To The Core

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in “To The Core” produces a dataset defined by extreme frame rates and a clear shift in system bottleneck behavior. The benchmark results, measured across three resolutions and four quality presets, show that the combination ranks 47th out of 1756 tested configurations in this idle game. The data indicates a system where the GPU’s massive compute resources are frequently underutilized, with performance scaling patterns that reveal the CPU’s influence at lower resolutions and the GPU’s dominance at 4K. The following analysis breaks down the resolution scaling, component roles, and optimal settings based solely on the measured FPS and component specifications.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly by preset. At the Low preset, the system delivers 603.9 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 410 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 193.9 FPS, and then to 234.8 FPS at 3840x2160, a further drop of 175.2 FPS. This pattern illustrates that even with lower graphical demands, the jump to 4K imposes a substantial load that reduces the frame rate to roughly 39% of the 1080p figure.

For the High preset, the scaling is steeper on a percentage basis. The 450.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 301.5 FPS at 1440p (a 148.8 FPS drop), and then to 169.4 FPS at 4K (a 132.1 FPS drop). The 4K result represents only 37.6% of the 1080p performance, indicating that the higher quality settings amplify the resolution penalty. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with 360.2 FPS at 1080p, 242.6 FPS at 1440p, and 138.7 FPS at 4K, where the latter is 38.5% of the former.

The Medium preset provides the most informative scaling data. It yields 515.9 FPS at 1080p, 350.8 FPS at 1440p, and 196.9 FPS at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is 165.1 FPS, while the difference between 1440p and 4K is 153.9 FPS, showing a nearly linear drop in absolute terms. This suggests that the rendering load scales consistently with pixel count across these settings. The data overall indicates that at 1080p, the frame rates are so high (exceeding 360 FPS even on Ultra) that the limiting component is unlikely to be the GPU’s raw shading power, but rather the CPU’s ability to feed the graphics pipeline; the transition to 4K, however, shifts the burden decisively onto the GPU’s memory bandwidth and fill rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a dominant piece of hardware in this configuration, and its benchmark scores place it in the 91st percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 66473 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which scores 66733, a delta of -0.4%; the RTX 4090 also sits just 0.5% ahead of the Tesla P40 and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56. This proximity in synthetic scores, however, does not translate to a uniform gaming experience, as the measured FPS in “To The Core” show the GPU rarely being pushed to its limits.

The GPU’s specifications include 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This memory subsystem is critical for the 4K results, where the frame rates at Ultra (138.7 FPS) are the lowest in the dataset. The jump from High (169.4 FPS) to Ultra (138.7 FPS) at 4K represents a 30.7 FPS loss, which is the largest single-step drop across all presets at that resolution. This indicates that the Ultra preset’s additional memory and shading demands are significant enough to impact the GPU’s throughput. The core clock runs at a base of 2235 MHz with a boost of 2520 MHz, and the chip’s 16384 shading units provide substantial parallel processing capability. Yet, at 1080p, the GPU’s role is diminished; the difference between Low (603.9 FPS) and Ultra (360.2 FPS) is only 243.7 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is throttling the GPU’s potential output.

At 1440p, the GPU starts to assert itself more. The Ultra preset yields 242.6 FPS, which is still remarkably high, but the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 167.4 FPS, implying that the GPU is beginning to become the primary constraint. The data supports the interpretation that the RTX 4090 is a capable performer at all tested resolutions, but its full 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is only truly exercised when the resolution and settings combine to create a sufficient workload. The GPU’s production status is end-of-life, yet its performance in this game remains far above the thresholds where a player would notice any frame rate deficiency.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF contributes significantly to the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. This processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, built on the Alder Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1016 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 3309, which are critical for a game like “To The Core” that likely relies on a primary simulation thread. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 27827, placing it in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, and it sits within 0.4% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829) and the Intel Core i7-13700H (27716).

The CPU’s role becomes most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates exceed 600 FPS on the Low preset. At that resolution, the GPU is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU’s ability to process game logic and issue draw calls determines the ceiling. The gap between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 243.7 FPS, which is the largest absolute difference across all resolutions. This suggests that the CPU can maintain a high throughput even as the GPU’s workload increases, but the overall frame rate is capped by the CPU’s single-thread capabilities. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1995 and the 3dmark_4_threads score of 3806 indicate that the processor scales well with additional threads, which helps maintain stability across different settings.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s influence wanes. The frame rates at 4K Ultra (138.7 FPS) are more than 400 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, demonstrating that the GPU’s rendering load has become the dominant factor. The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide adequate data locality for the game’s assets, but the benchmark results show that the processor is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the i5-12600KF is well-matched to the RTX 4090 for this game, as it is capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p without becoming a severe constraint, while its performance at 4K is sufficient to avoid limiting the GPU’s output. The CPU’s launch MSRP was $264, but that figure does not factor into the performance analysis.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS across the four presets provides a clear picture of the trade-offs between visual quality and raw performance. For players targeting the highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers 603.9 FPS, which is the maximum measured in the dataset. However, this comes at the cost of graphical fidelity, and the data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p still achieves 515.9 FPS, which is only 88 FPS lower. Given the extremely high numbers, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a balanced experience, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a frame rate that is well beyond what any display can currently show.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 350.8 FPS, which remains exceptionally high. The High preset at this resolution produces 301.5 FPS, a difference of 49.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 242.6 FPS. For most users, the High preset at 1440p is the recommended choice, as it delivers a frame rate that is 58.9 FPS higher than Ultra while offering most of the visual enhancements. The data shows diminishing returns for the Ultra preset at this resolution, as the 58.2 FPS loss from High to Ultra is significant relative to the visual differences typically expected.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation shifts to the High preset, which produces 169.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K yields 138.7 FPS, which is still playable, but the 30.7 FPS penalty is notable. The Medium preset at 4K provides 196.9 FPS, which is 27.5 FPS higher than High, but the visual quality reduction is more pronounced at this resolution. The data indicates that the High preset at 4K offers the best combination of frame rate and visual fidelity, as it stays above 160 FPS while avoiding the performance hit of Ultra. The Low preset at 4K (234.8 FPS) is unnecessary for most scenarios, as the Medium preset provides a better visual experience with only a 37.9 FPS reduction.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest measured frame rate for this CPU/GPU combination in “To The Core”?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 603.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the frame rate at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra preset produces 138.7 FPS, which is 465.2 FPS lower than the 603.9 FPS seen at 1080p Low, representing a 77% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 1080p resolution?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates exceed 360 FPS even on Ultra, indicating that the CPU (Intel Core i5-12600KF) is the limiting component, as the GPU has spare capacity.

Q: What is the recommended preset for 2560x1440 gaming based on the measured data?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 301.5 FPS, which is 58.9 FPS higher than Ultra (242.6 FPS) and only 49.3 FPS lower than Medium (350.8 FPS), offering the best balance.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s memory bandwidth affect the 4K results?

A: Yes, the GPU’s 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 24 GB GDDR6X memory are likely factors in the 4K performance, where the frame rate drops to 138.7 FPS on Ultra, the lowest in the dataset.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance relate to the game’s results?

A: The CPU’s 3dmark_single_thread score of 1016 and cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 3309 support high frame rates at 1080p, where the gap between Low (603.9 FPS) and Ultra (360.2 FPS) shows the CPU’s influence on the upper limit.