To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that scales unusually well with resolution and settings, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 demonstrates a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance keeps frame rates high at 1080p. The data shows a combo that is firmly mid-pack, ranking 1436 out of 1756 tested configurations, but the measured FPS reveals a system capable of delivering smooth gameplay across most settings, with the notable exception of the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 243.1 at 1920x1080 to 160.3 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 82.8 FPS, and then further down to 89.5 at 3840x2160. This represents a 63% decrease from 1080p to 4K, highlighting how the GPU’s 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus struggle with the increased load. The pattern is similar for High settings: 179.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 119.8 at 1440p and then to 66.8 at 4K, a 63% decline overall.

The scaling between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 137.4 at 2560x1440 to 77.4 at 3840x2160, a 43% drop. This suggests that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM capacity is being saturated at 4K, forcing the card to work much harder. In contrast, the CPU’s role diminishes as resolution increases; the Ryzen 7 7700’s 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but at 4K the bottleneck shifts entirely to the graphics card. The result is that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the GPU’s age becomes apparent.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060, built on the 12 nm TU106 chip, operates with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its memory runs at 1750 MHz, effectively 14 Gbps, across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gameplay, but the 4K results suggest it is insufficient for maintaining high frame rates with demanding settings. The card’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory is a critical factor; at Ultra settings, the average FPS at 4K drops to 54.3, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the memory capacity is being exhausted.

The GPU’s benchmark scores contextualize its performance. The PassMark G3D score of 14111 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 16074 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996 with a deltaPct of 0.5%. This means the RTX 2060 is essentially on par with that rival, though it trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 by 1.7%. In practical terms, the GPU’s 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is enough for this idle title, but the 4K data shows that the card is operating near its limits, especially with Ultra settings where the pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s is pushed hard.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is achieved at High settings for most resolutions. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 179.9 FPS, well above any refresh rate, while at 2560x1440, High yields 119.8 FPS, which is excellent for smooth gameplay. Even at 3840x2160, High settings maintain 66.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the highest preset that remains playable at 4K. Medium settings offer a slight performance boost—206.7 FPS at 1080p, 137.4 at 1440p, and 77.4 at 4K—but the visual gains from High are likely worth the small FPS cost.

Ultra settings are the least recommended, as they push the system to its limits. At 1080p, Ultra achieves 141.1 FPS, which is still respectable, but at 1440p it drops to 94.0 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 54.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The data suggests that Ultra is only viable for users with 1080p displays who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. For most players, High settings provide the best experience, balancing the RTX 2060’s strengths against its weaknesses.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run To The Core at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low, Medium, or High settings. At High settings, the average FPS at 3840x2160 is 66.8, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings drop to 54.3 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40468, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H’s score of 40431. It also outperforms the Intel Core i9-13905H by 0.6%, which scored 40712.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: High settings are recommended, as they deliver 119.8 FPS at 2560x1440. Ultra settings drop to 94.0 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns.

Q: Is the RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The data suggests it is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 54.3 FPS, indicating that the VRAM capacity may be a limiting factor at the highest resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to the AMD Radeon Pro 5700?

A: The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score is 16074, which is 1.7% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5700’s score of 16351. This indicates the Pro 5700 is slightly faster in general GPU tasks.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700, part of the 7000 series, is a Zen 4 architecture chip codenamed Raphael, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This CPU delivers strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29302, and its single-core score of 4136 is equally impressive. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure that it does not bottleneck the GPU in this idle game.

The benchmark results for the Ryzen 7 7700 place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468. This is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H, which scores 40431 (deltaPct of 0.1%), and it edges out the Intel Core i9-13905H, which scores 40712 (deltaPct of -0.6%). The CPU’s performance is more than adequate for To The Core, as the frame rates at 1080p with Low settings (243.1 FPS) suggest that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The data indicates that the CPU’s role is to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, while the GPU takes over as the primary constraint at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS ranges from 243.1 at Low settings to 141.1 at Ultra settings. Medium settings achieve 206.7 FPS, and High settings achieve 179.9 FPS. These numbers indicate that the system is capable of handling high refresh rate displays at 1080p, with even Ultra settings exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. The spread between Low and Ultra is 102 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS decreases across all settings: Low delivers 160.3 FPS, Medium delivers 137.4 FPS, High delivers 119.8 FPS, and Ultra delivers 94.0 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% for each setting, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 89.5 for Low, 77.4 for Medium, 66.8 for High, and 54.3 for Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1436 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the lower half of the database. This ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s middling performance, as the CPU is in the top 10% of all processors. The RTX 2060’s percentile of 58% among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074, is the weak link in this pairing.

The ranking reflects that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU limits the system’s overall performance, especially at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data supports this: the system excels at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. For users with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this combo is more than sufficient, but for 4K gaming, the RTX 2060 is the bottleneck. The rank of 1436 out of 1756 indicates that there are many faster configurations, but the data also shows that this specific combo offers a balanced experience for its intended resolution range.