To The Core

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces a striking performance profile in To The Core, one that is heavily dictated by resolution. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at 4K, but transitions into a more balanced state as resolution drops, where the CPU's capabilities become increasingly relevant. This analysis walks through the data point by point, explaining what the numbers mean for both the limiting component and the overall gaming experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate deltas between 1080p, 1440p, and 4K clearly illustrate where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 572 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 385 FPS, a reduction of 187 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls to 220 FPS, another 165 FPS drop. This pattern—a substantial decline at every step—indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases, but the CPU is still keeping up.

The scaling becomes more telling at High settings. At 1080p High, the average is 420 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 282 FPS, and at 4K High, it plummets to 161 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 33%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 43%. This increasing rate of decline as resolution rises is a textbook sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 5080 is working progressively harder to fill the additional pixels, and the frame rate suffers accordingly.

The most extreme example is at Ultra settings. The combo manages 338 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 227 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and only 130 FPS at 4K Ultra. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 208 FPS, a 61% reduction. This steep curve confirms that the RTX 5080 is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is likely approaching a CPU ceiling at lower settings, where the frame rates are so high that the processor's ability to feed the GPU becomes the constraining factor. However, the sheer scale of the 5080's power means that even at 4K Ultra, the average remains well above playable thresholds.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the star of the show in this configuration, and its specifications explain why it dominates the higher resolution results. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. This clock speed, combined with 10752 shading units, allows for immense parallel processing throughput. The FP32 performance is rated at 56.28 TFLOPS, a figure that directly translates to the high frame rates observed in the measured data.

Memory is another critical factor. The 5080 comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This massive bandwidth is essential for feeding the GPU's cores at 4K resolution, where texture data and frame buffers grow exponentially. The benchmark results show that the card is not starved for data at any point; even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 130, which indicates that the memory subsystem is keeping pace with the rendering demands.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 and a Passmark G3D score of 36565. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 87, placing it in the top tier. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark score. While the RTX 5080 is 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, the measured FPS in To The Core shows that this specific pairing is exceptionally strong, particularly due to the CPU's ability to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

While the GPU handles the heavy lifting at higher resolutions, the Intel Core i7-14700F plays a crucial role in enabling the sky-high frame rates seen at 1080p. This processor features 20 cores and 28 threads, a configuration that provides substantial multi-threaded headroom. Its base clock is 2.10 GHz, but it can boost up to 5.40 GHz, which is vital for single-threaded performance that games often rely on for game logic and draw call submission. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency.

The CPU's benchmark results underscore its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 35122 in multi-core and 4958 in single-core. This single-core score is particularly relevant for gaming, as it indicates strong per-thread performance. The Geekbench scores of 19620 multi-core and 2429 single-core align with this picture. The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 91, which is exceptional. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, is only 0.2% ahead in average benchmark score, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is 0.6% behind.

In the context of To The Core, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the FPS drop from 1080p Low (572 FPS) to 1080p High (420 FPS). The difference of 152 FPS is substantial, but the fact that even at Low settings the frame rate does not exceed 572 FPS suggests a ceiling is being approached. This is likely a CPU limit, as the GPU is capable of rendering more frames if the CPU can provide the data fast enough. The 5.40 GHz boost clock is what allows the system to reach these elevated numbers, ensuring that the RTX 5080 is not left waiting for instructions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 572, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 420 at 1080p to 161 at 4K, a reduction of 259 FPS.

Q: Is this system more CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the system is GPU-bound at 4K. The average FPS drops significantly from 220 at Low settings to 130 at Ultra settings, showing the GPU's workload is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 326, with a minimum of 277 and a maximum of 374.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance in terms of gaming relevance?

A: The CPU has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4958 and a multi-core score of 35122. The high single-core score is critical for gaming, as it allows the CPU to process game logic quickly, which is essential for achieving the high frame rates seen at 1080p.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 190th out of 3725 tested combinations in To The Core.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. Starting at 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 572 FPS on Low, 484 FPS on Medium, 420 FPS on High, and 338 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 411 FPS and a maximum of 556 FPS, indicating a stable experience even under load.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 385 FPS on Low, 326 FPS on Medium, 282 FPS on High, and 227 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a minimum of 277 FPS and a maximum of 374 FPS. These numbers show that the system is still delivering exceptionally high performance, with even the Ultra preset providing a smooth experience well above typical refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 220 FPS on Low, 186 FPS on Medium, 161 FPS on High, and 130 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting has a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset drops below 144 FPS, but it remains comfortably playable. The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern of roughly 30-40 FPS drops per settings tier, which is expected for a GPU-bound scenario.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the ideal settings depend on the target display refresh rate. For a 1080p or 1440p monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate, the Ultra preset is the best choice. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 338 FPS, and at 1440p Ultra, it is 227 FPS. Both exceed the 240 FPS threshold, ensuring the display is fully utilized. The High preset at 1440p offers 282 FPS, which is also above 240 Hz, but Ultra provides a better visual experience without sacrificing frame rate.

For a 4K display with a 120 Hz or 144 Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. The average at 4K Medium is 186 FPS, which is well above 144 Hz, and the minimum of 158 FPS ensures that frame times rarely drop below the refresh rate threshold. The High preset at 4K offers 161 FPS on average, which is still above 144 Hz, but the minimum FPS was not recorded, so the Medium preset provides a safer guarantee of smoothness. The Low preset at 4K yields 220 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is significant for only a modest frame rate gain over Medium.

The Ultra preset at 4K is only recommended for users with a 120 Hz or lower refresh rate display, as the 130 FPS average is still highly playable but does not take full advantage of higher refresh rate panels. In summary, the data suggests that this combo is so powerful that users should prioritize visual fidelity at 1080p and 1440p, while at 4K, a balance between Medium and High settings offers the best experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested hardware combinations in To The Core, the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 pairing performs exceptionally well. The combo rank is 190 out of 3725 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.1% of all systems. This ranking is a direct result of the synergy between the two components. The CPU's high single-core performance and the GPU's massive compute power complement each other, ensuring that neither component becomes a significant bottleneck in most scenarios.

The ranking reflects the data points discussed earlier. While the system is GPU-bound at 4K, the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p pushes the overall ranking higher. The fact that it can achieve 572 FPS at 1080p Low indicates a level of performance that few other combinations can match. The 190th rank out of 3725 is a strong showing, confirming that this is a high-end configuration capable of delivering top-tier performance in this title. The data shows that for users seeking maximum frame rates at any resolution, this pairing is near the top of the pile, with only a small fraction of more exotic or newer combinations outperforming it.