To The Core

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a remarkably fluid experience in To The Core, an Idle genre title. Benchmark data shows this combination achieves triple-digit frame rates across nearly every resolution and settings preset, positioning it in the upper echelon of tested configurations. The measured results reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still capable of exceptional performance at 1080p, making it a versatile choice for this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 231.6. This is a very high result, indicating the combo is far from being strained at this resolution and preset level.

Q: Does the combination perform better at 1440p with Ultra or at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 124.9. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 231.6. The 1080p High preset provides a significantly higher frame rate, while the 1440p Ultra preset still offers a very playable experience above the 120 FPS mark.

*Q: Is the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM a limiting factor in To The Core?*

A: The data does not indicate VRAM as a bottleneck. The lowest average FPS recorded across all tested settings is 71.6 at 4K Ultra. Since no minimum FPS figures are provided, and the average remains high even at the most demanding settings, the 8 GB GDDR6 memory appears sufficient for this game's requirements.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 rank compared to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 23181, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600M has an average score of 23321. This represents a delta of -0.6%, meaning the RX 6600M is a marginal 0.6% ahead in synthetic benchmarks, a difference that is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The FPS drops from 315 at 1080p Low to 122.6 at 4K Low, a performance curve typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 6-core/6-thread configuration appears sufficient to feed the GPU in this title.

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU/GPU combo among all tested combinations?

A: This combo is ranked 991 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems, indicating it is a solidly above-average performer for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in performance are the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both with an average score around 2300, showing a delta of just 0.2%. This indicates the i5-9400 is a competent mid-range processor.

For an Idle game like To The Core, the CPU's role is often less demanding than in fast-paced action titles. The data supports this, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The processor's 6 threads are evidently enough to handle the game's simulation and logic without creating a bottleneck, even at the highest frame rates observed (315 FPS at 1080p Low). The 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for the GPU to receive data. The performance difference between the i5-9400 and its closest rivals is so small that it would be imperceptible in this game's measured FPS, confirming that the CPU is not the limiting component in this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. It has a boost clock of 2460 MHz and scores 19545 in the Passmark G3D benchmark, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321, a delta of -0.6%, making the two cards statistically equivalent in performance. The GPU also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for modern game features.

The RTX 4060 is clearly the dominant component in this pairing for To The Core. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the average FPS drops significantly across all settings, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the card produces 315 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 122.6 FPS. This scaling shows that the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary factor determining performance. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 71.6, indicating the card is not running out of memory and is instead hitting its compute limits. The card's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate are the specs that drive these high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The Low preset achieves an average of 315 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the dataset. Medium follows at 264.6 FPS, High at 231.6 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 185.9 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the combo has massive headroom, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains very strong. The Low preset yields 212.5 FPS, Medium 180.1 FPS, and High 156 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 124.9 FPS, but this is still comfortably above the 60 FPS standard and close to 120 FPS for smoother motion. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent performance hit, but the absolute numbers remain high.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the GPU's workload increases substantially. The Low preset still delivers a very playable 122.6 FPS. Medium drops to 103 FPS, and High to 88.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only configuration that dips below the 100 FPS mark, averaging 71.6 FPS. This is still a perfectly smooth experience for most users, but it demonstrates that 4K Ultra is where the combo's limits are tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 991 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the upper-middle portion of the rankings, meaning it outperforms more than 56% of the systems tested in this database. Given the high frame rates measured, this rank might seem modest, but it reflects that many combos in the database likely feature more powerful CPUs or newer GPUs.

The rank is more indicative of the CPU's age than the GPU's performance. The i5-9400 is an end-of-life processor, while the RTX 4060 is a current-gen card. The data reveals that the combo is not bottlenecked by the CPU in this specific game, but the synthetic CPU benchmarks show it is only in the 50th percentile. In contrast, the GPU sits in the 66th percentile. The combination's rank suggests that while the GPU is strong, the overall package is held back slightly by the older CPU, even if the impact on To The Core's FPS is minimal.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to a clear sweet spot. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset provides 185.9 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance. There is no need to lower settings at this resolution, as even the highest preset offers frame rates far beyond what is needed for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. It delivers 156 FPS, which is a significant jump from the Ultra preset's 124.9 FPS, while the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal. This provides a smoother experience with a negligible loss in image quality.

At 3840x2160, the High preset is again the optimal choice. It averages 88.7 FPS, which is much smoother than the 71.6 FPS of Ultra. The Low preset at 122.6 FPS is viable for those prioritizing maximum frame rate, but High offers a better balance of quality and speed. The data shows that the Ultra preset is the only one that fails to maintain a 90+ FPS average at 4K, making it the least desirable option.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this combo. From the Low preset, the FPS drops from 315 at 1080p to 212.5 at 1440p, and then to 122.6 at 4K. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 42% drop from 1440p to 4K. For the High preset, the drop is from 231.6 FPS at 1080p to 156 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 88.7 FPS at 4K (a 43% drop).

This scaling pattern is a textbook example of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's performance remains constant regardless of resolution, but the GPU's workload increases dramatically with pixel count. The consistent ~33% and ~42% drops across different settings presets indicate that the performance curve is driven entirely by the RTX 4060's rendering capabilities. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the sharp decline in frame rates with increased resolution confirms that the processor is adequately feeding the GPU, and the graphics card is the sole determinant of performance in To The Core.