To The Core

# To The Core with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces an exceptionally responsive experience in To The Core, an idle game released in February 2024. Benchmark results show this combination delivers frame rates that range from a minimum of 151 FPS at 4K Ultra to a maximum of 663 FPS at 1080p Low. With the combo ranking 19th out of 2,991 tested combinations, this setup sits in the top 0.6% of all configurations evaluated, indicating near-flagship performance that leaves very little overhead on the table for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, though the absolute numbers remain extraordinarily high throughout. At 1080p High, the combo produces 489 FPS, which drops to 329 FPS at 1440p High, and further to 188 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 32.7% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 42.9% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling ratio from 1080p to 4K shows the 4K result at only 38.4% of the 1080p figure, which is a steeper drop than typical for GPU-bound scenarios, suggesting that at lower resolutions the CPU begins to impose a ceiling.

Examining the Low preset tells a more telling story. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 663 FPS, while 1440p Low yields 448 FPS and 4K Low produces 256 FPS. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 32.4%, nearly identical to the High preset's 32.7% decline. However, the 1440p-to-4K drop for Low settings is 42.9%, compared to 42.9% for High as well. The consistency of these percentages across presets indicates that resolution scaling is uniform regardless of graphical load, which points to a well-balanced system where neither component becomes a disproportionate bottleneck at any tested resolution.

The Medium preset offers the only complete min/max data in the measured results. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 217 with a minimum of 184 and maximum of 249, while 1440p Medium averages 379 FPS with a range of 322 to 436, and 1080p Medium averages 564 FPS spanning 479 to 648. The gap between minimum and maximum FPS narrows proportionally as resolution decreases, with the 4K spread being 65 FPS, 1440p being 114 FPS, and 1080p being 169 FPS. This pattern suggests that frame time consistency improves at higher resolutions where the GPU's workload is more uniform.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 19 out of 2,991 tested combinations places it in the 99.4th percentile of all configurations evaluated for To The Core. This is an exceptional standing, though it is notably the CPU and GPU individually rank slightly lower in their respective global benchmarks. The Intel Core i7-13700K holds an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. The combined result outperforms what either component's individual percentile might suggest, indicating favorable synergy for this specific game's workload.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks provide context for its performance tier. The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT's 76,904, and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's 78,940. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants trail by 2.1% and 2.4% respectively. These deltas are small, suggesting that the RTX 5090 D sits in a tightly contested performance band despite its high absolute scores. For the CPU, the Core i7-13700K's average benchmark score of 46,881 places it 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 9 5900's 46,971 and 0.3% below the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375's 47,022, while edging out the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 by 0.5% each.

The disparity between the combo's strong in-game ranking and the components' moderate individual percentiles reveals that To The Core does not stress either component to its theoretical limits. Instead, the game's idle genre mechanics likely create a workload that benefits from the combination's balanced capabilities rather than raw peak performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings substantial resources to To The Core, including 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 92,200 million transistors on a 5 nm TSMC process with a 750 mm² die size represent one of the largest consumer graphics processors available. Clock speeds are set at a 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory operating at 1750 MHz or 28 Gbps effective. The 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units provide the computational foundation for the high frame rates observed.

For To The Core, the GPU's 32 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what the game requires, even at 4K Ultra. The measured results show 151 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains highly playable despite being the lowest average in the dataset. The GPU's compute capabilities, measured at 104.8 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, are clearly not the limiting factor in this title. The passmark G3D score of 44,065 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 indicate strong synthetic performance, but the game's modest graphical demands mean these capabilities are underutilized.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is slightly higher than the CPU's 89th percentile, suggesting the graphics card has marginally more headroom relative to its peers. However, the measured FPS numbers indicate that even at 4K Ultra, the RTX 5090 D is delivering frame rates that would typically require a high-refresh-rate monitor to fully appreciate. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s provide ample fill rate for the game's visual effects.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in To The Core?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 663, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 19th out of 2,991 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.6% of all configurations.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measurements?

A: The lowest average FPS is 151, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame delivery at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 shows a minimum FPS of 184 and maximum of 249, with an average of 217, representing the only preset with complete min/max data at this resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's aggregate benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT's 76,904 but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's 78,940.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo delivers 489 FPS at 1920x1080 and 188 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 61.6% reduction when moving to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset spans three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 663 FPS average, Medium reaches 564 FPS with a minimum of 479 and maximum of 648, High delivers 489 FPS, and Ultra produces 393 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 40.7% reduction in average FPS, demonstrating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant additional load compared to Low.

At 2560x1440, the numbers remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 448 FPS, Medium averages 379 FPS with a range of 322 to 436, High reaches 329 FPS, and Ultra delivers 265 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra drop at 1440p is 40.8%, nearly identical to the 1080p percentage, confirming consistent scaling across resolutions. The 1440p results represent 67.6% to 70.4% of their 1080p counterparts across presets, showing a uniform resolution penalty.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains highly playable across all presets. Low settings achieve 256 FPS, Medium averages 217 FPS with a minimum of 184 and maximum of 249, High delivers 188 FPS, and Ultra produces 151 FPS. The 4K results range from 38.4% to 38.6% of the 1080p figures, indicating that the resolution scaling is remarkably consistent regardless of quality preset. The Medium preset at 4K shows the narrowest relative spread between minimum and maximum FPS, with the minimum at 84.8% of the average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K provides 16 cores and 24 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Based on the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process, this CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The 125W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility position it as a mainstream desktop processor with strong multi-threaded capabilities.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Core i7-13700K demonstrates robust performance across various workloads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30,745 and single-core score of 2,116 indicate strong both multi-threaded and single-threaded capability. The Geekbench multicore score of 19,429 and single-core score of 2,529 further confirm this balance. The 3DMark scores show scalability from 1,136 single-thread to 12,412 max-threads, representing a 10.9x scaling factor across thread counts.

For To The Core, the CPU's role appears secondary given the game's idle genre classification. The measured FPS at 1080p Low reaching 663 FPS suggests the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates, but the consistent 32-33% FPS drops between resolutions indicate the GPU becomes the primary limiter as resolution increases. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its nearest rivals' aggregate scores being within 0.5% either direction suggest the i7-13700K is well-positioned within its performance class, though not at the absolute top.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Ultra preset provides the most balanced experience across all resolutions for users with high-refresh-rate displays. At 1080p Ultra, the 393 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all gaming monitors, while 1440p Ultra's 265 FPS and 4K Ultra's 151 FPS remain well above the 144 Hz threshold commonly found in premium displays. The Ultra preset's 40.7% performance cost over Low at 1080p is a reasonable trade-off for the presumed visual quality improvements.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset delivers extraordinary performance: 663 FPS at 1080p, 448 FPS at 1440p, and 256 FPS at 4K. These figures are suitable for competitive play or esports scenarios where frame rate takes precedence over visual fidelity. However, given that To The Core is an idle game, the practical benefit of exceeding 300 FPS is minimal for most players.

The Medium preset offers the only complete minimum and maximum FPS data in the measurements, allowing for frame time analysis. At 4K Medium, the 184 FPS minimum ensures consistent smoothness, while the 249 FPS maximum shows headroom for occasional spikes. At 1080p Medium, the 479 FPS minimum and 648 FPS maximum indicate excellent frame time consistency. For users seeking a middle ground, Medium provides the best-documented frame delivery characteristics across all resolutions, with the 4K result of 217 FPS average being particularly well-suited for 4K 144Hz displays.