To The Core

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 lands at rank 1005 out of 1756 tested combinations for To The Core. That places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is surprising given the hardware’s specification sheet. The CPU sits at the 89th percentile against all processors, while the GPU is at the 66th percentile against all graphics cards, yet the combo’s overall standing suggests that raw component strength does not translate into a top-tier result for this specific title. The data indicates a system that is competent but not exceptional, with the bottleneck likely shifting between the two components depending on the resolution and settings applied.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in To The Core?*

A: The combination of the Core i7-12700K and RTX 4060 ranks 1005th out of 1756 tested combos, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a mid-pack result, indicating that while the hardware is capable, many other pairings deliver higher frame rates in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 185.5 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 69.8 FPS. This 62% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings points to the RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus being overwhelmed by the increased pixel count.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 156.3 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. Moving to Ultra drops the frame rate to 126.6 FPS, a 19% decrease, while Low pushes to 207.6 FPS. The High preset appears to be the optimal sweet spot for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

*Q: Does the Core i7-12700K hold back the RTX 4060 in To The Core?*

A: The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide ample headroom. At 1080p Low, the system hits 311.5 FPS, a very high frame rate that suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower settings. However, the game is an idle genre title, which may not be heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU’s multi-core strength is not fully utilized.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in terms of average score?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, which is 0.7% higher than the Intel Arc B580 (23021) and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M (22999). It sits 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). These are very tight margins, showing the GPU is in a competitive cluster.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 4K with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 69.8 FPS on Ultra to 122 FPS on Low. The Medium preset yields 103.1 FPS, while High produces 85.7 FPS. This indicates that 4K is playable, but only at lower settings if targeting higher refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for To The Core reveals a clear hierarchy across the four presets. For players using a 1080p display, the Ultra preset at 185.5 FPS is perfectly playable and offers the highest visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 230.2 FPS is also excellent, but the gap to Ultra is small enough that most users would prefer the enhanced visuals. At 1440p, the High preset stands out as the best experience, delivering 156.3 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. The Ultra preset at 126.6 FPS is still smooth, but the 19% drop from High makes it a less compelling choice. At 4K, the Medium preset at 103.1 FPS provides the most balanced experience, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold while offering better visuals than Low. The Ultra preset at 69.8 FPS is technically playable, but the substantial performance cost relative to Medium suggests it is best reserved for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. The Low preset achieves an average of 311.5 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and indicates the game is not demanding at this resolution. The Medium preset delivers 264.1 FPS, High reaches 230.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 185.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 40% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant but expected cost for higher visual settings. At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with a lower overall ceiling. Low produces 207.6 FPS, Medium hits 180.1 FPS, High yields 156.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 126.6 FPS. The relative drop from Low to Ultra is 39%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. At 3840x2160, the performance takes a more pronounced hit. Low still manages 122 FPS, but Medium falls to 103.1 FPS, High to 85.7 FPS, and Ultra to 69.8 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 43%, showing that the GPU is struggling more at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K is telling. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 311.5 at 1080p to 122 at 4K, a 61% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 264.1 to 103.1, a 61% reduction. High settings see a decline from 230.2 to 85.7, a 63% reduction, while Ultra settings drop from 185.5 to 69.8, a 62% reduction. This consistent ~60% performance loss across all settings strongly suggests the RTX 4060 is the limiting component as resolution increases. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely saturated at 4K, causing the frame rate to scale almost linearly with pixel count. The CPU’s role appears minimal in this scaling, as the consistent percentage drops across settings indicate a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1043, likely keeps the system from being CPU-bound, but the GPU still sets the upper limit.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In To The Core, an idle genre game, the CPU’s high boost clock is likely more important than its multi-core muscle. The benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128 and a passmark single-thread score of 4013. This suggests the CPU can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions where frame rates are very high. The CPU’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide ample bandwidth for game data. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700K’s average benchmark score of 35684 is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802) and 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940), but it is 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T (35468) and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416). These marginal differences indicate that the CPU is not the distinguishing factor in this combo’s overall ranking, as its performance is closely matched by several rivals.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 3072 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) drive a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. In To The Core, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly critical as resolution and settings rise. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 311.5 FPS on Low, but this falls to 185.5 FPS on Ultra, showing that even at lower resolutions, the GPU is not overpowered. At 4K, the 8 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor, as the frame rates drop to 122 FPS on Low and 69.8 FPS on Ultra. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 23181 places it at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are extremely close. It is 0.7% faster than the Intel Arc B580 (23021) and 0.8% faster than the AMD Radeon 760M (22999), but 0.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321) and 0.7% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338). This tight clustering suggests the RTX 4060 is a mid-range performer, and its 115 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate it is not a high-end part. The data implies that for To The Core, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient support to avoid becoming a bottleneck.