To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that, on paper, should not stress a flagship-tier pairing like the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The measured frame rates, however, tell a more nuanced story about where the bottlenecks lie in this specific title. With average FPS figures ranging from 139 at 4K Ultra to 533 at 1080p Low, the data indicates a system that is absolutely crushing the workload, but the scaling patterns reveal that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data, contextualizes the component roles, and provides actionable settings recommendations based strictly on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a classic pattern of GPU load transfer, but the absolute numbers suggest that the RTX 4090 is rarely breaking a sweat. At 1080p High, the system produces 447 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 301 FPS, a reduction of 146 FPS (approximately 32.7%). The jump to 4K High yields 172 FPS, which is another 129 FPS drop (approximately 42.9%) from the 1440p result. This steep decline with increasing resolution is expected, but the fact that 4K High still holds 172 FPS indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor at the lower resolution tiers.

The Low settings preset shows the most extreme scaling. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 533 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 411 FPS, and at 4K Low, it settles at 235 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low (122 FPS) is nearly as large as the gap between 1440p and 4K Low (176 FPS). This suggests that even at Low settings, the rendering resolution is starting to engage the GPU more meaningfully, but the CPU is still feeding frames fast enough to keep the GPU busy.

The most telling data point for bottleneck analysis is the difference between the 1080p and 1440p results at Low settings. The drop from 533 to 411 FPS is a 22.9% reduction, which is less than the 34.8% reduction seen when moving from 1440p Low to 4K Low. This indicates that at 1080p and 1440p Low, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the GPU has surplus capacity. The game's idle genre means that the simulation logic, which relies heavily on CPU single-thread performance, can become the primary driver of frame generation. The high refresh rates at these resolutions are evidence of the Ryzen 9 5950X's strong single-core performance, but they also show that the RTX 4090 is waiting for instructions rather than being the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. For an idle game like To The Core, the multi-core capabilities are less relevant than the single-thread and lightly-threaded performance, which is where this CPU excels. The benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 944 in 3dmark_single_thread and 3470 in passmark_single_thread. These figures are strong, but the game's performance at 1080p Low (533 FPS) suggests that the CPU is still hitting its limits when the GPU is not heavily loaded.

The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1856 and 3dmark_4_threads score of 3595 are particularly relevant for an idle game that likely has a primary simulation thread and a few auxiliary threads for rendering and input. The data indicates that the CPU's performance scales well from 2 to 4 threads, but the jump to 8 threads (6598) and 16 threads (10810) shows diminishing returns that are typical for this genre. The max threads score of 11597 is only slightly higher than the 16-thread score, confirming that the game is not utilizing the full 32-thread capacity of the processor.

Comparing to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 52073, which is 0.2% higher, and the AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121, which is 0.3% higher. The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730, which is 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301, which is 0.7% higher. These deltas are minuscule, indicating that the 5950X is in a performance tier where small differences in synthetic benchmarks do not translate to meaningful differences in this game's frame rates. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs further underscores that it is a top-tier part, but the game's frame rates at 1080p are likely limited by the CPU's architectural limits rather than its absolute performance.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 147th out of 3725 combos for To The Core. This places it in the top 4% of all tested configurations, which is an excellent result given the sheer number of possible combinations. The high rank is expected given the flagship nature of both components, but it is worth remembering the rank is not higher due to the CPU's limitations in this specific title.

The combo's performance is likely constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 139 FPS, which is a very playable frame rate for any game genre, but for an idle game, it is exceptionally high. The fact that this combo ranks 147th out of 3725 suggests that there are 146 combinations that perform better, likely featuring newer CPUs with higher single-thread performance or better memory latency characteristics. However, the delta between this combo and those above it is likely small, given the high absolute frame rates.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 60347, with a percentile ranking of 88th among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60140, 0.3% delta). These are not gaming-focused GPUs, which highlights the RTX 4090's dominance in gaming workloads, even if the synthetic scores are comparable. The combo's rank in-game is a more reliable indicator of real-world performance, and the 147th position out of 3725 is a strong showing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 533 FPS on Low, 502 FPS on Medium, 447 FPS on High, and 360 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 427 FPS and a maximum of 577 FPS, indicating some variance but generally consistent performance. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 173 FPS, which shows that the settings have a significant impact on frame rate even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain exceptionally high. Low produces 411 FPS, Medium produces 347 FPS (with a minimum of 295 and maximum of 399), High produces 301 FPS, and Ultra produces 242 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 169 FPS, which is similar to the 1080p gap. This consistency suggests that the CPU is still the primary driver at 1440p, as the GPU is not yet fully saturated.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still high but begin to show more GPU involvement. Low produces 235 FPS, Medium produces 199 FPS (with a minimum of 169 and maximum of 228), High produces 172 FPS, and Ultra produces 139 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 96 FPS, which is smaller than at lower resolutions. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at 4K, as the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities are being pushed harder.

The data shows that the system can maintain over 139 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a remarkable achievement for any game, let alone an idle title. The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset, but all other presets lack this data, suggesting that frame pacing is likely stable across the board.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. The GPU has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. These specifications make it one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available, but for an idle game, the raw compute power is largely underutilized.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 9223, a geekbench_opencl score of 255416, and a geekbench_vulkan score of 271631. In passmark, the g3d score is 38194, and the gpu_compute score is 26613. These scores are high, but the game's frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are not limited by the GPU's compute capabilities. The RTX 4090's role in this pairing is to ensure that there are no GPU-related frame drops, even at 4K Ultra.

The VRAM capacity of 24 GB is more than sufficient for To The Core, which is not a graphically demanding title. The game's low settings at 4K produce 235 FPS, which is 96 FPS higher than Ultra settings. This indicates that the GPU is still performing well under load, and the settings presets primarily affect post-processing effects and draw distances, which have a minimal impact on the GPU's core workload. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs is a reflection of its overall performance, but in this specific game, the CPU is the more critical component.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. For users with a 4K display, the High preset at 172 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (199 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well above any standard display's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 139 FPS is playable but the 33 FPS drop from High may not be worth the marginal visual improvements in an idle game. The Low preset at 235 FPS is excessive for most displays, but it could be useful for users with 240Hz or higher refresh rate 4K monitors.

For 1440p displays, the Ultra preset at 242 FPS is the best choice for users with high refresh rate monitors (240Hz or above). The High preset at 301 FPS is also excellent, but the visual difference between High and Ultra in an idle game is often minimal. The Medium preset at 347 FPS offers a good balance, but the data suggests that the system has enough headroom to run Ultra without compromising the frame rate. The Low preset at 411 FPS is only recommended for competitive scenarios, which are rare in idle games.

For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 360 FPS is the clear recommendation. It provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds all but the most extreme 360Hz monitors. The High preset at 447 FPS and Medium at 502 FPS are also viable, but the CPU is likely the limiting factor at this resolution, so reducing settings does not yield a proportional increase in frame rate. The Low preset at 533 FPS is the maximum achievable, but it is only relevant for users with 500Hz+ displays, which are not yet mainstream.

The data shows that the system is capable of running To The Core at maximum settings across all resolutions without dropping below 139 FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize the Ultra preset at 4K if visual fidelity is paramount, or the High preset if a higher frame rate buffer is desired. For 1440p and 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best overall choice, as the frame rate remains high enough to take advantage of most high-refresh-rate displays.