To The Core

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a remarkably fluid experience in To The Core, an idle game that scales aggressively with resolution. Across the measured 1080p, 1440p, and 4K presets, the combination demonstrates that even a modestly positioned GPU can dominate a title that is not graphically demanding. The data indicates that the Arc B570, which sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, is the primary driver of frame rates here, while the 10-core, 16-thread i5-14400F (83rd percentile among CPUs) provides ample headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows offer a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in To The Core. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 133 FPS average, which is already well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but the Medium preset jumps to 191 FPS and High reaches 165 FPS. The Low preset hits 225 FPS. Since the game is an idle title where visual fidelity may matter less than smooth, continuous rendering, the Medium preset at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot: it delivers 191 FPS average with a recorded minimum of 162 FPS and maximum of 219 FPS, offering a 44% improvement over Ultra while still maintaining substantial visual quality over Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds. Ultra yields 89 FPS average, which is still playable, but Medium provides 128 FPS average with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 147 FPS. The jump from Ultra to Medium here is a 44% gain, identical to the 1080p scaling. High sits at 111 FPS, making Medium the best choice for those prioritizing frame rate stability without dropping to the Low preset's 152 FPS, which sacrifices too much detail for an idle game.

At 3840x2160, the story changes. Ultra drops to 51 FPS average, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target. High recovers to 64 FPS, while Medium reaches 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS. Low hits 87 FPS. For 4K users, the High preset at 64 FPS average is the recommended starting point, as it keeps the experience above the 60 FPS line without the visual penalty of Low. However, the data shows that Medium at 73 FPS is only 14% faster than High, so users with 60Hz displays may prefer High for the extra fidelity. For those with high-refresh 4K panels, Low at 87 FPS offers the only path to triple-digit performance at this resolution.

The overall recommendation is to favor Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p, as this preset consistently provides the best balance of average FPS and minimum FPS stability. At 4K, High is the pragmatic choice, with Medium as a fallback for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 225, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next highest is 191 FPS at the same resolution on Medium settings.

Q: Does the combination maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 51, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Users must reduce settings to High (64 FPS) or Medium (73 FPS) to exceed 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It is also 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F sits at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 32279, making it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H.

Q: Is the i5-14400F a bottleneck for the Arc B570 in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 225 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 83rd percentile suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 162 FPS. At 2560x1440, it is 109 FPS. At 3840x2160, it is 62 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound workload in To The Core. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 165 at 1920x1080 to 111 at 2560x1440 (a 33% reduction), and then to 64 at 3840x2160 (a 61% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline as pixel count increases is classic GPU-limited behavior. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the constraint here; otherwise, the scaling would flatten out at higher resolutions as the CPU bottleneck dominated.

The Low preset shows a similar trajectory: 225 FPS at 1080p, 152 FPS at 1440p (down 32%), and 87 FPS at 4K (down 43% from 1440p). The percentage drops are slightly smaller for Low settings, which is expected because lower graphical load reduces the GPU's workload, but the trend remains consistent. The Medium preset's minimum FPS values tell the same story: 162 at 1080p, 109 at 1440p, and 62 at 4K, with the 4K minimum barely clearing the 60 FPS line.

The fact that the 4K Ultra preset only manages 51 FPS average, while 4K Low achieves 87 FPS, highlights the GPU's limits at this resolution. The Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the pixel throughput demands at 4K (200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate) are insufficient to keep Ultra settings fluid. The data indicates that users targeting 4K should expect to sacrifice settings, while 1440p and below offer headroom for higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global ranking of tested combinations for To The Core, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B570 holds the 2380th position out of 2991 total combos. This places it in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 80% of tested combos perform better in this game. Given that the GPU ranks at the 65th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, the low combo rank suggests that To The Core is a title where many other hardware pairings—likely those with higher-end GPUs—can achieve higher frame rates.

However, the rank must be interpreted in context. The measured FPS data shows this combo is far from inadequate: it exceeds 60 FPS at 4K on Medium and High settings, and it surpasses 130 FPS at 1080p on Ultra. The low rank relative to other combos reflects the sheer number of more powerful (and likely more expensive) configurations in the database, not a fundamental weakness. For an idle game, this combo's performance is more than sufficient, but it does not compete with the top 10% of combos that likely feature flagship GPUs.

The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show that the i5-14400F is statistically tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% faster), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% faster), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% slower). This tight clustering means the CPU is not a differentiator in this game. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of the Arc B570's average score, indicating that swapping to any of those cards would produce nearly identical results in To The Core.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It belongs to the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process node, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. In To The Core, an idle game that primarily relies on single-threaded logic for game state updates and multi-threaded rendering for any visual elements, the CPU's performance is more than adequate.

The benchmark data supports this: the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, placing it at the 83rd percentile. In this game, the single-core score is likely more relevant, as idle games often have a single main loop that dictates simulation speed. The 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures that this loop runs quickly, preventing any CPU-induced frame pacing issues.

The CPU's role becomes clear when examining the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 225 FPS, which is near the limit of most displays. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would see the FPS plateau at a lower value regardless of resolution. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which points to the GPU as the limiting factor. The CPU's 65W TDP and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provide sufficient bandwidth for the Arc B570, which uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. The CPU's 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes (CPU only) are more than enough to feed the GPU's bandwidth demands.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 further confirm that this CPU is not a weak link. Even in the most CPU-sensitive scenario (1080p Low), the measured 225 FPS is likely constrained by the GPU's raw pixel throughput rather than the CPU's ability to issue draw calls or update game logic. In an idle game, where the simulation may run at a fixed tick rate, the CPU's high single-thread performance ensures that the game never stutters due to processing delays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the exact measured FPS values across all resolutions and settings:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

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

| 1920x1080 | Low | 225 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 191 | 162 | 219 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 165 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 133 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 152 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 128 | 109 | 147 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 111 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 89 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 87 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 73 | 62 | 84 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 64 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 51 | — | — |

At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all presets. The Low preset at 225 FPS is overkill for any standard display, while Ultra at 133 FPS still provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors. The Medium preset's minimum of 162 FPS ensures no drops below 144 FPS, making it the best choice for 144Hz displays.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 89 FPS is borderline for 144Hz but fine for 60Hz and 90Hz displays. Medium at 128 FPS average with a 109 FPS minimum is the safest option for smooth gameplay, as it never dips below 100 FPS. Low at 152 FPS is the only preset that approaches 144Hz territory.

At 4K, the Ultra preset at 51 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided. High at 64 FPS just clears 60 FPS, but the Medium preset at 73 FPS average (with a 62 FPS minimum) offers the best combination of visual quality and frame rate stability. Low at 87 FPS is the performance choice for 4K, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The data clearly shows that 4K is the resolution where the Arc B570's limits are exposed, and users should prioritize Medium or High settings to maintain a playable experience.