To The Core

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers extreme performance in To The Core, an Idle title that is clearly not demanding on modern flagship hardware. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings and resolutions, with the data indicating that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of performance, though the i9-14900K provides ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a predictable scaling pattern that highlights the GPU-bound nature of this title. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 360.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 241.8 FPS, a reduction of 119 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset yields 138 FPS, which is 222.8 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This scaling suggests that while the RTX 4090 is incredibly powerful, higher resolutions still impose a significant load.

The data shows a clear trend: frame rates decrease as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is not uniform across settings. For the Low preset, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 612.4 FPS down to 235.4 FPS, a 377 FPS difference. The High preset sees a similar absolute decline, going from 447.6 FPS at 1080p to 172.7 FPS at 4K, a 274.9 FPS reduction. This indicates that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor, as the workload scales with pixel count.

The performance gap between 1080p and 1440p is substantial, with the 1440p results being roughly 60-70% of the 1080p numbers depending on the preset. For example, at Medium settings, 1080p yields 515.3 FPS while 1440p produces 348.2 FPS. The 4K results, while still very high, show a more dramatic falloff, particularly at Ultra where the frame rate drops below the 1440p High result. This suggests that at 4K, the game is pushing the GPU closer to its limits, even for a card with the RTX 4090's capabilities.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, is more than capable of feeding the GPU. The scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario, where the RTX 4090’s fill rate and shading power are the determining factors. The 4K Ultra result of 138 FPS is still remarkably smooth, but the relative drop from 1080p shows that this resolution is the most demanding test for the hardware.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 612.4 FPS, while Medium achieves 515.3 FPS, High reaches 447.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 360.8 FPS. The differences between presets are significant, with Ultra being 251.6 FPS slower than Low. This suggests that the visual fidelity gains from higher presets come at a measurable cost, though all results are playable.

For 1440p, the pattern is similar: Low runs at 411.4 FPS, Medium at 348.2 FPS, High at 303.4 FPS, and Ultra at 241.8 FPS. The relative scaling is consistent, with Ultra being 169.6 FPS slower than Low. At 4K, the differences become more pronounced: Low produces 235.4 FPS, Medium 199.7 FPS, High 172.7 FPS, and Ultra 138 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 97.4 FPS.

Given the extremely high frame rates, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice for the best experience. Even at 4K, the Ultra setting maintains 138 FPS, which is far above the refresh rate of most displays. The data shows that the RTX 4090 has enough headroom to run the game at maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the High preset at 1440p offers 303.4 FPS, which is an excellent balance.

However, the Low preset’s 612.4 FPS at 1080p is the only scenario where the frame rate exceeds 600 FPS, which may be relevant for competitive play or esports scenarios. The Medium preset at 1080p also breaks the 500 FPS barrier, hitting 515.3 FPS. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is the default recommendation, but users seeking maximum fluidity on a 360Hz monitor might prefer High at 1080p, which delivers 447.6 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 40th out of 1756 tested combos in To The Core. This places it in the top 2.3% of all configurations, a strong showing that underscores the hardware’s capability. The ranking is particularly notable given that the game is an Idle title, which typically does not stress high-end components as much as more demanding genres.

The CPU’s individual benchmark scores support this high ranking. The i9-14900K achieves a 97th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7413 (deltaPct of -0.3), the Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct of 0.7), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (deltaPct of 0.7). The i9-14900K is essentially on par with these competitors, with the deltaPct indicating a negligible 0.7% difference in favor of the 14900K over the 14900KF.

The GPU also performs admirably in its own benchmarks. The RTX 4090 has a 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (deltaPct of -0.4), the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (deltaPct of 0.5), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (deltaPct of -0.9). The RTX 4090’s score is slightly lower than the Tesla P40 by 0.5%, but it remains a top-tier performer.

The combo rank of 40th out of 1756 is a direct reflection of the synergy between the CPU and GPU. The i9-14900K’s high single-core and multi-core performance ensures it does not bottleneck the RTX 4090, allowing the GPU to reach its full potential. The data indicates that this pairing is among the best available for this game, though the sheer number of tested combos means there are 39 configurations that edge it out.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings deliver 612.4 FPS, Medium settings produce 515.3 FPS, High settings reach 447.6 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 360.8 FPS. These results show a clear step-down in performance as settings increase, with the Low preset being the only one to exceed 600 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 251.6 FPS, representing a 41% reduction in performance at the highest quality level.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but drop noticeably. Low settings run at 411.4 FPS, Medium at 348.2 FPS, High at 303.4 FPS, and Ultra at 241.8 FPS. The performance difference between Low and Ultra is 169.6 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but still significant. The 1440p results are roughly 67-70% of the 1080p numbers, depending on the preset, indicating a consistent scaling factor.

At 3840x2160, the results show a further decline. Low settings produce 235.4 FPS, Medium achieves 199.7 FPS, High reaches 172.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 138 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 97.4 FPS. These 4K numbers are still exceptionally high, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a frame rate above 120 FPS. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is capable of handling 4K gaming with ease in this title.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear across presets. For the Low preset, the 4K result is 38.4% of the 1080p result. For Ultra, the 4K result is 38.2% of the 1080p result. This similarity suggests that the performance scaling is consistent regardless of the settings applied, reinforcing that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the central component in these results, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the 16384 shading units, which process the game’s graphics data. The GPU’s base clock is 2235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and its memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

The RTX 4090’s 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores are also present, though their impact on an Idle game like To The Core is likely minimal. The data shows that the GPU’s raw rasterization power, as measured by its pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, is more relevant. These figures explain why the card can sustain such high frame rates, even at 4K where the pixel count is highest.

The GPU’s architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. This manufacturing process allows for the high clock speeds and efficiency seen in the benchmarks. The RTX 4090’s FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is a key indicator of its compute capability, which translates directly to the frame rates observed in the measured results.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system, as the frame rates scale with resolution in a way that is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads. The CPU, with its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and boost clock of 6.00 GHz, provides ample processing power to keep up with the GPU’s output. The RTX 4090’s end-of-life production status and 1,599 USD launch MSRP reflect its position as a top-tier, albeit expensive, component. Its performance in To The Core is exceptional, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra setting achieving 138 FPS.