To The Core

To The Core is a light, idle-genre title, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops. The data indicates this combo is a solid performer for the game, though its absolute ranking among all tested combinations suggests it is far from the top of the leaderboard.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and steep decline in performance as resolution increases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario at the higher end. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 156.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 104.5 FPS, a reduction of approximately 33%. Stepping up to 4K (3840x2160) brings the average down to 62.4 FPS, which is another 40% drop from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the rendering load is the primary bottleneck.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than the jump to 4K, suggesting that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but are heavily taxed at 4K. The fact that even Low settings at 4K (102.6 FPS) is slower than Ultra at 1080p (156.1 FPS) underscores that resolution, not quality settings, is the dominant factor limiting performance at 4K. Conversely, the relatively small performance gap between 1080p and 1440p at lower settings (263.5 FPS versus 174.8 FPS for Low) suggests that the CPU begins to play a more significant role at 1080p, where the GPU has more headroom. The data implies that for this specific title, the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component for 4K gaming, while the i5-13400F is more than capable of feeding frames at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data shows that High settings at 4K (76.6 FPS) are the optimal choice, as this is the only 4K preset that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold without sacrificing much visual fidelity. Ultra at 4K (62.4 FPS) is technically playable but leaves little headroom for frame time spikes, while Medium (86.9 FPS) and Low (102.6 FPS) offer higher frame rates but with diminishing visual returns. At 1440p, the Ultra preset (104.5 FPS) is the clear winner for a high-refresh-rate monitor, as it delivers a triple-digit average while still providing the best visual quality. The High preset at 1440p (129.4 FPS) is also excellent, but Ultra offers a more complete experience with only a modest frame rate penalty.

At 1080p, the situation is reversed; the CPU becomes more of a factor, and the data shows that Ultra settings (156.1 FPS) are still very achievable. However, for esports-style responsiveness, the Low preset (263.5 FPS) provides the highest frame rate, which is ideal for competitive play. The Medium preset (221.3 FPS) represents the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users, as it is nearly 30% faster than Ultra while still looking respectable. The data suggests that on a 60 Hz display, Ultra at 1080p is a waste of potential, but on a 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitor, the Medium or High presets are the sweet spot for this combo.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a single-core score of 3004, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. For a game like To The Core, which is not heavily threaded, the single-core performance is more critical, and the 2-thread 3DMark score of 1880 indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 1080p. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 263.5 FPS, which confirms the CPU’s ability to process game logic and draw calls quickly, but this is still a GPU-bound result.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent when comparing the scaling between 1080p and 1440p. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 263.5 FPS to 174.8 FPS, a 34% decrease, while at Ultra settings, the drop is from 156.1 FPS to 104.5 FPS, a 33% decrease. This similar percentage drop suggests that even at 1080p Low, the RTX 2060 SUPER is still the primary bottleneck, as the CPU is capable of pushing well over 260 FPS. The i5-13400F’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 16 threads provide ample headroom, and the data indicates that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this configuration for this title. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 show that the CPU scales well with load, but To The Core does not appear to utilize more than a few threads effectively.

How This Combo Ranks

In the aggregate database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1267th out of 1756 total combos for To The Core. This places the system in the lower third of all tested configurations, which is a surprising result given the high frame rates measured. This ranking is likely skewed by the fact that the database includes many high-end and modern components that are not directly comparable to this mid-range pairing. The combo’s rank indicates that while it is perfectly playable, it does not offer the peak performance seen with newer or more powerful hardware.

The CPU alone sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU is in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, which explains the lower combo rank. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, has an average benchmark score that is 0.5% higher, but this does not translate to a meaningful performance difference in-game. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, has a similar average score (25201 vs 25236), indicating that the i5-13400F is competitively positioned. For a player with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this combo is more than sufficient, but the data shows that it is not a top-tier performer when compared to the entire field.

FAQ

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in To The Core?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 76.6, which is above the 60 FPS target. However, the Ultra preset drops to 62.4 FPS, which is close to the edge of playability, and the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 104.5 FPS, which is below 144 Hz. To fully utilize a 144 Hz display, the High preset (129.4 FPS) is a better choice, as it is closer to the refresh rate while still providing high visual quality.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all tested settings. The CPU’s high single-thread and multi-thread scores (3004 and 21279 in Cinebench R23) are more than sufficient for this title, as evidenced by the 263.5 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, while the RTX 2070 has a score of 19680, giving the 2060 SUPER a 0.5% advantage in synthetic tests. This difference is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Is the i5-13400F a good match for the RTX 2060 SUPER?

A: Yes, the data shows a well-balanced pairing. The CPU is in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 63rd percentile. The combination produces playable frame rates at all resolutions, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor at 4K.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 263.5 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the ceiling for this configuration, and it highlights the CPU’s ability to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings preset:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 76.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 102.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 86.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 62.4 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 129.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 174.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 151.9 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 104.5 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 190.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 263.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 221.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 156.1 |

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Low is the fastest, followed by 1080p Medium, then 1080p High. At each resolution, Low is significantly faster than Ultra, with the gap widening as resolution decreases. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 107.4 FPS, while at 4K, the difference is only 40.2 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and features 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s. These specifications place it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011.

In To The Core, the GPU’s role is dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. The 4K Ultra result of 62.4 FPS indicates that the GPU is fully utilized, while the 1080p Low result of 263.5 FPS shows that the GPU can push high frame rates when not constrained by resolution. The GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is adequate for this idle game, which does not appear to use demanding visual effects. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s nearest rival, the GeForce GTX TITAN, has a similar average score (19706 vs 19774), but the 2060 SUPER’s modern architecture and 8 GB of VRAM give it an edge in texture-heavy scenarios. The data confirms that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, but it is more than capable of delivering excellent performance at 1080p and 1440p for this title.