To The Core

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in To The Core, an Idle genre title that proves to be far less demanding than typical AAA releases. The measured data shows a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at lower resolutions, with the CPU's substantial multi-threaded capabilities only becoming a factor at the extreme high end of the FPS spectrum.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of a system transitioning from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a GPU-bound state at 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 405 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 272 FPS, a 32.8% reduction in frame rate. Scaling further to 4K High yields 156 FPS, which is a 61.5% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load is expanding rapidly with pixel count, placing increasing strain on the GPU.

However, the data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor. The jump from 1080p High (405 FPS) to 1440p High (272 FPS) is a 133 FPS difference. In contrast, the jump from 1440p to 4K is a 116 FPS difference. If the GPU were the sole bottleneck, the percentage drop would be more consistent with the pixel count increase. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop is proportionally smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop suggests that the Ultra 9 290K Plus's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock are able to feed the RTX 4080 enough data at 1080p to approach its maximum output, but the GPU's rendering throughput is still the primary ceiling.

The 4K results further confirm this. At 4K Low, the system achieves 212 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 125 FPS. This 87 FPS spread between the lowest and highest settings at 4K shows the GPU is working much harder to process the increased graphical fidelity, while the CPU has ample headroom. The 4K Medium preset, with an average of 180 FPS, sits neatly between the Low and High results, showing a linear scaling of GPU workload. The system's performance at 4K demonstrates that the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are the decisive factors in this resolution range.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p compared to 4K?

A: At 1080p with High settings, the system averages 405 FPS. At 4K with the same High settings, the average drops to 156 FPS. This represents a 61.5% decrease in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset yields an average of 371 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops significantly to 219 FPS. The Medium preset sits in between at 314 FPS, and High lands at 272 FPS.

*Q: Is this configuration more limited by the CPU or the GPU in To The Core?*

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rate drops with increased resolution and settings. At 1080p, the CPU's performance is more relevant, but the RTX 4080 still provides a high ceiling. The 24-core CPU with a 5.80 GHz boost clock is sufficient to avoid being the main constraint for most settings.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded in the data?

A: The highest average frame rate is 552 FPS, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. The lowest average frame rate is 125 FPS, recorded at 4K with Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This specific CPU and GPU pairing ranks 226th out of 3725 tested combinations in To The Core. This places it in the top 6.1% of all tested systems.

Q: Does the 4K Medium preset maintain a playable frame rate?

A: Yes, the 4K Medium preset averages 180 FPS, with a minimum recorded frame rate of 153 FPS and a maximum of 207 FPS. This indicates a smooth experience with no significant frame drops below 150 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for To The Core, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds a rank of 226 out of 3725 tested combos. This places it within the top 6.1% of all configurations tested, a strong showing that underscores the capability of this hardware pairing.

The CPU itself is a top-tier performer, with a percentile ranking of 96 against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 84003 is slightly above its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, by a delta of 0.2%. It also leads the AMD EPYC 4584PX and AMD EPYC 9135 by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. This processing power is clearly not a bottleneck in this title.

The GPU also performs admirably, with a percentile ranking of 86 against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, with a delta of just 0.1%. It also outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1% and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%. The high rank in To The Core is a direct result of this balanced, high-end pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset achieves an average of 552 FPS. The Medium preset averages 467 FPS, with a minimum of 397 FPS and a maximum of 537 FPS. The High preset averages 405 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 326 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 226 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for maximum graphical fidelity even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates remain very high. The Low preset averages 371 FPS. Medium follows with 314 FPS (min 267, max 361). High settings produce an average of 272 FPS, while Ultra drops to 219 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 152 FPS, demonstrating a tighter scaling curve than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor. The Low preset averages 212 FPS. The Medium preset averages 180 FPS, with a minimum of 153 FPS and a maximum of 207 FPS. High settings yield an average of 156 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the system to 125 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 87 FPS, the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is being fully utilized.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. This high core count and boost capability are well-suited for To The Core, an Idle game that likely benefits from high single-thread performance for game logic and multi-thread performance for background simulation.

The benchmark data shows the CPU is a powerhouse. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 are indicative of its strength. In Passmark tests, it scores 60860 in multithread and 4823 in single-thread. This processing headroom is evident in the game's frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the system can push beyond 500 FPS on Low settings. The fact that the CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth allow it to feed the GPU efficiently is supported by the high minimum frame rates seen at 1440p and 4K.

The CPU's percentile rank of 96 and its position relative to rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% faster) mean that in this game, the processor is not a limiting factor. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the CPU is still capable of maintaining a 125 FPS average, proving it has ample reserves for this workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 4K gaming, the High preset offers the best balance. It delivers an average of 156 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops the average to 125 FPS. The Medium preset provides 180 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. The High preset at 4K is the sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a high frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset also proves to be the recommended choice. It averages 272 FPS, which is an excellent result for competitive or fast-paced play. The Ultra preset at 219 FPS is also viable, but the 53 FPS gain from moving to High is substantial and likely worth the minor visual compromise. The data shows that this game is not particularly demanding, so High settings provide a great experience.

For 1080p, all presets are playable, but the High preset at 405 FPS is the most sensible. The Ultra preset at 326 FPS is not a significant drop, but the High setting offers a better performance-to-quality ratio. The Low and Medium presets, while faster, are only useful for extreme frame rate enthusiasts or very high refresh rate monitors (360Hz+), as the High preset already exceeds 400 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below 400 FPS at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear performance driver in this configuration for To The Core. With its Ada Lovelace architecture, 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, and a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, it is well-equipped to handle the game's rendering demands. Its boost clock of 2505 MHz and FP32 compute of 48.74 TFLOPS provide the raw power needed for high frame rates.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU can process frames so quickly that the CPU's output becomes a more significant factor. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload quadruples in pixel count, and the frame rates drop correspondingly. The 4K Low to Ultra scaling shows the GPU being pushed from 212 FPS down to 125 FPS, a clear indication that the graphics card is the limiting component.

The RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM is ample for this title, as evidenced by the consistent performance across all presets without signs of memory-related hitches. The GPU's percentile rank of 86 and its benchmark scores, such as 34457 in Passmark G3D and 6567 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, confirm its high-end status. Its performance is effectively tied with the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% delta), making it a formidable choice for this game. The data shows that the GPU's architecture and memory subsystem are more than sufficient to deliver a superior experience in To The Core.