To The Core

To The Core is an idle game, and the measured frame rates for this AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination reveal a dataset that defies the typical expectations for the genre. The scores are exceptionally high across all resolutions, which immediately raises questions about where the performance ceiling actually lies. The data suggests a system with immense headroom, but the pattern of scaling between settings and resolutions provides a detailed map of the hardware's behavior under load.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a significant but not catastrophic drop in frame rates, indicating a shift in the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 313 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 210 FPS, and at 4K Low, the average is 120 FPS. This represents a 62% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K on the lowest settings, which is a substantial penalty that points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern changes when examining the higher settings presets. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 229 FPS at 1080p to 154 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 88 FPS at 4K. This is a 62% decrease from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low setting scaling. The consistency of this percentage across different quality presets is curious; it suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel throughput rather than the complexity of the scene being rendered.

The Medium preset provides the only complete dataset with minimum and maximum frame times, which allows for a deeper analysis of frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 265 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS and a maximum of 304 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 178 FPS with a range of 151 to 205 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum frames remains proportionally consistent across resolutions, indicating that the frame time variance is not exacerbated by the resolution increase.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 185 FPS at 1080p falling to 124 FPS at 1440p and then to 71 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 71 FPS is the lowest measurement in the entire dataset, but it is still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The data implies that even at the most demanding settings, the system is never truly struggling, which is remarkable for an idle game. The question becomes whether the CPU is holding back performance at lower resolutions or if the GPU is simply so powerful that it overwhelms the game's rendering demands.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. The processor's 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it is in the top tier of available processors, and its average benchmark score of 76212 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals.

The nearest rivals to this CPU are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. The deltas between these processors are remarkably small, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX showing a 0.1% difference, the EPYC Embedded 8224P at -0.4%, the Threadripper PRO 9945WX at -0.4%, and the Ryzen 9 9950X3D at 0.6%. This suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, these processors are essentially interchangeable in terms of average score, which makes the in-game performance differences more attributable to other factors.

In the context of To The Core, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, but the high frame rates at 1080p suggest that the processor is more than capable of feeding the graphics card. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 313 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the display's refresh rate capability. The single-threaded performance of this CPU, evidenced by its 6030 Cinebench R23 score, is likely sufficient to handle the game logic and draw call submission without becoming a bottleneck. The data does not show any signs of CPU limitation, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes rather than showing a plateau at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). Its 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 37648 is closely matched by its nearest rivals.

The nearest rivals to this GPU include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a 0.1% delta, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 with a 0.4% delta, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile with a -1.3% delta, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 with a 1.3% delta. The RTX 4080 Mobile is the most interesting comparison, as it shows a -1.3% difference, meaning the RTX 4070 is slightly ahead in average benchmark score despite being a lower-tier product. This indicates that the desktop RTX 4070 is a well-optimized GPU that punches above its weight class.

The GPU's role in To The Core becomes evident when examining the 4K Ultra result of 71 FPS. This is the only scenario where the system appears to be working hard, and it suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest resolution and quality settings. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is likely sufficient for the game's textures and assets, but the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings places a heavy load on the rendering pipeline. The fact that the 4K Low setting achieves 120 FPS indicates that the GPU can handle the resolution when the graphical complexity is reduced, but the Ultra preset pushes it to its limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 154 FPS, which is a 33% reduction from the 229 FPS achieved at 1080p with the same settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 1080p Low performance?

A: The 4K Ultra average of 71 FPS is 77% lower than the 1080p Low average of 313 FPS. This represents the widest performance gap in the dataset, highlighting the significant impact of both resolution and quality settings on the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this system?

A: The data indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings, where the frame rate drops to 71 FPS. At lower resolutions and settings, the frame rates are so high that neither component appears to be a limiting factor, suggesting the game engine or display refresh rate may be the constraint.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum frame rate at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 151 FPS, with a maximum of 205 FPS and an average of 178 FPS. This shows a consistent frame delivery with a 54 FPS spread between minimum and maximum.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. It trails the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX by 0.4% each.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 265 FPS at 1080p to 102 FPS at 4K, representing a 61.5% decrease. The minimum frame rate drops from 225 FPS to 86 FPS, and the maximum from 304 FPS to 117 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset of measured frame rates provides a comprehensive picture of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 313 FPS, which is the highest measurement in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 265 FPS average, with a minimum of 225 FPS and a maximum of 304 FPS. The High preset at 1080p drops to 229 FPS average, and the Ultra preset at 1080p yields 185 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 210 FPS, which is a 33% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 178 FPS, with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 154 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 1440p averages 124 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 41% reduction in frame rate, from 210 FPS to 124 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 120 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 100 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The High preset at 4K averages 88 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 4K averages 71 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 41% reduction, from 120 FPS to 71 FPS, which is identical to the percentage reduction seen at 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this system. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 265 FPS average with a minimum of 225 FPS, which provides a smooth experience with no risk of frame drops. The 1440p Medium result of 178 FPS average with a minimum of 151 FPS is also excellent, and the 4K Medium result of 102 FPS average with a minimum of 86 FPS remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rates. At 1080p High, the system still achieves 229 FPS, and at 1440p High, it delivers 154 FPS. The 4K High result of 88 FPS is the lowest among the High preset measurements but remains playable. The Ultra preset, while visually the most demanding, produces the lowest frame rates in the dataset, with 71 FPS at 4K being the only measurement that approaches the 60 FPS threshold.

For users with high refresh rate displays, the Low preset at 1080p and 1440p provides the highest possible frame rates, with 313 FPS and 210 FPS respectively. However, the diminishing returns in visual quality may not justify the frame rate increase over the Medium preset, especially considering that the Medium preset at 1440p still exceeds 175 FPS. The data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this hardware combination, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining frame rates that are far above the requirements for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 2004 out of 3725 tested combinations in To The Core. This places the system in the 54th percentile of all tested combinations, which is a surprisingly low ranking given the exceptional frame rates measured. The discrepancy between the high absolute performance and the mid-tier ranking suggests that the game's benchmark database includes many systems with even more powerful components, such as higher-end GPUs or newer processor generations.

The ranking becomes more understandable when considering the CPU's position relative to its rivals. The Ryzen 9 8945HX sits in a tight cluster with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P, AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX, and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, all within a 1% margin of each other in average benchmark score. This indicates that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in the ranking, as many other processors offer similar performance.

The GPU's ranking is more varied, with the RTX 4070 positioned between the RTX 4080 Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56. The RTX 4080 Mobile, despite being a mobile part, shows a -1.3% delta from the RTX 4070, meaning the desktop GPU is slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks. However, the 2004th rank out of 3725 combinations suggests that many tested systems feature GPUs that are significantly faster in gaming workloads, likely including higher-tier desktop cards like the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090. The data shows that this combination is capable of delivering excellent frame rates in To The Core, but it is not at the top of the performance hierarchy among all tested systems.