To The Core

To The Core, an idle game released in February 2024, presents an unusual stress profile for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, indicating that this combination is far beyond what the title demands for smooth gameplay. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals the CPU’s limitations at the extreme high end of refresh rates.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly illustrates the shift in bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 352.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 239.2 FPS, a 32% decrease. At 4K High, the average falls to 135.1 FPS, which is a 62% reduction from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, with the RTX 4070 SUPER’s rendering load becoming the dominant constraint.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution, confirming this trend. At 1080p, the gap between Low (482.7 FPS) and Ultra (281.7 FPS) is 201 FPS. At 4K, the same settings gap is 77.7 FPS (184.2 FPS Low vs. 106.5 FPS Ultra). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach very high frame rates, but the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the ceiling as resolution climbs. The 4K Ultra result of 106.5 FPS is still well above playable thresholds, but it represents a clear performance cliff compared to the 4K Low result.

The data indicates that for users targeting 1440p or 4K, the scaling is predictable and GPU-centric. However, the 1080p results, particularly the 482.7 FPS Low setting, suggest that the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads are nearing their limit in this idle-game scenario, where draw calls and game logic updates can become a bottleneck at extremely high frame rates. The game’s simple graphics at lower settings allow the RTX 4070 SUPER to work far below its capacity, pushing the workload back toward the processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing. Its specifications, including a boost clock of 2475 MHz and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, provide 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. These figures are more than sufficient for an idle game like To The Core, which does not feature complex geometry or heavy texture streaming. The GPU’s 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this title, as the workload is unlikely to utilize ray tracing or DLSS features.

The GPU’s performance percentile against all other GPUs is 84, placing it in the upper echelon of hardware. Its average benchmark score of 42576 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which sits only 0.2% higher. This indicates that the 4070 SUPER is a high-tier product that can handle far more demanding games. In To The Core, its role is to provide a massive safety margin. The 4K Ultra result of 106.5 FPS demonstrates that even at maximum settings and highest resolution, the GPU is not fully stressed. The GPU’s production status is end-of-life, suggesting it is a mature product with stable drivers.

The memory configuration is also notable. The 12 GB capacity and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth prevent any memory-related bottlenecks at 4K. The data shows that the GPU’s frame rate scales consistently with resolution, which is a hallmark of a card that is not running out of VRAM or bandwidth. The 1980 MHz base clock and 2475 MHz boost clock provide a solid foundation, but the game’s low graphical complexity means the card spends most of its time at lower utilization, waiting on the CPU or the frame pacing logic.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 322nd out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core. This places it in the top 18.3% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The high ranking is largely due to the GPU’s capability, as the combo’s performance is sufficient to push frame rates into the triple digits at all resolutions tested.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 13516, which puts it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which has an average score of 13534, a delta of -0.1%. This means the i3-12100F is statistically tied with a high-end workstation processor in general compute benchmarks, but its 4-core design may behave differently in gaming workloads. The Intel Core i7-7700K is also close, with a score of 13280 and a delta of 1.8%, meaning the i3-12100F is about 1.8% faster in average CPU benchmarks.

The combo’s rank of 322 suggests that the pairing is balanced for this game, but the CPU is the weaker link. The GPU’s percentile of 84 is higher than the CPU’s percentile of 72, which indicates a slight mismatch. In a game like To The Core, which is not graphically intensive, the CPU’s lower relative performance is more likely to surface. The rank of 322 out of 1756 is respectable, but it is not a top-tier result because many combos with more powerful CPUs achieve higher frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU limit is exposed.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 482.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution and settings level.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX. This indicates nearly identical general compute performance.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, the data shows it achieves 135.1 FPS at 4K High and 106.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. These results are well above standard 60 FPS targets.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, provided by 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score compare to the RTX A6000?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average GPU score of 42576, which is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A6000’s score of 42653.

Q: What is the combo’s exact ranking among all tested systems?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 322nd out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, and it boosts up to 4.30 GHz. These clock speeds are moderate, and the CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache is modest by modern standards. In To The Core, an idle game, the CPU is responsible for game logic, simulation, and frame pacing. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but it is the primary bottleneck at 1080p with lower settings.

The CPU’s benchmark scores reveal its strengths and weaknesses. Its single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 1681, which is strong for daily tasks. However, its multicore score of 11912 in the same test shows that it relies heavily on boosting and limited core count. In the 3DMark 16-thread test, it scores 4051, but this is an anomaly since it only has 8 threads. The data shows that the CPU is capable of high single-core performance, which is critical for games that are not well-threaded.

The CPU’s percentile of 72 against all CPUs indicates it is above average, but its 4-core configuration means it will lag behind 6-core and 8-core processors in heavily multithreaded workloads. The nearest rival data shows it is competitive with the Intel Core i7-7700K, which is a 4-core, 8-thread CPU from a previous generation. The i3-12100F is 1.8% faster than that older chip in average benchmarks.

For To The Core, the CPU’s role is to provide consistent frame pacing. The fact that the 1080p Low setting hits 482.7 FPS suggests that the CPU is working hard to process game updates. At 4K, the CPU is less stressed because the GPU takes longer to render each frame, giving the CPU more time to prepare the next frame. The 58W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate that this is a power-efficient chip, but its performance is capped by its core count and thread count. This makes the i3-12100F the component that holds the combo back from achieving even higher frame rates at 1080p.