To The Core

# To The Core with AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combination of AMD's Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 D produces remarkably high frame rates in To The Core, an idle game that clearly favors GPU throughput over CPU muscle. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the measured average FPS never drops below 151, indicating that this pairing delivers an exceptionally smooth experience even at 4K Ultra. The data reveals a system where the RTX 5090 D's immense rendering power is the dominant factor, with the Ryzen 5 8400F providing sufficient support to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but follows a predictable pattern that highlights the GPU's role as the primary performance driver. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 566 FPS at 1920x1080 to 256 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 54.8% reduction. This steep decline is typical of GPU-bound scenarios where pixel count directly impacts workload. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, handles the increased pixel throughput admirably, yet the sheer pixel volume at 4K still exacts a heavy toll.

Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a more moderate drop, from 379 FPS to 217 FPS, a 42.7% decrease. This suggests that the game's Medium preset introduces additional GPU work that scales somewhat less than linearly with resolution, possibly due to fixed-cost effects or memory bandwidth advantages at lower resolutions. At High settings, the transition from 2560x1440 (329 FPS) to 3840x2160 (188 FPS) yields a 42.9% reduction, closely mirroring the Medium preset's scaling behavior.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic resolution sensitivity, dropping from 393 FPS at 1080p to 151 FPS at 4K — a 61.6% reduction. This amplified scaling at Ultra settings indicates that the highest quality preset adds effects that become increasingly expensive as resolution rises, likely including advanced shading or post-processing that taxes the GPU's compute units more heavily at higher pixel counts. The 1080p to 1440p transition at Ultra (393 to 265 FPS) shows a 32.6% drop, while 1440p to 4K (265 to 151 FPS) costs another 43.0%, demonstrating that the Ultra preset's cost curve steepens at higher resolutions.

Across all settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition consistently shows the smallest percentage drop (ranging from 20.8% at Low to 32.6% at Ultra), while the 1440p to 4K step costs between 42.7% and 43.0% for High and Medium. This pattern suggests that the RTX 5090 D's memory subsystem, with its 32 GB capacity and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, remains sufficient even at 4K, but the raw pixel processing demand eventually overwhelms the GPU's 176 ROPs and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput at the highest resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost up to 4.70 GHz. In To The Core, an idle game that likely has modest CPU demands, this processor proves more than adequate. The 3DMark benchmarks show a single-thread score of 951 and a max-thread score of 6165, indicating solid per-core performance that handles game logic efficiently. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and single-core score of 2943 further confirm that this CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at high frame rates.

The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core provide reasonable data locality for game assets, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures the GPU receives data without starvation. However, the measured FPS data suggests that even at 1080p Low (566 FPS), the CPU is not the limiting factor — the RTX 5090 D consistently delivers frame rates that would strain most processors, yet the Ryzen 5 8400F maintains pace.

The 8400F's position in the broader CPU landscape, with a percentile rank of 77 and an average benchmark score of 25005, places it slightly above the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (deltaPct 0.2) and Intel Core i7-11850H (deltaPct 0.3). This close grouping suggests that the 8400F's performance is competitive with mid-range desktop and high-end mobile parts, which is more than sufficient for an idle game where the CPU's role is primarily to manage game state and feed draw calls to the GPU.

FAQ

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 8400F bottleneck the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: No, the data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 566 FPS, and the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943 and 3DMark single-thread score of 951 indicate enough per-core performance to drive the GPU at these frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rate?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 566 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. If you want the absolute highest frame rate, 1080p Low is the top choice, though even 4K Ultra delivers 151 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to Low?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (393 FPS) is 30.6% slower than Low (566 FPS). At 1440p, the gap widens to 40.8% (265 vs 448 FPS), and at 4K, Ultra (151 FPS) is 41.0% slower than Low (256 FPS). The Ultra preset's cost increases with resolution.

Q: Is 32 GB of VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than To The Core requires, even at 4K Ultra. The game's modest visual demands mean that the GPU's memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested setting.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 33rd out of 2991 tested combos for To The Core, placing it in the top 1.1% of all configurations. This high ranking reflects the GPU's strong performance in this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 322 FPS, with an average of 379 FPS and a maximum of 436 FPS. This indicates consistent frame pacing without significant dips.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 566 FPS, while Medium averages 533 FPS with a minimum of 453 and maximum of 613. High settings average 489 FPS, and Ultra drops to 393 FPS. The spread between settings at 1080p is 173 FPS, showing that the game's visual presets have a measurable but not overwhelming impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease but remain extremely playable. Low settings deliver 448 FPS, Medium averages 379 FPS (minimum 322, maximum 436), High reaches 329 FPS, and Ultra falls to 265 FPS. The settings spread at 1440p is 183 FPS, slightly larger than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's workload scales more with settings as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive for a 4K resolution. Low settings average 256 FPS, Medium averages 217 FPS (minimum 184, maximum 249), High delivers 188 FPS, and Ultra maintains 151 FPS. The settings spread at 4K is 105 FPS, which is narrower than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K regardless of settings, compressing the performance differences between presets.

The Medium preset consistently provides the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 453 FPS and maximum of 613 FPS show a range of 160 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 114 FPS (322 to 436), and at 4K, it tightens further to 65 FPS (184 to 249). This pattern indicates that frame time consistency improves at higher resolutions, likely because the GPU workload becomes more uniform.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 33rd out of 2991 tested combos for To The Core, placing it in the 98.9th percentile of all configurations. This top-tier ranking is driven primarily by the GPU, which holds a 92nd percentile position among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 77712. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking (average score 25005) is respectable but not exceptional, yet in this game, the CPU's contribution to the combo's high rank is secondary.

The RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct 1.1), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (deltaPct -2.1), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct -2.4). These deltas show that the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77712 is within 2.4% of these competitors, suggesting that in raw compute terms, the GPU is not dramatically ahead of some mobile and datacenter parts. However, in To The Core specifically, the combo's rank of 33 demonstrates that real-world game performance can differ from synthetic benchmarks.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i7-11850H (deltaPct 0.3), Intel Core i7-13620H (deltaPct 0.4), and AMD EPYC 9474F (deltaPct -0.4). These extremely small deltas indicate that the 8400F's average benchmark score of 25005 is nearly identical to these alternatives, meaning that swapping to any of these CPUs would likely produce similar results in this game, assuming the GPU remains the performance bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 566 FPS, which is the maximum measured average across all configurations. This setting is ideal for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate displays, though the visual quality trade-off may be noticeable. At 1440p, Low still provides 448 FPS, making it a strong choice for high-refresh 1440p monitors.

The Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, it delivers 533 FPS with a minimum of 453 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. At 1440p, Medium averages 379 FPS with a minimum of 322 FPS, which remains well above the refresh rate of most monitors. Even at 4K, Medium maintains 217 FPS with a minimum of 184 FPS, providing a smooth experience without the need to compromise on resolution.

The High preset is a reasonable middle ground, delivering 489 FPS at 1080p, 329 FPS at 1440p, and 188 FPS at 4K. However, the performance gap between High and Medium is relatively small (roughly 8-13% depending on resolution), making Medium the more efficient choice for those who want slightly better visuals without a significant FPS cost. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, costs 30-41% performance compared to Low, and at 4K drops to 151 FPS, which may still be acceptable but is notably lower than other presets.

For most users, Medium at 1440p or 4K represents the sweet spot: the measured minimums of 322 FPS at 1440p and 184 FPS at 4K ensure that even the most demanding scenes remain fluid, while the visual improvements over Low are substantial. Players with 240Hz or 360Hz monitors might prefer Low at 1080p or 1440p to maximize frame rates, but the diminishing returns above 400 FPS are likely imperceptible for most gaming scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the exceptional frame rates observed. Built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB202 chip on a 5 nm process, this GPU houses 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The boost clock of 2407 MHz enables a peak FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS, which provides ample compute headroom for To The Core's rendering demands.

The GPU's memory subsystem is particularly impressive: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory allocation and bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and frame buffer operations never become bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra with the game's highest-quality assets. The 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores, while not directly relevant to an idle game's rendering, contribute to the GPU's overall compute versatility and may accelerate any post-processing effects.

The RTX 5090 D's benchmark results reinforce its high-end positioning. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 376915 and OpenCL score of 310674 demonstrate strong compute performance, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 indicates capable DirectX 12 rendering. The PassMark G3D score of 44065 places the GPU in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct 1.1), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (deltaPct -2.1), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct -2.4). These small deltas suggest that the RTX 5090 D's average score is closely matched by these alternatives in synthetic tests, yet the measured FPS in To The Core shows the GPU delivering over 150 FPS even at 4K Ultra, indicating that its real-world gaming performance is exceptional.

The GPU's 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU requirement reflect its high power draw, but the dual-slot design and 1x 16-pin power connector support this in a desktop build. With PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and display outputs including 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, the RTX 5090 D is well-equipped for modern displays. In To The Core, the GPU's role is clearly pivotal: the resolution scaling analysis shows that frame rates decline with pixel count as expected for a GPU-bound workload, and the CPU's ample headroom means the RTX 5090 D is the primary determinant of performance across all tested settings.