To The Core

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for To The Core show a classic resolution scaling curve, but with an unusually shallow drop-off that reveals a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 204 FPS average; stepping up to 1440p reduces that to 138 FPS, a 32% decline. Moving from 1440p to 4K High brings the average down to 79 FPS, another 43% reduction. This pattern—where each resolution step costs roughly a third to two-fifths of the remaining performance—indicates that the GPU is becoming progressively more relevant as pixel count rises, but the game never becomes purely GPU-limited within the tested range.

The Low preset data is even more revealing. At 1080p Low, the average hits 279 FPS, which is 37% higher than High at the same resolution. At 1440p Low, the average is 188 FPS, and at 4K Low it remains at 107 FPS. The spread between Low and High at 1080p is 75 FPS, while at 4K the same preset gap narrows to 28 FPS. This compression at higher resolutions is the signature of a system transitioning from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a more balanced or GPU-bound state at 4K. The fact that 4K Ultra still manages 63 FPS average suggests the GPU has enough headroom to handle the game's demands even at maximum settings, but the CPU is clearly the limiting factor when resolution drops.

The Medium preset provides the only min/max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the average is 236 FPS with a minimum of 200 and a maximum of 271, a 71 FPS spread that shows some frame-time variance. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 159 FPS, with a minimum of 135 and a maximum of 182. At 4K Medium, the average is 91 FPS, with a minimum of 77 and a maximum of 104. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions—from 71 FPS at 1080p to 27 FPS at 4K—is another indicator that the CPU's influence on frame pacing diminishes as the GPU takes on more work. This is a textbook demonstration of where the performance bottleneck sits for this particular title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. For an idle genre game like To The Core, memory capacity is rarely stressed, and the measured data confirms that the GPU's 8 GB allocation is sufficient even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS stays above 60. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz provide a solid foundation, and its 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs are more than adequate for a title that does not push geometric complexity.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (deltaPct 0.7). The fact that the RTX 4060 sits within 0.7% of these older or integrated parts in synthetic benchmarks, yet delivers playable 4K Ultra frame rates in To The Core, underscores the game's modest GPU demands. The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensure it is not the constraining factor in this pairing.

The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4060 is capable of pushing 279 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far beyond any display refresh rate for most users. Even at 4K Ultra, the 63 FPS average is playable, though it does dip below the 70 FPS threshold that some might consider ideal. The GPU's texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s are more than sufficient for the game's visual output. The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but largely idle, as To The Core does not appear to rely on ray tracing or DLSS features based on the available data.

Settings Recommendations

The data supports a clear recommendation for Ultra settings at 1080p and 1440p, and a more nuanced approach at 4K. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 165 FPS average, which is 39 FPS lower than High but still far above any practical refresh-rate ceiling. The jump from Medium (236 FPS) to Ultra (165 FPS) costs 71 FPS, but the visual fidelity gain in an idle game is typically worth the trade-off. At 1440p, Ultra delivers 111 FPS, which remains smooth on high-refresh monitors, and the drop from High's 138 FPS to Ultra's 111 FPS is a modest 27 FPS penalty for maximum quality.

At 4K, the choice is more consequential. Ultra produces 63 FPS average, which is technically playable but sits close to the lower bound of what most users would consider acceptable for a smooth experience. High at 4K gives 79 FPS, a 25% improvement over Ultra while presumably sacrificing some visual effects. Medium at 4K yields 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS baseline. Given the genre's focus on UI elements and incremental visual feedback rather than fast-paced action, the Medium preset at 4K appears to be the sweet spot—it maintains a robust average and avoids the frame-time dips that could affect the Ultra setting.

The Low preset is effectively a fallback for very high refresh-rate displays. At 1080p Low, the 279 FPS average would satisfy even a 240 Hz monitor, but the visual compromise is likely unnecessary given that High still delivers 204 FPS. For users with 144 Hz panels, High at 1080p or 1440p is the optimal choice, offering a 144 FPS+ experience with better visuals than Medium. The measured data shows no scenario where Low is required for playability, as even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) stays above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2267 out of 3725 tested combos in To The Core. This places the pairing in the 39th percentile of all tested configurations, which may seem low given the component specifications, but it reflects the game's unusual performance profile. The rank is likely dragged down by the fact that many higher-ranking combos pair the RTX 4060 with more powerful CPUs, or pair the Ryzen 9 8945HX with more capable GPUs. In a game where the CPU dominates at lower resolutions, a 16-core mobile processor is overkill, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor only at 4K.

The CPU's benchmark performance places it in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (deltaPct 0.1), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (deltaPct -0.4), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (deltaPct -0.4). This puts the Ryzen 9 8945HX in elite company, essentially tied with these high-end parts. Yet in To The Core, the combo's rank of 2267/3725 indicates that the CPU's massive core count and thread count do not translate into a top-tier game result. The game likely cannot utilize 32 threads effectively, leaving much of the CPU's potential untapped.

The GPU's rank is less impressive, sitting in the 61st percentile with an average score of 17639. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, is a much older part, and the deltaPct of -0.2 suggests the RTX 4060 barely edges it out in synthetic benchmarks. This explains why the combo rank is not higher—the GPU is a mid-tier part that performs adequately but does not excel in a way that would boost the pairing. The data shows that To The Core rewards GPU performance more than CPU performance at higher resolutions, and the RTX 4060's modest standing relative to other GPUs caps the combo's potential.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. In synthetic benchmarks, it posts strong numbers: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030, alongside a Passmark multi-thread score of 51405 and a single-thread score of 3907. These figures place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, but To The Core does not appear to be a workload that leverages this capability.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 279 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capacity for this game. The fact that increasing resolution to 1440p Low only drops the average to 188 FPS, and 4K Low to 107 FPS, suggests that the CPU is still feeding enough frames at 1080p to keep the GPU busy. However, the diminishing returns from High to Ultra settings at each resolution point to the GPU becoming the bottleneck as quality increases. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 165 FPS, which is 41% lower than Low—a clear sign that the GPU is now the limiting factor.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for an idle game. The Passmark data compression score of 677755 and integer math score of 195180 indicate strong general-purpose performance, but these metrics do not translate directly to gaming FPS. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, has a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning they are effectively tied in average benchmark score. Yet in To The Core, neither CPU would likely show a meaningful difference, as the game's performance is more dependent on single-thread speed and GPU capabilities at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play To The Core with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The measured data shows that 1440p High provides 138 FPS average, while 4K High delivers 79 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and smoothness, 1440p is the sweet spot, but 4K Medium (91 FPS) is also viable if you prefer higher resolution.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in To The Core?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, as shown by the 279 FPS on Low versus 204 FPS on High. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with Ultra dropping to 63 FPS compared to 79 FPS on High.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM on the RTX 4060 sufficient for To The Core?

A: Yes. The GPU maintains playable frame rates at 4K Ultra (63 FPS) with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, and the game does not appear to exceed this capacity based on the measured performance.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2267 out of 3725 tested combinations, placing it in the 39th percentile. This is a mid-tier result, reflecting the GPU's middling performance rather than the CPU's top-tier status.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset or stick with High?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, Ultra is advisable (165 FPS and 111 FPS respectively). At 4K, High (79 FPS) is preferable to Ultra (63 FPS) to maintain a higher frame rate, though Medium (91 FPS) offers the most headroom.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 8945HX overkill for this game?

A: The CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads are not fully utilized, as the game's performance at 1080p Low (279 FPS) is already near practical limits. The processor's 95th percentile benchmark standing does not translate to a proportionate FPS advantage in To The Core.