To The Core

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces an unusual benchmark profile in To The Core, an idle-genre title. The data shows a combination where a mid-range, six-core processor from 2021 drives one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available, yielding frame rates that range from 136.8 FPS at 4K Ultra to 458.4 FPS at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes the component roles, and provides settings guidance based strictly on the recorded data.

FAQ

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

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 458.4, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The lowest recorded average is 136.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which places it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212), and exactly 0% delta from the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66733, a delta of -0.4%.

Q: At which resolution does the frame rate drop below 200 FPS?

A: At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra setting produces 136.8 FPS, High produces 174.6 FPS, and Medium produces 202.2 FPS. Only the Low setting at 4K stays above 200 FPS, with 237.6 FPS.

Q: How many combinations were tested for the game's ranking, and where does this combo fall?

A: The combo ranks 98th out of 1756 tested combinations in To The Core, placing it in the top 5.6% of all tested hardware pairings.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GPU in this configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 features a 384-bit memory bus with GDDR6X memory, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is a key factor for handling high-resolution textures in this idle game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Rocket Lake architecture chip, built on Intel's 14 nm process, has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, yielding 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core are adequate for the threading demands of To The Core, which is an idle genre title that typically relies less on raw single-thread performance than on consistent multi-thread availability.

Benchmark results indicate the CPU's multithreaded capabilities are its strength. In Cinebench R23, the chip scores 14372 multi-core and 2029 single-core, while 3DMark tests show a progression from 1691 with 2 threads to 5652 with max threads, suggesting the extra threads scale effectively. Geekbench results reinforce this, with a multi-core score of 7579 versus a single-core score of 1979. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 16908 and integer math score of 57624 indicate that it can handle the background calculations that idle games often process, even when the GPU is outputting hundreds of frames per second.

However, the data reveals a notable ceiling. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 75, and its average benchmark score of 17181 places it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, -0.2% delta). In To The Core, this means the i5-11400F is capable of feeding the RTX 4090 at most measured settings, but at very high frame rates—particularly at 1080p Low where the average hits 458.4 FPS—the CPU's six physical cores may become the limiting factor, as the GPU is clearly not the bottleneck at that resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an absolute heavyweight, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, with 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The GPU's base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and it is equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is critical for To The Core, as the game's visual elements and any high-resolution texture work benefit from the massive frame buffer and rapid data transfer.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 82.58 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16, a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s. These specifications translate directly to the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the GPU still manages 136.8 FPS, which confirms its raw power, but the scaling shows that the game's Ultra preset imposes a significant load. The RTX 4090's passmark G3D score of 38194 and its 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs underscore its top-tier status, though its nearest rivals—like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733, -0.4%) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097, -0.9%)—are data-center or older workstation cards, not direct gaming competitors.

The GPU's role in this pairing is clear: it dominates the frame rate charts at every resolution except the very highest settings. The 450 W TDP and triple-slot design suggest that this card is not constrained by power delivery, allowing it to maintain boost clocks consistently. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is rarely the limiting factor in To The Core, except possibly at 4K Ultra where the frame rate drops to 136.8 FPS, still well above playable thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160 (4K), the progression is: Low 237.6 FPS, Medium 202.2 FPS, High 174.6 FPS, and Ultra 136.8 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 35.4 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 37.8 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is disproportionately demanding at 4K.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), frame rates are significantly higher. Low produces 399.9 FPS, Medium 347.6 FPS, High 301.4 FPS, and Ultra 243.5 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 156.4 FPS, which shows that even at 1440p, the settings presets have a substantial impact on performance. The jump from Medium to High is 46.2 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 57.9 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset at 1440p is where the GPU starts to feel the load more heavily.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the results are extraordinary. Low hits 458.4 FPS, Medium 430.8 FPS, High 408.1 FPS, and Ultra 361.2 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 97.2 FPS, which is the narrowest relative gap across all resolutions, indicating that at 1080p, the CPU is likely becoming a bottleneck before the GPU. The fact that even Ultra at 1080p exceeds 360 FPS suggests that players with high-refresh-rate monitors will be fully satisfied at this resolution.

Notably, the data includes no minimum or maximum FPS values, only averages. This absence means the analysis relies solely on mean performance, which for an idle game suggests stable frame delivery rather than bursty spikes. The measured values are consistent across the board, with no anomalous outliers that would indicate thermal throttling or driver issues.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 98 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places the pairing in the 94.4th percentile of all tested hardware configurations, meaning only 97 other combos perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 4090 is in the 91st percentile of all GPUs and the CPU is in the 75th percentile, the combo's overall rank suggests that the GPU's dominance carries the pairing to a higher position than the CPU alone would warrant.

The ranking is particularly impressive when considering the CPU's modest standing. The i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17181 is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, 0% delta) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17215, -0.2% delta), yet the combo still outperforms the vast majority of alternatives. This indicates that To The Core is heavily GPU-bound, allowing the RTX 4090 to shine even when paired with a six-core processor that is not in the top tier of CPUs. The 98th rank out of 1756 also implies that there is headroom for improvement with a stronger CPU, but the current pairing delivers exceptional results.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database—the Tesla T4, Tesla P40, Radeon Pro Vega 56, and Quadro P6000—all have similar average scores (within 1.3%), but none of those are consumer gaming cards. This reinforces that the RTX 4090 is in a class of its own for gaming workloads, and the ranking reflects that advantage.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target refresh rate and resolution. For 4K displays (3840x2160), the Low preset at 237.6 FPS is the only setting that comfortably exceeds 200 FPS, while Medium at 202.2 FPS is also viable. High at 174.6 FPS and Ultra at 136.8 FPS are playable but may not satisfy users with 240 Hz panels. For a 144 Hz 4K monitor, Medium or High are the best choices, as they provide a smooth experience with improved visual quality over Low.

At 1440p, all settings exceed 240 FPS, with Low at 399.9 FPS and Ultra at 243.5 FPS. This means that even the Ultra preset is suitable for 240 Hz monitors, making it the recommended choice for users who prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate. The difference between Low and Ultra is 156.4 FPS, but both are far above any practical refresh rate ceiling, so the Ultra preset is the clear winner for 1440p.

At 1080p, the situation is different. Even Ultra produces 361.2 FPS, which exceeds virtually all monitor refresh rates. The Low preset at 458.4 FPS is only 97.2 FPS higher than Ultra, so the visual quality trade-off is not worth the marginal frame rate gain for most users. The data suggests that at 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best experience, as it provides the highest fidelity while still maintaining a frame rate that is more than double the typical 144 Hz or 165 Hz display.

In summary, the measured rows indicate that the Ultra preset is the recommended choice for most scenarios, with the exception of 4K where Medium or High provide a better balance between frame rate and quality. The data shows no scenario where this combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates, making the settings choice purely a matter of display capability and visual preference.