To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination occupies the 1269th position out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's age, as the RTX 2060 SUPER sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is considerably stronger at the 77th percentile. The pairing is notably unbalanced in favor of the processor, which has an average benchmark score of 19850, edging out its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, by a mere 0.1%. This suggests the system is often waiting on the graphics card to catch up, a dynamic that becomes clearer when examining the frame rate data across different settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall rank of 1269 out of 1756 combos indicates that while this system is far from the bottom of the pile, it is outpaced by a significant majority of configurations tested for this title. The data suggests the bottleneck is not the CPU, which performs within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-11600K and only 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-8700. Instead, the GPU's standing at the 63rd percentile pulls the combined score down. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score of 19774 is only 0.3% higher than the ancient NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, highlighting how far the graphics card is from modern performance levels. This means the system's ranking is a reflection of the graphics card's age more than any inherent weakness in the processor, setting the stage for a system that can deliver high frame rates at lower settings but struggles to maintain them as graphical demands increase.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the benchmark data points to the High preset as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance. At 1920x1080, High settings yield 192.5 FPS, which is smooth and only a 27.5 FPS drop from the Medium preset's 220.6 FPS. The jump to Ultra brings a more significant cost, reducing the frame rate to 158.8 FPS, a drop of 33.7 FPS from High. While Ultra offers the highest fidelity, the performance penalty is substantial. The data implies that High is the sweet spot; it provides a large portion of the visual quality upgrade from Medium while maintaining a frame rate high enough to keep the experience fluid. Choosing Low would maximize performance at 265 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too steep for a game where the graphical detail is part of the appeal. The High preset is the clear recommendation for a consistent and visually pleasing experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a classic pattern of GPU limitation when scaling resolution. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 192.5 to 132.3, a 31% reduction. The further jump to 3840x2160 sees another dramatic fall to 72.2 FPS, which is 45% lower than the 1440p result. This steep decline, especially at 4K, is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth are being saturated by the increasing pixel count. In contrast, the CPU's workload does not scale as severely with resolution, meaning the i5-12400 is likely still capable of feeding frames at 4K, but the graphics card cannot render them fast enough. The 4K results, particularly the 57.7 FPS at Ultra settings, show that this resolution is only playable at lower presets, confirming the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally capable. The Low preset produces an average of 265 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 220.6 FPS, and High settings still offer a very smooth 192.5 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset manages an average of 158.8 FPS, indicating that 1080p gaming is a non-issue for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 178.4 FPS, while Medium achieves 149.4 FPS. High settings produce 132.3 FPS, which is still excellent for most displays. The Ultra preset drops to 104.6 FPS, which is playable but begins to show the strain on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become clear. The Low preset is the most playable option, with an average of 102 FPS. Medium settings drop to 86.8 FPS, and High settings fall further to 72.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding scenario in the dataset, yielding only 57.7 FPS. This suggests that 4K gaming is only viable at lower quality settings, and even then, the frame rates are only just crossing the 60 FPS threshold on the Low preset.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play To The Core with this hardware?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with High settings achieving 132.3 FPS and even Ultra reaching 104.6 FPS. This resolution provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining high frame rates.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in To The Core?*

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (102 FPS) and Medium preset (86.8 FPS) deliver comfortably playable frame rates. The High preset (72.2 FPS) is borderline, while Ultra (57.7 FPS) is below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850. This makes it 0.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% faster than the Intel Core i5-11600K. It is also only 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-8700.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck for this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance is strong, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's score at the 63rd percentile and the significant FPS drops at 4K point to the graphics card as the limiting component.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 265 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 158.8 FPS. This represents a 106.2 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset costs a significant amount of performance.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to the RTX 2070 in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070's score of 19680. The performance difference between the two is minimal.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz allow it to handle the game's logic and physics without issue. The processor's substantial 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide quick access to frequently used data. In benchmark tests, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. Its Passmark multithread score of 18747 further confirms its capability. Given that this is an idle game, the CPU's role is less about pushing polygons and more about managing game state and background calculations. The data suggests the i5-12400 is more than adequate for this task, as its performance is on par with or better than its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-9700 and Intel Core i5-11600K. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the definitive performance limiter in this combo. Based on the Turing architecture, it features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 1650 MHz and 2176 shading units deliver a raw compute performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. The GPU's benchmark scores show it at the 63rd percentile, and its average score of 19774 is barely ahead of older cards like the GeForce GTX TITAN. The measured FPS data illustrates this limitation clearly. At 4K, the performance drops precipitously, with the Ultra preset managing only 57.7 FPS. Even at 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 104.6 FPS. This pattern indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU's compute power are insufficient for the highest settings at higher resolutions. The card's 12 nm process node and 175 W TDP are also indicators of its age relative to newer, more efficient architectures. In To The Core, the RTX 2060 SUPER can provide high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted settings, but its age is apparent when pushing for maximum visual quality.