To The Core

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 to deliver exceptional frame rates in To The Core, an idle genre title where the GPU often has headroom to spare. This combination ranks 172nd out of 2991 tested combos in the game, placing it in the top tier of configurations, with measured data confirming that the system can push well past the refresh rate limits of most displays. The analysis below breaks down how each component contributes to the game's performance, how resolution scaling affects the bottleneck, and which settings offer the best experience.

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

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, delivering a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, with ECC support enabled. The processor connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes and includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units.

In To The Core, an idle genre game, the CPU's role is more about maintaining consistent frame pacing than raw throughput. The measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 572, which is high enough that even a capable processor could become a limiting factor. However, the Core Ultra 5 245's single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4394. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle the game's logic and UI updates without bottlenecking the GPU. The CPU's overall benchmark percentile sits at 90, meaning it outperforms 90% of all processors in the database, and its average benchmark score is 48995.

Comparing the Core Ultra 5 245 to its nearest rivals reveals a tight grouping. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G has an average score of 49196, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel chip. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, 0.5% higher. On the other side, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, which is 0.6% lower, and the Intel Core i5-14600K scores 48618, 0.8% lower. These deltas are minimal, showing that the Core Ultra 5 245 sits in a highly competitive performance band. For an idle game like To The Core, this level of CPU performance is more than sufficient, allowing the system to focus on delivering high frame rates without CPU-induced stutter. The data suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU's strong single-core performance helps maintain the high FPS numbers seen at 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the primary driver of performance.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process, featuring 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. It comes with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a massive bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, while memory runs at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The RTX 5080 has 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In To The Core, the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM is generous, ensuring that even at 4K with Ultra settings, memory capacity is not a concern. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 130, which is still very playable, but the frame rate drops significantly from 1080p. The GPU's high bandwidth and clock speeds allow it to render frames quickly, but the data shows that at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 5080's benchmark percentile is 87, and its average benchmark score is 56083. In the Passmark G3D test, it scores 36565, which is a strong showing.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 0.6% lower than the RTX 5080. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, 0.7% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, 2.3% lower. Interestingly, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080. This shows that while the RTX 5080 is a high-end GPU, it is not the absolute fastest in the database, but its performance in To The Core is clearly sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The GPU's role in this game is to provide the raw fill rate needed to push high FPS at 1440p and 4K, and the measured numbers confirm it does so effectively. At 1080p, the GPU is often not the bottleneck, as the CPU can keep up with the frame requests, but at 4K, the GPU's workload increases significantly.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling. At 1080p High, the system achieves 420 FPS, which drops to 282 FPS at 1440p High, and further to 161 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rate is so high that the CPU or other system limits may come into play, but as resolution rises, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor.

Looking at the Low settings, the drop is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system hits 572 FPS, dropping to 385 FPS at 1440p Low, and then to 220 FPS at 4K Low. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33%, and from 1440p to 4K is 43%, which is similar to the High settings. This suggests that the scaling behavior is consistent across settings, with the GPU becoming the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The fact that 4K Low (220 FPS) is lower than 1080p High (420 FPS) further emphasizes that resolution has a larger impact on performance than settings alone.

This data indicates that the system is well-balanced, but the GPU is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU's strong single-core performance ensures that it is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw throughput is what determines the final frame rates at higher resolutions. For a game like To The Core, which is not particularly demanding on the CPU, the RTX 5080's capabilities are the main driver of performance. The scaling pattern shows that if a user wants to maintain high FPS at 4K, they will need to lower settings, as the GPU cannot maintain the same frame rates as it does at 1440p.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1080p, the system delivers extremely high frame rates across all settings. At Low, the average FPS is 572, which is the highest measured number in the entire dataset. Medium settings achieve 484 FPS with a minimum of 411 and a maximum of 556. High settings reach 420 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 338 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 234 FPS, representing a 41% reduction, which shows that the settings have a significant impact on performance, but even the lowest setting is far above what most displays can handle.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain high but show a noticeable decline. At Low, the average FPS is 385, which is still excellent. Medium settings achieve 326 FPS with a minimum of 277 and a maximum of 374. High settings reach 282 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 227 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 158 FPS, a 41% reduction, consistent with the scaling at 1080p. This suggests that the settings have a similar relative impact regardless of resolution, but the absolute numbers are lower.

At 4K, the frame rates are lower but still playable. At Low, the average FPS is 220, which is a solid result for 4K. Medium settings achieve 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 and a maximum of 214. High settings reach 161 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 130 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 90 FPS, a 41% reduction, following the same pattern as the other resolutions. The data shows that the system can handle 4K gaming with ease, even at Ultra settings, where 130 FPS is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. The minimum FPS figures, where available, show that the system maintains consistent frame delivery, with the lowest minimum being 158 FPS at 4K Medium, which is still very high.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS the system can achieve in To The Core?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 572, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. This is the peak performance point in the dataset.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 has an average benchmark score of 49228, which is 0.5% higher than the Core Ultra 5 245's score of 48995. This difference is minimal and unlikely to cause a noticeable performance gap in To The Core.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 5080 and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE has an average score of 57367, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080's score of 56083. Despite this, the RTX 5080 still delivers very high frame rates in To The Core.

Q: At which resolution does the GPU become the primary bottleneck?

A: The data shows that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at 4K. The FPS drops significantly from 1440p to 4K, with a 43% reduction in frame rate across all settings, indicating that the GPU's workload is the main constraint.

*Q: Is the system capable of running To The Core at 4K with Ultra settings?*

A: Yes, the system achieves an average of 130 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making it a viable option for high-resolution gaming.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The minimum FPS recorded is 158, which occurs at 4K with Medium settings. This shows that even at the highest resolution, the system maintains a consistent frame rate without significant drops.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the user's display capabilities and preference for visual fidelity. For users with a 1080p display, the High settings preset at 420 FPS offers an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. The jump to Ultra settings reduces the frame rate to 338 FPS, which is still very high, but the visual difference may not justify the 82 FPS loss. For most 1080p users, High is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience well above the refresh rate of any standard monitor.

At 1440p, the High settings preset at 282 FPS is the sweet spot. Ultra settings drop to 227 FPS, which is still excellent, but the marginal visual gains may not be worth the 55 FPS difference. Medium settings at 326 FPS are also a strong option if the user prefers even higher frame rates, but High offers a better visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. For 1440p, High is recommended as the best overall choice.

For 4K users, the situation is slightly different. Ultra settings at 130 FPS are playable, but High settings at 161 FPS provide a noticeably smoother experience. Medium settings at 186 FPS are even better, offering a significant boost in frame rate with only a minor reduction in visual quality. Given that To The Core is an idle game, the visual differences between Medium and Ultra may be less impactful than in other genres. Therefore, for 4K, the Medium settings preset is recommended, as it delivers 186 FPS with a minimum of 158, ensuring a consistent and smooth experience. If a user has a 144Hz 4K display, High settings at 161 FPS would be the better choice to stay above the refresh rate, but Medium provides the highest frame rate while still maintaining good visual quality. Overall, the data suggests that Medium at 4K offers the best experience per the measured rows, balancing performance and fidelity.