, the 1440p Ultra frame rate (94.3 FPS) is 45.9 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra result, demonstrating the increased resolution's demand on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system transitions from high refresh rate territory to standard playable frame rates. The Low preset still manages an average of 91.4 FPS, while Medium drops to 77.2 FPS. High settings average 68.3 FPS, and Ultra is the most demanding, averaging exactly 58 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 33.4 FPS. This data confirms that the combo is capable of 4K gaming in To The Core, but the experience is best suited for quality presets rather than high refresh rate displays.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players with a 1080p or 1440p high-refresh-rate monitor, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. At 1080p, Ultra averages 140.2 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold, and at 1440p it maintains 94.3 FPS, still a very smooth experience. The visual fidelity upgrade from High to Ultra is worth the 37.8 FPS cost at 1080p, as the absolute frame rates remain high enough to ensure fluidity.

For 4K displays, the High preset offers the best balance. It averages 68.3 FPS, which is a playable and stable frame rate, while the Ultra preset drops to 58 FPS. The 10.3 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K is noticeable, but the High preset provides a more consistent experience. The Low and Medium presets at 4K, while faster, sacrifice too much visual quality for an idle game where the graphics are a core part of the appeal. The data suggests that the High preset at 3840x2160 is the optimal configuration for this resolution, providing a 68.3 FPS average without the performance penalty of Ultra.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 140.2 at 1080p to 94.3 at 1440p, a 45.9 FPS reduction. This drop continues to 58 FPS at 4K, another 36.3 FPS reduction. This pattern of significant FPS loss with each resolution increase is a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance, as the rendering workload scales with the pixel count.

Conversely, the scaling at Low settings is less dramatic but still substantial. The frame rate goes from 241.5 FPS at 1080p to 164.3 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 91.4 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is significantly lower than the 1080p rate confirms that the RTX 2060's shading units and ROPs are the bottleneck, not the CPU or memory bandwidth. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 4 architecture, is powerful enough to maintain high frame rates, as evidenced by the 241.5 FPS result, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's workload increase at higher resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F plays a supportive but crucial role in this combo's performance. With 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost of 4.70 GHz, the CPU provides ample processing power. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. However, at 1080p, the CPU's performance becomes more relevant.

The 1080p Low preset result of 241.5 FPS is a strong indicator of the CPU's single-thread capabilities. The Zen 4 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, scores 951 in the 3dmark single-thread test and 3684 in the passmark single-thread test. This high single-thread performance is essential for feeding the GPU at such high frame rates. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support also contribute to low latency and high bandwidth, which helps maintain smooth frame pacing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25064 places it in the 82nd percentile, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, has a nearly identical average score of 25057, showing that the 8400F is a robust performer for this task.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The data places this specific combination at rank 1435 out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core. This ranking, which puts the system in the 18th percentile, might seem surprising given the high frame rates achieved. This suggests that the database includes many systems with newer or more powerful components that are capable of even higher performance in this particular title.

The combo's rank is a reflection of the absolute performance ceiling of the RTX 2060 and Ryzen 5 8400F pairing. While the average FPS figures are excellent for a standard gaming setup, the data indicates that a significant number of other hardware combinations achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 1080p. The GPU's percentile rank of 58 and the CPU's rank of 82 indicate that while each component is respectable, they are not top-tier, and their combined performance in this game lands them in the lower half of the database. The rank is a relative measure, and the measured FPS data shows that this combo still provides a very enjoyable and fluid experience for the vast majority of display configurations.