To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

The Intel Core i5-14400F pairs a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake-R design with a 4.70 GHz boost clock, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 brings 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and Ampere architecture to the table. In To The Core, an idle-genre title that scales heavily with both CPU scheduling and GPU throughput, this combination produces frame rates that range from 92.9 FPS at 4K Ultra to 412.8 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that comfortably saturates high-refresh displays at mainstream resolutions, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck only at 4K Ultra settings. The combo ranks 535th out of 1,756 tested configurations, placing it in the upper third of all pairings evaluated for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is built on Intel's 10 nm Raptor Lake-R process and uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform. It ships with 10 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU has a 20 MB shared L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The multiplier is locked, so overclocking is not an option, but the 65 W TDP keeps thermal requirements modest. The chip supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, and it includes ECC memory support. The processor was released on 2024-01-07 and carries a launch MSRP of $196.

Benchmark results place the i5-14400F in the 88th percentile among all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score is 32,508, which sits within 0.2% of several direct rivals. The Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32,513, a delta of 0% — effectively identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 trails by 0.2% at 32,446, while the AMD Ryzen 7 250 leads by 0.2% at 32,584. The Intel Core i7-13705H also leads by 0.2% at 32,586. In multi-threaded workloads, the i5-14400F delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,914 and a single-core score of 3,093. Geekbench results show 11,209 multi-core and 2,333 single-core.

In To The Core, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining a stable frame pacing floor. The game is an idle genre title, which means background simulation and tick-rate logic can create CPU-bound scenarios even at high frame rates. The i5-14400F's 10-core/16-thread configuration provides ample headroom for these background tasks, while the 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures that the single-threaded game logic doesn't become a constraint. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,723 and multithread score of 25,783 indicate that the processor can handle both the serial portions of the game loop and the parallel background simulation without introducing stutter. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 412.8 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower settings where GPU load is minimal.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. It has 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The GPU includes 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores. The base clock is 1440 MHz, boosting to 1710 MHz, while the memory runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory sits on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The card supports PCIe 4.0 x16, has a 320 W TDP, and requires a 700 W suggested PSU. It was released on 2020-08-31 and is now end-of-life.

The RTX 3080 ranks in the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35,860 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 880M scores 35,646 (0.4% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 36,101 (0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35,435 (1% lower). In synthetic tests, the RTX 3080 achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,407, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 167,014, and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 145,176.

In To The Core, the GPU's 10 GB VRAM and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for the game's visual demands. The title is not VRAM-intensive, which means the RTX 3080's memory subsystem is never a constraint. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate allow it to push high frame rates across all settings. The data reveals that the GPU scales predictably with resolution: at 1440p Ultra the system hits 162 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 92.9 FPS. This performance curve suggests the RTX 3080 is the primary performance driver at 4K, where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely stressed, as evidenced by the 412.8 FPS result at Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 535th out of 1,756 tested combos in To The Core. This places the pairing in the top 30% of all configurations evaluated, which is notable for a mid-range CPU paired with a previous-generation high-end GPU. The rank reflects the balance between the i5-14400F's strong single-thread performance and the RTX 3080's substantial rasterization power.

The combo's position in the rankings is influenced by the game's idle genre characteristics, which tend to reward high single-thread CPU performance and responsive GPU scheduling. The i5-14400F's 3,093 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 3723 PassMark single-thread score indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates. Meanwhile, the RTX 3080's 25,086 PassMark G3D score ensures that the GPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p resolutions. The 535th rank out of 1,756 combos suggests that while many configurations outperform this pairing, it sits comfortably ahead of the median setup.

The data shows that the combo's strongest performance appears at 1080p, where it achieves 305.8 FPS at High and 247.1 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the system maintains excellent frame rates with 204.1 FPS at High and 162 FPS at Ultra. The 4K results are more modest, with 115.3 FPS at High and 92.9 FPS at Ultra. This pattern indicates that the RTX 3080 is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU and GPU are well-matched at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates in To The Core reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 412.8 FPS, Medium reduces this to 352.2 FPS, High drops to 305.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 247.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 165.7 FPS, which represents a 40% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings achieve 277 FPS, Medium delivers 232.9 FPS, High produces 204.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 162 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 115 FPS, or a 41.5% reduction. This consistency between 1080p and 1440p suggests that the GPU is well-utilized at both resolutions, with the CPU maintaining adequate frame delivery.

The 3840x2160 results show the most significant impact of resolution scaling. Low settings still deliver 160.2 FPS, but Medium reduces this to 134.6 FPS, High drops to 115.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 92.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 100 FPS, which means the system can still maintain a playable experience at maximum settings on a 4K display. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 67.3 FPS, representing a 42% reduction. This similar percentage drop across all resolutions indicates that the game's settings have a consistent impact on GPU load, regardless of resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this setup?

A: The data shows that 1440p High delivers 204.1 FPS and 1440p Ultra achieves 162 FPS, making 1440p the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and frame rate. At 4K, only Low settings exceed 160 FPS, while Ultra drops to 92.9 FPS.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K?

A: Yes, all four settings at 3840x2160 produce frame rates above 90 FPS. The lowest result is 92.9 FPS at Ultra, which is still playable, while High settings yield 115.3 FPS and Low reaches 160.2 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32,508, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32,446). The AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H both lead by 0.2% with scores of 32,584 and 32,586 respectively.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks in the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35,860, a delta of 0.2%.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the system drops from 305.8 FPS at 1080p to 115.3 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 62.3%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 247.1 FPS to 92.9 FPS, a 62.4% reduction.

Q: Is this combo ranked highly among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 535th out of 1,756 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of all pairings evaluated for this game.