To The Core

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a strong performance profile in To The Core, an Idle genre title released on February 14, 2024. The benchmark data shows this combination is capable of high frame rates across all tested resolutions, though the scaling patterns reveal distinct bottlenecks that shift depending on the settings and pixel count. This analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on resolution scaling, overall ranking, and the specific roles of the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not uniform across all settings, indicating a progressive shift in the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 239.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 160 FPS, a 33.2% reduction, and then to 4K Low at 94.6 FPS, another 40.9% cut from the 1440p figure. This steep decline at lower settings points to the GPU becoming the primary constraint as pixel count rises, since the CPU has ample headroom at these frame rates.

In contrast, the Ultra preset shows a different scaling curve. Starting at 140.1 FPS in 1080p, it falls to 95.9 FPS at 1440p (a 31.5% drop) and then to 56.3 FPS at 4K (a 41.3% drop from 1440p). The percentage losses are similar to those seen on Low, which suggests that the GPU is consistently the limiting component even at Ultra, just at a lower absolute performance level. The data indicates that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases: at 1080p, the difference is 99.5 FPS, but at 4K, it shrinks to 38.3 FPS. This compression implies that at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput is the dominant factor, and the CPU's contribution is less impactful on the final frame rate.

The 1080p to 1440p transition at High settings tells a similar story, with frame rates falling from 175.4 FPS to 120.2 FPS. The scaling from 1440p High to 4K High results in 70.3 FPS, which is a 41.5% reduction. This consistent pattern across all presets leads to a clear conclusion: the RTX 2060 is the binding constraint in To The Core, especially at 4K, where even Low settings cannot push past 94.6 FPS. The CPU is not the limiting factor here, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p, which remain well above 140 FPS even on Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 1439 out of 1756 combos for To The Core. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is a notable finding given the high absolute frame rates recorded. The rank suggests that while this combo delivers smooth gameplay, there are many other pairings that achieve even higher performance in this specific title.

The ranking context is important. With an 84th percentile score among all CPUs, the Ryzen 7 5700 is a strong processor, but its performance in this game is moderated by the GPU. The RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, which is a mid-range position. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-percentile GPU results in a system that is likely held back by the graphics card in most scenarios, which is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis. The data shows that the combo's rank is not a reflection of poor component quality, but rather the balance of the pairing.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 7 5700 has an average benchmark score of 27220, which is just 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-9900K and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700H. This indicates that the CPU's processing power is competitive with those older and mobile parts, but the frame rates in To The Core are ultimately dictated by the GPU's output. The combo's rank of 1439 suggests that many other systems, likely with more powerful GPUs, will outperform it, even if their CPUs are weaker. This is a classic case where the GPU becomes the deciding factor in the final ranking.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In To The Core, this memory configuration appears sufficient, as the frame rates do not collapse at higher resolutions, but the overall performance is capped by the GPU's compute capabilities. The GPU's boost clock is listed at 1680 MHz, with a base clock of 1365 MHz, and it has 1920 shading units.

The GPU's position in the market is mid-range, as shown by its 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 16074, which is 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600S and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. This data suggests that the RTX 2060 is a competent performer, but it is not a high-end part. In To The Core, this translates to the 4K Ultra result of 56.3 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high refresh rate displays. The 4K Low result of 94.6 FPS shows that the GPU can handle the resolution if settings are reduced, but it cannot maintain high frame rates with maximum visual quality.

The GPU's role as the bottleneck is clear when examining the 1440p results. At High settings, the combo hits 120.2 FPS, which drops to 95.9 FPS on Ultra. This 20% reduction in frame rate from High to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the GPU is struggling with the increased shader complexity. The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM is likely not a limiting factor here, as the game is an Idle title and may not require massive texture pools. Instead, the raw processing power of the TU106 chip, with its 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is what determines the final output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of the combo's capabilities across all settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the performance is excellent, with the Low preset hitting 239.6 FPS and Medium at 201.6 FPS. High settings yield 175.4 FPS, and Ultra still manages a very smooth 140.1 FPS. These numbers indicate that for 1080p gaming, this system is more than capable of driving high refresh rate monitors, even with maximum settings.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain strong but begin to show the GPU's strain. Low settings produce 160 FPS, which is still excellent, and Medium delivers 135.3 FPS. High settings drop to 120.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 95.9 FPS. The 1440p results are all above 60 FPS, making this a solid resolution for the combo, but the gap between Low and Ultra (64.1 FPS) highlights the performance cost of higher visual fidelity.

At 4K, the limitations become apparent. Low settings achieve 94.6 FPS, which is still quite playable, but Medium drops to 79.2 FPS, High to 70.3 FPS, and Ultra to 56.3 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one in the entire dataset that falls below 60 FPS, indicating that this is the boundary of the system's capability. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 60.5% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant hit but not catastrophic. The data suggests that for a 4K experience, users would need to stick to Low or Medium settings to maintain smooth gameplay, whereas 1440p Ultra is a viable option.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications show it is more than capable of feeding the GPU in To The Core. The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It is built on the Zen 3 architecture using a 7 nm process, and it has a 16 MB L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20655 and a single-core score of 2916. Its average benchmark score of 27220 places it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, and it sits just 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-9900K. This performance headroom means that in To The Core, the CPU is likely never the bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 239.6 FPS is a clear indicator that the CPU can generate frames far faster than the GPU can render them.

The CPU's role becomes more passive at higher resolutions. As the GPU becomes the limiting factor, the CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 3296, ensures that it does not introduce stutters or frame time inconsistencies. The data shows that the CPU is a strong partner for the RTX 2060, providing enough processing power to avoid holding back the GPU at any setting. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is also future-proof for multi-threaded workloads, but in this specific Idle game, the single-thread performance is what matters most, and the Ryzen 7 5700 delivers that in abundance.