To The Core

The data for To The Core with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER shows a configuration that scales predictably across resolutions, with the CPU emerging as the primary constraint at lower settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 111.1 FPS, which is still highly playable, but the frame rate curve reveals a system that is heavily influenced by both processor and graphics load depending on the preset and resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop is heavily dependent on the graphics preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 4K sees average FPS fall from 482 to 186, a reduction of roughly 61%. This is a substantial decline, but the absolute numbers remain extremely high, indicating that the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. The CPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the frame rate is largely a reflection of the processor's ability to feed the pipeline.

Moving to High settings, the scaling becomes more moderate. The average FPS at 1080p is 349.7, dropping to 237.2 at 1440p, and finally to 132.6 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is about 62%, similar to Low, but the absolute values suggest a different bottleneck dynamic. At Ultra settings, the pattern holds: 283.2 FPS at 1080p, 193.4 FPS at 1440p, and 111.1 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is still capable of pushing high frame rates even at 4K Ultra, but the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is telling.

At 1080p, the difference between Low (482 FPS) and Ultra (283.2 FPS) is nearly 200 FPS, a massive swing that points to the GPU becoming more involved as settings increase. At 4K, the same Low-to-Ultra gap is much smaller (186 vs. 111.1 FPS), suggesting that the GPU is now the dominant constraint at the highest resolution, even though the CPU still has headroom. The 4K Ultra result of 111.1 FPS is the weakest data point in the set, but it remains well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (237.2 to 132.6 FPS) shows a 44% drop, which is the largest relative decline in the High preset, confirming that resolution is the primary factor driving GPU load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3456. This is critical for To The Core, an idle genre game that likely relies on consistent, high-frequency single-core performance for game logic and simulation ticks. The multi-threaded results, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a Passmark multithread score of 18747, indicate the processor can handle background tasks without compromising frame pacing.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 77 places it above the majority of tested processors, and its nearest rivals show a tight grouping. The Intel Core i7-9700 has an average score of 19831, which is just 0.1% higher than the i5-12400's 19850, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core i7-8700 is 0.2% lower, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX is 0.4% lower, showing that the i5-12400 is competitive with older and even higher-tier parts in this specific workload. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5873 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 5890 are nearly identical, suggesting that the processor's 12 threads are fully utilized but that adding more threads would not yield significant gains in this game's engine.

Given the low-resolution results, the CPU's role is clearly dominant. At 1080p Low, the 482 FPS figure is likely near the ceiling of what the i5-12400 can produce in this title, as the GPU is nowhere near saturated. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is essential for maintaining high frame rates in an idle game where the simulation speed is often tied to frame time. The 65W TDP and active production status suggest a long-term viable platform, but the data shows that the processor's performance is the bottleneck at lower resolutions, not the graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 311 out of 1756 combos. This places it in the top 17.7% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-range processor paired with a high-end graphics card. The comboRankInGame field indicates that this is a measured result, not an estimate, lending credibility to the ranking.

The rank is influenced by the fact that the GPU is the more powerful component relative to the CPU. The RTX 4070 SUPER has a percentileVsAllGpus of 84, while the CPU sits at 77. This imbalance means that in many games, the CPU will hold back the GPU, but in To The Core, the high frame rates suggest the game is not overly demanding on the graphics side. The 311st rank out of 1756 combos is respectable, but it is not a top-tier result, indicating that there are many systems with more balanced or higher-end CPUs that can push higher frame rates in this specific title.

The nearest rivals for the GPU include the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which is 0.2% lower in average score, and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, which is 0.3% lower. These are very close matches, showing that the RTX 4070 SUPER is positioned well in the GPU hierarchy. The CPU's nearest rivals, as mentioned, are all within 0.4% of its average score, making the i5-12400 a stable and predictable performer. The combination of a GPU that ranks in the 84th percentile and a CPU in the 77th percentile results in a system that is capable but not the absolute fastest, explaining the 311th overall rank.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 111.1 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the dataset.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to the Intel Core i7-9700 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, while the i7-9700 scores 19831, a difference of 0.1% in favor of the i5-12400, making them effectively equal.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 482, which is extremely high and indicates the CPU is the primary constraint, as the GPU is not heavily taxed.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the graphics card?

A: The launch MSRP of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is 599 USD.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 237.2 at 2560x1440 to 132.6 at 3840x2160, a decrease of approximately 44%.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 311 out of 1756 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17.7% of all systems.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications are well-suited for high-resolution gaming, and the benchmark data confirms that the card is capable of handling To The Core at 4K with playable frame rates.

The GPU's 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 4627 and passmark_g3d score of 29995 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for modern game engines. The passmark_gpu_compute score of 17108 shows solid compute capability, though this is less critical for an idle game. The RTX 4070 SUPER's percentileVsAllGpus of 84 places it in the top 16% of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, is only 0.2% lower in average score, showing that this card is at the upper echelon of graphics performance.

In the context of To The Core, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the 111.1 FPS result suggests the GPU is working harder, but the fact that it remains above 100 FPS indicates that the card is not fully saturated. The 12 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for this game, as idle titles typically do not require large texture pools. The boost clock of 2475 MHz is crucial for maintaining high frame rates, and the data shows that the card scales well from 1080p to 4K, with only a 62% drop in FPS from the lowest to highest resolution at Low settings. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s ensures that data transfer is not a bottleneck, even at 4K. Overall, the RTX 4070 SUPER is a capable partner for the i5-12400, but the data suggests that the GPU has more headroom than the CPU in this specific title, particularly at lower resolutions.