To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a remarkably strong performance profile in To The Core, consistently exceeding 60 FPS at 4K Ultra and pushing past 290 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination ranks in the 42nd percentile (2146 out of 3725 tested combos), but that aggregate placement undersells its practical capability, as the game’s idle genre nature rewards raw throughput over latency-sensitive frame pacing. The data shows a system that is GPU-bound at higher resolutions and CPU-bound only at the most extreme low-settings, 1080p scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings a 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process, provides a solid foundation for To The Core, where the 3DMark multi-threaded score of 5912 and single-thread score of 909 indicate balanced performance. The processor’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB L1 cache per core help maintain responsiveness, but the benchmark results reveal that the CPU is rarely the primary constraint in this title.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i5-12400F’s average benchmark score of 19039 sits within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047) and the Intel Core 3 201E (19056). The deltaPct values show a negligible 0.1% deficit to the Core 3 201E, while it edges out the Intel Core i5-1335U (18982) and AMD EPYC 7773X (18979) by 0.3%. This clustering suggests that the CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s simulation logic, but the real headroom comes from its boost clock.

At 1080p Low, where the GPU has less work, the average FPS reaches 291. This figure implies the CPU can feed frames at that rate, but the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1699 and 4-thread score of 3067 indicate that single-core performance is adequate rather than exceptional. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1680 and multi-core score of 12380 further confirm that the i5-12400F is a capable mid-range part, not a flagship. For To The Core, the CPU’s role is to maintain consistent frame delivery, and the data shows it does so without creating a bottleneck until the GPU is fully unloaded.

The processor’s 65W TDP and 163 mm² die size are not directly reflected in FPS, but the architecture’s efficiency allows the GPU to operate without thermal throttling from shared cooling. The passmark single-thread score of 3481 and multi-thread score of 19433 position it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, which is respectable for a desktop part in this genre. Ultimately, the CPU contributes a stable baseline, but the variance in FPS across settings is far more influenced by the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant factor in this combo’s To The Core performance. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample resources for the game’s idle-style rendering. The TU104 chip, built on a 12 nm process with 13,600 million transistors, operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs provide the raw throughput, while 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores offer headroom for any future graphical features.

The GPU’s benchmark scores highlight its mid-high tier status: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 and Passmark G3D score of 18169 place it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20282 is within 1.5% of rivals like the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -1.5) and Intel Arc B570 (20556, deltaPct -1.3), while it trails the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, deltaPct -1) and RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct -1.2) by similarly narrow margins. This tight grouping means the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with newer mid-range cards, and its 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for To The Core’s demands.

In practical terms, the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate translate directly to the measured FPS. At 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 66 FPS average, which indicates the GPU is handling the resolution’s pixel count without exceeding its memory capacity. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes critical at 4K, where texture streaming and high-resolution assets require rapid data movement. The GPU’s 14 Gbps effective memory clock, while not a direct FPS metric, supports the consistent frame times observed in the Medium preset’s min FPS of 80 at 4K.

The RTX 2070 SUPER’s role is clear: it scales performance across resolutions and settings with predictable degradations. The deltaPct against rivals shows that this GPU performs within expectations for its class, and the data indicates it is the primary limiter at 4K Ultra, where FPS drops to 66 from 82 at High. This is not a deficiency but a characteristic of the GPU’s 256-bit memory interface, which is standard for this performance tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 213 FPS, which drops to 143 FPS at 1440p High (a 33% reduction) and further to 82 FPS at 4K High (a 61% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is increasingly stressed by pixel count, while the CPU remains capable of keeping up with frame generation.

Looking at Low settings, the trend is more dramatic: 291 FPS at 1080p, 196 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop), and 112 FPS at 4K (a 62% drop). The fact that 1080p Low nearly hits 300 FPS suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at that resolution, as the GPU has minimal work. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and max-thread score of 5912 indicate that the CPU’s 12 threads are fully utilized at these frame rates, but the FPS ceiling is likely due to the 4.40 GHz boost clock rather than core count.

At Medium settings, the min FPS values provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 209 with an average of 246, showing a narrow 15% variance that indicates stable frame pacing. At 1440p Medium, the min FPS is 141 with an average of 165, a 17% variance. At 4K Medium, the min FPS is 80 with an average of 95, a 19% variance. This widening variance at higher resolutions confirms the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, as the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched by 4K’s memory demands.

Ultra settings show the most pronounced scaling: 172 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop), and 66 FPS at 4K (a 62% drop). The near-identical percentage drops across all settings (33% from 1080p to 1440p, 62% from 1080p to 4K) suggest a consistent GPU limitation. The CPU’s role is minimal at Ultra, as the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS are fully engaged. The data indicates that the limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low to GPU at 4K Ultra, with the crossover point occurring somewhere between 1440p and 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 4K Medium, the combo achieves 95 FPS average with a min of 80 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The min FPS of 80 at 4K Medium is particularly notable, as it ensures no significant frame drops during intensive scenes.

The High preset is also viable, but the data shows diminishing returns. At 4K High, the average FPS drops to 82, which is still playable but offers only a marginal visual improvement over Medium. The difference between Medium and High at 1440p is more pronounced: 165 FPS vs 143 FPS, a 15% reduction for potentially negligible visual gains. At 1080p, Medium’s 246 FPS vs High’s 213 FPS (a 15% reduction) further supports Medium as the optimal choice.

Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p displays, where the 172 FPS average remains high. At 1440p Ultra, the 115 FPS average is acceptable, but the 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS is borderline, with no min FPS data to confirm stability. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (291 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices visual fidelity for performance that exceeds most display refresh rates. For 4K users, Medium is the clear winner, as it maintains 95 FPS while avoiding the 66 FPS floor of Ultra.

The data’s only min FPS values are for Medium settings, which suggests that this preset has been validated for frame time consistency. The 4K Medium min of 80 FPS and 1440p Medium min of 141 FPS indicate robust performance, while Low and High presets lack min FPS data, making their stability unverified. This reinforces Medium as the safest recommendation for a consistent experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2146 out of 3725 tested combos places it in the lower-middle tier of all system configurations for To The Core. At first glance, this seems underwhelming for a system that achieves 291 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the rank reflects the entire spectrum of tested hardware, including high-end CPUs and GPUs that can push frame rates even higher. The 42nd percentile position means that 42% of combos perform worse, and 58% perform better.

The CPU’s 73rd percentile among all CPUs and the GPU’s 65th percentile among all GPUs suggest that this combo is balanced, but not top-tier. The nearest rivals for the CPU (Ryzen 5 7535HS, Core 3 201E) and GPU (Quadro M4000M, RTX 3070 Mobile) all cluster within 1.5% of performance, indicating that this combo is representative of a mid-range sweet spot. The rank of 2146 is likely dragged down by the GPU’s age, as newer cards like the RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct -1.2) outperform it slightly.

In the context of To The Core’s idle genre, the rank is less critical than raw FPS headroom. The game’s mechanics likely reward stable frame delivery over maximum FPS, and this combo provides that in spades. The rank indicates that while there are faster combos, this pairing is far from the bottom. For a 1080p or 1440p gamer, the performance is more than sufficient, and even at 4K, the 66 FPS Ultra result is playable. The data suggests that the combo’s rank is a fair representation of its hardware class, not a commentary on its practical usability in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 291 FPS average, while Medium reaches 246 FPS with a min of 209 and max of 283. High drops to 213 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 172 FPS. The 119 FPS spread between Low and Ultra indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution, and the CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient to feed frames at these rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low produces 196 FPS, Medium delivers 165 FPS with a min of 141 and max of 190, High reaches 143 FPS, and Ultra falls to 115 FPS. The 81 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more involved. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 141 is particularly strong, indicating that 1440p Medium is a stable configuration.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the primary constraint. Low still manages 112 FPS, which is excellent for 4K, while Medium achieves 95 FPS with a min of 80 and max of 109. High drops to 82 FPS, and Ultra falls to 66 FPS. The 46 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is saturated at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 95 FPS is the standout metric, as it provides a high-refresh experience with verified frame times.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is CPU-limited at Low settings, while 4K is GPU-limited across all settings. The Medium preset is the only one with min FPS data at every resolution, and its consistency (209 at 1080p, 141 at 1440p, 80 at 4K) makes it the most reliable choice. The Ultra preset’s 66 FPS at 4K is the only sub-60 result, and even that is playable, but it lacks the stability data to recommend it for competitive play. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown confirms that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, and remains competent at 4K with adjusted settings.