To The Core

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread desktop processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake Refresh generation. It operates on a 10 nm process node from Intel, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This combination of high core count and high boost frequency is directly relevant to To The Core, an idle game where background simulation and incremental calculations often scale with thread availability, while UI responsiveness and frame pacing depend on single-thread performance.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700F demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 places it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while its single-core score of 5003 in the same test indicates solid per-thread performance. This dual strength matters: idle games frequently run complex state updates across multiple cores, but the render thread and input handling still rely on fast single-core execution. The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core further aid in keeping frequently accessed game data close to the execution units, reducing latency in the simulation loop.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows it trading blows with high-end rivals. Its average benchmark score of 54097 is 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.1% below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681), but it leads the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% (53469) and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7% (53206). These deltas are small, suggesting that in a game like To The Core, which is not typically CPU-bound at high resolutions, the i7-14700F's raw compute headroom is more than sufficient. The measured FPS data supports this: even at 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 106.3 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data for To The Core with this CPU-GPU combo reveals a clear hierarchy across settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 480.7 FPS, Medium 407.3 FPS, High 351 FPS, and Ultra 283.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial — 196.9 FPS — but even the most demanding preset at 1080p exceeds 280 FPS, which is far beyond standard display refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the pattern holds: Low produces 322.6 FPS, Medium 274.7 FPS, High 239.2 FPS, and Ultra 190.5 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra here is 132.1 FPS, but all presets remain highly playable. At 3840x2160, the picture changes: Low delivers 184 FPS, Medium 158.4 FPS, High 135.8 FPS, and Ultra 106.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 110 FPS, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the High preset at 2560x1440 appears optimal. It delivers 239.2 FPS, which is 48.7 FPS higher than 4K High (135.8 FPS) while being only 35.4 FPS below 1080p High (351 FPS). The visual quality uplift from 1080p to 1440p is typically more noticeable than the incremental gains from Medium to High, and the FPS remains high enough to take full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the Ultra preset at 106.3 FPS is still viable for users prioritizing image quality, but High at 135.8 FPS offers a better balance between fidelity and fluidity.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations in To The Core?*

A: This Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combo ranks 304th out of 1756 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17.3% of all tested systems.

Q: How does the i7-14700F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The i7-14700F scores 54097 on average. It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) by 0.6% and the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681) by 1.1%, but it outperforms the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469) by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206) by 1.7%.

Q: What is the maximum measured average FPS at 3840x2160?

A: At 4K resolution, the Low preset achieves the highest average FPS at 184.0. Medium follows at 158.4 FPS, High at 135.8 FPS, and Ultra at 106.3 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER outperform its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576. It is 0.2% below the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653) and 0.3% below the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723), but it leads the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991) by 1.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897) by 1.6%.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra?

A: The measured average FPS drops from 480.7 at 1920x1080 Low to 106.3 at 3840x2160 Ultra, a reduction of 374.4 FPS, which represents a 77.9% decrease in frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo's rank of 304 out of 1756 tested combinations in To The Core is notable given the game's idle genre. This position places it in the upper echelon of tested systems, but not at the very top. The data indicates that many combinations — presumably those with higher-end GPUs or CPUs — achieve higher average FPS in this title. However, the measured FPS figures show that this combo never drops below 106.3 FPS even at the most demanding settings (4K Ultra), which suggests the rank is more about headroom than playability.

The gap between this combo's rank (304) and its actual performance is revealing. At 1080p Low, it produces 480.7 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what many displays can show. The rank of 304 suggests that roughly 17% of tested combos can push even higher frame rates, but the practical difference between 480.7 FPS and, say, 500 FPS is imperceptible on most monitors. The combo's position is thus more a measure of raw capability than real-world gaming experience. For an idle game, where the simulation continues regardless of frame rate, this combo provides ample performance at all settings and resolutions.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and its memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications are more than adequate for To The Core, which is not a graphically demanding title by modern standards.

The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate provide substantial headroom for the game's rendering workload. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo achieves 351 FPS on High settings, but at 4K High, it drops to 135.8 FPS — a 61.3% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the workload.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM is likely not a limiting factor in To The Core, given the game's idle genre and relatively simple graphics. The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position: it ranks in the 84th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 42576. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered — the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653) is 0.2% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723) is 0.3% faster — while it leads the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991) by 1.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897) by 1.6%. This indicates the 4070 SUPER is a mid-to-high-tier GPU that performs consistently across synthetic benchmarks and real-world gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves 480.7 FPS, which is the single highest measured average across all configurations. Medium produces 407.3 FPS, High 351 FPS, and Ultra 283.8 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 40.9% reduction in frame rate, but even Ultra at 1080p exceeds 280 FPS, making it suitable for the fastest gaming monitors.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. Low yields 322.6 FPS, Medium 274.7 FPS, High 239.2 FPS, and Ultra 190.5 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra here is 41.0%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count proportionally, without hitting a memory bandwidth or compute bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates begin to reflect the GPU's workload more significantly. Low produces 184 FPS, Medium 158.4 FPS, High 135.8 FPS, and Ultra 106.3 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 42.2%, which is slightly steeper than at lower resolutions. The absolute numbers remain playable, but the gap between 1080p Low (480.7 FPS) and 4K Ultra (106.3 FPS) is stark, representing a 77.9% performance loss.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Examining the resolution scaling reveals which component is the primary limiter in this combo. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the FPS drops by a consistent margin across all settings. For High settings, the drop is from 351 FPS to 239.2 FPS, a 31.8% reduction. For Ultra, it drops from 283.8 FPS to 190.5 FPS, a 32.9% reduction. This proportional scaling indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as pixel count increases by 77.8% from 1080p to 1440p but FPS drops by roughly a third.

From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the scaling continues but with slightly different characteristics. High settings drop from 239.2 FPS to 135.8 FPS, a 43.2% reduction, while Ultra drops from 190.5 FPS to 106.3 FPS, a 44.2% reduction. The pixel count increases by 125% from 1440p to 4K, but the FPS drop is more contained, suggesting that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being utilized more efficiently at higher resolutions, or that the game's rendering workload does not scale purely with pixel count.

The fact that the i7-14700F's CPU benchmarks (Cinebench R23 multi-core 35443, single-core 5003) are strong, yet FPS still drops significantly with resolution, confirms that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting component in this combo. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at any resolution, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the raw compute throughput (35.48 TFLOPS) determines the upper bound of rendering speed. The data implies that users seeking higher FPS at 4K Ultra would need a more powerful GPU, while the CPU would not need upgrading for this game.