To The Core

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an Idle game that clearly favors raw GPU throughput. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but the CPU becomes a more significant factor when targeting extreme frame rates at 1080p. This combination ranks in the top 22% of all tested combos for this title, making it a formidable pairing for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 341.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 228.4 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 33%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 131.4 FPS, which is a 61% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5070 is the primary limiting component as pixel count increases, which is expected given the GPU's substantial compute resources.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 457.8 FPS at 1080p down to 310.8 FPS at 1440p and finally 177.9 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 61%, identical to the High preset. This uniformity suggests that the game's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are the decisive factors.

Interestingly, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p. For instance, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (396.8 FPS) to 1440p (263.7 FPS) is 34%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (151.9 FPS) is 42%. This non-linear behavior points to the 4K resolution saturating the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory or its 192-bit memory bus, causing a more pronounced performance hit at the highest resolution.

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. In To The Core, an Idle game, the CPU's single-thread performance is crucial for maintaining high frame rates, but the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the system reaches 457.8 FPS, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 and multi-core score of 14372 place it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid performance for its generation.

The CPU's Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process, provides a capable foundation. Its L3 cache of 12 MB shared across all cores helps with game logic and asset streaming. However, the benchmark results suggest that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 276.5 FPS, which is still exceptionally high, implying that the GPU is managing the increased settings load without the CPU becoming a limiting factor.

The processor's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload. The data shows that the CPU's 3DMark 8-thread score of 4691 and max-thread score of 5652 are competitive, but the game appears to scale more with GPU performance. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 108.4 FPS is a clear indicator that the GPU is fully saturated, and the CPU has ample headroom to feed it frames.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of components ranks 378th out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core, placing it in the top 21.5% of all systems. This rank reflects the strong performance of the RTX 5070, which sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 29137 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 showcase its capability in modern rendering workloads.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with an average score of 17189 (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U at 17215 (-0.2% delta). These comparisons show that the i5-11400F is nearly identical in synthetic CPU performance to these mobile and low-power parts, yet it is paired with a desktop-class GPU that far exceeds their integrated graphics capabilities.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with an average score of 41441 (0.6% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 41610 (0.2% delta), and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 at 41897 (-0.5% delta). The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41687 places it slightly above the RTX 3090, which is notable given the generational improvements in the Blackwell architecture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 457.8 FPS on Low, 396.8 FPS on Medium, 341.1 FPS on High, and 276.5 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that even at the highest quality preset, the frame rate remains well above 240 FPS, making this an excellent choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally: 310.8 FPS on Low, 263.7 FPS on Medium, 228.4 FPS on High, and 186 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Ultra result still clears 144 Hz monitors comfortably, and the High preset reaches 228.4 FPS for 240 Hz displays. The drop from Medium to High at 1440p is 13%, while the drop from High to Ultra is 19%, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a heavier load.

At 3840x2160, the results are 177.9 FPS on Low, 151.9 FPS on Medium, 131.4 FPS on High, and 108.4 FPS on Ultra. These figures demonstrate that 4K gaming is viable, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 100 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 39% performance decrease, which is less steep than the 60% decrease seen at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is more consistently utilized at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2512 MHz and 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provide 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration delivers 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is more than sufficient for an Idle game like To The Core.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly important for the 4K results. The 12 GB capacity is adequate for the game's demands, but the 192-bit bus width limits memory bandwidth compared to higher-end cards. This explains the steeper performance drop from 1440p to 4K, as the memory system becomes a bottleneck when the frame buffer requirements increase.

The RTX 5070's 5 nm process from TSMC and 31,100 million transistors contribute to its efficiency. The GPU's Passmark DirectX 12 score of 108 and DirectX 11 score of 277 indicate strong API support, and its Geekbench OpenCL score of 185269 shows excellent compute capability. The card's 250 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical choice for most desktop builds, though the suggested 600 W PSU is a consideration for system integrators.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in To The Core?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system averages 108.4 FPS, and at High settings it reaches 131.4 FPS. Even the most demanding preset exceeds 100 FPS, making 4K playable.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F provides enough single-thread performance to reach 457.8 FPS at Low settings and 276.5 FPS at Ultra. The CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested, as the GPU limits performance at higher settings.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 228.4 FPS, which is ideal for 240 Hz displays. The Ultra preset drops to 186 FPS, which is still sufficient for 165 Hz monitors.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 378th out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the top 22%. The GPU's average benchmark score of 41687 is 0.6% higher than the RTX 3090's average.

Q: Does the GPU's memory bandwidth limit performance?

A: Yes, particularly at 4K. The 192-bit bus and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth cause a larger performance drop from 1440p to 4K compared to lower resolutions, as the frame buffer demands increase.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the system achieves 457.8 FPS on Low and 276.5 FPS on Ultra, a 40% performance reduction for the highest quality preset. This trade-off allows for either maximum frame rates or maximum visual fidelity.