To The Core

To The Core is an idle game that presents an unusual benchmark scenario: the combination of an Intel Core i5-11400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 produces frame rates that are extraordinarily high, even at 4K resolution. The measured data shows a system that is rarely stressed by this title, with the CPU and GPU both operating well within their performance envelopes across all tested settings. The following analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on resolution scaling, the GPU's role, and how this specific combo ranks among the thousands of configurations tested.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases, though the absolute numbers remain impressive. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 413.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 280.4 FPS, and at 4K it falls further to 159.5 FPS. This represents a 32% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 61% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load scales significantly with pixel count, as expected.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. For High settings, the drop from 305.2 FPS at 1080p to 206.5 FPS at 1440p is a 32% decrease, and then to 118 FPS at 4K is a 61% drop from the 1080p baseline. Ultra settings follow suit: 244.8 FPS at 1080p, 162.9 FPS at 1440p (a 33% reduction), and 95 FPS at 4K (a 61% reduction from 1080p). The consistency of these percentages across all presets strongly suggests that the limiting factor is purely the GPU's pixel throughput, not any CPU bottleneck.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound or at least limited by the game's engine logic, given that even the most demanding Ultra preset still yields 244.8 FPS. The RTX 3080, with its 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units, is clearly capable of far more work than this idle game demands at lower resolutions. It is only at 4K that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth begin to matter more substantially, as evidenced by the 159.5 FPS result at Low settings, which is still exceptionally smooth.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080's specifications explain why this combo handles To The Core so easily. With 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, the card offers 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for an idle game's texture and buffer requirements. The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz, combined with its 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, the average frame rate does not drop below 95 FPS.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant here. The 10 GB frame buffer is unlikely to be a limiting factor in To The Core, as idle games typically have modest VRAM footprints. The measured results support this: the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 64.5 FPS (159.5 vs. 95), which is substantial but not indicative of a memory capacity bottleneck. If VRAM were insufficient, the frame rate would collapse far more dramatically at higher settings.

Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile, with the RTX 3080 posting an average benchmark score of 35787. This places it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. However, in this specific game, the card's raw power is somewhat wasted, as the frame rates at 1080p exceed 400 FPS, far beyond the refresh rate of most displays. The GPU's role in this combo is to ensure that no setting or resolution causes a noticeable frame rate dip, a task it accomplishes with considerable headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 95 FPS for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination.

Q: How does the 1080p Low setting result compare to the 4K Low setting result?

A: At 1080p Low, the average is 413.1 FPS, while at 4K Low, it drops to 159.5 FPS, representing a 61% reduction.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i5-11400F, with 6 cores and 12 threads and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, delivers frame rates that scale consistently with resolution, suggesting the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 523 out of 1756 tested combinations for To The Core.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium settings yield 238 FPS on average, while High settings yield 206.5 FPS, a difference of 31.5 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM cause any issues in this game?

A: No, the measured results show no evidence of VRAM limitations. The frame rates remain high even at 4K Ultra, indicating the 10 GB frame buffer is adequate for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a clear picture of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 244.8 FPS at Ultra to 413.1 FPS at Low, with Medium at 352 FPS and High at 305.2 FPS. These numbers indicate that even the most demanding preset is playable on any high-refresh-rate monitor.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 162.9 FPS at Ultra, 206.5 FPS at High, 238 FPS at Medium, and 280.4 FPS at Low. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with each preset losing roughly a third of its performance, which aligns with the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the results are 95 FPS at Ultra, 118 FPS at High, 134.5 FPS at Medium, and 159.5 FPS at Low. The 4K Ultra result is the only one in the entire dataset that falls below 100 FPS, but it remains comfortably playable. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 40% performance drop, which is the largest relative difference across all resolutions, emphasizing that the GPU is working hardest at this setting.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations for To The Core, this combo ranks 523 out of 1756, placing it in the upper 30% of all systems. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high absolute frame rates, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations, likely with more powerful CPUs or newer GPUs, achieve even higher scores in this undemanding title. The combo's rank suggests that while the RTX 3080 is a strong performer, the i5-11400F may be holding back the system in scenarios where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 400 FPS.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 17181 places it in the 75th percentile of all processors, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and the Intel Core i7-1260P, all within a 0.2% score difference. This indicates that the i5-11400F is a mid-to-high-tier processor, but not at the very top. In an idle game like To The Core, the CPU's 12 threads and 12 MB of shared L3 cache are likely more than sufficient, so the rank is probably influenced by the GPU's performance relative to other high-end cards.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target display refresh rate. For 1080p and 1440p displays, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it delivers 244.8 FPS and 162.9 FPS respectively, both well above 144 Hz thresholds. There is no reason to lower settings at these resolutions, as even the most demanding preset maintains a high frame rate.

For 4K displays, the High preset at 118 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is also viable for 60 Hz displays, but High provides a 24% performance improvement over Ultra with presumably minimal visual difference in an idle game. The Medium preset at 134.5 FPS is an alternative for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, but the data suggests that High is the sweet spot for 4K. The Low preset is unnecessary at any resolution, as even the highest settings produce playable frame rates across the board.