Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents an unusual combination: a strong desktop processor from late 2021 matched with a mobile-class integrated graphics solution. Benchmark data for Downfall, a horror title from 2016, reveals how this pairing handles the game across three resolutions and four quality presets. The results show a clear ceiling imposed by the GPU, while the CPU’s headroom becomes evident only at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded frames per second are consistently below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The Low preset delivers an average of 47 FPS, which is the highest figure at this resolution. Medium follows at 39 FPS average, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. High drops to 32 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 20 FPS average. No resolution at 4K approaches the playable mark; the gap between Low and Ultra is 27 FPS, indicating that graphical settings have a substantial impact but cannot overcome the hardware limitation.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers improve noticeably. Low settings produce an average of 76 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. Medium averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution. High averages 51 FPS, just below the threshold, while Ultra drops to 32 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra spans 44 FPS, showing that the GPU’s performance scales steeply with settings at 1440p.

At 1920x1080, the combo finally shows its strengths. Low settings average 106 FPS, the highest figure recorded in the entire dataset. Medium averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High averages 71 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60. Ultra averages 44 FPS, marking the only preset at 1080p that fails to reach the playable threshold. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 62 FPS, the largest gap across all resolutions, which suggests the game’s settings scale heavily with GPU load.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops by roughly 20 to 30 percent per step. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the average falls from 106 to 76, a reduction of 30 FPS. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, it falls from 76 to 47, another 29 FPS drop. This scaling is uniform across presets, indicating that the Arc B390’s rendering throughput is the primary constraint.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher. The best recorded average is 47 FPS on Low, but this still falls short of the playable threshold. The database marks this resolution as having no playable settings, meaning users would need to accept sub-60 FPS performance or lower the resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, which averages 62 FPS. This preset stays above 60 FPS on average, though the minimum of 53 FPS suggests occasional dips below the threshold during intense scenes. Low is also playable at 76 FPS average, but Medium offers a better balance of visual quality while maintaining an acceptable frame rate. High and Ultra are not recommended, as they average 51 and 32 FPS respectively.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is High, averaging 71 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS, and it does so with a 11 FPS margin. Low and Medium are also playable, with averages of 106 and 87 FPS respectively, but High represents the optimal visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. Ultra averages 44 FPS and is not playable.

The verdict data confirms these findings: 4K has no playable settings, 1440p supports Low and Medium, and 1080p supports High, Low, and Medium. The best setting at each playable resolution is the highest preset that remains above 60 FPS average, which is Medium at 1440p and High at 1080p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 23391, and single-core reaches 3302. The CPU sits in the 79th percentile among all tested processors, indicating it is well above average for general computing tasks. However, in Downfall, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are low across all settings, ranging from 20 FPS on Ultra to 47 FPS on Low. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is exceptionally low. This explains why even the least demanding preset fails to reach 60 FPS at 4K. The CPU’s performance is irrelevant here because the GPU cannot push enough pixels.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly. The GPU manages 76 FPS on Low and 62 FPS on Medium, showing that it can handle the game at this resolution when settings are reduced. The CPU’s role becomes more significant at this resolution, as the frame rates are high enough that the processor must keep up with the GPU’s output. The i5-12600KF’s single-thread score of 3302 in Cinebench R23 suggests it has ample headroom for this workload.

At 1920x1080, the CPU and GPU roles are most balanced. Low settings average 106 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU could become a bottleneck if it were weaker. However, the i5-12600KF’s multi-thread score of 23391 in Cinebench R23 and its 16 threads ensure that it can feed the GPU efficiently. The GPU still limits Ultra settings to 44 FPS, but for Low through High, the combo delivers smooth performance.

The scaling between resolutions points to the GPU as the dominant factor. Dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 25 to 30 percent across all presets, and dropping to 4K reduces it by another 35 to 40 percent. This consistent degradation suggests that the Arc B390’s fill rate and shading power are the binding constraints. The CPU’s benchmark scores, while strong, do not translate into higher frame rates at high resolutions because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Downfall at 4K resolution?

A: No. The database records no playable settings at 3840x2160. The highest average FPS is 47 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS.

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

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, averaging 62 FPS. Low is also playable at 76 FPS average, but Medium offers higher visual quality while remaining above the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra are not playable, averaging 51 and 32 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the GPU compare to similar hardware?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463, the GeForce 800M at 1460, the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446, and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443. The Arc B390 leads these by 1.3 to 2.7 percent.

Q: Is the CPU strong enough for this game?

A: Yes. The Intel Core i5-12600KF scores 23391 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3302 in single-core, ranking in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D with a score of 27896 and the Intel Core i9-10900K at 27872, both within 0.3 percent of the i5-12600KF’s average score of 27799.

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

A: High settings at 1920x1080 average 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution. Low averages 106 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS, and Ultra averages 44 FPS.

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

A: This combination ranks 3303 out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall. This places it in the lower portion of the database, consistent with the GPU’s low percentile ranking. The CPU’s strong performance does not compensate for the GPU’s limitations in this title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, scoring 27896, and the Intel Core i9-10900K, scoring 27872. Both are within 0.3 percent of the i5-12600KF’s average score of 27799. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, 0.3 percent lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, 0.3 percent higher. These processors would deliver nearly identical performance in CPU-bound scenarios, meaning any of them paired with the same GPU would produce similar frame rates in Downfall at lower resolutions.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463, the GeForce 800M at 1460, the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446, and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443. The Arc B390 leads these by 1.3 to 2.7 percent. In game performance, these GPUs would behave similarly, all falling well below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K and struggling at higher presets. At 1080p, they would likely match the Arc B390’s performance on Low through Medium settings, but none would reach the 71 FPS average seen on High.

The CPU alternatives are all strong desktop or mobile processors that would not bottleneck the GPU. The GPU alternatives are all older, low-end parts that would limit the system in the same way. Swapping the CPU to any of its nearest rivals would have minimal effect on Downfall’s frame rates, while swapping the GPU to a similar part would maintain the same performance ceiling.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall, but only at certain resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable performance on High, Low, and Medium presets, with High averaging 71 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for a smooth experience. At 2560x1440, Low and Medium are playable, with Medium averaging 62 FPS. This is playable but with a narrower margin, as the minimum FPS on Medium drops to 53. At 3840x2160, no settings are playable; the best result is 47 FPS on Low, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold.

The data suggests that users should target 1080p for the best experience, as it allows the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS. 1440p is viable with reduced settings, but the frame rate dips below 60 on Medium at times. 4K is not viable for this title with this hardware.

The GPU is the decisive factor. Its low benchmark percentile and the steep FPS drops with increased resolution confirm that the Arc B390 cannot handle demanding rendering loads. The CPU, while capable, has no opportunity to show its strength beyond 1080p because the GPU becomes the bottleneck first.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 3303 out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall, placing it in the bottom 11 percent of the database. The rank reflects the GPU’s performance more than the CPU’s. The i5-12600KF is in the 79th percentile among CPUs, but the Arc B390 is in the 9th percentile among GPUs. The low GPU rank drags the overall combo down.

Among the 3716 tested combinations, this pairing sits near the bottom, meaning most other systems would deliver higher frame rates in Downfall. The CPU’s nearest rivals all have similar average scores, so swapping the processor would not change the rank significantly. The GPU’s nearest rivals are all within 2.7 percent in benchmark score, so alternative GPUs in that class would also produce similar results.

The rank implies that this system is suited for older or less demanding titles, but for Downfall, it is a marginal performer. Users can achieve playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with reduced settings, but the experience is limited compared to the majority of tested configurations. The data shows a clear mismatch between the CPU’s high-end capabilities and the GPU’s entry-level performance, resulting in a system that underperforms in this horror title.