To The Core

To The Core is an idle game, a genre not typically associated with demanding hardware, yet the measured results for the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 tell a story of extreme performance headroom. The data shows a system that is massively overqualified for the task, producing triple-digit frame rates at every tested resolution and settings level. Because the game’s visual complexity is low, the bottleneck shifts decisively to the CPU even at 4K, which is unusual for most modern titles. The measured FPS numbers, ranging from 125 at 4K Ultra to 552 at 1080p Low, suggest a near-linear scaling pattern that is rarely seen in more demanding games. This combination is ranked 226th out of 3,725 tested combos, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations tested for this game, a strong showing that underscores how much raw compute power is being brought to bear on a relatively simple workload.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K is revealing. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 405 FPS average. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 272 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls further to 156 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 32.8% decrease, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 42.6%. These are substantial reductions for an idle game, indicating that pixel throughput is still a relevant factor, but the absolute numbers remain so high that they dwarf the needs of any display. The 4K result is still 156 FPS, which is far beyond any monitor’s refresh rate. The data suggests that the GPU is not fully utilized until the resolution reaches 4K, and even then, it is not struggling. The RTX 4080 is a 5 nm GPU with a die size of 379 mm² and a transistor density of 121.1M per mm², so it has immense parallel processing power.

The scaling pattern also shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see similar FPS across resolutions. Instead, we see a consistent FPS increase as resolution decreases. That points directly to the GPU being the primary component under load. The 12700K has 12 cores and 20 threads, but its single-thread performance, as seen in its passmark single thread score of 4013, is more than enough to feed the GPU at any resolution. The FPS gap between 1080p and 1440p is 133 FPS, and the gap between 1440p and 4K is 116 FPS. These are close, but not identical, which suggests diminishing returns as resolution climbs. At 4K, the 212 FPS Low result versus the 156 FPS High result shows that the visual settings have a measurable impact on the GPU load, but the headroom is so vast that the experience remains fluid regardless.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for this combo provide a clear picture of the cost of each settings tier. The medium preset appears to offer the most balanced experience, with 467 FPS at 1080p, 314 FPS at 1440p, and 180 FPS at 4K. These numbers are all well above any practical refresh rate, but the min FPS at Medium is also worth noting. At 1080p, the min FPS is 397, at 1440p it is 267, and at 4K it is 153. This shows that the Medium preset has a narrower FPS range, which is an important for an idle game that might occasionally need to render a lot of on-screen elements. The 153 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is the lowest minimum recorded in the dataset, but it is still a very high frame rate.

The Ultra preset, in contrast, costs a significant amount of performance. At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 125 FPS average, a 20% decrease from High (156 FPS) and a 30% decrease from Medium (180 FPS). At 1080p, Ultra is 326 FPS, which is 141 FPS less than Medium. For an idle game, the visual differences between Medium, High, and Ultra are likely subtle, but the FPS cost is dramatic. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is overkill for the visual demands of the game, and the performance budget is better spent on the Medium settings. The Low preset provides the highest FPS, but it also strips away visual polish. Given the genre, a 4K Medium at 180 FPS is a far more balanced experience than 4K Low at 212 FPS, because the min FPS is higher and the visual quality is better. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than enough for any settings level, so the choice is purely a matter of visual preference versus FPS headroom.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 is a defining piece of hardware for this combo, and the data shows that its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is a non-issue for this game. The highest memory usage is not reported, but the fact that a 4K Ultra preset is playable at 125 FPS average shows that the memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is not being stressed. The GPU’s 9728 shading units and 304 TMUs are the engines that drive the pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.6 GTexel/s. These are extremely high numbers that are far above what an idle game needs. The GPU’s 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are also not likely to be fully utilized, but they provide headroom for any future content updates.

The GPU’s clock speeds are listed as a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz. These are the numbers that govern the FPS in a game like this, not the CPU’s clocks. The RTX 4080 is from the Ada Lovelace architecture, which is a 5 nm process from TSMC, and it has a transistor count of 45,900 million. This is a high-end piece of silicon, and its performance appears to be the only thing that holds back the FPS. The data shows a clear relationship: when the resolution increases, the FPS drops. The GPU is the component that is rendering the frames, and the CPU is just feeding it instructions. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 for the GPU is a measure of its raw rendering power, but the game’s own measured FPS is the final word. The 86th percentile vs all GPUs indicates that it is a top-tier card, but for this game, the 4K Ultra result of 125 FPS shows that even the top tier is not fully exerted.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in To The Core?

A: The highest average FPS is 552, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 467 FPS at 1080p Medium, and then 405 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS drops from 272 at 1440p High to 156 at 4K High, while the CPU remains the same. Since the frame rate scales with resolution, the GPU’s rendering capability is the bottleneck. The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads are not the constraint.

Q: What is the lowest minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 153, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. The other minimums are 267 at 1440p Medium and 397 at 1080p Medium. The Medium preset is the only one with min FPS data.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark score?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 54,247, and its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER with an average score of 54,209. The RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% ahead. Another rival, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, is 1.1% behind the RTX 4080.

Q: What is the combo’s rank in the game compared to other tested combos?

A: The combo is ranked 226th out of 3,725 tested combos. This places it in the top 6% of all configurations. The data is measured, not simulated.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM in the RTX 4080 a concern for this game at 4K?

A: No, the VRAM is not a concern. The game runs at 4K Ultra with 125 FPS average, and the memory size is 16 GB. The memory bandwidth is 716.8 GB/s, which is more than enough for the demands of an idle game. No memory-related issues are indicated in the measured FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 226 out of 3,725 is a strong performance, placing it in the 94th percentile of all tested combos. This rank is due to the combination of the RTX 4080’s immense GPU power and the i7-12700K’s competent multi-core and single-core performance. The data shows that this combo is overkill for an idle game, but the overkill results in a top-tier rank. The CPU itself has a percentile vs all CPUs of 84, and the GPU has a percentile vs all GPUs of 86. These are high percentiles, but they do not tell the whole story. The combo’s rank is better than both individual percentiles, because the game is likely not bottlenecked by either component, so the full performance of both is realized.

The nearest rivals for the CPU are all Intel parts, with the i5-13600T and i7-12700KF being nearly identical in score. The deltaPct for the i7-12700K vs the i5-13600T is -0.1%, meaning the i5 is 0.1% faster in average benchmark score. The i7-12700KF is 0.2% faster, and the i7-13700T is 0.3% faster. These are tiny differences that would not affect the measured FPS in this game. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which is 1.1% slower. The differences are small, and the game’s performance will be governed by the GPU’s raw power. The rank of 226 suggests that many other combos, likely with more powerful GPUs, are able to achieve higher FPS, but the data does not show what those combos are. The rank is a measure of overall performance, and this combo is clearly in the upper tier.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its architecture is Alder Lake, and it has a 10 nm process node. In To The Core, the CPU’s role is not to generate FPS but to keep up with the GPU’s instructions. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck, because the FPS scales with resolution. The CPU’s multi-core performance is strong, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 15,790, but its single-core performance, with a score of 2,308, is also very high. For an idle game, which is likely single-threaded for many game logic operations, the single-core performance is the most important. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5 and multi-core score of 19,784 show that the CPU is balanced.

The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score is 1,043, and its 16-thread score is 9,276. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle many threads at once, but the game’s rendering is still the GPU’s job. The L3 cache is 25 MB, which is large enough to hold a good portion of the game’s code, reducing the memory latency. The CPU’s TDP is 125W, which is much lower than the GPU’s 320W, but that is expected. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck; it is a supporting component that provides the GPU with the necessary data. The near-identical benchmark scores of its rivals, such as the i5-13600T and i7-12700KF, mean that the choice of CPU has little impact on the FPS. The GPU is the star of the show.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is provided for 4 resolutions and 4 settings, for a total of 16 data points. At 1920x1080, the average FPS for Low is 552, Medium is 467, High is 405, and Ultra is 326. The Medium settings have a min FPS of 397 and max of 537. At 2560x1440, the average FPS for Low is 371, Medium is 314, High is 272, and Ultra is 219. The Medium has a min of 267 and max of 361. At 3840x2160, the average FPS for Low is 212, Medium is 180, High is 156, and Ultra is 125. The Medium has a min of 153 and max of 207.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each increase in settings tier costs about 15-20% FPS. From Low to Medium at 1080p, the drop is 85 FPS. From Medium to High, the drop is 62 FPS. From High to Ultra, the drop is 79 FPS. At 1440p, the drops are 57, 42, and 53 FPS. At 4K, the drops are 32, 24, and 31 FPS. The absolute FPS drops are smaller at 4K because the base FPS is lower. The min FPS data for Medium settings shows that the variance is about 130 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the game has some scenes that are more demanding than others, but even the most demanding scenes are well within playable territory. The 4K Ultra result of 125 FPS is the lowest average, but it is still a high frame rate. The data shows that this combo is overkill, but the overkill is consistent across all settings.