To The Core

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz place it among the faster mainstream CPUs, though its 120 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) suggest a design aimed at balanced performance rather than extreme power draw. The processor's 64 MB of L3 cache, split across two CCDs (each 70.6 mm²), provides substantial on-die storage for workloads that benefit from repeated data access.

Benchmark data shows the 9900X scoring 32,172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,253 in single-core, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 54,643 and a single-thread score of 4,672. Its 3DMark results—12,552 for 16 threads, 9,114 for 8 threads, and 1,286 for single-thread—indicate that performance scales well as thread counts increase, though the jump from 8 to 16 threads (9,114 to 12,552) is less dramatic than the earlier scaling. This suggests diminishing returns beyond 8 threads for many workloads, which is relevant for an idle game like "To The Core" that likely relies on a few primary threads rather than massive parallelism.

The CPU's percentile rank of 92 (vs. all CPUs) means it outperforms 92% of tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 57,498. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015 (avg score 57,555, delta -0.1%), the AMD EPYC 7313 (57,399, +0.2%), the Intel Core i9-14900 (58,115, -1.1%), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58,323, -1.4%). These deltas are all within 1.5%, indicating that the 9900X sits in a tightly contested performance band. For an idle game, the CPU's single-thread strength (Geekbench single-core 3,010) is likely more impactful than its multi-core muscle, as idle games often process game logic, timers, and UI updates on limited threads.

Given the measured FPS data, the CPU does not appear to be the bottleneck in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 225 FPS, which is near the refresh-rate ceiling for many monitors. Even at 4K Ultra, the CPU provides enough headroom for the GPU to be the limiting factor, as FPS drops consistently with resolution increases. The 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for an idle game's typical thread usage, but the high boost clock ensures that any single-threaded bottlenecks are minimized. The data implies that this CPU's role is to ensure the GPU is never starved, even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more exposed.

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

The Intel Arc B570 is a Battlemage-generation GPU (Xe2-HPG architecture) built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its clocks are fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 18 RT cores for ray tracing. Compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio).

Benchmark results show the B570 scoring 14,195 in PassMark G3D and 7,281 in GPU compute, with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 2,649. Its Vulkan score of 96,844 and OpenCL score of 83,514 indicate strong API-level performance. The GPU's percentile rank of 65 (vs. all GPUs) places it above the median but below the high-end tier. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20,534, delta 0.1%), the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, -0.1%), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480, +0.4%), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20,662, -0.5%). These deltas are negligible, meaning the B570 performs essentially on par with these cards in aggregate benchmarks.

For "To The Core," an idle game, the GPU's role is less about raw polygon pushing and more about rendering simple 2D/3D scenes with smooth frame pacing. The 10 GB VRAM is ample for such a game, even at 4K, as idle games rarely exceed a few GB of video memory. The 380 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game's texture and buffer requirements. The B570's 80 ROPs and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate ensure that fill-rate-bound scenarios are handled easily.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling with resolution: at 1080p Low, it delivers 225 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 51 FPS. This 4.4x reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K (at Low settings) indicates that the GPU is the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions. The B570's mid-range positioning (65th percentile) means it can handle 1080p and 1440p at high settings comfortably, but 4K Ultra pushes it to its limits, resulting in sub-60 FPS. The data suggests that the GPU is well-matched to the CPU for this game at mainstream resolutions, but 4K enthusiasts would need a stronger card for Ultra settings.

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

Examining the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-limited scaling. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 225 at 1080p to 152 at 1440p (a 32.4% reduction) and then to 87 at 4K (a 42.8% reduction from 1440p). This nonlinear drop—larger percentage decrease from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p—is typical of a GPU that becomes increasingly pixel-bound as resolution rises. The 4K Low score of 87 FPS is still playable, but the trend indicates the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting.

At High settings, the FPS drops from 165 at 1080p to 111 at 1440p (32.7% reduction) and then to 64 at 4K (42.3% reduction). The similar percentage drops across settings suggest that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of quality level, which points to the GPU's fill-rate and memory bandwidth as the limiting factors rather than shader complexity. At Medium settings, the pattern continues: 191 FPS at 1080p, 128 at 1440p (33.0% drop), and 73 at 4K (43.0% drop).

The Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 133 FPS at 1080p, 89 at 1440p (33.1% drop), and 51 at 4K (42.7% drop). The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across all settings (around 33% for each resolution step) strongly indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to plateau at higher resolutions, but instead it continues to decline linearly with pixel count. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is just above the 50 FPS threshold, suggesting the GPU is barely keeping up at maximum settings.

The data also reveals that the CPU is not a constraint even at 1080p Low, where 225 FPS is achieved. If the 9900X were limiting, we'd see a ceiling around a certain FPS regardless of resolution, but the consistent scaling shows no such ceiling. This implies that for "To The Core," the Ryzen 9 9900X provides ample headroom, and the Intel Arc B570 is the component that determines playable settings and resolutions. Users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors can push Low settings to 225 FPS, but 4K Ultra users will need to accept ~51 FPS or lower settings.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 147 FPS. This frame rate is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, and the minimum ensures no noticeable stuttering. At 1080p, Medium achieves 191 FPS (min 162, max 219), which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual difference between Medium and High at 1080p is often minimal in idle games, so High at 165 FPS might be preferable for better image quality.

For 4K, the Medium preset yields 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. High at 4K drops to 64 FPS, still above 60 but with less headroom. Ultra at 4K falls to 51 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Given that "To The Core" is an idle game—typically less demanding on reaction times—51 FPS may still be acceptable, but Medium or High would be safer choices for consistent pacing. At 1440p, Ultra at 89 FPS is also viable, offering maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing the 60 FPS target.

The data suggests that the "sweet spot" is 1440p Medium, as it provides 128 FPS (nearly double the 60 FPS baseline) with a minimum of 109 FPS. This ensures that even in complex scenes, the frame rate won't dip below playable levels. If the user prioritizes visual quality over frame rate, 1440p Ultra at 89 FPS is a strong alternative, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1080p, Ultra at 133 FPS is the best choice for those with high-refresh-rate monitors who want maximum settings, as it still exceeds the 120 FPS mark. For budget-conscious players, 1080p Low at 225 FPS is overkill unless the monitor supports 240 Hz.

The measured rows indicate that Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions, with the smallest gap between average and minimum FPS. For example, at 4K Medium, the min is 62 FPS versus an average of 73 (a 15% drop), while at Ultra, the min would likely be lower proportionally (though not measured). This consistency makes Medium the recommended preset for most users, especially at 1440p and above.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2,380 out of 2,991 tested combos in "To The Core," placing it in the bottom 20.4% of all configurations. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual component benchmarks might suggest—the CPU is in the 92nd percentile and the GPU is in the 65th percentile, yet the combo's in-game rank is relatively poor. This discrepancy implies that the game's performance characteristics do not align well with the strengths of this particular pairing.

Several factors could explain this. First, "To The Core" is an idle game, which may be more sensitive to certain hardware attributes than to raw compute power. The game might rely heavily on memory latency or specific instruction sets where the 9900X excels, but the B570's mid-range GPU might not complement it well. Alternatively, the ranking could reflect that many other combos use higher-end GPUs (e.g., RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX) that dominate the top ranks, pushing this combo down despite its competent performance.

The rank of 2,380 out of 2,991 means that 611 combos perform worse, which is a minority. The data implies that this combo is below average for this game, likely due to the GPU being a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's high percentile (92) does not translate to a high in-game rank because the game's FPS is primarily GPU-bound, as shown by the resolution scaling analysis. The B570's 65th percentile GPU is decent but not exceptional, and in a game where many users likely pair high-end CPUs with top-tier GPUs, this combo falls short.

However, the ranking doesn't tell the whole story. The measured FPS at 1080p High (165 FPS) and 1440p Medium (128 FPS) are perfectly playable, so the low rank may reflect that the combo isn't optimized for maximum FPS in this specific game, rather than being inadequate. The delta between the combo's rank and the component percentiles suggests that the game's engine may favor certain GPU architectures (e.g., NVIDIA's or AMD's) over Intel's Arc, even if the B570's raw benchmarks are comparable to its rivals. The nearest GPU rival (RTX 3070 Mobile) has a nearly identical average score, but in-game performance can differ due to driver optimizations and game-specific code paths.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 225 FPS, High reaches 165 FPS, Medium hits 191 FPS (with a minimum of 162 and maximum of 219), and Ultra delivers 133 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p shows the most consistent frame pacing, with a narrow 57 FPS range between min and max. The 225 FPS at Low indicates the CPU-GPU combo can exceed 200 FPS when visual effects are minimal, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the FPS drops across all settings. Low averages 152 FPS, High averages 111 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS (min 109, max 147), and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The Medium preset's min of 109 FPS is still comfortably above 60, making it the most reliable choice for smooth gameplay at this resolution. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 32% (Low) to 33% (High), showing consistent scaling. The 89 FPS at Ultra is notable because it approaches the 90 FPS mark, which is often considered a threshold for "high refresh" experiences, though not quite there.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low averages 87 FPS, High averages 64 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 62 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 4K Medium is the highest setting that guarantees a playable experience without drops below 60 FPS. Ultra at 51 FPS is below 60, which may cause visible stuttering in fast-moving scenes, though idle games are often less sensitive to this. The 4K Low score of 87 FPS is respectable, showing that the combo can handle 4K if settings are lowered.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers the best balance, with the only measured minimum and maximum values. The data shows that the combo is capable of 4K gaming, but users must accept either Medium settings (73 FPS) or lower. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 36 FPS (87 vs. 51), which highlights the GPU's sensitivity to quality presets. At 1080p, the gap is 92 FPS (225 vs. 133), showing that the CPU has more headroom at lower resolutions, but the GPU still limits maximum FPS. The overall trend is clear: this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K as a secondary option at reduced settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in "To The Core"?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 225, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo run the game at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 73 with a minimum of 62, which is playable. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but may still be acceptable for an idle game.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p according to the data?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides 128 FPS average with a minimum of 109 FPS, making it the most balanced choice. Ultra at 1440p achieves 89 FPS, which is also viable if visual quality is prioritized.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combos in this game?

A: It ranks 2,380 out of 2,991 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 20.4% of configurations for "To The Core."

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 165 at 1080p to 111 at 1440p (a 32.7% reduction) and then to 64 at 4K (a 42.3% reduction from 1440p), indicating GPU-limited scaling.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor. This is evident from the consistent FPS drops across resolutions (around 33% per step) regardless of settings, and the fact that the CPU's high benchmark scores (92nd percentile) do not prevent low in-game ranking, which is driven by the GPU's 65th percentile performance.