To The Core

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a top-tier experience in To The Core, securing a combo rank of 20 out of 1756 tested combinations. This places the pairing in the top 1.1% of all systems evaluated, underscoring the exceptional capability of this hardware configuration. The GPU, a Blackwell 2.0 architecture part with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, provides the overwhelming majority of the performance headroom, while the 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake CPU ensures the pipeline remains fed even at lower resolutions where frame rates climb dramatically.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination’s rank of 20 out of 1756 tested combos indicates a system that is at the apex of gaming performance. This is a result of the RTX 5090, which sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, dominating the rendering workload. The CPU, while not as high in its own percentile (88th), still provides ample processing power, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, ensuring that even the most demanding game logic is handled without bottlenecking the GPU.

Benchmark results show that the CPU’s average benchmark score of 32508 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% delta). This suggests that the i5-14400F is perfectly matched with its peers in terms of raw compute, making it a stable foundation for the flagship GPU. The data indicates that the performance ceiling of this combo is determined almost entirely by the RTX 5090, which achieves a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 380114, figures that place it in a league of its own for gaming workloads.

Settings Recommendations

For To The Core, the measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across settings presets. At 4K (3840x2160), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 141.3 FPS, which is adequate for smooth gameplay but leaves headroom for higher refresh rates. The High preset at the same resolution yields 177.7 FPS, a substantial improvement that offers a better balance between visual fidelity and frame rate.

Given the hardware’s capabilities, the High preset is the recommended starting point for 4K displays, as it provides a 25.8% performance uplift over Ultra while maintaining most of the visual quality. For users with 1440p monitors, the High preset at 311 FPS is exceptional, but the Medium preset at 357.4 FPS offers an even higher frame rate for competitive play. At 1080p, the Low preset reaches 570.3 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of any current monitor, making the High preset at 466.1 FPS a more sensible choice for those seeking a balance of speed and visual detail. The data suggests that Ultra settings are only advisable for users who prioritize graphical fidelity over raw frame rates, as the performance penalty is significant across all resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides critical insight into the system’s bottleneck characteristics. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 570.3 FPS, but this drops to 424 FPS at 1440p and further to 245.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 57% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-bound scenario, but the magnitude of the drop indicates that the RTX 5090 is still the primary limiter, not the CPU.

Comparing the High preset across resolutions, the frame rates are 466.1 FPS at 1080p, 311 FPS at 1440p, and 177.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is 61.9% lower than the 1080p result, a substantial decrease that reflects the GPU’s raw pixel-pushing demands. The Intel Core i5-14400F shows no signs of becoming a bottleneck, as the frame rates at 1080p are so high that even the fastest CPUs would struggle to keep up. The data strongly suggests that this system is entirely GPU-limited, with the RTX 5090’s 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance being the determining factors at every resolution and setting combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset leads with an average of 570.3 FPS, followed by Medium at 535.7 FPS, High at 466.1 FPS, and Ultra at 373.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 34.5%, indicating that while the GPU is incredibly powerful, the Ultra preset still imposes a measurable penalty. The gap between Medium and High is 13.0%, suggesting that the High preset is the sweet spot for 1080p users who want a high frame rate without sacrificing too much quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 424 FPS, Medium delivers 357.4 FPS, High achieves 311 FPS, and Ultra drops to 251.7 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of 25.6% for Low, 33.3% for Medium, 33.3% for High, and 32.6% for Ultra, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. At this resolution, the system is still capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 240 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains impressive but begins to show the GPU’s limits. Low settings yield 245.1 FPS, Medium produces 206.9 FPS, High delivers 177.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 141.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 42.4%, a significant margin that highlights the computational cost of the Ultra preset at 4K. However, even at the lowest setting, the system maintains a frame rate that is far above the standard 60 FPS target, and the High preset at 177.7 FPS is more than sufficient for a smooth 4K experience. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5090 provides exceptional performance at every resolution, with the i5-14400F ensuring no CPU-induced stutters or frame dips.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for To The Core?*

A: This pairing ranks 20th out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.1% of all configurations.

Q: What is the best setting preset for 4K gaming?

A: The High preset at 3840x2160 delivers 177.7 FPS, which is 25.8% faster than Ultra (141.3 FPS) and offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound?

A: The data indicates a strictly GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 is sufficient to feed the RTX 5090, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, showing no signs of CPU limitation.

Q: What performance can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system achieves an average of 311 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

Q: How much does the Ultra preset cost in terms of frame rate at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset (373.5 FPS) is 34.5% slower than Low (570.3 FPS), a significant penalty that may not be worth the visual gains for competitive play.

Q: Does the i5-14400F bottleneck the RTX 5090?

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32508 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, and the measured FPS data shows no bottlenecking, as the system achieves over 570 FPS at 1080p Low settings.