Downfall

Downfall, a 2016 horror title, lands on a pairing that spans several hardware generations: the Intel Core i5-14400F and the AMD Radeon RX 570. The CPU is a current Core 14th Gen part with 10 cores and 16 threads, while the GPU is an end-of-life Polaris 20 card with 4 GB of GDDR5. The database ranks this exact combination 3508th of 3716 measured combos for this game, which signals immediately that the graphics card, not the processor, sets the performance ceiling. The measured data tells a clear story across three resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages descend steeply as presets climb. Low produces 95 FPS, Medium 76.2 FPS, and High 60.5 FPS. Ultra is where the frame rate collapses, landing at 38.1 FPS, well under the 60 FPS playable threshold the database applies.

At 2560x1440, every preset takes a hit relative to 1080p. Low manages 68.7 FPS, the only 1440p setting above the threshold. Medium drops to 57 FPS, High falls to 42.4 FPS, and Ultra slides to 30.2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, nothing comes close. Low averages 39.2 FPS, Medium 34.7 FPS, High 27.9 FPS, and Ultra just 18 FPS. Minimum and maximum frame rates were not captured for these runs, so the averages stand as the recorded measure of each configuration.

The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is dramatic: 95 down to 38.1, meaning Ultra costs this pairing more than half of its Low-preset frame rate. The gap narrows in absolute terms at 4K, where Low manages only 39.2 FPS against Ultra's 18, but the proportional loss is similar.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data points firmly at GPU limitation. Moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at the Low preset cuts the average from 95 FPS to 39.2 FPS, a steep decline driven almost entirely by quadrupled pixel count. A CPU-bound configuration would show far flatter resolution scaling, since the processor's frame preparation work does not quadruple when the resolution does. Here it does, and that is the signature of a graphics card running out of throughput.

The CPU side shows no signs of struggle. The i5-14400F sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs in the database, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, plus a Passmark single-thread result of 3701. For a horror game released in February 2016, those numbers are far beyond what the engine demands. The 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake-R design, boosting to 4.70 GHz, is not the component deciding whether Downfall runs well.

The RX 570 reinforces this reading. It sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 42752, and its 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth is the resource under pressure at higher resolutions and presets. The card's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput defines the ceiling the measurements bump against.

Preset scaling confirms the same conclusion. Dropping from Ultra to Low at 1080p recovers 56.9 FPS, a large gain from settings alone, which is typical when the GPU is the limiting factor since visual presets load shading units, texture units, and ROPs directly. The i5-14400F could feed a substantially faster card in this title.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, averaging 60.5 FPS. It clears the threshold by the narrowest of margins, so players sensitive to dips may prefer Medium at 76.2 FPS for headroom.

At 2560x1440, the answer is Low at 68.7 FPS. Medium's 57 FPS misses the bar, so the step down is mandatory to stay playable.

At 3840x2160, there is no qualifying preset. The best recorded average is Low at 39.2 FPS, well short of 60, so 4K play on this hardware is not achievable at the database's playable standard.

Similar Performance Alternatives

On the CPU side, the i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32279 places it in a tight cluster. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U averages 32233, within 0.1 percent, and the Intel Core i9-11900 averages 32226, within 0.2 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS averages 32354, 0.2 percent ahead, and the Intel Core i7-12800H averages 32121, 0.5 percent behind. Any of these processors would deliver effectively identical Downfall performance in this pairing, and the same conclusion holds generally: the game's CPU demands are modest enough that near-neighbors in this cluster are interchangeable for it.

On the GPU side, the RX 570's average score of 28766 has its own neighbors. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M averages 28874, 0.4 percent higher, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 averages 28421, 1.2 percent lower. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X averages 28580, 0.7 percent behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 470 averages 28996, 0.8 percent ahead. Cards in this band would reproduce the measured frame rates closely, with the same 1080p High ceiling around 60 FPS and the same inability to reach 60 FPS at 4K.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Downfall, with clear limits. At 1920x1080, Low, Medium, and High all clear 60 FPS, with High the best playable preset at 60.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low qualifies, at 68.7 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the threshold, with Low topping out at 39.2 FPS and Ultra at just 18 FPS.

The practical takeaway: 1080p is the sweet spot, Medium offers comfortable headroom at 76.2 FPS, and High is viable but tight. Ultra is off the table at every resolution, including 1080p where it manages only 38.1 FPS. The combo's rank of 3508 out of 3716 for this game reflects that the aging RX 570, not the modern i5-14400F, is holding the experience back. A stronger GPU would shift the bottleneck and likely unlock 1440p Medium and beyond, given how strong the resolution scaling suggests the CPU headroom is.

FAQ

Q: Can the i5-14400F and RX 570 run Downfall at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, Low averages 95 FPS, Medium 76.2 FPS, and High 60.5 FPS. Only Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold, at 38.1 FPS.

Q: What is the best-looking setting that stays at 60 FPS?

A: High at 1920x1080, averaging 60.5 FPS. It just clears the threshold, so Medium at 76.2 FPS is the safer choice for consistent frame delivery.

Q: Can this setup handle 1440p?

A: Barely. At 2560x1440 only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, averaging 68.7 FPS. Medium reaches 57 FPS, High 42.4 FPS, and Ultra 30.2 FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable at all?

A: No. The best 4K result is Low at 39.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. No preset at 3840x2160 approaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the bottleneck in Downfall?

A: The GPU. Frame rates fall sharply as resolution rises, from 95 FPS at 1080p Low to 39.2 FPS at 4K Low, which is classic graphics-limit behavior. The i5-14400F ranks in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs and shows no sign of constraint in this 2016 title.

Q: Which alternative GPUs would perform similarly?

A: Cards near the RX 570's average score of 28766 include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 28874, the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28996, the AMD Radeon R9 M295X at 28580, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 at 28421, all within roughly one percent of its measured average.