To The Core

To The Core, an idle game released on 2024-02-14, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. The data shows a combination that is heavily influenced by the GPU, with the CPU providing ample headroom across all tested configurations. This analysis examines the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting the relationship between the components and the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling from 1080p to 4K, with the most significant drop occurring at the highest resolution. At 1080p High settings, the combination produces 195.7 FPS, but this falls to 130.1 FPS at 1440p, representing a 33.5% reduction. Moving to 4K High, the average FPS drops further to 74.4, which is a 42.8% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 62% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the rendering pipeline becomes progressively more demanding on the GPU as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern across all settings is consistent, suggesting that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. For Low settings, the FPS drops from 266.5 at 1080p to 176.6 at 1440p (a 33.7% reduction) and then to 98.4 at 4K (a 44.3% reduction from 1440p). At Ultra settings, the numbers are 154.9 at 1080p, 106.7 at 1440p, and 59.7 at 4K, with percentage drops of 31.1% and 44.1% respectively. The uniformity of these percentage drops across different presets strongly implies that the game's workload scales primarily with resolution, not with the complexity of the scene, which is typical for an idle game where the visual complexity is relatively static.

The 4K Ultra result of 59.7 FPS is particularly telling, as it sits just below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1440p to 4K consistently costs roughly 40-44% of the FPS, regardless of the quality preset. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate are being saturated at 4K, rather than the shading or compute capabilities. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, users would need to compromise on settings to maintain a playable frame rate, while 1440p offers a much more comfortable performance envelope.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER plays a central role in shaping these results, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz, combined with its 2176 shading units, contribute to a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s. These specifications are directly reflected in the measured FPS, particularly at 4K where the memory bandwidth becomes a critical factor.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS is adequate for this title, as evidenced by the strong 4K High result of 74.4 FPS. However, the drop to 59.7 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates that the GPU is reaching its limits when all visual features are enabled. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for To The Core, as the game likely does not require more than this at 4K, but the bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s seems to be the constraining factor at the highest resolution. The RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile rank of 63 among all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier, and its average benchmark score of 19774 shows it performs closely to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which has an average score of 19680, a delta of 0.5%.

The GPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (266.5 FPS) and Ultra (154.9 FPS) is 111.6 FPS, while at 4K, the gap narrows to 38.7 FPS (98.4 vs 59.7). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck regardless of settings, as the pixel workload dominates over the shading and texture complexity. The RTX 2060 SUPER is clearly the component that determines the upper bound of performance in this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combination, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p High, the system produces 130.1 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay, while 4K High at 74.4 FPS remains comfortably playable. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 149 FPS, which is a 14.5% improvement over High, but the visual difference may not justify the increased frame rate for most users.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 154.9 FPS is the recommended choice, as the system has ample headroom to handle the highest settings without dropping below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p produces 266.5 FPS, which is excessive for any display and suggests that users should prioritize visual fidelity at this resolution. At 4K, the Ultra preset at 59.7 FPS is borderline, and users with 60 Hz displays may find it acceptable, but the High preset at 74.4 FPS provides a safer margin.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p (176.6 FPS) or 1080p (266.5 FPS) offers the highest performance, but these settings may not showcase the game's visual effects adequately. The Medium preset provides a compromise, with 225.5 FPS at 1080p and 149 FPS at 1440p. Based on the data, the High preset is the sweet spot for most users, offering a 74.4 FPS average at 4K and 130.1 FPS at 1440p, with the Ultra preset reserved for those with lower resolution displays or less demanding expectations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 266.5 FPS, Medium produces 225.5 FPS, High achieves 195.7 FPS, and Ultra reaches 154.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 111.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution, with even the Ultra preset providing well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 176.6 FPS, Medium produces 149 FPS, High achieves 130.1 FPS, and Ultra reaches 106.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 69.9 FPS, showing that the resolution increase begins to tax the GPU more heavily, but all presets remain above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 98.4 FPS, Medium produces 88.3 FPS, High achieves 74.4 FPS, and Ultra reaches 59.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now just 38.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset dips below 60 FPS, marking the first point where the GPU struggles to maintain a smooth frame rate. The data shows a clear progression where the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K, with even the Low preset not reaching triple-digit FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 1230 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the 70th percentile of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's position as a mid-range part from the previous generation, with the RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile rank of 63 among all GPUs indicating that it outperforms the majority of graphics cards but is not in the top tier.

The CPU's percentile rank of 50 among all processors suggests that the Intel Core i5-9400 is an average performer, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 with an average score of 2300 (0.2% delta), the Intel Core i3-1125G4 with 2299 (0.2% delta), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 with 2295 (0.4% delta). The combination's overall rank of 1230 out of 1756 indicates that while this system is capable of running To The Core well, there are many other configurations that offer higher performance, likely due to more powerful GPUs.

The data suggests that the bottleneck is the GPU, not the CPU, as the combination's rank is more closely aligned with the GPU's percentile than the CPU's. This implies that upgrading to a more powerful GPU would significantly improve the rank, while a CPU upgrade alone would have minimal impact on performance in this specific game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 features 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture processor has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 64 KB of L1 cache per core, along with 256 KB of L2 cache per core. Its dual-channel DDR4 memory support provides 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for To The Core's requirements.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, which are modest but adequate for this game. The 50th percentile rank among all CPUs indicates that the i5-9400 is an average performer, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, has a virtually identical average score of 2300 with a 0.2% delta. The Xeon E-2134 is also close at 2295, showing that the i5-9400 is in good company for its performance tier.

In To The Core, the CPU's role appears to be secondary, as the measured FPS at 1080p reaches up to 266.5 FPS on Low settings, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 4K Ultra with 59.7 FPS, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor, as the GPU is clearly saturated at this resolution. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 4.10 GHz boost clock provides more than enough single-thread performance for an idle game, which typically relies on simple update loops rather than complex multi-threaded rendering.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes provide adequate bandwidth for the RTX 2060 SUPER, which uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, and users could expect similar performance with a less powerful processor, making the GPU the primary determinant of frame rates in To The Core.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 154.9, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER capable of running To The Core at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 74.4, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 59.7, which is below the 60 FPS mark.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305's score of 2300 and 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon E-2134's score of 2295.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s from its 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. This bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at 4K, as the FPS drops significantly from 1440p.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The High preset at 1440p provides 130.1 FPS, which offers a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 106.7 FPS is also viable if higher visual fidelity is preferred.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in To The Core?

A: This combination ranks 1230 out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the 70th percentile of all configurations tested for this game.