To The Core

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers an exceptionally high-performance experience in To The Core, an idle genre title. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of producing frame rates that far exceed standard display refresh rates, even at maximum settings and 4K resolution. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics, scaling behavior, and the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in driving these results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a classic pattern where the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as pixel count increases, yet the CPU still provides ample headroom. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 654 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 448 FPS, a reduction of approximately 31.5%. At 3840x2160 Low, the frame rate falls to 256 FPS, another 42.9% decrease from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that while the GPU is the primary scaling factor, the sheer computational load at lower resolutions is still immense, and the CPU is not the primary bottleneck here.

For High settings, the pattern continues but with more moderate absolute numbers. The 1080p High result is 489 FPS, which scales down to 329 FPS at 1440p (a 32.7% drop) and then to 188 FPS at 4K (a 42.9% drop from 1440p). The percentage drops are remarkably consistent between Low and High presets, suggesting that the scaling penalty is proportional to the resolution increase rather than the specific graphical workload. This is a sign of a well-optimized engine where the additional pixel shading and rasterization work scale predictably.

The Ultra preset shows the most significant performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 393 FPS. This drops to 265 FPS at 1440p (a 32.6% decrease) and further to 151 FPS at 4K (a 43.0% decrease from 1440p). The consistency of these scaling ratios across all settings is notable. It implies that the limiting component is primarily the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth, as the relative cost of each resolution step remains constant. The 4K Ultra result of 151 FPS still represents a highly playable experience, but it is the only measured configuration that falls below the 188 FPS mark seen at 4K High.

The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is the dominant scaling component. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, provides sufficient throughput to prevent a CPU-bound scenario even at 1080p, where frame rates are exceptionally high. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions as the GPU becomes less utilized. Instead, the FPS continues to rise significantly from 1440p to 1080p, confirming that the GPU is the scaling driver. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are substantial resources, and the scaling pattern indicates that the game effectively utilizes this bandwidth for the increased pixel throughput at higher resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in To The Core?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 654 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 4K High performance?

A: The 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 151 FPS, while the 4K High preset produces 188 FPS. This represents a 37 FPS difference, with Ultra being approximately 19.7% slower than High.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, there is a notable difference. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 379 FPS, while the High preset averages 329 FPS. The Medium preset is 50 FPS faster, or roughly 15.2% higher performance.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for the 1080p Medium preset?

A: For 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum measured FPS is 479, with a maximum of 648 and an average of 564.

Q: Does this combo maintain over 200 FPS at 4K resolution across all settings?

A: No. While Low and Medium settings at 4K achieve 256 FPS and 217 FPS respectively, the High preset drops to 188 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 151 FPS. Only the Low and Medium presets maintain an average above 200 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 20th out of 2991 tested combinations for To The Core, placing it in the top 1% of all tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings depend on the target display refresh rate and resolution. For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset at 393 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while still delivering frame rates far beyond any current monitor's capability. Even the most demanding 1080p configuration benefits from the raw power of this combo.

For 1440p displays, the Ultra preset at 265 FPS is also the recommended choice. The performance headroom is so large that there is no practical reason to reduce visual quality. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 64 FPS (from 329 to 265 FPS), but the resulting frame rate remains exceptionally high, making the visual upgrade worthwhile.

At 4K resolution, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. The High preset at 188 FPS is the best balance for most users, as it provides a smooth experience well above the 144 Hz threshold. The Ultra preset at 151 FPS is still playable and offers the maximum visual detail, but the 37 FPS drop from High might be noticeable on a high-refresh-rate 4K display. The Medium preset at 217 FPS is a viable option for those who prioritize maximum frame rates over visual fidelity, but the difference between Medium and High is often less visually striking than the difference between High and Ultra. For the best experience, High at 4K is recommended, offering a 188 FPS average that combines high visual quality with a substantial performance buffer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured performance shows a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings produce an average of 256 FPS. Medium settings yield 217 FPS, with a minimum of 184 and a maximum of 249 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 188 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset delivers 151 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 105 FPS, indicating that the graphical features enabled by the Ultra preset have a significant impact on the GPU at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales up considerably. Low settings achieve 448 FPS. Medium settings average 379 FPS, with a minimum of 322 and a maximum of 436 FPS. High settings produce 329 FPS. Ultra settings deliver 265 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 183 FPS, showing that the relative cost of the Ultra preset is similar to 4K, but with more absolute headroom.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high across the board. Low settings reach 654 FPS. Medium settings average 564 FPS, with a minimum of 479 and a maximum of 648 FPS. High settings produce 489 FPS. Ultra settings deliver 393 FPS. Even the lowest measured result at 1080p (Ultra at 393 FPS) is more than double the highest result at 4K (Low at 256 FPS). This demonstrates the massive difference in rendering load between these resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 20th out of 2991 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 0.7% of all systems tested, a position that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The GPU's percentile ranking of 92nd among all GPUs and the CPU's percentile ranking of 90th among all CPUs reinforce this, as both are in the top decile of their respective categories.

The rank of 20 suggests that there are 19 other combinations that perform better in this specific game. Given the high absolute frame rates achieved, the differences between these top 20 systems are likely to be marginal in real-world terms, as all would be operating far beyond the refresh rate limits of standard displays. The combo's position is primarily driven by the RTX 5090 D's raw compute power, as the game's idle genre and the CPU's strong multi-core performance are sufficient to avoid any significant bottlenecks. The average benchmark score of 77712 for the GPU and 48618 for the CPU place this combo in a highly competitive tier, but the specific ranking in To The Core shows that the GPU's performance is the primary differentiator.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is crucial for the game's logic and physics calculations. The processor's benchmark results show a strong multi-core capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. The Geekbench scores of 16673 multi-core and 2491 single-core further confirm its balanced performance profile.

In To The Core, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data. The high frame rates measured, particularly at 1080p where the average exceeds 600 FPS on Low, indicate that the CPU is capable of processing game state and issuing draw calls at a rate that does not limit the GPU. The Passmark multithread score of 38682 and the data encryption score of 27533 suggest that the CPU has ample headroom for complex calculations. The presence of 20 threads ensures that even the most demanding simulation aspects of the game can be parallelized effectively.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times. The processor's 125W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide flexibility, though the dual-channel memory bus is a standard configuration. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-14600K is not a limiting factor in this combo, as the measured FPS scales consistently with resolution, which is a GPU-driven characteristic. The CPU's percentile rank of 90th versus all CPUs places it above the vast majority of processors, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and AMD EPYC 4345P, show that it competes well even against server-class parts in general workloads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of the high frame rates observed in To The Core. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for the high-resolution textures and effects that the game likely employs. The GPU's 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs handle the pixel processing workload, with a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to a raw compute capability of 104.8 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

The GPU's benchmark results show it to be a top-tier performer. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 and Passmark G3D score of 44065 place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 310674 and Vulkan score of 376915 further demonstrate its compute prowess. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and RX 6850M XT, which are mobile parts, indicating that the RTX 5090 D's performance is in a league of its own for desktop gaming.

In To The Core, the GPU's role is to render the scene at the requested resolution and settings. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU maintains an average of 151 FPS, which reflects its immense shading power. The 575W TDP and the need for a 950W PSU highlight its power draw, but this is offset by the performance on offer. The GPU's memory capacity of 32 GB ensures that it will not be VRAM-limited in this game, even with the highest quality textures at 4K. The boost clock of 2407 MHz and the 28 Gbps effective memory speed are key contributors to the high fill rates observed. The GPU's ranking of 20th in the game's combo list, despite having a percentile rank of 92nd, suggests that the game is not fully utilizing the GPU's extreme capabilities, but it still delivers outstanding performance.