To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combination pairs a 6-core, 12-thread Intel Core i5-11400F from the Rocket Lake generation with NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 5090 D, a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets reveal a system that delivers exceptionally high performance in this idle-genre title, though the scaling patterns suggest an interesting dynamic between the CPU and GPU that warrants closer examination.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this configuration. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 409 FPS average, which drops to 329 FPS at 1440p High (−19.6%), and further to 188 FPS at 4K High (−54.0% from 1080p). This scaling pattern is remarkably consistent across all settings presets, with the percentage drops from 1080p to 4K ranging from approximately 54% at High to 56% at Low settings.

The fact that even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 457 FPS average — rather than being completely uncapped — suggests the CPU is imposing a ceiling on performance at lower resolutions. At 4K Low, the average drops to 256 FPS, which is a substantial 44% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. This magnitude of resolution scaling indicates the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as the pixel count increases, which is typical behavior for a high-end graphics card paired with a mid-range processor.

What makes this interesting is the shape of the scaling curve. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drop across all settings is roughly 20-25%, while from 1440p to 4K, the drop is approximately 42-43%. The non-linear nature of this scaling suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is limiting performance, while at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint. The data implies that players targeting 4K will see the GPU fully utilized, while those at 1080p may leave performance on the table due to the i5-11400F's limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 137 out of 2,991 tested combinations in To The Core, placing it in the top 4.6% of all configurations evaluated. This is a strong result, though not surprising given the RTX 5090 D's position as one of the most powerful GPUs available, sitting in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs tested.

The rank becomes more meaningful when considering the CPU's standing relative to its peers. The i5-11400F holds the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,177. Its nearest rivals in CPU benchmark performance include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% faster), Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% slower), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% slower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% faster). These margins are remarkably tight, all within less than one percentage point, suggesting the i5-11400F is squarely in the middle of a cluster of similarly-performing processors.

The GPU, meanwhile, sits in the 92nd percentile with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% faster), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (2.1% faster), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (2.4% faster). These are all relatively close competitors in synthetic benchmarks, yet the RTX 5090 D's real-world gaming performance clearly benefits from its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

Given that the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile while the CPU sits in the 71st percentile, the combination's rank of 137/2991 reflects a system where the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a less powerful GPU would likely yield a similar rank in this game, since the CPU appears to be the limiting factor, particularly at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a graphics card, featuring 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory operates across a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The card's memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), with a base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz.

In To The Core, these specifications translate to exceptional performance, but the data reveals that the GPU's role varies significantly by resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is clearly not the primary constraint — the difference between Low (457 FPS) and Ultra (379 FPS) settings is only 17%, suggesting the CPU is holding back the GPU from expressing its full potential. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes much more influential: the spread from Low (256 FPS) to Ultra (151 FPS) is 41%, indicating the rendering workload is now substantial enough to engage the GPU fully.

The 32 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what a game like To The Core would require, given its idle genre nature. Even at 4K Ultra, the measured 151 FPS average suggests the GPU has plenty of headroom in terms of memory capacity. The GDDR7 memory type and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are also overkill for this title, but they do ensure that memory bandwidth is never a bottleneck, even at the highest resolutions and settings.

The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is another indicator of its capability. In a less demanding game like To The Core, this compute headroom means the card is unlikely to ever be fully saturated at 1080p or even 1440p. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s further confirm that this GPU has far more fill rate than this game can utilize at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings provides clear guidance for optimal configuration. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers 217 FPS average with a minimum of 184 FPS and maximum of 249 FPS, while the High preset produces 188 FPS average and Ultra drops to 151 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance, with a minimum frame rate that remains comfortably above 180 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 377 FPS average (minimum 321 FPS, maximum 434 FPS), while High delivers 329 FPS and Ultra produces 265 FPS. The Low preset reaches 400 FPS, but the improvement over Medium is only 6%, making Medium the more sensible choice for visual quality. The 1440p Medium configuration provides a minimum frame rate of 321 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently available.

At 1080p, the Medium preset yields 430 FPS average (minimum 366 FPS, maximum 495 FPS), while High produces 409 FPS and Ultra reaches 379 FPS. The Low preset tops out at 457 FPS, but again, the gains over Medium are marginal at just 6%. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors, the 1080p Medium preset offers the best combination of visual fidelity and performance, with a minimum frame rate of 366 FPS that exceeds virtually any display's refresh rate.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the most compelling experience. It delivers at least 89% of the Low preset's performance while offering significantly better visual quality than Low. The data suggests that players should default to Medium settings, with the option to push to High at 1080p or 1440p if visual quality takes precedence over raw frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in To The Core?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides 377 FPS average with a 321 FPS minimum, while 4K Medium delivers 217 FPS average with a 184 FPS minimum. For most players, 1440p Medium offers the best balance, but 4K Medium remains viable with frame rates well above 180 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D overkill for this game?

A: At 1080p, the GPU appears to be underutilized, with the CPU likely limiting performance. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is only 17%, suggesting the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution. At 4K, the GPU becomes more relevant, with a 41% spread between Low and Ultra.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17,177, placing it 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 7H12, 0.4% above the Intel Core i5-12450H, 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G, and 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 151 FPS average at 4K Ultra, which is the lowest frame rate recorded for this combination. Even at this demanding configuration, the system maintains frame rates well above 144 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The scaling data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as frame rates do not scale dramatically with settings changes. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, evidenced by the larger performance spread across settings presets.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum frame rate is 366 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 321 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 184 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 512 KB of L2 cache per core and 12 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. Memory support is limited to DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In To The Core, the CPU's role appears to be significant at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, increasing settings from Low to Ultra only reduces frame rates by 17%, from 457 to 379 FPS. This relatively small performance penalty suggests that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, as the GPU can easily handle the rendering workload regardless of settings. The 6-core configuration with 12 threads provides adequate parallelism for this idle-genre title, which likely does not heavily utilize multiple cores.

The CPU's benchmark results paint a picture of a capable but not exceptional processor. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14,340 and single-core score of 2,024 indicate solid performance for its generation. The Geekbench scores of 7,737 (multicore) and 1,777 (single-core) are consistent with a mid-range desktop processor from the Rocket Lake era. The PassMark multithread score of 16,908 and single-thread score of 2,981 further confirm this positioning.

The CPU's percentile rank of 71 among all tested CPUs, combined with its 65 W TDP and 6-core design, suggests it was designed for mainstream desktop systems rather than high-end gaming rigs. In this pairing with the RTX 5090 D, the CPU's 71st percentile standing contrasts with the GPU's 92nd percentile, highlighting a potential imbalance. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is holding back the GPU, while at 4K, the GPU's workload becomes significant enough to shift the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 457 FPS average, Medium produces 430 FPS (minimum 366 FPS, maximum 495 FPS), High reaches 409 FPS, and Ultra delivers 379 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 78 FPS, representing a 17% performance penalty for the highest visual quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but show a more pronounced settings impact. Low settings produce 400 FPS average, Medium delivers 377 FPS (minimum 321 FPS, maximum 434 FPS), High reaches 329 FPS, and Ultra drops to 265 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra expands to 135 FPS, a 34% reduction, indicating the GPU is becoming more involved in the rendering process.

At 3840x2160, the performance scaling becomes even more pronounced. Low settings yield 256 FPS average, Medium produces 217 FPS (minimum 184 FPS, maximum 249 FPS), High reaches 188 FPS, and Ultra drops to 151 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 105 FPS, representing a 41% performance penalty. This larger spread confirms that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K resolution.

The Medium settings preset provides the only complete min/max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 366 FPS and maximum of 495 FPS show a range of 129 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 113 FPS (321-434), and at 4K, it narrows further to 65 FPS (184-249). This tightening of the frame rate range at higher resolutions suggests more consistent performance as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Overall, the measured data reveals a system capable of maintaining frame rates above 150 FPS even at the most demanding configuration tested (4K Ultra). The combination's performance is exceptional for an idle-genre game, with the RTX 5090 D's massive compute resources ensuring that even the highest settings present no challenge to this pairing. The i5-11400F, while not the strongest CPU available, provides sufficient processing power to keep frame rates high at lower resolutions, though the data suggests it does impose some ceiling at 1080p.