To The Core

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a remarkably fluid experience in To The Core, an idle game that clearly favors high refresh rates. The measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions are exceptionally high, with the lowest average being 75 FPS at 4K Ultra. This combination is not struggling to maintain playability; instead, the data reveals a system that is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions and increasingly CPU-bound at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. The analysis below breaks down the optimal settings, the scaling behavior, and the specific roles of the processor and graphics card in producing these results.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At every resolution, the average frame rate decreases as settings increase, which is the expected behavior. The most interesting decision point is between the High and Ultra presets, as the performance cost of the final step is significant.

For 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 243 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 196 FPS. This represents a 47 FPS loss for the upgrade to the highest settings. Given that the game is an idle genre title, the visual fidelity difference between High and Ultra is likely marginal compared to the performance hit. The Low preset at 1080p produces 332 FPS, which is an extraordinary figure, but the Medium preset at 280 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and speed. The sweet spot for 1080p is the High preset: it maintains a 243 FPS average, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, while still providing a high level of graphical detail.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats. High yields 164 FPS, while Ultra falls to 132 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 189 FPS. The High preset remains the recommended choice, as it stays well above 144 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p displays. The performance delta between High and Ultra is 32 FPS, which is substantial. For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity on a 144Hz monitor, the 132 FPS of Ultra is still very playable, but the High preset provides a more comfortable margin.

The 4K resolution presents a more constrained environment. Here, High produces 94 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75 FPS. While 75 FPS is still a playable average, it is the only point in the entire dataset where the system dips below the 90 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 108 FPS, which is a better target for a smoother experience. The Low preset at 4K offers 128 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for a 4K display. For 3840x2160, the High preset at 94 FPS is the best balance, offering a near-100 FPS experience without the substantial cost of Ultra. The data suggests that High is the universally best preset for this combo, as it consistently provides the most favorable trade-off between frame rate and visual settings across all three resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run To The Core at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, it can. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is 75 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, though it is the lowest average recorded for this combination.

*Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves in To The Core?*

A: The highest measured average is 332 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The High preset at 1080p still manages a very high 243 FPS average.

Q: How does the game perform at 1440p, a popular gaming resolution?

A: At 2560x1440, the system is extremely capable. The High preset delivers a 164 FPS average, and the Medium preset reaches 189 FPS. Even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a 132 FPS average.

Q: Is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets large?

A: The difference varies by resolution. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 280 on Medium to 243 on High, a 37 FPS difference. At 1440p, the drop is from 189 to 164, a 25 FPS difference. At 4K, the drop is from 108 to 94, a 14 FPS difference. The relative cost of High over Medium increases as resolution decreases.

Q: What kind of frame rates can be expected with the Low preset?

A: The Low preset pushes the engine to its limits. It produces a 332 FPS average at 1080p, a 223 FPS average at 1440p, and a 128 FPS average at 4K. These are the highest recorded numbers for each respective resolution.

Q: Does the game show any signs of being limited by the processor?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rates there (up to 332 FPS) are so high that they approach the practical limits of the Intel Core i3-12100F's processing power, as indicated by the performance scaling pattern between resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. The performance drop is significant but not uniform across settings, which is informative.

At 1920x1080, the High preset produces 243 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 164 FPS, a reduction of 79 FPS or roughly 32.5%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average falls to 94 FPS, a reduction of 70 FPS from 1440p, or about 42.7%. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 149 FPS, meaning the 4K performance is only about 38.7% of the 1080p performance.

This pattern indicates a strong GPU dependency. The number of pixels increases by a factor of 2.25 from 1080p to 1440p, and by another factor of 2.25 from 1440p to 4K. The frame rate does not halve with each pixel doubling, which shows the GPU is handling the load, but the consistent and substantial drops point to the Radeon RX 7700 being the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

However, the scaling at the Low preset tells a slightly different story. At Low settings, the frame rate is 332 FPS at 1080p, 223 FPS at 1440p, and 128 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 109 FPS (32.8%), and the drop from 1440p to 4K is 95 FPS (42.6%). The percentage drops are very similar to the High preset. This suggests that the GPU is still the main constraint, as reducing the CPU load through lower settings does not flatten the curve.

The data implies that while the GPU load is the dominant factor in the resolution scaling, the CPU has a role at 1080p. The fact that the Low preset at 1080p reaches 332 FPS, a figure that is high enough to tax even modern processors, suggests that the Intel Core i3-12100F is working hard to feed the GPU at this resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is where the GPU takes over as the definitive bottleneck, as the frame rate drops significantly despite the relatively modest increase in pixel count. This is a classic sign of a system where the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, but the CPU can become a factor when frame rates are extremely high.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is positioned in the middle of the performance spectrum for To The Core. The combo rank in this game is 1322 out of 2991 tested combinations. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that a majority of the tested combos perform better in this specific game.

This ranking is interesting when considering the raw power of the components. The Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Both components are above average individually, yet their combined performance in To The Core is slightly below average relative to other combos in the database.

This suggests that the game may be more sensitive to other aspects of the system, or that the specific pairing has a synergy that is not fully utilized. The combo's rank of 1322 indicates that there are 1321 other combinations that deliver higher frame rates in this game. This could be due to the game's thread utilization or its dependency on certain CPU features that the i3-12100F lacks, despite its high single-threaded benchmark scores. The data shows that the hardware is capable, but the game's engine does not fully leverage this particular combination to push it into the top tier of performers. The rank is a reminder that a powerful GPU and a decent CPU do not automatically guarantee top-tier performance in every title, especially in an idle game where the engine's efficiency is paramount.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. This processor is a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674.

In To The Core, the CPU's role is critical in achieving the highest possible frame rates. The game's measured performance at 1080p with the Low preset reaches 332 FPS. Such a high frame rate requires the CPU to process a large number of frames per second, and the i3-12100F appears to be capable of this task. However, the data suggests it is reaching its limits. The frame rate scaling between 1080p and 1440p is steep, and the fact that the FPS does not maintain a linear relationship with the pixel count at the Low preset suggests the CPU is a contributing factor.

The processor's 4 cores and 8 threads are likely being fully utilized at these high frame rates. The 3dmark benchmarks show a score of 4051 for 16 threads and 4026 for 8 threads, indicating that the processor scales well with thread count up to its physical and logical core limits. The passmark multi-thread score of 14015 and single-thread score of 3444 further confirm its balanced performance. For an idle game like To The Core, which may not have complex AI or physics simulations, the high single-thread performance is more important than multi-core might. The i3-12100F's single-core performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 1932, is strong enough to handle the game's logic, while its 8 threads provide enough parallel processing for the game's systems. The data indicates that the CPU is a capable partner, but its 4-core configuration is a limiting factor when trying to exceed the 300 FPS threshold, as evidenced by the performance plateauing at 332 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings. The following is a detailed breakdown of the average frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. The Low preset produces an average of 332 FPS. The Medium preset averages 280 FPS, with a minimum of 238 FPS and a maximum of 323 FPS. The High preset averages 243 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 196 FPS, which is the lowest at this resolution but still exceptionally high.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. The Low preset averages 223 FPS. The Medium preset averages 189 FPS, with a minimum of 160 FPS and a maximum of 217 FPS. The High preset averages 164 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 132 FPS. This resolution is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, as even the Ultra preset provides a frame rate above 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system still provides a very playable experience. The Low preset averages 128 FPS. The Medium preset averages 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. The High preset averages 94 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 75 FPS. This is the only preset and resolution combination where the average frame rate drops below 90 FPS, indicating that 4K Ultra is the most demanding scenario for this hardware.

The data shows a consistent performance hierarchy: Low > Medium > High > Ultra at all resolutions. The difference between Medium and High is noticeable but not drastic, while the jump from High to Ultra incurs a significant performance cost, particularly at 4K where the difference is 19 FPS. The minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset show that frame pacing is stable, with the minimum being close to the average.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary driver of graphics performance in this combination. Based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, it features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It has a base clock of 1900 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The card is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. Its compute power is rated at 25.18 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

In To The Core, the GPU is the main determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions. The scaling data shows that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops significantly, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The GPU's raw power is sufficient to handle the game at 4K, producing an average of 94 FPS on the High preset. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than adequate for this game, ensuring that memory capacity is not a bottleneck.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its position. Its Passmark G3D score is 20974, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2865. Its percentile rank among all GPUs is 58, which is above average. The nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which has a score of 16014 and is 1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, with a score of 16129, which is 1.7% faster. The RX 7700 is also very close to the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which has a score of 15862, showing a performance delta of -0.1%.

The GPU's role is clear: it provides the necessary fill rate and compute power to achieve high frame rates at 1440p and 4K. The 256-bit memory bus and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are crucial for feeding the GPU at these resolutions. The data suggests that the RX 7700 is well-suited for this game, as it is able to maintain frame rates above 90 FPS at 4K High, a task that would challenge many other cards. The performance is strong enough that the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, but the GPU is the star of the show at higher resolutions.