To The Core

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers measured frame rates in To The Core that range from 535 FPS at 1080p Low to 135.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. This combination ranks 88th out of 1756 tested combos in the game, placing it in the upper echelon of the database. The following analysis breaks down how resolution scaling, settings, CPU, and GPU characteristics shape these results.

Resolution Scaling

At High settings, the average FPS falls from 430.1 at 1920x1080 to 289.2 at 2560x1440, then to 162.3 at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiter as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the same pattern holds: 535 FPS at 1080p, 392.7 at 1440p, and 224.3 at 4K. The scaling is consistent across all presets, with 4K Ultra producing the lowest measured value of 135.4 FPS. This behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 5080's rendering throughput is the deciding factor. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is also notable—at High, the 1440p result of 289.2 FPS is roughly two-thirds of the 1080p figure, while 4K High drops to about 38% of the 1080p value. Such a steep decline points to the GPU's fill-rate and memory bandwidth being stretched as resolution grows, rather than any CPU limitation.

Settings Recommendations

Across all three resolutions, the combo maintains high frame rates even at Ultra. At 4K, Ultra delivers 135.4 FPS, while High reaches 162.3 FPS, Medium 189.9 FPS, and Low 224.3 FPS. For a smooth experience at 4K, High provides a higher average FPS than Ultra, and the difference is noticeable in the measured data. At 1440p, even Ultra maintains 234.8 FPS, so the choice of preset is less critical; Medium and High offer 333.8 and 289.2 FPS respectively, while Low reaches 392.7 FPS. At 1080p, all presets exceed 346 FPS, with Low hitting 535 FPS and Medium at 496.3 FPS. Given the idle genre, even the lower Ultra frame rate is playable, but High offers a better balance between visual fidelity and performance. The data suggests that for 4K, High is the recommended preset, as it yields 162.3 FPS—a strong result—while Ultra's 135.4 FPS is still acceptable but leaves less headroom. For 1440p and 1080p, Medium or High are safe choices, with Ultra also viable for those who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 16518 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2332 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 19433. Its percentile vs all CPUs is 77, and its average benchmark score is 19221. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has an average score of 19210, a delta of 0.1%, indicating near-identical performance. In To The Core, the CPU's role is likely secondary given the high frame rates observed. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 535 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU without bottlenecking at that setting. The 6-core/12-thread configuration is more than sufficient for an idle game, and the boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 2332 Cinebench R23 single-core score. The CPU's 18 MB L3 cache and dual-channel memory support further contribute to its ability to handle the game's demands, though the measured FPS scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-12400F and RTX 5080 ranks 88th out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This is a high rank, given that the CPU's percentile is 77 and the GPU's percentile is 89. The combo's position in the 88th spot out of 1756 indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of tested systems. The GPU's strong performance (89th percentile) and the CPU's solid mid-range showing (77th percentile) combine to produce a result that is better than either component's individual percentile might suggest. The GPU's nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, has an average score of 58239 with a delta of 1.6%, meaning the RTX 5080 is slightly behind that rival in average benchmark score, yet the combo still ranks highly. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, is within 0.1% of the i5-12400F's average score, so the CPU is not a differentiator in this ranking. Instead, the GPU's high percentile and the overall system balance drive the combo to the 88th position, placing it in the top 5% of all tested combinations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is 2617 MHz, and it has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its Passmark G3D score is 36565, and its percentile vs all GPUs is 89. The nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, has an average score of 58239, a delta of 1.6%, meaning the RTX 5080 is slightly behind that rival in average benchmark score. In To The Core, the GPU's impact is clear from the resolution scaling: as resolution increases, frame rates drop proportionally, indicating that the GPU is the primary driver of performance. The 16 GB VRAM is ample for this game, and the high memory bandwidth supports the high frame rates observed. The GPU's 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 84 RT cores are more than sufficient for an idle title, but they contribute to the overall headroom. The boost clock of 2617 MHz and the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth allow the card to maintain high throughput even at 4K, where the measured FPS at High is 162.3. The GPU's 10752 shading units and 336 TMUs provide the raw compute needed to sustain the frame rates seen across all settings, while the 112 ROPs handle pixel output efficiently. The data shows that the RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this combo, and its capabilities are well-matched to the demands of To The Core.