To The Core

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an Idle genre title. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU begins to assert its influence. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, contextualizing the results against other tested combinations and the individual capabilities of both components.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic performance curve, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 461 FPS at 1080p to 310 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 151 FPS, and then to 177 FPS at 4K, another drop of 133 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-limited; the GPU has ample headroom, but the processor cannot feed it data fast enough to push beyond the 461 FPS mark.

As resolution increases to 1440p and then 4K, the rendering load on the GPU grows substantially, shifting the bottleneck. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings (310 to 177 FPS) shows a 43% performance loss, which is more consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The trend is similar across all settings, but the magnitude of the drop from 1440p to 4K becomes more pronounced at higher presets. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS goes from 227 at 1440p to 130 at 4K, a 43% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 183 to 105 FPS, a 43% decrease as well. This consistent percentage loss at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 5070’s compute and memory capabilities are the primary limiting factors once the pixel count increases.

The data suggests that 1080p is the only resolution where the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads might hold back the GPU. The 461 FPS Low setting result is remarkably high, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (461 to 272 FPS) is a 189 FPS spread. At 4K, the spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 72 FPS (177 to 105 FPS). This narrowing spread is a clear indicator of a GPU bottleneck; the GPU is saturated at all settings, so changing the preset has a smaller relative impact on the final frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for To The Core, this specific pairing of the Core i7-13700K and RTX 5070 holds a combo rank of 770 out of 3725 total combos. This places the system in the top 20.7% of all configurations tested for this game. While the absolute frame rates are very high, the rank indicates that there are 769 other combinations that deliver even higher average performance, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can better sustain extreme frame rates.

The combo’s rank is a holistic measure, not solely dependent on the GPU. The CPU’s performance relative to its peers is noteworthy. The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, scores 46971, a delta of -0.2%, making the Intel part essentially a statistical tie with the AMD processor. The i7-13700K also performs comparably to the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX, which has a score of 46654, a delta of 0.5% in favor of the Intel chip.

The GPU’s standing, however, is less dominant. The RTX 5070’s average benchmark score is 40377, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 40318, a delta of 0.1%, which is again a near-tie. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile is 2% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 1.2% ahead. This suggests that in raw compute terms, the RTX 5070 is competitive with workstation-class cards from the previous generation, but it is not a top-tier performer in this database. The high combo rank is therefore more a reflection of the game’s low graphical demands, which allow even a mid-high range GPU to produce very high frame rates, rather than the GPU being an extreme outlier in performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. Its memory subsystem is a 12 GB GDDR7 pool on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The core clocks are specified at a base of 2325 MHz with a boost of 2512 MHz. These specifications directly influence the game’s performance, particularly as resolution scales.

The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient for To The Core at all tested settings and resolutions. The game’s simple visual style likely does not require massive texture buffers, so VRAM capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor. Instead, the GPU’s raw compute throughput, as measured by its FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS, and its pixel fill rate of 201.0 GPixel/s, are the key drivers. The 192-bit memory bus and the resulting 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth provide the necessary data throughput to keep the 6144 shading units busy, especially when rendering at 4K.

The boost clock of 2512 MHz is relatively modest compared to some other high-end cards, but the data shows it is more than enough to handle this title. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the 4K results remain high, with an average of 130 FPS at High settings. The GPU’s performance in this game is strong, but it is not extraordinary. Benchmark results show its Passmark G3D score is 29137, which is significantly lower than the top-tier cards in the database. This is reflected in its 82nd percentile ranking. The RTX 5070 is a capable card, but it is not a halo product, and the high frame rates in To The Core are more evidence of the game’s low system requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured performance data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset yields an average of 461 FPS, while Medium produces 390 FPS, with a minimum of 331 and a maximum of 448. High settings average 338 FPS, and Ultra still delivers a very playable 272 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the system is never stressed, and even the most demanding preset provides a massive margin over high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but start to show the increased GPU load. The Low preset averages 310 FPS, Medium drops to 262 FPS (min 223, max 302), High averages 227 FPS, and Ultra produces 183 FPS. These numbers are still excellent for competitive or smooth gameplay, comfortably exceeding the refresh rates of most 1440p displays. The spread between presets is also larger here, showing that the GPU is beginning to feel the difference in workload.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Low preset still manages an average of 177 FPS, which is respectable. Medium drops to 150 FPS (min 127, max 172), High averages 130 FPS, and Ultra falls to 105 FPS. The data shows a clear linear progression of performance loss with each increase in preset quality. The 4K results are all above 100 FPS, which is a solid achievement for this combination, ensuring a smooth experience on 4K displays, though not at the extreme refresh rates possible at lower resolutions. The minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium is 127, indicating that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip to uncomfortable levels.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For users with a 1080p 240Hz or 360Hz monitor, the High preset is the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 338 FPS, which is near the top end of what most displays can show, while offering better visual fidelity than the Medium preset. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 272 FPS, is also viable for a 240Hz display and provides the maximum visual quality.

For 1440p, the High preset is recommended for a 240Hz display, as it produces an average of 227 FPS, which is close to that target. For users with a 165Hz or 180Hz monitor, the Ultra preset, averaging 183 FPS, is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still staying above the monitor’s refresh rate. The Medium preset, at 262 FPS, is also excellent for 240Hz users who want a bit more visual quality than Low.

At 4K, the recommendation is to prioritize the High preset, which averages 130 FPS. This provides a great balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, comfortably exceeding 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 105 FPS is also viable for a 120Hz display, but the High preset offers a significant frame rate headroom of 25 FPS over Ultra, which is more valuable than the marginal visual upgrade. The Low preset at 4K is not necessary, as even High settings are far above the 60 FPS threshold, and the visual compromise is too great. The data suggests that Medium is a fallback option if the user prefers more stable frame pacing, but High is the clear winner for 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It has a substantial 30 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. This CPU is a powerhouse for multi-threaded workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and its Passmark multithread score of 45887.

In To The Core, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU. The game is not computationally intensive on the processor side, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4333 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2529, ensures that it can handle the game’s logic and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck. The data supports this, as the frame rate scales significantly with resolution, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint.

However, at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU’s performance becomes relevant. The 461 FPS result is an extreme number, and it is likely that the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and process game state is the limiting factor at this point. The fact that the frame rate jumps from 272 FPS at Ultra to 461 FPS at Low at 1080p shows that the CPU has the headroom to push much higher, but the GPU is still the main constraint even at 1080p. The CPU’s 16 cores are likely underutilized, as the game probably scales well with a few high-performance cores. The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking among all processors, and its near-tie with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, confirms that it is a very capable part, but its performance is not the main story in To The Core. It provides a solid foundation that allows the RTX 5070 to perform to its full potential. The 30 MB of L3 cache is also a benefit, as it can hold more game data for quicker access, reducing latency and improving frame pacing. Overall, the CPU is a strong supporting player, ensuring the GPU is never starved of data.