To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that behaves nothing like one in this benchmark pass, delivering frame rates that rival fast-paced shooters across every resolution tested. The pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces an exceptionally smooth experience, with the data showing that even the most demanding preset at 4K stays well above the refresh rate of standard monitors. The bottleneck in this configuration shifts dramatically depending on where you look, and the numbers reveal a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but begins to show CPU limitations at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable but steep drop as resolution increases, though the severity varies by preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 389.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 288.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 26%, and then to 164.1 FPS at 3840x2160, another 43% drop. This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Core i5-10400F is holding the RTX 4070 back, as the GPU is capable of producing far more frames than the CPU can feed it.

The High preset tells a similar story but with a gentler curve: 317.1 FPS at 1080p, 211.6 FPS at 1440p, and 120.3 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and High at 1080p is only 72.8 FPS, while at 4K the gap narrows to 43.8 FPS, suggesting that the CPU becomes less of a factor as pixel count rises. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 257.6 FPS at 1080p falling to 172.4 FPS at 1440p and finally 97.5 FPS at 4K.

The limiting component is clearly the CPU at 1080p. The fact that Low settings yield 389.9 FPS but High settings only 317.1 FPS indicates that the i5-10400F cannot scale with the GPU's potential when settings are lowered. At 4K, the RTX 4070 becomes the primary constraint, as the frame rate differences between presets are more proportional to the GPU workload. The 4K numbers hover around 100-164 FPS depending on settings, which is a strong indicator that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The maximum recorded average is 389.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Ultra preset still manages a very high 257.6 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores an average benchmark of 37283, which puts it 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008). It trails the RTX 4080 Mobile by 2.2% (38135 score).

Q: Is the Core i5-10400F a bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data suggests not. At 3840x2160, the frame rates range from 97.5 FPS (Ultra) to 164.1 FPS (Low), indicating the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs supports this, as it provides sufficient throughput for this workload.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the RTX 4070 have?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This is paired with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

Q: How does the i5-10400F's multi-threaded score compare to the AMD EPYC 7552?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552's 14115. It also edges out the Ryzen 3 7320C by 0.8% (14277 score) but trails the i5-8500 by 1.1%.

Q: What is the 4K High preset performance?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 120.3. This is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra result of 172.4 FPS, showing that the resolution jump costs roughly 30% performance at equivalent settings levels.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to High settings as the sweet spot. At 1080p, High delivers 317.1 FPS, which is 48.2 FPS more than Ultra's 257.6 FPS, while only sacrificing a modest amount of visual fidelity. Moving to Medium at 1080p yields 365.3 FPS, but the jump from High to Medium is only 48.2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns for the visual quality loss.

At 1440p, High hits 211.6 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate most gaming monitors offer. Ultra drops to 172.4 FPS, still playable, but High provides a smoother margin without a significant visual penalty. For 4K, High is again the recommended preset, delivering 120.3 FPS. Ultra at 4K falls to 97.5 FPS, which is below the 100 FPS threshold many players prefer, making High the safer choice for consistent frame pacing.

Low settings are only worth considering if you're chasing the absolute maximum frame rate, such as 389.9 FPS at 1080p or 288.1 FPS at 1440p. For most users, the jump from Low to High is worth the 72.8 FPS loss at 1080p, as the visual improvements in an idle game are more noticeable than the marginal FPS gains. The Medium preset sits between the two, but High offers the best balance of performance and quality across all three resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i5-10400F and RTX 4070 ranks 517th out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 29.4% of all configurations, which is solid but not exceptional given the hardware involved. The rank reflects that while the RTX 4070 is a high-end GPU (81st percentile among all GPUs), the i5-10400F is only in the 73rd percentile among CPUs, creating a slight mismatch that holds the combo back from top-tier placement.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14115 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C at 14277 (0.8% higher). The Intel Core i5-8500 and AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 both score around 14332-14336, about 1.1-1.2% higher. This indicates the i5-10400F is competitive with older mid-range chips but lacks the single-threaded punch of newer designs.

The GPU's ranking is more impressive. The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37283 places it just behind the RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.6% higher) and the MX570 A (38008, 1.9% higher), while outperforming the RX 5300M by 2.5%. This suggests the GPU is capable of punching above its weight class, but the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the CPU's limitations in frame generation at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 plays the dominant role in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure that texture-heavy scenes at 4K don't cause stuttering, as evidenced by the 120.3 FPS average at 4K High settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units and 184 tensor cores, provide ample compute power for this idle game's modest demands.

The VRAM allocation is more than sufficient for To The Core, which likely doesn't require more than a few gigabytes even at 4K Ultra. The 12 GB capacity means there's no risk of running out of memory, and the GDDR6X type ensures high bandwidth for any texture streaming. The GPU's pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s help explain why the frame rates remain high even at 4K, as the game's visual complexity is low enough to keep these units busy without hitting limits.

The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, shows it's a strong performer. Its nearest rival in synthetic tests, the RX Vega 56, scores 37507, which is only 0.6% higher — a negligible difference in real-world gaming. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it can handle any modern API the game might use, though To The Core's idle nature likely doesn't stress these features heavily.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. Low settings produce 389.9 FPS, Medium drops slightly to 365.3 FPS, High delivers 317.1 FPS, and Ultra still manages 257.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 132.3 FPS, showing that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU can clearly handle more work.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers remain impressive. Low hits 288.1 FPS, Medium 242.8 FPS, High 211.6 FPS, and Ultra 172.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant — roughly 26-33% depending on preset — but the frame rates are still well above any practical refresh rate. The 4K results at 3840x2160 show the GPU starting to feel the load: Low averages 164.1 FPS, Medium 140.3 FPS, High 120.3 FPS, and Ultra 97.5 FPS.

The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 100 FPS, which is still playable but not as smooth as the other settings. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a consistent 40-43% performance drop across all presets, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The data suggests that for maximum smoothness, High settings at 1440p (211.6 FPS) or 4K (120.3 FPS) offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, while 1080p Low (389.9 FPS) is reserved for those chasing extreme frame rates.