To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D lands at rank 43 out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the top 1.4% of all configurations. This is an exceptional result for a mid-range processor from 2022 paired with a flagship 2025 GPU, and the data shows the combination delivers frame rates that are competitive with far more expensive CPU pairings in this idle-genre title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 43 out of 2991 tested configurations places it in the 98.6th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings tested in To The Core. This is a remarkable position given that the i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor that launched at $199, while the RTX 5090 D is a 32 GB Blackwell flagship with a 2,299 USD launch MSRP. The combination outperforms 2,948 other combos, which suggests that To The Core is not particularly sensitive to CPU threading beyond 12 threads, and the GPU’s massive compute resources are being utilized effectively even with a more modest processor.

When examining the CPU’s standalone benchmark data, the i5-12400 scores 18,683 on average, which puts it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in that metric include the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697, -0.1%), Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18,811, -0.7%), and Intel Core i3-14100F (18,519, +0.9%). The i5-12400 sits right in the middle of this pack, trailing the EPYC 7643 by only 0.1% and beating the i3-14100F by 0.9%. This tells us the CPU is not a bottleneck in most workloads, and its 18 MB of shared L3 cache plus 12 threads provide enough parallelism for this idle game’s logic.

The GPU, meanwhile, scores 77,712 on average, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, +1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, -2.4%). The RTX 5090 D sits between these mobile and datacenter parts, trailing the RX 6850M XT by 1.6% and the Tesla P100 16 GB by 2.4%, but leading the RX 6650M XT by 1.1%. This positioning is curious given the 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, but it reflects the benchmark suite’s weighting.

In-game, the combo’s measured frame rates are extraordinarily high across all settings. At 1080p Low, it hits 531 FPS average, and even at 4K Ultra it maintains 151 FPS. These numbers suggest the RTX 5090 D is never fully stressed by To The Core, and the CPU is keeping up with the GPU’s output at every resolution tested. The rank of 43 confirms that this pairing is near the top of the charts, with only 42 combos—likely those with higher-core-count CPUs or newer generation processors—managing better results.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its clock speeds are a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The GPU carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This is the dominant component in this pairing, and the data reflects that.

In To The Core, the GPU’s role is to push frame rates to extreme levels. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 531 FPS average, which is likely near the engine’s ceiling or the display’s refresh rate limit. Moving to 1080p Ultra drops the average to 393 FPS, a 26% reduction, but still far above any practical refresh rate. At 1440p, the spread is similar: 448 FPS at Low versus 265 FPS at Ultra, a 41% drop. At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases substantially, and we see 256 FPS at Low and 151 FPS at Ultra, a 41% drop as well.

The RTX 5090 D’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate are more than sufficient for this idle game’s graphics demands. The GPU’s 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs handle pixel and texture throughput with ease, even at 4K. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than To The Core requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures no memory bottleneck at any resolution. Given that the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, its 77,712 average benchmark score is consistent with its in-game dominance.

What is notable is that the RTX 5090 D’s nearest GPU rivals in the benchmark database are not other desktop flagships but rather mobile and datacenter parts. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which trails the 5090 D by 1.6% in average score, is a laptop GPU. This suggests that the 5090 D’s raw compute power is not fully captured by the generic benchmark suite, but in To The Core, the measured FPS tells a different story. The GPU is clearly the star of this combo, and its performance headroom means the CPU’s limitations are rarely exposed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the combo scales from 1080p to 4K across four settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 531 at 1080p to 448 at 1440p to 256 at 4K. This represents a 15.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 42.9% drop from 1440p to 4K, or a 51.8% drop from 1080p to 4K overall. At High settings, the numbers are 476 FPS at 1080p, 329 FPS at 1440p, and 188 FPS at 4K. The drops are 30.9% from 1080p to 1440p and 42.9% from 1440p to 4K, totaling 60.5% from 1080p to 4K.

At Medium settings, the only preset with min and max FPS data, the averages are 500 FPS at 1080p (min 425, max 575), 379 FPS at 1440p (min 322, max 436), and 217 FPS at 4K (min 184, max 249). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24.2%, and from 1440p to 4K is 42.7%, with a total 56.6% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the averages are 393 FPS at 1080p, 265 FPS at 1440p, and 151 FPS at 4K. This is a 32.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43.0% drop from 1440p to 4K, totaling 61.6% from 1080p to 4K.

The pattern is consistent: the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 42-43% across all settings, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p varies more, from 15.6% at Low to 32.6% at Ultra. This indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is partially CPU-limited, especially at Low settings where the GPU is underutilized. The 531 FPS at 1080p Low is likely hitting a CPU or engine limit, as the GPU could theoretically render more. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limiter, and the consistent 42-43% drop from 1440p reflects the pixel count increase (1440p to 4K is 2.25x pixels, though the FPS drop is less than that, indicating some headroom remains).

The data suggests that for this combo, 1440p is the sweet spot for balanced performance, with 4K still delivering very high frame rates. The RTX 5090 D is so powerful that even at 4K Ultra, it maintains 151 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS target most games aim for. The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the frame rates exceed 500 FPS and approach what the i5-12400’s 12 threads can sustain.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations in To The Core?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 + RTX 5090 D combo ranks 43rd out of 2991 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.4% of all configurations tested in this game.

Q: What is the CPU’s benchmark standing relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18,683, which is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697), 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730), 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18,811), and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F (18,519).

Q: What are the measured frame rates at 4K High and 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 4K High, the combo averages 188 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it averages 151 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 217 FPS with a minimum of 184 FPS and maximum of 249 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB VRAM necessary for To The Core?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory is far more than this idle game requires, but it ensures zero memory bottlenecks. The GPU’s 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 512-bit bus are overkill for To The Core’s graphics, yet they contribute to the extremely high frame rates observed.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D scores 77,712 on average, which is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904), 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), 2.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), and 2.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605).

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Ultra?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo averages 531 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it averages 151 FPS. This represents a 71.6% reduction in average frame rate from the lowest resolution and settings to the highest.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on settings selection for this combo. At 1080p, all settings produce frame rates above 390 FPS, with Low at 531 FPS, Medium at 500 FPS, High at 476 FPS, and Ultra at 393 FPS. The differences between Low and High are only 55 FPS (531 vs 476), while Ultra is 138 FPS below Low. Given that even Ultra exceeds 390 FPS, there is no practical reason to use anything below High at 1080p, and Ultra is still far beyond any display’s refresh rate capability.

At 1440p, the story is similar. Low averages 448 FPS, Medium 379 FPS, High 329 FPS, and Ultra 265 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 183 FPS, but even the lowest of these (Ultra at 265 FPS) is well above 240 Hz displays and far beyond 144 Hz monitors. For the best visual quality without sacrificing playability, Ultra at 1440p is the recommended choice, as the 265 FPS average still leaves massive headroom. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 322 FPS and maximum of 436 FPS, indicating smooth frame pacing even in demanding scenes.

At 4K, the choices become more meaningful. Low averages 256 FPS, Medium 217 FPS (min 184, max 249), High 188 FPS, and Ultra 151 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 37 FPS (188 to 151), which is a 19.7% reduction. For 4K gaming on high-refresh-rate displays, High settings at 188 FPS are excellent. Ultra at 151 FPS is still very smooth and would satisfy most users, especially those with 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays. The Medium preset’s minimum of 184 FPS suggests that even at 4K Medium, there is no risk of dropping below 144 FPS.

The data suggests that Ultra settings at 1080p and 1440p are the best experience, as the frame rates remain astronomically high. At 4K, High settings provide the best balance, delivering 188 FPS average, which is 24.5% higher than Ultra’s 151 FPS. For users with 4K 144 Hz displays, Ultra at 151 FPS is still playable, but High gives a more comfortable margin. Given that the GPU is so powerful, the recommendation is to use Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, and High at 4K for the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The CPU’s launch MSRP was $199, and it sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs based on its 18,683 average benchmark score.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role is to feed the RTX 5090 D with enough data to keep it busy. The measured frame rates suggest the i5-12400 is sufficient for this task, as the combo achieves 531 FPS at 1080p Low, which is likely near the engine’s limits. The CPU’s 12 threads handle the game’s logic and physics well, and its 18 MB of L3 cache reduces memory latency. The 3DMark benchmarks show the CPU scales from 1,692 points at 2 threads to 5,890 points at max threads, indicating good multi-threading performance for a 6-core part.

The Cinebench scores reinforce this: R23 multicore is 15,989 and single core is 2,257, while Geekbench multicore is 8,564 and single core is 1,848. These numbers place the i5-12400 in a competitive position against its nearest rivals. The AMD EPYC 7643, which is a datacenter CPU with many more cores, only beats the i5-12400 by 0.1% in average benchmark score. This is because the EPYC’s high core count does not translate to higher single-thread performance, which is often more important in games. The Intel Core i7-1355U, a mobile part, also edges out the i5-12400 by only 0.3%, despite having fewer performance cores.

The CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking means it outperforms 72% of all CPUs in the database, which is strong for a mid-range desktop part. However, in To The Core, the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the FPS drops are consistent with GPU load increasing, not CPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the 531 FPS is likely CPU-bound, as the GPU could render more frames if the CPU could deliver more draw calls. This is a common situation with high-end GPUs and mid-range CPUs, but the i5-12400’s performance is sufficient to keep the combo in the top 1.4% of all tested configurations.

The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate for To The Core’s idle genre, which does not typically require massive parallelism. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,873 is close to the max-thread score of 5,890, indicating that the CPU is fully utilized with 12 threads and additional threads would not help. This means the i5-12400’s threading is well-matched to the game’s demands, and the RTX 5090 D is able to operate at near-peak efficiency in this pairing.