To The Core

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for this Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination in To The Core show a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, delivering 241.7 FPS on Low settings. Moving to 1440p drops that to 162.3 FPS, a 32.8% reduction, while 4K Low yields 90.2 FPS, which is 62.7% below the 1080p figure. This steep decline at lower quality presets indicates the GPU is becoming the primary constraint as pixel count rises.

The story shifts when looking at higher quality settings. At Ultra, the 1080p result is 143.4 FPS, the 1440p result is 93.2 FPS, and the 4K result is 54.5 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 62.0%, nearly identical to the Low preset's drop. However, the absolute numbers tell a different tale about system balance. At 1080p Low, the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are flexing their muscles, pushing frame rates far beyond what the GPU's 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus can sustain at higher resolutions.

The scaling between Medium and High is consistent across all resolutions, with Medium averaging roughly 8-10% higher FPS than High at each resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases, from 98.3 FPS at 1080p to 35.7 FPS at 4K. This compression of the settings range at 4K is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The RTX 2060's 160 W TDP and 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance simply cannot scale quality settings at 4K the way it can at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In To The Core, this memory configuration proves adequate at 1080p and 1440p but becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The 54.5 FPS result at 4K Ultra is the lowest measured score, and the gap between Ultra and High (66.7 FPS) at that resolution is just 12.2 FPS, suggesting the card is running out of headroom rather than being artificially capped.

The GPU's boost clock of 1680 MHz and base clock of 1365 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the Turing architecture's 1920 shading units and 120 texture mapping units handle the game's idle-genre rendering efficiently. The card sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals tell a tight story: the AMD Radeon RX 7600S scores 15996, a mere 0.5% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 both score 16351, putting the RTX 2060 1.7% behind them.

At 1080p, the GPU's DirectX 12 score of 53 in Passmark is low, yet the measured FPS results are strong, indicating the game is not heavily reliant on raw DX12 throughput. The 14 Gbps effective memory clock and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p Ultra at 143.4 FPS, but the 4K Ultra result of 54.5 FPS shows the pixel rate cannot keep up with four times the pixel count. The 48 ROPs are the bottleneck here, as the texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s is less stressed by this title's visual style.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake refresh, running at a 2.10 GHz base clock and boosting to 5.40 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core provide ample headroom for the game's logic and simulation threads. In the benchmark database, this CPU sits at the 94th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54097.

The CPU's nearest rivals show how competitive this chip is. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X scores 54450, just 0.6% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 54681, a 1.1% advantage for AMD. On the flip side, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 scores 53469, putting the i7-14700F 1.2% ahead, and the AMD EPYC 7313P scores 53206, with the Intel chip leading by 1.7%. This clustering within 2% of four different rivals demonstrates the i7-14700F is exceptionally well-positioned in the mid-range desktop segment.

In To The Core, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 241.7 FPS result exceeds the GPU's ability to render at higher resolutions. The single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003 and Geekbench single-core score of 2711, ensures the game's main thread is never the bottleneck. The multi-core might, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443, ensures background simulation and physics threads have plenty of resources. The 65 W TDP is remarkably efficient for this level of performance, and the CPU's ability to support both DDR4 and DDR5 memory adds flexibility for system builders.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in To The Core?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The measured 4K Low result is 90.2 FPS, while 4K High drops to 66.7 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 54.5 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, Low or Medium settings are recommended.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The data shows a clear split. At 1080p, the CPU's 20 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock push frame rates to 241.7 FPS on Low, indicating CPU headroom. At 4K, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 48 ROPs become the limiting factor, as the FPS drops to 54.5 on Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 scores 16074 on average, sitting 0.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700, both at 16351, by 1.7%.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p offers the best balance. The High preset runs at 122 FPS, which is smooth and visually detailed. At 1080p, the system exceeds 180 FPS on High, which is beneficial for high-refresh monitors but leaves GPU headroom unused.

Q: Does the settings preset matter more at higher resolutions?

A: Yes. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 98.3 FPS. At 4K, that difference shrinks to 35.7 FPS. The GPU's limited memory bandwidth and pixel rate compress the performance range as resolution increases.

Q: How does this combo rank overall?

A: This combination ranks 1414 out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. While the rank seems low, the game is playable across all tested resolutions and settings, with the 4K Ultra result of 54.5 FPS being the only sub-60 FPS measurement.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1414 out of 1756 places this system in the lower-mid range of all tested configurations in To The Core. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's position at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits much higher at the 94th percentile. The mismatch is evident in the measured results. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 241.7 FPS, which is respectable for any configuration, but the 4K Ultra result of 54.5 FPS drags the overall ranking down.

The rank suggests that many other tested combos have either more balanced components or higher-end GPUs. Given the CPU's strong performance relative to its rivals — staying within 1.1% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and beating the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% — the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. The RTX 2060's end-of-life production status and its 58th percentile ranking indicate that pairing this CPU with a more modern GPU would likely improve the combo's rank substantially.

For context, the GPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score — the RX 7600S at 15996 and the Pro W5500 at 15786 — are similarly positioned, meaning this combo's rank is representative of the GPU's capabilities rather than an outlier. The 122 FPS result at 1440p High demonstrates the combo can still deliver a high-refresh experience at that resolution, which is the sweet spot for this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports a clear settings hierarchy for this combo. At 1080p, all presets produce playable frame rates, with Low at 241.7 FPS, Medium at 204.1 FPS, High at 180.1 FPS, and Ultra at 143.4 FPS. The 37.7 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p may not justify the visual uplift, making High the best balance for competitive play.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 139.3 FPS, while High drops to 122 FPS and Ultra to 93.2 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 17.3 FPS, which is noticeable on a 144 Hz monitor. For most users, Medium at 1440p is the recommended starting point, with High available if the display is capped at 120 Hz or lower.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Low runs at 90.2 FPS, Medium at 78.9 FPS, High at 66.7 FPS, and Ultra at 54.5 FPS. The only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS is Low. For 4K users, Medium at 78.9 FPS provides the best compromise between visual quality and smoothness, while High at 66.7 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay typical of the idle genre. Ultra at 4K is best avoided, as the 54.5 FPS result falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for comfortable play.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1440p Medium or High for the best experience, as this resolution leverages the CPU's strength without overwhelming the GPU's 6 GB of VRAM. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking and the 4K Ultra result of 54.5 FPS indicate that 4K should be reserved for Low or Medium presets only.