To The Core

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an Idle genre title released on 2024-02-14. The measured data shows this combination is not merely playable but overwhelmingly capable, with average FPS figures that far exceed standard display refresh rates at every tested resolution and settings preset. The combination ranks 1007 out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database, which is a strong result given the hardware's mainstream positioning.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for a high-refresh-rate monitor?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 184.8 (Ultra) to 311 (Low), and at 2560x1440, it ranges from 124.3 (Ultra) to 209 (Low). Both resolutions comfortably exceed 120 FPS on all presets, so either is suitable for 144Hz displays.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's performance compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, which places it within 0.7% of the Intel Arc B580 (score 23021) and 0.8% of the AMD Radeon 760M (score 22999). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (score 23321) by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (score 23338) by 0.7%.

Q: Is the Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a bottleneck. The CPU scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1681 in single-core, with a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs. Given the game's high FPS output (e.g., 231.8 FPS at 1080p High), the processor keeps pace with the GPU.

Q: What settings preset provides the highest frame rate at 4K?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 120.8 FPS, which is the highest 4K result. The Ultra preset drops to 72.1 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher quality settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 184.8 at 1920x1080 to 124.3 at 2560x1440, and further to 72.1 at 3840x2160. This represents a 60.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance relative to its multi-threaded performance?

A: The CPU scores 893 in 3DMark single-thread and 4051 in 16-thread tests. In Cinebench R23, the single-core score is 1681 versus 11912 for multicore, indicating strong scaling across its 4 cores and 8 threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node, provides the graphical muscle for To The Core. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the textures and assets in this idle game. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz drive its 3072 shading units, and the measured frame rates confirm that this hardware is rarely stressed by the title.

The benchmark results show a clear relationship between GPU load and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 311 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 184.8 FPS — a difference of 126.2 FPS that reflects the increased shading and memory pressure from higher quality settings. At 4K, the spread narrows in absolute terms: Low yields 120.8 FPS and Ultra drops to 72.1 FPS. This suggests the GPU remains the primary limiter at higher resolutions, but the game's low complexity means even the most demanding preset at 4K stays above 60 FPS.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 66 versus all GPUs is modest, and its average score of 23181 places it in close competition with the Intel Arc B580 and AMD Radeon 760M. In practical terms for To The Core, the RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than adequate. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a constraint at any tested setting, as the highest resolution (3840x2160) still achieves 72.1 FPS on Ultra. The card's 48 ROPs and 96 TMUs handle the pixel and texture throughput efficiently, evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 2160p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the single-thread responsiveness that idle games often rely on for game logic and UI updates. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core keep frequently accessed data close at hand.

In To The Core, the CPU's performance is adequate across all tested configurations. The processor's Cinebench R23 scores of 11912 multicore and 1681 single-core place it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 13516 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (score 13534, delta -0.1%) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K (score 13280, delta 1.8%). This parity with much more expensive processors underscores that the i3-12100F is not a weak link in this pairing.

The measured FPS data supports this conclusion. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 311 FPS, which is a CPU-intensive scenario where the processor must feed frames quickly to the GPU. The fact that this result is 80.1 FPS higher than the 4K Low result (120.8 FPS) indicates that at 1080p, the GPU is not the sole limiter, but the CPU handles the workload without causing a severe bottleneck. The 4-core design with 8 threads is sufficient for the game's threading model, and the 58 W TDP keeps thermal demands modest, allowing sustained boost clocks.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum smoothness on high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest measured average of 311 FPS. This is the best choice for competitive or twitch-sensitive play, though the visual trade-offs are minimal given the game's art style. At 2560x1440, the Low preset still provides 209 FPS, which remains excellent for 144Hz displays.

If visual fidelity is more important, the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 still achieves 184.8 FPS, which is well above the threshold for 144Hz monitors. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 124.3 FPS, which is still playable on 120Hz displays but begins to show the cost of higher settings. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 101.8 FPS offers a balanced compromise between the Low preset's 120.8 FPS and the Ultra preset's 72.1 FPS.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for 4K, providing a 29.7 FPS improvement over Ultra while maintaining a higher visual quality than Low. At 1080p and 1440p, even the Ultra preset exceeds 120 FPS, so there is no practical reason to lower settings unless targeting 165Hz or 240Hz displays, where the Low or Medium presets would be preferable.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1007 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the 57th percentile of all hardware pairings in the database, which is a respectable position given the mainstream nature of both components. The ranking reflects the game's low hardware demands; many higher-end combos achieve similar frame rates because the title is not graphically intensive.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534 (delta -0.1%), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13462 (delta 0.4%). The i3-12100F's score of 13516 is effectively tied with these processors, meaning the CPU choice has minimal impact on the final ranking. Similarly, the RTX 4060's average score of 23181 is within 0.8% of the Intel Arc B580 (23021) and AMD Radeon 760M (22999), showing that GPU performance is also tightly clustered in this segment.

The combination's rank suggests that while it is not a top-tier performer, it delivers frame rates that are indistinguishable from far more expensive setups in this specific game. The bottleneck is more likely the game engine or the display refresh rate than the hardware itself, as evidenced by the extremely high FPS figures across all settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across presets is as follows: Low yields 311, Medium yields 264.3, High yields 231.8, and Ultra yields 184.8. The spread from Low to Ultra is 126.2 FPS, with each step up in quality costing between 32.5 and 47 FPS. This resolution shows the greatest absolute performance range, as the GPU is less constrained by pixel count.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 209 for Low, 179 for Medium, 156.6 for High, and 124.3 for Ultra. The transition from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS, from Medium to High costs 22.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 32.3 FPS. The scaling is consistent, and even the Ultra preset remains well above 120 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 120.8 for Low, 101.8 for Medium, 85.9 for High, and 72.1 for Ultra. The performance cost of each settings tier is similar to lower resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are lower due to the 4K pixel count. The gap between Low and Ultra is 48.7 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p difference but smaller in absolute terms.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently delivers the highest frame rates, with 311 FPS at 1080p being the single best result. The Ultra preset at 4K produces the lowest result at 72.1 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS standard. The data shows a predictable and smooth scaling pattern, indicating no unusual performance anomalies or driver-level stutters in the measured runs.