To The Core

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a striking performance profile in To The Core, an idle game that nonetheless stresses the GPU heavily. Measured data shows the combo ranks 416th out of 1756 tested configurations, with the GPU’s 83rd percentile standing in contrast to the CPU’s 50th percentile. This analysis breaks down the resolution scaling, component roles, and settings recommendations based on the measured FPS table.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS table reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 334.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 231.5 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 129.6 FPS at 3840x2160. The 4K figure is less than half of the 1080p figure, indicating that the RTX 5070’s rendering load grows disproportionately with pixel count. Low settings show a similar trajectory: 369.1 FPS at 1080p, 311.8 FPS at 1440p, and 179.7 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow with 349.2, 263.4, and 149.3 FPS respectively. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, yield 273.0 FPS at 1080p, 188.1 FPS at 1440p, and 107.1 FPS at 4K.

The drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p across all presets. For example, at High, the 1440p-to-4K reduction is 101.9 FPS, while the 1080p-to-1440p reduction is 102.7 FPS—nearly identical. At Low, the 1440p-to-4K drop is 132.1 FPS versus 57.3 FPS for the 1080p-to-1440p step. This asymmetry suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become the limiting factors at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU may still contribute to the ceiling. The RTX 5070’s 672.0 GB/s bandwidth and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, yet the 4K results show that even this hardware cannot maintain the triple-digit headroom seen at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and the GPU operates at a base clock of 2325 MHz with a boost of 2512 MHz. The chip, built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, contains 31,100 million transistors across a 263 mm² die. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 5077 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 185269 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 179413 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score is 29137, and its average benchmark score is 41687, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database—AMD Radeon Pro 5300, NVIDIA Tesla M40, RTX 3090, and AMD Radeon Pro 580X—are all within 0.7% of its average score, indicating that the RTX 5070 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

In To The Core, the GPU’s capabilities translate directly to high frame rates even at 4K Ultra, where it still manages 107.1 FPS. The 12 GB VRAM is ample for this idle game, which likely does not exceed that capacity at any tested setting. The GPU’s launch MSRP is 549 USD, a figure that reflects its position in the GeForce 50-series lineup. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance, as the CPU’s modest specifications do not appear to bottleneck the GPU at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i5-9400 and RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 416 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places the pairing in the upper portion of the database, though not at the very top. The CPU’s percentile is 50, meaning it performs at the median of all CPUs, while the GPU’s percentile is 83, well above average. The disparity suggests that the GPU is the performance anchor, and the CPU’s average standing does not drag the combo down significantly. The CPU’s nearest rivals—Intel Core i3-10305, Core i3-1125G4, Xeon E-2134, and Core i7-8809G—all have average benchmark scores within 0.6% of the i5-9400’s 2305, reinforcing its mid-pack position. The GPU’s nearest rivals are similarly close, with deltas of 0.2% to -0.7% around its 41687 average.

Given the game’s idle genre, the CPU’s six cores and six threads are likely sufficient, and the rank reflects that the GPU can stretch its legs without a severe CPU bottleneck. The 416th rank out of 1756 means the combo outperforms the majority of tested configurations, but it is not among the elite. This is consistent with the CPU’s 50th percentile—a mid-range processor paired with a high-end GPU yields a strong but not top-tier result.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists all measured average FPS values from the FACT PACK:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 129.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 179.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 149.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 107.1 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 231.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 311.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 263.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 188.1 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 334.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 369.1 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 349.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 273.0 |

At 1080p, even the most demanding Ultra preset delivers 273.0 FPS, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates. Low settings push the frame rate to 369.1 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a hard limit at this resolution. At 1440p, Ultra still achieves 188.1 FPS, and High reaches 231.5 FPS. The 4K results are the most telling: Ultra drops to 107.1 FPS, while Low maintains 179.7 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 72.6 FPS, showing that the GPU’s workload scales significantly with preset quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on Coffee Lake, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts to 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 256 KB L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel access and a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU’s synthetic scores are modest: Cinebench R15 multi-core 803, single-core 113; R20 multi-core 3346, single-core 472; R23 multi-core 7969, single-core 1125. Its average benchmark score is 2305, placing it at the 50th percentile.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role appears secondary. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 369.1 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s practical limit for this game, but the GPU is still capable of higher. The fact that the 1080p-to-1440p FPS drop is relatively small for Low settings (from 369.1 to 311.8) suggests that the CPU is not a severe bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, the CPU’s six threads and 9 MB L3 cache are adequate for an idle game, which typically has low thread demands. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking aligns with its mid-range status, and the combo’s overall rank of 416 out of 1756 indicates that the CPU does not prevent the GPU from performing well.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset delivers 149.3 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while High offers 129.6 FPS and Ultra drops to 107.1 FPS. Low yields 179.7 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. For a balance of fidelity and smoothness, Medium is the recommended preset at 4K, as it provides a 42.2 FPS improvement over Ultra while still maintaining high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, all presets exceed 188 FPS, so the choice depends on visual preference. Ultra achieves 188.1 FPS, which is still well above typical refresh rates, and High reaches 231.5 FPS. Medium and Low are even higher, at 263.4 and 311.8 FPS respectively. Given the headroom, Ultra is a viable option for 1440p, as it offers the best image quality without compromising playability.

At 1920x1080, every preset delivers at least 273.0 FPS, so the GPU is never the limiting factor. Ultra is the obvious choice for maximum visual fidelity, as it still provides 273.0 FPS, which is far beyond any standard display’s refresh rate. Low settings at 369.1 FPS are unnecessary unless the user is targeting extremely high refresh rates. The data suggests that the RTX 5070 is overkill for 1080p in this game, and the CPU becomes the more relevant component at that resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo’s rank in To The Core?*

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 + RTX 5070 combination ranks 416th out of 1756 tested combos.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5070 have?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Q: What are the CPU’s core and thread counts?

A: The Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 107.1.

Q: What is the GPU’s boost clock?

A: The RTX 5070 has a boost clock of 2512 MHz.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400’s average benchmark score is 2305, with nearest rivals within 0.6% (e.g., Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300, delta 0.2%).