To The Core

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an idle game where the rendering workload is modest. The measured data shows the pairing never dips below 98 FPS at 4K Ultra, and at 1080p Low it reaches 432 FPS, indicating a system that is massively overqualified for the game’s demands. The benchmark results suggest that the GPU becomes the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, while the CPU’s 16 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s logic.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform and is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The CPU has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR5, providing a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and the processor includes Radeon Graphics as integrated graphics.

For To The Core, an idle game, the CPU’s role is less about raw frame rendering and more about maintaining game state, handling background calculations, and ensuring consistent frame pacing. The benchmark scores for the Ryzen 7 7700 show strong multi-threaded performance: it scores 18,760 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,930 in single-core. In 3DMark, the 16-thread score is 8,484, while the single-thread score is 1,049. The PassMark multithread score is 34,470, and the single-thread score is 4,063.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 432, which is a frame rate far beyond what most displays can show. The fact that the FPS drops by roughly 26% when moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low (432 to 166 FPS) points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor, not the CPU. The Ryzen 7 7700’s 16 threads are likely underutilized in an idle game, as these titles typically rely on a few threads for simulation and UI updates. The processor’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1,049, ensures that the game’s main logic thread never becomes a constraint, even at the highest settings.

The CPU’s percentile ranking against all processors is 87, placing it in the top tier. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% faster), Intel Core 5 221E (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 270 (0.4% slower), and Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% slower). These deltas are minuscule, meaning the Ryzen 7 7700 is effectively performance-equivalent to these parts in general compute. In the context of To The Core, this level of CPU performance is sufficient to feed even the highest FPS numbers seen in the measured data.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and the memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The RTX 4070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 46 ray tracing cores, and 184 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 29.15 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16, with a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. The card has a 200 W TDP and is end-of-life, with the GeForce 50 series as its successor.

In To The Core, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s visuals, which for an idle game are typically simple 2D/3D scenes with minimal geometry and effects. The RTX 4070 is vastly overprovisioned for this task. The benchmark results show that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 98, which is smooth. The GPU’s high memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s and 12 GB of VRAM are more than sufficient for any textures or buffers the game might use, even at 4K resolution.

The scaling of FPS with settings reveals the GPU’s headroom. At 1080p, the difference between Low (432 FPS) and Ultra (255 FPS) is 177 FPS, a 41% reduction. This shows that the GPU is doing more work at higher settings, but the absolute numbers remain high. At 4K, the difference between Low (166 FPS) and Ultra (98 FPS) is 68 FPS, a 41% reduction as well, confirming that the GPU is the primary scaling component. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score is 26,927, and its percentile ranking is 81. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% faster), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% slower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% slower), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3% faster). These small deltas suggest that the RTX 4070’s performance is well understood and consistent.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 is never the cause of a sub-60 FPS experience in this game. Even the lowest measured average FPS (98 at 4K Ultra) is far above what is typically considered playable. The GPU’s role is primarily to push frame rates into triple digits at all resolutions, which it does without exception.

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

The measured FPS data across resolutions provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings ranges from 255 (Ultra) to 432 (Low). Moving to 1440p, the range shifts to 171 (Ultra) to 290 (Low). At 4K, the range is 98 (Ultra) to 166 (Low).

The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are substantial. For Low settings, the FPS drops from 432 to 166, a reduction of 61.6%. For Medium, it drops from 365 to 140, a reduction of 61.6%. For High, it drops from 316 to 122, a reduction of 61.4%. For Ultra, it drops from 255 to 98, a reduction of 61.6%. The consistency of these percentages (all around 61-62%) is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is constant regardless of resolution, so if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain flat as resolution increases. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with pixel count, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

Further evidence comes from the 1080p to 1440p transition. For Low settings, FPS drops from 432 to 290, a 32.9% reduction. For Medium, it drops from 365 to 245, a 32.9% reduction. For High, it drops from 316 to 213, a 32.6% reduction. For Ultra, it drops from 255 to 171, a 32.9% reduction. Again, the percentages are nearly identical, confirming that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity are what limit performance as resolution increases.

The 1440p to 4K transition shows similar behavior. For Low settings, FPS drops from 290 to 166, a 42.8% reduction. For Medium, it drops from 245 to 140, a 42.9% reduction. For High, it drops from 213 to 122, a 42.7% reduction. For Ultra, it drops from 171 to 98, a 42.7% reduction. The pattern is unmistakable: the GPU is the sole scaling component. The Ryzen 7 7700’s 16 threads and high clock speeds are more than enough to keep up with the game’s logic at any resolution, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS at 1080p Low (432) is not limited by CPU performance.

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

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 432, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the maximum value in the measured data, indicating that the system has significant headroom even at the lowest graphical preset.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 98. This is the lowest average FPS among all measured configurations, but it is still well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that even at the most demanding settings, the system never drops below 98 FPS on average.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The FPS drops by approximately 61-62% consistently from 1080p to 4K across all settings. Since the CPU’s workload does not change with resolution, this consistent drop points to the GPU’s rendering capabilities as the primary constraint.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average FPS of 245, while the Ultra preset yields 171 FPS. This represents a 74 FPS difference, or a 30.2% reduction in performance when moving from Medium to Ultra.

Q: Does the combo have a higher rank in the game compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 860 out of 3,725 tested combinations. This places it in the top 23.1% of all combinations tested, indicating that it performs better than the majority of other systems in this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1080p?

A: For the Medium preset at 1920x1080, the minimum FPS is 310, with a maximum of 420. This shows that even the lowest frame rate in this configuration is extremely high, ensuring a smooth experience.

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

The measured data offers four presets across three resolutions. To determine the best experience, we must consider both the average FPS and the consistency of the frame rate. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 365 FPS, with a minimum of 310 and a maximum of 420. The range of 110 FPS (from min to max) suggests some variance, but the minimum is still above 300 FPS.

At 1440p Medium, the average is 245 FPS, with a minimum of 209 and a maximum of 282. The minimum of 209 FPS is still far above any display refresh rate, making this a highly playable configuration. At 4K Medium, the average is 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and a maximum of 161. The minimum of 119 FPS is still above 100, which is excellent for most users.

The High preset at 1080p averages 316 FPS, which is 49 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p High, the average is 213 FPS, 32 FPS lower than Medium. At 4K High, the average is 122 FPS, 18 FPS lower than Medium. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with averages of 255 FPS at 1080p, 171 FPS at 1440p, and 98 FPS at 4K.

Given that the game is an idle title, the visual differences between Medium and Ultra are likely negligible, while the performance cost is significant. The Medium preset offers the best balance: at 4K, it provides 140 FPS average with a minimum of 119 FPS, which is smooth and consistent. At 1440p, it offers 245 FPS average, and at 1080p, it offers 365 FPS average. The fact that Medium is the only preset with min/max data suggests it is the default "sweet spot" for testing. The data shows that moving from Medium to Ultra costs 30% of the average FPS at 1440p (245 to 171) and 30% at 4K (140 to 98). The visual uplift from Medium to Ultra is not quantified in the data, but for an idle game, the performance headroom of Medium is more valuable. Therefore, the Medium preset is recommended for the best experience, as it provides the highest frame rates with a documented minimum above 100 FPS at all resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average FPS of 432. The Medium preset delivers an average of 365 FPS, with a minimum of 310 and a maximum of 420. The High preset averages 316 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 255 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline: 432, 365, 316, 255. The drop from Low to Medium is 67 FPS (15.5%), from Medium to High is 49 FPS (13.4%), and from High to Ultra is 61 FPS (19.3%).

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 290 FPS. The Medium preset averages 245 FPS, with a minimum of 209 and a maximum of 282. The High preset averages 213 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 171 FPS. The decline from Low to Ultra is 119 FPS (41.0%). The drop from Low to Medium is 45 FPS (15.5%), from Medium to High is 32 FPS (13.1%), and from High to Ultra is 42 FPS (19.7%).

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 166 FPS. The Medium preset averages 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and a maximum of 161. The High preset averages 122 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. The decline from Low to Ultra is 68 FPS (41.0%). The drop from Low to Medium is 26 FPS (15.7%), from Medium to High is 18 FPS (12.9%), and from High to Ultra is 24 FPS (19.7%).

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: the percentage drop from Low to Medium is around 15-16%, from Medium to High is around 13%, and from High to Ultra is around 19-20%. This uniformity suggests that each settings tier imposes a similar relative load on the GPU. The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data, showing that at 1080p, the frame rate fluctuates between 310 and 420, at 1440p between 209 and 282, and at 4K between 119 and 161. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (119) is higher than the average FPS at 4K Ultra (98), highlighting the performance benefit of choosing Medium over Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 860 out of 3,725 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 23.1% of all systems tested. The rank of 860 indicates that while this combo is far from the bottom, it is also not in the top tier. Given the game’s idle nature and the extremely high FPS numbers recorded, the rank is likely determined by the absolute maximum FPS achievable rather than playability, as virtually all combos in the database would produce playable frame rates.

The data shows that the combo’s performance is more than adequate for the game. The rank of 860 suggests that there are 859 combos that produce higher average FPS values. These are likely systems with more powerful GPUs, such as those with higher VRAM or faster memory, since the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 81 and the CPU’s percentile of 87 indicate that both components are above average, but the game’s low requirements mean that even mid-range GPUs can achieve high FPS, pushing the combo’s rank down relative to its component quality.

The nearest rivals for the GPU (Tesla P4, RX Vega 56, RTX 4080 Mobile, PRO W6400) all have average benchmark scores within 1.3% of the RTX 4070, but their in-game performance may vary due to driver optimizations or memory bandwidth. The RTX 4070’s 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are significant, but for an idle game, these are not fully utilized. The combo’s rank of 860 out of 3,725 is a reflection of the high performance ceiling of other systems in the database, not a weakness of this particular pairing. In practical terms, the data shows that this combo delivers over 98 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a better experience than the rank might suggest, as the rank is based on raw FPS comparisons where many systems exceed 400 FPS at lower resolutions.