To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance in To The Core, an idle game that clearly favors high frame rates across all resolution tiers. The measured data shows this combination sustains triple-digit FPS even at 4K with Ultra settings, positioning it well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. With a combo rank of 1033 out of 3725 tested configurations, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper third of all systems, though the CPU's modest six-thread architecture creates a notable bottleneck at lower resolutions. The RTX 4070's raw graphics power dominates the GPU-bound scenarios, but the i5-9400's aging Coffee Lake architecture limits how much of that potential is realized at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that transitions from CPU-limited to GPU-limited as pixel count increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 371 FPS, while dropping to 122 FPS at 4K High — a 67% reduction that indicates the GPU becomes progressively more stressed at higher resolutions. The most telling figure comes from comparing the Ultra preset across resolutions: 255 FPS at 1080p, 171 FPS at 1440p, and 98 FPS at 4K. This 61.5% performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings suggests the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the workload, but the rendering pipeline is heavily taxed at 4K.

The scaling pattern between Low and Ultra presets at each resolution provides additional insight. At 1080p, the gap between Low (371 FPS) and Ultra (255 FPS) is 116 FPS, or 31.3% — a relatively modest penalty for maximum quality settings. At 1440p, that same Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 119 FPS (290 to 171), which is a 41% drop from Low to Ultra. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra difference is 68 FPS (166 to 98), representing a 41% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions indicates the RTX 4070 handles the graphics load scaling predictably, with no sudden VRAM or bandwidth cliff emerging at 4K.

The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 119 and a maximum of 161, with an average of 140. This tight frame time distribution suggests the system maintains stability even under load, with no severe stuttering or frame pacing issues. The 1440p Medium preset follows a similar pattern with a 209-282 FPS range around a 245 average. At 1080p Medium, the range extends from 297 to 402 FPS, which indicates the CPU is beginning to flex its limits at the highest frame rates — the spread of 105 FPS between minimum and maximum at 1080p Medium is the largest of any measured preset, hinting that the i5-9400's six threads occasionally struggle to feed the GPU fast enough.

The data clearly shows that 4K is where this combo hits its most balanced state. The 122 FPS average at 4K High is still far above playable thresholds, and even the 98 FPS at 4K Ultra remains smooth for an idle game. The limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU, as the CPU has ample headroom to process the lower frame rates without becoming a constraint. Conversely, at 1080p, the CPU's influence grows, with the 371 FPS Low result suggesting the i5-9400's boost clock of 4.10 GHz is the ceiling for this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 serves as the dominant performance driver in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions where its Ada Lovelace architecture shines. The GPU's 5 nm process node from TSMC packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, enabling a boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units. This hardware configuration produces a PassMark G3D score of 26927, placing the RTX 4070 in the 81st percentile of all GPUs — a strong showing that aligns with the measured frame rates in To The Core.

The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for the game's demands at all tested resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the GPU sustains 98 FPS average, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor — the game does not appear to exceed the memory footprint even at maximum settings. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) provides the throughput needed for high-resolution textures and effects without causing frame rate dips.

Comparing the RTX 4070 to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database reveals a tight cluster of similar performers. The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 sits just 0.1% above the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507). Interestingly, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 lags at 37157, 1.3% below. This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 4070's performance is well-established and consistent with its class, though the desktop-specific advantages of the 4070 — such as its 200 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface — are not fully reflected in these aggregate scores.

The GPU's FP32 compute of 29.15 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s provide the raw horsepower for To The Core's rendering demands. The texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s, combined with 184 TMUs and 64 ROPs, ensures that texture-heavy scenes at 4K remain fluid. The measured FPS at 4K High (122) and 4K Medium (140) demonstrates that the GPU scales well with settings adjustments, offering clear headroom for users who prefer higher frame rates over maximum visual fidelity.

The RTX 4070's ray tracing capabilities — 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores — are largely irrelevant for an idle game like To The Core, which does not appear to leverage these features based on the measured results. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern rendering paths, but the frame rates suggest the game's workload is primarily rasterization-based. This makes the RTX 4070's substantial compute resources somewhat overkill for the title, yet the high FPS numbers confirm the GPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the To The Core experience with this hardware. For 4K displays, the High preset at 122 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering a 24.5% improvement over Ultra (98 FPS) while sacrificing only the most demanding effects. The Medium preset at 4K pushes further to 140 FPS, and with a minimum of 119 FPS, it maintains a solid frame rate floor that never drops below 100 FPS — this makes Medium the pragmatic choice for 4K users prioritizing smoothness over fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 213 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently available. The Ultra preset at 171 FPS still provides excellent performance, and the 42 FPS gap between High and Ultra (213 vs 171) suggests that users with 144Hz monitors can comfortably enable Ultra without risking dropped frames. The Medium preset at 245 FPS is the clear choice for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, though the diminishing returns beyond 240 FPS make this setting less critical for most users.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 255 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it delivers maximum visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of virtually all monitors. The High preset at 316 FPS offers a 23.9% frame rate increase over Ultra, which could benefit users with 300 Hz+ displays, but the visual trade-off may not justify the difference for most players. The Low preset at 371 FPS provides the highest frame rates possible with this combo, but the graphical compromises are substantial for an idle game where visual feedback is part of the experience.

The Medium preset at 1080p, with its 350 FPS average and 297 FPS minimum, represents the most consistent frame delivery of any settings combination, with a minimum-to-maximum spread of 105 FPS (297 to 402). This consistency suggests that Medium at 1080p avoids the CPU bottleneck that occasionally affects the High and Ultra presets, making it the safest choice for users who prioritize frame time stability over absolute averages. For most users, the 1080p Ultra setting provides the best overall experience, balancing the visual enhancements with a 255 FPS average that leaves ample headroom for any display technology.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings in To The Core?*

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average of 98 FPS is 63% above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable margin for smooth gameplay even at maximum settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 316 FPS at 1080p High to 122 FPS at 4K High, representing a 61.4% reduction that is primarily attributed to the GPU's increased rendering load at higher pixel counts.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game at 4K?

A: The data shows no indications of VRAM limitations, with the 4K Ultra preset maintaining 98 FPS average. The 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 12 GB capacity appear more than adequate for the game's requirements.

Q: Which preset provides the highest minimum frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p records a minimum of 209 FPS with an average of 245 FPS, offering the most consistent frame delivery among the tested 1440p settings.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2254 is within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246) and 0.3% of the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248), while sitting 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259) and 0.4% below the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264).

Q: Does the game benefit more from GPU or CPU upgrades at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU shows signs of becoming a limiting factor, as evidenced by the 371 FPS Low ceiling and the wider frame time variance at Medium. The GPU's performance headroom suggests that CPU upgrades would yield larger frame rate gains at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 configuration ranks 1033 out of 3725 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the 72.3rd percentile of all systems. This top-third positioning reflects the GPU's strong performance, as the RTX 4070's 81st percentile GPU ranking is significantly higher than the CPU's 47th percentile standing. The combination effectively leverages the GPU's capabilities while accepting the CPU's limitations as a moderating factor.

In the context of the benchmark database, this combo outperforms approximately 72% of all tested configurations, which is a solid result for a system built around a 2018-era CPU and a 2023-era GPU. The rank suggests that most higher-performing combos feature newer CPUs with more cores or higher clock speeds, as the GPU alone is capable of driving much higher frame rates than the i5-9400 can feed at lower resolutions.

The discrepancy between the GPU's percentile (81) and the combo's percentile (72.3) quantifies the CPU bottleneck's impact. If the i5-9400 were replaced with a stronger processor, this combo could potentially climb into the top quartile, given that the RTX 4070's raw performance is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. However, at 4K resolutions, where the GPU becomes the primary constraint, the combo's ranking may be closer to the GPU's standalone percentile, as the CPU bottleneck diminishes with lower frame rates.

The combo's rank of 1033 also indicates that many tested combinations feature lower-tier GPUs paired with stronger CPUs, which can outperform this setup in CPU-bound scenarios. For To The Core specifically, the idle genre's relatively simple graphics workload means that CPU performance plays a larger role than in more demanding titles, explaining why this combo does not rank higher despite the RTX 4070's considerable power.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 serves as the system's limiting component at lower resolutions, with its six cores and six threads (no hyperthreading) presenting a clear constraint in To The Core's CPU-sensitive scenarios. The 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock provide moderate single-thread performance, reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and multi-core score of 6629. These figures place the CPU in the 47th percentile of all processors, indicating that it lags behind modern mid-range offerings.

The CPU's Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process, features a 9 MB shared L3 cache and 64 KB L1 cache per core. The dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the game's demands, but the lack of hyperthreading means only six threads are available for game logic, physics, and frame pacing. This limitation becomes apparent at 1080p, where the Low preset maxes out at 371 FPS — a figure that appears to be CPU-bound rather than GPU-bound, given the RTX 4070's capability to render far more frames.

Comparing the i5-9400 to its nearest rivals in the database, the performance deltas are minimal. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259) and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264). Conversely, it outperforms the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248) by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246) by 0.4%. These sub-1% differences indicate that the i5-9400 is well-matched with its peer group, despite being several generations older than some rivals.

In To The Core, the CPU's influence on frame rates is most evident in the 1080p results. The 371 FPS Low average represents the practical ceiling for this processor, as the GPU could theoretically render more frames if the CPU could process them faster. The 105 FPS spread between minimum and maximum at 1080p Medium (297 to 402) further confirms the CPU's role in frame time variance, as the six threads occasionally become saturated during complex game events.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's bottleneck diminishes as the GPU takes over the primary rendering responsibility. The 4K Ultra average of 98 FPS gives the CPU ample time to process each frame, eliminating the frame pacing issues seen at 1080p. This scaling behavior suggests that users who primarily play at 1440p or 4K will experience fewer CPU-related stutters, while 1080p users may notice occasional frame drops during intense gameplay moments. The i5-9400's 65 W TDP and end-of-life production status indicate that this CPU is a legacy component, but its performance in this game remains acceptable for most users, particularly those targeting higher resolutions.