To The Core

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds rank 860 out of 3725 tested combinations in the database for To The Core. This places the combo in the top 23 percent of all recorded CPU and GPU pairings for this title. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all measured settings and resolutions, indicating a system that sits comfortably above the median tested configuration.

Benchmark results for the CPU alone show an average score of 49394, which places it in the 90th percentile against all tested processors. The GPU posts an average score of 37648, landing in the 81st percentile among all graphics cards. When combined, these components produce frame rates that are consistently high, even at demanding settings, which explains the favorable position within the combo rankings.

The nearest rival processors in the database, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with a score of 49228, a 0.3 percent difference from the i5-14600KF. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a 0.4 percent gap. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, trailing by 0.8 percent. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796, leading the i5 by 0.8 percent. These margins are narrow, showing that the i5-14600KF sits in a tightly contested band of processors where small score differences separate adjacent ranks.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with an average score of 37628, a 0.1 percent difference. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, a 0.4 percent gap. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, leading by 1.3 percent. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157, trailing by 1.3 percent. The RTX 4070 occupies a similar tight cluster, with all four rivals within roughly one to two percentage points.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for To The Core shows that the High preset delivers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, High produces an average of 316 FPS. At 2560x1440, High yields 213 FPS. At 3840x2160, High maintains 122 FPS. These figures indicate that High is playable at every resolution, with the lowest average still exceeding 120 frames per second.

The Ultra preset, while offering maximum graphical quality, reduces average frame rates substantially. At 1920x1080, Ultra drops to 255 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra falls to 171 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 98 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K is 24 frames per second, a significant reduction that may not be justified by the visual gains, especially since the game is an idle title where rapid camera movement is less critical.

The Medium preset sits between Low and High in performance. At 1920x1080, Medium averages 365 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 245 FPS. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 140 FPS. The Medium preset also includes recorded minimum and maximum frame rates: at 1080p, the range is 310 to 420 FPS; at 1440p, it is 209 to 282 FPS; at 4K, it is 119 to 161 FPS. These ranges show some frame time variability but no severe dips below playable thresholds.

The Low preset produces the highest frame rates across the board. At 1920x1080, Low averages 432 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 290 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 166 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum smoothness over visual detail, Low is the fastest option. However, the data shows that High offers a 27 percent reduction in FPS at 1080p compared to Low, while providing significantly better graphical quality. Given the high absolute numbers, High is the recommended preset for this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 316 at 1920x1080 to 213 at 2560x1440, a 33 percent reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the average falls from 213 to 122, a 43 percent reduction. The overall drop from 1080p to 4K at High is 61 percent.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar. The average FPS goes from 432 at 1080p to 290 at 1440p, a 33 percent drop. From 1440p to 4K, it falls from 290 to 166, a 43 percent drop. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low is 62 percent.

At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 365 at 1080p to 245 at 1440p, a 33 percent reduction. From 1440p to 4K, it falls from 245 to 140, a 43 percent drop. The total reduction is 62 percent.

At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 255 at 1080p to 171 at 1440p, a 33 percent reduction. From 1440p to 4K, it falls from 171 to 98, a 43 percent drop. The total reduction is 62 percent.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets indicates that the scaling behavior is resolution-bound rather than settings-bound. The limiting factor at higher resolutions is primarily the GPU workload, as the frame rate reduction tracks closely with the pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K, which is a 4x increase in pixel area. The actual FPS drops are less than 4x, showing that the RTX 4070 handles the increased load efficiently, but the trend clearly shows the GPU becoming the bottleneck at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 432 FPS. Medium averages 365 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 310 and maximum of 420. High averages 316 FPS. Ultra averages 255 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 177 FPS, or 69 percent. All presets at 1080p exceed 250 FPS, making this resolution well within the capabilities of the combo.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 290 FPS. Medium averages 245 FPS, with a minimum of 209 and maximum of 282. High averages 213 FPS. Ultra averages 171 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 119 FPS, or 70 percent. The lowest recorded average at 1440p is still 171 FPS, which is above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 166 FPS. Medium averages 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 161. High averages 122 FPS. Ultra averages 98 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 68 FPS, or 69 percent. The lowest average at 4K is 98 FPS, which remains playable, though the Ultra preset approaches the 60 FPS threshold for some displays.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates for all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 310 FPS is 85 percent of the average. At 1440p, the minimum of 209 FPS is 85 percent of the average. At 4K, the minimum of 119 FPS is 85 percent of the average. This consistency suggests stable frame pacing across resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in To The Core?

A: The highest average frame rate is 432 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 98 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF scores 49394, which is 0.3 percent higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 and 0.8 percent higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 at 48995, while trailing the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8 percent.

Q: What is the GPU benchmark percentile rank?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile against all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 316 at 1920x1080 to 122 at 3840x2160, a 61 percent reduction.

Q: Which preset shows the most stable frame times based on recorded minimums?

A: The Medium preset has recorded minimum and maximum frame rates for all resolutions, with the minimum consistently at 85 percent of the average, indicating stable frame pacing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process node. It has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The cache structure includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and features PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The TDP is 125 W.

For To The Core, an idle genre game, the CPU demands are typically lower than for action titles. The measured frame rates at 1080p, which are the most CPU-sensitive resolution, show very high averages across all settings. At Low settings, the 432 FPS average indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The 14 cores and 20 threads provide substantial headroom for background tasks and game logic.

The CPU benchmark results reflect strong multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 32544, and the single-core score is 4594. The Geekbench multicore score is 17085, with a single-core score of 2445. These scores, combined with the 90th percentile ranking, show a processor capable of handling the computational load of To The Core without bottlenecking the GPU.

The passmark multithread score of 38697 and the single-thread score of 4273 confirm the processor's balanced performance. The data compression score of 485140 and the integer math score of 125982 are high, indicating strong general-purpose computing. For an idle game, the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, is the key finding. The 432 FPS at Low settings and 316 FPS at High settings at 1080p both exceed what most displays can show, meaning the CPU delivers more than enough performance for this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 uses the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process node with 35,800 million transistors. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The base clock is 1920 MHz, with a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The memory clock is 1313 MHz, or 21 Gbps effective. The TDP is 200 W, and the card requires a 550 W suggested power supply.

The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. It includes 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 158.4 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 455.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 29.15 TFLOPS.

For To The Core, the GPU's role becomes more prominent as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU may be the limiting factor, but at 4K, the GPU workload dominates. The measured data shows a consistent 43 percent drop in FPS from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which aligns with the increased pixel count. The RTX 4070 handles this load well, maintaining an average of 98 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The GPU benchmark scores support its strong performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3854. The Geekbench Vulkan score is 174152, and the OpenCL score is 154858. The Passmark G3D score is 26927, with a GPU compute score of 14720. These scores place the GPU in the 81st percentile, showing strong overall capability.

The 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the textures and effects in To The Core, even at 4K Ultra. The measured results never dip below 98 FPS average, indicating that memory capacity is not a bottleneck. The boost clock of 2475 MHz allows the GPU to sustain high throughput during intense rendering moments, as reflected in the stable frame times recorded for the Medium preset.