To The Core

To The Core is an idle game, but the benchmark data for the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a combination that is anything but idle in terms of raw frame throughput. The measured FPS across resolutions and settings shows a system capable of extreme performance, with the data indicating that the primary bottleneck shifts from the GPU at lower resolutions to a more balanced workload as resolution increases. This analysis examines the resolution scaling, optimal settings, the distinct roles of the GPU and CPU, and how this specific pairing ranks among the 3,725 tested combinations within the database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant, but the scale of the drop tells a clear story about which component is doing the heavy lifting. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 403 FPS at 1920x1080 to 271 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 132 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average drops further to 155 FPS, a reduction of 116 FPS. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 248 FPS, which represents a 61.5% reduction in performance. This steep decline is a classic indicator that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count increases dramatically.

The pattern holds across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 549 at 1080p to 369 at 1440p, and then to 211 at 4K. That is a drop of 338 FPS from the lowest to highest resolution, a 61.6% reduction. At Medium settings, the numbers are 464, 312, and 179 FPS respectively, with the 4K figure being 61.4% lower than the 1080p figure. Ultra settings show the same trend, with 324 FPS at 1080p dropping to 218 FPS at 1440p and finally 125 FPS at 4K, a 61.4% reduction. The consistency of this percentage drop across all four presets is striking.

This consistent scaling suggests that the game’s rendering load scales nearly linearly with the number of pixels. The GPU, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 256-bit memory bus delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, is being pushed harder as resolution climbs. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is likely keeping up with the GPU’s output, resulting in extremely high frame rates. However, the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms the GPU, making it the definitive bottleneck.

The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is most balanced at 1440p. The frame rates at this resolution are still very high, but the gap between settings is more moderate, suggesting that both the CPU and GPU are contributing to the final output. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU’s performance becomes the ceiling, while at 4K, the GPU’s pixel processing capability is the constraint. For users with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors, the data shows that even this powerful GPU will not fully saturate the display at Ultra settings, but it will come close at High settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best play experience. At 4K, the High preset delivers an average of 155 FPS, which is a solid 30 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s 125 FPS. The Medium preset sits between them at 179 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High costs only 24 FPS while likely providing a significant visual improvement. The Low preset at 4K produces 211 FPS, but sacrificing visual quality for a frame rate that exceeds most high-refresh displays’ capabilities is not necessary. For a smooth experience on a 144Hz 4K display, the High preset is the optimal choice, as it provides a comfortable margin above the refresh rate target.

At 1440p, the situation is more relaxed. The Ultra preset still delivers an average of 218 FPS, which is sufficient for even the most demanding 240Hz monitors. The High preset at 271 FPS offers a 53 FPS advantage over Ultra, but the visual fidelity loss may not be worth it for most users. The Medium preset at 312 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the data suggests that the CPU and GPU combination is strong enough to handle Ultra without dipping below playable levels. The recommended preset for 1440p is Ultra, as it provides the best visual experience while maintaining frame rates that are beyond the refresh rate of almost all monitors.

At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the choice of preset has a minimal impact on perceived smoothness. The Ultra preset yields an average of 324 FPS, while the High preset yields 403 FPS. The Low preset reaches 549 FPS, which is an enormous number, but the visual compromise is severe. The data shows that the High preset, with its 403 FPS average, is the sweet spot for 1080p, offering a substantial increase over Ultra with only a marginal visual difference. The Medium preset at 464 FPS is also viable, but it offers no practical advantage over High for most display configurations.

The overall recommendation across all resolutions is to prioritize the High preset. It consistently offers a significant FPS advantage over Ultra while maintaining a high level of visual quality. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with extremely high-refresh-rate displays at 1440p who are willing to accept a lower frame rate for maximum detail. The Low and Medium presets are not recommended for this hardware combination, as the performance headroom is so large that the visual trade-offs are unnecessary.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the engine that drives the high frame rates in To The Core. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 256-bit memory bus are crucial for handling the texture and geometry data at 4K resolution. The memory clock is listed at 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective speed, which contributes to the 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is a key factor in the GPU’s ability to maintain high average FPS even at the most demanding settings. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 125, which is a playable number, but the memory bandwidth is likely a limiting factor here.

The GPU’s core clocks are another important aspect. The base clock is 2295 MHz, and the boost clock is 2550 MHz. These high clocks, combined with the 10,240 shading units, allow the GPU to process the game’s rendering tasks efficiently. The benchmark results show the GPU’s raw compute power, with a Passmark G3D score of 34,245 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 260,075. These scores indicate that the GPU is performing near the top of its class, but the data from the game shows that even this power is taxed by 4K resolution.

The GPU’s performance percentile versus all GPUs is 86, meaning it is faster than 86% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 54,209, which places it in the upper echelon. The nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 with a deltaPct of -0.1% and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X with a deltaPct of -1.1%, show that the 4080 SUPER is essentially tied with the non-SUPER 4080 in synthetic tests. However, the measured FPS in To The Core is what matters, and the data shows that the GPU is capable of pushing frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p and above 150 FPS at 4K on High settings.

The GPU’s TDP is 320 W, and it requires a 700 W power supply, but these are not directly reflected in the FPS data. The role of the GPU is clear: it is the component that scales the frame rate with resolution. The data shows that the GPU’s performance is the primary determinant of FPS at 4K, where the pixel fill rate becomes the bottleneck. The 45,900 million transistors on the 5 nm process from TSMC allow for a high degree of parallelism, which is essential for processing the game’s graphics workload.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 281st out of 3,725 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 7.5% of all combinations, which is a strong result, but it is not at the very top. The rank is based on the measured average FPS across all resolutions and settings, and the data shows that this pairing is highly capable. The percentile ranking for the CPU is 90, and for the GPU it is 86, but the combined rank of 281 out of 3,725 suggests that there are other combinations that achieve higher frame rates.

The rank is influenced by the fact that To The Core is an idle game, which may not fully utilize the GPU’s capabilities in the same way as a more demanding title. However, the measured FPS numbers are extremely high, indicating that the game is not heavily optimized to be a GPU stress test. The combo’s rank of 281 means that there are 280 other combinations that perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or GPUs. The data shows that this combo is in the top decile, but it is not the absolute best.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H with a deltaPct of -0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4345P with a deltaPct of 0.3%, highlight that the i5-14600K is a mid-range performer in terms of average benchmark score. The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the RTX 4080 with a deltaPct of -0.1%, show that the 4080 SUPER is essentially at the top of its class. The combination of a mid-range CPU with a top-tier GPU results in a rank that is good but not exceptional, as the CPU may be limiting the GPU’s potential at lower resolutions.

The data indicates that the combo’s rank is likely driven by the 1080p and 1440p results, where the CPU’s performance can bottleneck the GPU. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the combo’s performance is more dependent on the GPU’s capabilities. The rank of 281 out of 3,725 reflects the overall strength of the pairing, but it also shows that there is room for improvement, likely by pairing the GPU with a higher-end CPU or by using a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for modern games, and the data shows that it is capable of feeding the RTX 4080 SUPER with enough data to maintain high frame rates. The CPU’s L3 cache is 24 MB shared, which helps with game data locality. The benchmark scores for the CPU, such as the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24,491 and the single-core score of 2,064, indicate strong performance.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role is most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high. At Low settings, the average FPS reaches 549, which is a number that would be impossible if the CPU were the bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and draw calls efficiently, allowing the GPU to render frames at a rapid pace. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is likely a key factor in this performance, as it provides the single-threaded performance that games often rely on.

As resolution increases, the CPU’s role diminishes relative to the GPU. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, which suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. However, the CPU’s performance at 1080p sets the ceiling for the combo’s overall rank. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 90, and its average benchmark score is 48,618. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX with a deltaPct of 0.7% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with a deltaPct of -0.8%, show that the i5-14600K is in a competitive position.

The CPU’s architecture, Raptor Lake, is built on a 10 nm process, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The memory support is dual-channel, which is standard for desktop CPUs. The CPU’s integrated graphics, UHD Graphics 770, are not relevant for this analysis, as the dedicated GPU handles all rendering. The CPU’s TDP of 125 W is a measure of its power consumption, but it does not directly affect the FPS numbers.

The data shows that the CPU is a capable partner for the RTX 4080 SUPER. At 1440p, the frame rates on Ultra settings are 218 FPS, which is high enough to avoid any CPU bottleneck. The CPU’s 20 threads are sufficient for the game’s workload, which likely involves managing game state and input rather than heavy physics simulations. The CPU’s role is to provide a stable foundation for the GPU to operate at its full potential, and the measured FPS numbers indicate that it succeeds in this role.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The detailed FPS measurements show the exact performance of this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 549 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers an average of 464 FPS, with a minimum of 395 FPS and a maximum of 534 FPS. The High preset at 1080p delivers an average of 403 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers an average of 324 FPS. The data shows a clear progression: as settings increase, the average FPS decreases, but even the Ultra preset at 1080p is above 300 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 369 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 312 FPS, with a minimum of 266 FPS and a maximum of 359 FPS. The High preset delivers an average of 271 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers an average of 218 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Low preset losing 180 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 106 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder, but the frame rates are still very high.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers an average of 211 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 179 FPS, with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. The High preset delivers an average of 155 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers an average of 125 FPS. The 4K results show the most variation between settings, with a 86 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. The High preset at 4K is the lowest measured value that is still above 150 FPS, making it the minimum recommended setting for a smooth experience on a 144Hz monitor.

The data for the Medium preset at each resolution includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which are not available for the other presets. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 395 FPS and the maximum is 534 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 266 FPS and the maximum is 359 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 152 FPS and the maximum is 205 FPS. These ranges indicate that the frame rate is stable, with no major dips that would cause stuttering. The minimum FPS values are all above 150, which is a good sign for gameplay smoothness.

The overall pattern is that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, with frame rates that are high enough to saturate any monitor. At 4K, the performance is still respectable, with the High preset being the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a powerful GPU, and the i5-14600K does not hold it back significantly. The combo’s rank of 281 out of 3,725 is a reflection of its strong, but not top-tier, performance in this game.