To The Core

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance in To The Core, an idle game that is clearly not graphically demanding. The benchmark data shows this combination achieving high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the CPU often becoming the limiting factor at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes the hardware's standing, and provides actionable settings recommendations based solely on the provided data.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in To The Core?*

A: The combination ranks 22nd out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.25% of all configurations. This high rank indicates that the pairing is among the most capable tested for this specific game.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600KF compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 49367. It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K (score 49166) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (score 49062). It trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5% (score 49595) and is 1.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (score 48698). Its percentile ranking is 93, meaning it outperforms 93% of all CPUs.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 4090 and its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473 and a percentile ranking of 91. It is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (score 66733) and 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (score 67097). It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (score 66127) and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (score 67320).

*Q: Does the CPU or GPU act as the bottleneck in To The Core at 1080p?*

A: The data strongly suggests a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. The frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080 is substantial (614.4 FPS vs 363.8 FPS), but the GPU is capable of much higher output. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is not linear, indicating the CPU's processing limit is being reached.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 614.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors and shows the system's immense headroom in this title.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's large memory pool necessary for this game?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 384-bit bus and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. While this is a massive amount of memory, To The Core is an idle game, and the measured FPS data shows the GPU is not stressed at any resolution, suggesting the memory capacity is not a limiting factor for this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific configuration at rank 22 out of 1756 tested combos for To The Core. This is a top-tier result, placing the system in the 98.7th percentile of tested configurations. The ranking is a composite measure of the CPU's and GPU's individual strengths, but the game's low graphical demand means the CPU's performance is disproportionately important.

The CPU, Intel Core i5-14600KF, is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643. Its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its high-end status. The GPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, is the flagship of the GeForce 40-series, but its 91st percentile ranking is slightly lower than the CPU's. This suggests that while the GPU is a top performer, the CPU has a slight edge in relative standing.

In the context of To The Core, this combination's high rank is expected. The game's genre is "Idle," which typically involves minimal graphical complexity and a greater reliance on single-threaded CPU performance for game logic. The i5-14600KF's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1950) is likely a key factor in achieving such a high ranking. The RTX 4090's raw power ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU is never a bottleneck, allowing the CPU to dictate the frame rate ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of CPU limitation as resolution decreases. At 3840x2160 (4K) with Ultra settings, the system averages 140.1 FPS. Dropping to 2560x1440 (1440p) with Ultra settings increases the average to 243.8 FPS, a significant 74% jump. However, moving from 1440p to 1920x1080 (1080p) with Ultra settings only increases the frame rate to 363.8 FPS, a 49% jump. This diminishing return indicates that the CPU is beginning to hit its performance ceiling.

The scaling is even more pronounced when looking at the less demanding settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 234.3. At 1440p Low, it jumps to 414, a 77% increase. At 1080p Low, it reaches 614.4, a 48% increase from 1440p. The consistent pattern of a smaller percentage increase from 1440p to 1080p, compared to the jump from 4K to 1440p, points to a CPU bottleneck. The GPU is so powerful that it can render frames faster than the CPU can feed it game state data at lower resolutions.

This behavior is typical for a high-end GPU paired with a strong, but not top-tier, CPU. The RTX 4090 has the headroom to produce thousands of frames per second in an idle game, but the i5-14600KF's processing speed for game logic becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the system is most balanced at 4K, where the GPU is doing more work, but even then, the frame rates are extraordinarily high.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a complete grid of average FPS measurements across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: Low settings yield 234.3 FPS, Medium 201.8 FPS, High 173.2 FPS, and Ultra 140.1 FPS. This shows a clear downward trend as graphical fidelity increases, with a 40% reduction in FPS from Low to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance is substantially higher. Low settings produce 414 FPS, Medium 349.9 FPS, High 300 FPS, and Ultra 243.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 41%, similar to the 4K scaling, but the absolute numbers are much higher, confirming the reduced GPU load.

At 1920x1080, the system reaches its peak. Low settings produce an average of 614.4 FPS, Medium 520.9 FPS, High 450.3 FPS, and Ultra 363.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 41%, but the key observation is the absolute numbers. The system never drops below 363 FPS even at the highest settings and lowest resolution, indicating an overwhelming amount of performance for this title.

The data also shows that the difference between High and Ultra is consistent across all resolutions, with Ultra being roughly 20% slower than High. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes a significant graphical feature that impacts performance uniformly, regardless of resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, 76,300 million transistors, and a die size of 609 mm². Its core clocks are a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz. It has 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The memory subsystem is equally impressive: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth.

In To The Core, the GPU's role is almost trivial. The performance data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system achieves 140.1 FPS, and at 1080p Low, it hits 614.4 FPS. The frame rate is clearly not limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The massive memory pool of 24 GB is far more than an idle game would require, and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is unused headroom.

The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223, place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. However, in this specific game, the limiting factor is the CPU. The RTX 4090 is effectively waiting for the i5-14600KF to provide instructions, resulting in the observed frame rate ceiling at lower resolutions. The GPU's power is so far beyond the game's requirements that it has no impact on the final FPS numbers, except at the highest resolution and settings where it begins to do slightly more work.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user's display and preference for frame rate versus graphical fidelity. Given that the game is an idle title, the visual differences between settings are likely minimal, but the performance data provides a clear guide.

For a 4K display, the Ultra preset provides an average of 140.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This is the recommended choice for maximum visual quality, as the performance is still exceptionally high. If a higher frame rate is desired, dropping to High yields 173.2 FPS, a 24% improvement, while Medium offers 201.8 FPS.

For a 1440p display, all settings provide a playable experience, with the lowest being Ultra at 243.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is recommended here, as it provides the best visual experience while still delivering a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. There is no reason to lower settings for performance at this resolution.

For a 1080p display, the system is heavily CPU-bound. The Ultra preset provides 363.8 FPS, which is an excellent result. However, if the user has a very high refresh rate monitor (e.g., 500 Hz), they might consider the High preset at 450.3 FPS or the Medium preset at 520.9 FPS. The Low preset at 614.4 FPS is theoretically the fastest, but the visual trade-off is likely not worth the frame rate increase, especially since the Ultra preset already exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all available monitors. The recommended setting for 1080p is Ultra, as it provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the frame rate being so high that the CPU's limitation is not a practical concern.