To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 53rd out of 1,756 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the top 3% of all configurations. This is a striking result for a mid-range desktop processor paired with a flagship GPU — the data suggests the combo is heavily GPU-dominated at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom at lower settings. The RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, appears to be the primary driver of frame rates, especially when the i5-13400F's 65 W TDP and 4.60 GHz boost clock keep pace without bottlenecking. The measured FPS across all resolutions and settings indicates a system that delivers exceptional performance, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component's influence wanes.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 53 of 1,756 combinations, this pairing sits comfortably in the 97th percentile of all tested configurations in To The Core. The RTX 4090's GPU percentile of 91 puts it near the top of all graphics cards, while the i5-13400F's CPU percentile of 82 is respectable but not elite. The gap between these percentiles suggests that the GPU is the defining component here — the data shows the combo rank is far closer to the GPU's percentile than the CPU's, implying that the 4090 boosts the system despite the i5's more modest standing. Interestingly, the i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25,236 puts it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365) and 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201), meaning the CPU is competitive with alternatives that might cost differently. The combo's rank of 53 out of 1,756 means there are 52 configurations that outperform it, but given that many of those likely feature higher-end CPUs like the Core i7 or i9 with the same GPU, the i5's presence here is notable. The data indicates that in To The Core, an idle genre title, the GPU's raw throughput matters more than CPU multithreaded muscle, which explains why this mid-range CPU can hang with far more expensive processors.

FAQ

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its closest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25,236 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201, +0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365, -0.5% delta). It also matches the AMD EPYC 9474F (25,103, +0.5%) and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25,099, +0.5%), showing that the i5 holds its own against a diverse field of rivals.

Q: What is the best-performing settings preset for this combo at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 234.6, followed by Medium at 201.9, High at 174.8, and Ultra at 137.5. The data shows a clear progression where each settings tier reduces performance, with Ultra being the most demanding.

Q: Does the i5-13400F bottleneck the RTX 4090 in To The Core?

A: The benchmark results suggest minimal bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 558.2 FPS, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 2.4x drop (from 558.2 to 234.6 at Low), which is consistent with GPU-bound behavior rather than CPU limitation. The i5's 10 cores and 16 threads appear sufficient for this idle genre title.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's benchmark performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66,473 is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733) and 0.5% of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66,127). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67,097) by 0.9% and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67,320) by 1.3%, showing a tight cluster of high-end GPUs.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low preset yields 411.1 FPS, while Ultra drops to 242.6 FPS — a difference of 168.5 FPS, or roughly 41% lower performance at Ultra. Medium and High sit in between at 348.7 and 302.3 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM a factor in this game's performance?

A: While the fact pack doesn't provide VRAM usage data, the GPU's 24 GB GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for an idle game like To The Core. The 384-bit bus width and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are far beyond what this title requires, indicating the GPU is never memory-constrained.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its 2.50 GHz base clock and 4.60 GHz boost clock provide solid single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 3,004 score in Cinebench R23 single-core and 960 in 3DMark single-thread. In To The Core, an idle genre game, the CPU's role is primarily about ensuring the game logic and simulation loops run smoothly without starving the GPU. The i5's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache are ample for this workload. The CPU's 3DMark scores show strong scaling: 1,880 for 2 threads, 3,459 for 4 threads, 5,591 for 8 threads, and 7,307 for max threads — indicating that the 16-thread configuration is well-utilized. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,634 and multithread score of 25,032 further confirm that this CPU can handle both lightly-threaded game logic and more demanding background tasks. The data reveals that in To The Core, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor — the measured FPS at 1080p Low (558.2) is extraordinarily high, suggesting the game's computational demands are modest. The i5's 65 W TDP and active production status make it a practical choice, and its 82nd percentile versus all CPUs shows it outperforms the majority of processors on the market, even if it's not at the very top.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings paints a clear picture of this combo's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 558.2 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium delivers 518.8 FPS, High drops to 450.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 362 FPS. The 1080p results show that even the most demanding settings produce frame rates far above the refresh rates of typical monitors. Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues: Low yields 411.1 FPS, Medium 348.7 FPS, High 302.3 FPS, and Ultra 242.6 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result still exceeds 240 FPS, which is remarkable. At 3840x2160, the performance remains impressive: Low produces 234.6 FPS, Medium 201.9 FPS, High 174.8 FPS, and Ultra 137.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured value below 144 FPS, but 137.5 FPS is still exceptionally smooth. The data shows a consistent pattern where each settings tier reduces performance by roughly 10-15%, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening at higher resolutions — from 196.2 FPS at 1080p to 97.1 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the game's graphics settings have a compounding effect as resolution increases, likely due to increased pixel shading and texture work.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals how this combo's performance degrades as pixel count increases. From 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, FPS drops from 558.2 to 411.1, a 26.4% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at Low, FPS drops from 411.1 to 234.6, a 42.9% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 58% (from 558.2 to 234.6). At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 1080p to 1440p drops from 362 to 242.6 (33% reduction), and 1440p to 4K drops from 242.6 to 137.5 (43.3% reduction). The full 1080p to 4K Ultra drop is 62% (from 362 to 137.5). These scaling patterns are characteristic of a GPU-bound system — the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K scales roughly with the 4x increase in pixel count, but not exactly proportionally, indicating that the RTX 4090 has enough headroom to partially mitigate the resolution penalty. The fact that the percentage drop is similar between Low and Ultra settings (58% vs 62%) suggests that the limiting component is the same regardless of settings — the GPU's rendering throughput. The CPU's influence is minimal, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p where CPU bottlenecks would typically manifest; the i5-13400F appears to keep up with the 4090 even at the lowest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, even Ultra settings deliver 362 FPS, which exceeds any consumer monitor's refresh rate, so players can max out settings without concern. At 1440p, Ultra produces 242.6 FPS, which is still above 240 Hz displays, making Ultra the recommended choice for most high-refresh monitors. However, for 4K gaming, the data suggests a trade-off: Ultra delivers 137.5 FPS (suitable for 120 Hz displays but not 144 Hz), while High achieves 174.8 FPS (comfortable for 144 Hz) and Medium reaches 201.9 FPS (ideal for 200 Hz+ displays). The sweet spot at 4K appears to be High or Medium, depending on the display's refresh rate — High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for 144 Hz panels, while Medium is preferable for those with 200 Hz+ monitors. Low settings at 4K (234.6 FPS) provide no visual benefit in an idle game and are not recommended unless chasing maximum frame rates. The data indicates that the i5-13400F + RTX 4090 combo can handle Ultra at 1080p and 1440p without compromise, but at 4K, dropping from Ultra to High yields a 27% FPS increase (from 137.5 to 174.8) with minimal visual difference in an idle genre title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this combo, and the data makes this unmistakably clear. With 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the GPU's raw compute power is staggering — its 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than enough for any game, let alone an idle title like To The Core. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, ensuring that texture streaming and memory-bound workloads are never an issue. The GPU's 2,235 MHz base clock and 2,520 MHz boost clock are the highest in the GeForce 40-series lineup. The RTX 4090's benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 317,684 — all indicating top-tier performance. In To The Core, the GPU's role is to render the game's graphics at high frame rates, and the measured FPS confirms it does this flawlessly. The GPU's percentile of 91 versus all GPUs places it near the apex of graphics hardware. The 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate the power and cooling demands, but the performance justifies these requirements. The RTX 4090's nearest rivals — Tesla T4, Tesla P40, Radeon Pro Vega 56, and Quadro P6000 — are all within 1.3% in average benchmark scores, showing that the 4090 sits in a tight cluster of high-performance GPUs, though its gaming-specific features like DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 128 RT cores give it advantages in modern titles.