To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent experience in To The Core, with the data showing this combination is heavily GPU-bound at every tested resolution. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary performance driver, while the i5-12400F provides ample headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. This pairing ranks 291st out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the top 16.6% of all configurations, which is a strong result for a mainstream six-core processor matched with a high-end Ada Lovelace GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 286.5 FPS, but this drops to 194 FPS at 1440p and further to 108.5 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p represents a 32.3% reduction in frame rate, while moving from 1440p to 4K results in a 44.1% reduction—both consistent with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU rather than the CPU.

The most telling evidence of GPU limitation comes from the Low settings results. At 1080p Low, the system produces 478.2 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate that suggests the CPU is nearing its maximum output for this game. However, even at this extreme, the 1440p Low result of 320.3 FPS and 4K Low result of 187.2 FPS show that the GPU still has significant scaling headroom, meaning the i5-12400F is not the limiting factor even at the lowest graphical load.

The delta between settings at the same resolution further confirms this analysis. At 4K, the gap between Low (187.2 FPS) and Ultra (108.5 FPS) is 78.7 FPS, while at 1080p this same gap is 191.7 FPS (478.2 vs 286.5). The larger absolute gap at lower resolutions indicates that the GPU has more spare capacity to absorb graphical setting changes when the resolution is not the primary constraint. Benchmark results indicate that this is a textbook GPU-bound scenario where resolution and settings scale directly with the RTX 4070 SUPER's capabilities rather than the processor's limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration, and the data shows its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit memory bus are well-suited for To The Core's demands. The memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective throughput, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration allows the GPU to maintain high frame rates across all settings, with the 4K Ultra result of 108.5 FPS demonstrating that even the most demanding preset remains comfortably playable.

The GPU's clock speeds—1980 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost—combined with its 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units, deliver a 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance figure. This raw compute power translates directly into the measured results: the 4K Medium preset produces 155.2 FPS, while the 1440p High preset reaches 236.8 FPS. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores suggest the card has additional capabilities, though the measured data for this game does not show ray tracing or DLSS-specific results.

The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576, places it slightly below the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653, deltaPct -0.2%) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, deltaPct -0.3%), while being 1.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M40. This competitive positioning explains why the combo achieves such high frame rates: the GPU is performing at a level consistent with professional workstation cards, making it more than capable for an idle game like To The Core.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a supporting role in this pairing, but its specifications ensure it never becomes a bottleneck. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on Alder Lake architecture, the processor has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide sufficient data locality for the game's physics and logic calculations, which are typically lighter than graphics workloads.

The CPU's benchmark results show a processor that is well-balanced for gaming. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and 2-thread score of 1699 indicate strong single-core performance, while the max-thread score of 5912 shows reasonable scaling across all threads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 further confirm this profile. The Passmark single-thread score of 3481 and multithread score of 19433 place the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400F is essentially matched with the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, deltaPct 0.1%) and Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, deltaPct 0.3%), while being 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS and 1.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7773X. This means the CPU's performance is exactly at the expected level for its class, which is sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 SUPER without creating a CPU-bound scenario. The 478.2 FPS result at 1080p Low is likely approaching the CPU's practical limit for this game, but even this extreme case does not prevent the GPU from delivering high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS data across all resolutions and settings shows a consistent hierarchy. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 478.2 FPS, Medium 407.2 FPS, High 355 FPS, and Ultra 286.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 320.3 FPS, Medium 275.9 FPS, High 236.8 FPS, and Ultra 194 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 187.2 FPS, Medium 155.2 FPS, High 136.4 FPS, and Ultra 108.5 FPS.

The scaling between settings is remarkably linear at each resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces frame rate by 14.8%, from Medium to High by 12.8%, and from High to Ultra by 19.3%. At 1440p, the corresponding reductions are 13.9%, 14.2%, and 18.1%. At 4K, the reductions are 17.1%, 12.1%, and 20.5%. This consistency suggests that each settings tier imposes a similar relative load on the GPU, regardless of resolution.

The most significant finding is that even the worst-case scenario—4K Ultra—produces 108.5 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates. The best-case scenario—1080p Low—produces 478.2 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The data shows that this combo never drops below 108 FPS in any measured configuration, making it an exceptionally capable system for To The Core.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 291 out of 1756 tested configurations places this pairing in the 83.4th percentile of all systems tested for To The Core. This is a strong result that reflects the balance between the i5-12400F's solid mid-range performance and the RTX 4070 SUPER's high-end GPU capabilities. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and GPU's 84th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested configs.

The ranking is particularly impressive given the CPU's modest specifications. While the i5-12400F is not a top-tier processor, its performance is sufficient to avoid limiting the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game. The 291st rank out of 1756 means this combo outperforms approximately 1465 other configurations, including many that may feature more expensive processors. This suggests that for To The Core, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, and the CPU choice has minimal impact on the final result.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where CPU load is highest relative to GPU, the system achieves 478.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows playable frame rates at all resolutions. 4K Ultra produces 108.5 FPS, which is above 60 FPS and suitable for most displays. For higher refresh rates, 1440p Ultra delivers 194 FPS, while 1080p Ultra reaches 286.5 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to other configurations?

A: This combo ranks 291st out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core, placing it in the top 16.6% of all configurations. The GPU ranks in the 84th percentile, and the CPU ranks in the 77th percentile.

Q: What is the impact of changing graphics settings?

A: At 4K, moving from Ultra to High increases frame rate from 108.5 to 136.4 FPS, a 25.7% improvement. Moving from High to Medium increases it to 155.2 FPS, and from Medium to Low to 187.2 FPS. Similar improvements are seen at lower resolutions.

Q: Is this combo better than one with a more powerful CPU?

A: The data does not directly compare alternative CPUs, but the consistent GPU-bound behavior suggests that a more powerful CPU would provide minimal gains. The i5-12400F's 77th percentile ranking is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4070 SUPER.

Q: What are the GPU's closest rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 42576 is 0.2% below the NVIDIA RTX A6000, 0.3% below the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, 1.4% above the AMD Radeon Pro 580X, and 1.6% above the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Ultra preset at 1080p or 1440p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 286.5 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of even the fastest gaming monitors. At 1440p Ultra, the 194 FPS result remains exceptionally high and is the recommended choice for users with 1440p displays seeking maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

For 4K users, the High preset at 136.4 FPS is the optimal choice, as it provides a significant improvement over Ultra (108.5 FPS) while maintaining high visual quality. The Medium preset at 155.2 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing frame rate over visual detail. The data shows that the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 27.9 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 18.8 FPS, making High the sweet spot for 4K gaming.

The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where the 478.2 FPS result can theoretically support displays with refresh rates up to 480 Hz. However, given that even Ultra settings produce 286.5 FPS at 1080p, most users will find the higher-quality presets preferable. The measured data indicates that this combo has more than enough performance to run To The Core at maximum settings at any resolution, with the only trade-off being between frame rate and visual detail at 4K.