Downfall

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 202 FPS. This leaves a substantial margin above the playability threshold, meaning even the heaviest visual configuration does not strain this combination at this resolution. The Medium preset runs at 310 FPS average with a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 357 FPS, while High reaches 289 FPS average and Low tops out at 333 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, Ultra remains fully playable with an average of 144 FPS, exactly matching the 60 FPS threshold by a factor of more than two. The recorded data shows High at 231 FPS average, Medium at 277 FPS average with a minimum of 236 FPS and a maximum of 319 FPS, and Low at 298 FPS average. None of these settings approach the 60 FPS floor, so the recommendation is straightforward: Ultra is the optimal choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes slightly but not dramatically. Ultra still clears 60 FPS with an average of 90 FPS, making it the best setting that remains playable. High runs at 144 FPS average, Medium at 175 FPS average with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 202 FPS, and Low at 214 FPS average. The database shows that every preset at 4K stays above the threshold, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable cushion of 30 FPS over the 60 FPS minimum. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low at 214 FPS is available, but for balanced quality, Ultra is the clear recommendation.

Across all three resolutions, this combination never forces a compromise below Ultra. The scaling pattern is consistent: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop, yet even the most demanding preset at the highest resolution remains playable. The data indicates that the bottleneck, if any, only manifests at 4K Ultra where the average dips to 90 FPS, still well above the playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions and progressively more balanced as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extraordinarily high across all presets, ranging from 202 FPS at Ultra to 333 FPS at Low. This suggests the Intel Core i5-11400F is capable of feeding the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D with enough data at 1080p, but the GPU is not being fully utilized since the CPU can generate frames faster than the GPU can render them at the highest settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 131 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload scaling dominates the frame rate difference.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but the spread between presets narrows slightly. Low runs at 298 FPS, Medium at 277 FPS, High at 231 FPS, and Ultra at 144 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 154 FPS, similar in magnitude to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower. This indicates the GPU is taking on more rendering work per frame, yet the CPU still has headroom. The i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears sufficient to keep up with the GPU's demands at this resolution, as even the lowest preset does not show a frame rate collapse that would indicate CPU starvation.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes more noticeably. Ultra drops to 90 FPS, while Low stays at 214 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 124 FPS, smaller than at 1440p. This narrowing suggests that at 4K, the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint, as the pixel throughput required at this resolution limits how much the CPU can influence frame rates. The CPU's role diminishes because the GPU's rendering time per frame grows, reducing the importance of how quickly the CPU can submit draw calls. However, the i5-11400F still does not bottleneck the system at 4K Ultra, since 90 FPS is well above the playable threshold and represents a GPU-limited scenario.

The scaling between resolutions at the same preset reinforces this interpretation. At Ultra, moving from 1080p (202 FPS) to 1440p (144 FPS) to 4K (90 FPS) shows a steady decline, consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by a passmark_single_thread score of 2981, is sufficient for this horror title, which likely does not demand extreme multi-threading. The CPU's cinebench_r23_multicore score of 14340 also indicates ample headroom for a game that does not heavily utilize many cores. In summary, at 1080p and 1440p the GPU is the primary factor for frame rate differences between presets, while at 4K the GPU's raw throughput becomes even more decisive, with the CPU playing a supporting role that never limits performance.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Downfall, this pairing holds position 151 out of 3716 recorded combos. This places it in the top 4.1% of all tested configurations, a strong showing that reflects the GPU's high-end nature. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D alone ranks at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the Intel Core i5-11400F sits at the 71st percentile among all CPUs. The combination of a top-tier GPU with a mid-range CPU yields a ranking that is heavily influenced by the GPU's capabilities, given that the game's frame rates are largely GPU-bound at the tested resolutions.

The combo's rank of 151 suggests that most of the 3,716 tested combinations are lower-performing, but there are also many faster pairings above it. The gap between this combo and the very top of the ranking is likely driven by CPUs with higher multi-threaded performance, since the RTX 5090 D is already near the top of the GPU hierarchy. For Downfall, a horror title that may not be heavily threaded, the i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate, but in CPU-bound scenarios at very high frame rates, a faster CPU could push the combo higher. Nevertheless, the recorded data shows that this combination delivers playable performance at all resolutions and presets, which is the primary criterion for ranking.

The percentile data reinforces the interpretation: the GPU is the star of this pairing. A GPU at the 92nd percentile combined with a CPU at the 71st percentile results in a combo rank of 151 out of 3,716, which is better than either component's individual percentile would suggest on its own. This is because the game's performance scales more with GPU capability than CPU capability, as evidenced by the frame rate patterns across resolutions. The combo's rank also indicates that users with this pairing are unlikely to encounter performance bottlenecks in Downfall, even at the highest settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-11400F, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD EPYC 7H12 with a delta of 0.3%, the Intel Core i5-12450H with a delta of -0.4%, the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G with a delta of -0.6%, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U with a delta of 0.6%. These CPUs all have average scores within 0.6% of the i5-11400F, meaning that swapping to any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Downfall. The AMD EPYC 7H12 and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U are marginally faster, while the Intel Core i5-12450H and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G are marginally slower, but the differences are negligible in practical terms. For a game that is GPU-bound at most settings, these CPU alternatives would not change the measured frame rates in any meaningful way.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT with a delta of 1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a delta of -1.6%, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB with a delta of -2.1%, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a delta of -2.4%. These GPUs have average scores within 2.4% of the RTX 5090 D, so they would behave very similarly in Downfall. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is slightly faster, while the other three are slightly slower. However, it is important to note that these are average benchmark scores across a variety of workloads, and Downfall's specific rendering characteristics may favor one architecture over another. Still, the recorded data suggests that any of these GPUs would deliver frame rates within a few percent of the RTX 5090 D, meaning the playability verdict would remain unchanged.

If a user were to pair the i5-11400F with any of the GPU rivals, the resulting combination would likely rank similarly in the database, since the GPU dominates performance in this game. Conversely, pairing the RTX 5090 D with any of the CPU rivals would also yield similar results, as the CPU is not the limiting factor. The delta values are all small, indicating that the tested combo sits in a dense cluster of similar-performing hardware.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Downfall at 4K with the highest settings?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination delivers an average of 90 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gameplay?

A: Ultra is the best setting at 2560x1440, producing an average of 144 FPS while maintaining all visual features enabled.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17120, a delta of 0.3%. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, a delta of -0.4%. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278, a delta of -0.6%, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074, a delta of 0.6%.

Q: Is the GPU the main performance factor in this game?

A: The data indicates yes. The frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets shows larger drops when resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's role is secondary, especially at 4K where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 310 FPS, with a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 357 FPS.

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

A: This pairing ranks 151st out of 3,716 tested combos in the database for Downfall.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Downfall, and with significant headroom. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 202 FPS average. At 2560x1440, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 144 FPS average. At 3840x2160, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 90 FPS average. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and this combination exceeds it at every resolution and every preset, including the most demanding Ultra setting at 4K.

The weakest recorded performance is 90 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still leaves a 30 FPS cushion above the threshold. This means users can enable maximum visual quality without worrying about frame rate dips below playability. The horror genre often benefits from smooth motion and consistent frame times, and the data shows this system provides that in abundance. Even the minimum recorded frame rate at Medium settings, 149 FPS at 4K, is far above the threshold. In short, this is a high-performance pairing for Downfall, and the only limitation is the display's refresh rate, not the hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 333 FPS average, Medium settings produce 310 FPS average with a minimum of 264 FPS and a maximum of 357 FPS, High settings produce 289 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 202 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 131 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload is the primary driver of frame rate differences at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 298 FPS, Medium at 277 FPS with a minimum of 236 FPS and a maximum of 319 FPS, High at 231 FPS, and Ultra at 144 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 154 FPS, slightly wider than at 1080p, reflecting the increased GPU workload per frame.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 214 FPS, Medium at 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 202 FPS, High at 144 FPS, and Ultra at 90 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 124 FPS, narrower than at 1440p, which aligns with the GPU becoming more dominant at higher resolutions. The minimum recorded frame rate across all measurements is 149 FPS at 4K Medium, and the maximum is 357 FPS at 1080p Medium, both comfortably above the playable threshold.