Downfall

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Downfall shows a wide performance spread across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest showing: Low settings average 106 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, and High averages 71 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 44 FPS average, which falls below the playable threshold.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings still produce a solid 76 FPS average, while Medium averages 62 FPS with a recorded minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS. High settings at this resolution average 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 14 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 11 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles across all presets. Low settings average 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 44 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS playable threshold, making this resolution impractical for smooth gameplay with this hardware combination.

The scaling pattern is consistent: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs roughly 25-30% of the average frame rate at equivalent settings. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, showing that frame pacing becomes more erratic as resolution increases, with the gap between minimum and maximum widening from 26 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Downfall, this pairing ranks 3303 out of 3716 total combos. That places it in the bottom 11% of all recorded configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's limited capability rather than the CPU's performance. The Intel Core i5-14400F itself sits at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, 0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, 0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, 0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, 0.5% higher). These deltas are all within one percentage point, indicating the CPU is competitive with its immediate peers.

The Intel Arc B390, however, ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% higher). These are all entry-level or legacy discrete GPUs, and the Arc B390's integrated nature (the database lists it as an IGP with system-shared memory) explains why it trails modern discrete solutions by a wide margin.

The combination of a strong CPU with a weak GPU creates a heavily GPU-bound scenario across all tested resolutions. The database's ranking of 3303 out of 3716 reflects this imbalance: the system is capable of feeding the GPU with data, but the GPU cannot translate that into high frame rates in Downfall.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data makes clear that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor in this pairing. Evidence comes from the resolution scaling: moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings costs 25 FPS (from 87 to 62), and moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium costs another 23 FPS (from 62 to 39). This steep drop with resolution is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

The CPU's role is secondary but not irrelevant. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 106 FPS, which suggests the Core i5-14400F can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. The CPU's 10 cores, 16 threads, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache provide ample headroom for Downfall's horror-game workloads, which the benchmark data confirms: the i5-14400F scores 21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3055 in single-core, both strong results for a desktop processor.

The preset scaling within each resolution further confirms GPU dominance. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low improves average FPS from 44 to 106, a 141% gain. At 1440p, the same preset change improves from 32 to 76 FPS, a 138% gain. At 4K, Ultra to Low improves from 20 to 47 FPS, a 135% gain. The consistency of these percentage improvements across resolutions indicates that the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth limits are the primary constraint, not CPU processing power.

One notable data point: the Arc B390's boost clock is listed at 2500 MHz with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, producing 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications, combined with system-shared memory, explain why the GPU ranks so low in the database and why it cannot sustain 60 FPS at higher resolutions in Downfall.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 1920x1080 with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The database shows playable settings at 1080p include High (71 FPS average), Medium (87 FPS average), and Low (106 FPS average). High is the best playable preset, with Ultra falling to 44 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: The best playable setting at 1440p is Medium, which averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS. Low also clears the threshold at 76 FPS, but Medium offers higher visual quality while staying above 60 FPS on average.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: No. All four presets at 4K fall below the 60 FPS threshold. Low averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. The verdictByResolution data lists no playable settings for 3840x2160.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). It ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for performance in this game?

A: The GPU is the dominant factor. Resolution scaling shows consistent 135-141% FPS gains when dropping from Ultra to Low across all resolutions, indicating the Arc B390's pixel throughput limits performance. The Core i5-14400F ranks at the 83rd CPU percentile and shows no signs of bottlenecking.

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

A: The recorded data shows an average of 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold, but the 74 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips during intense scenes.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best preset that maintains at least 60 FPS average is High, which delivers 71 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that clears the threshold, as Ultra drops to 44 FPS. Medium (87 FPS) and Low (106 FPS) also qualify but offer diminishing visual returns relative to High's balance of quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium, averaging 62 FPS. This barely clears the 60 FPS threshold, with a recorded minimum of 53 FPS that suggests some scenes will dip below 60 FPS even though the average stays above. Low settings at 76 FPS provide a safer margin but sacrifice visual fidelity. High (51 FPS) and Ultra (32 FPS) do not meet the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, no preset qualifies as playable. The verdictByResolution data lists no playable settings for this resolution, with Low being the closest at 47 FPS. Users targeting 4K would need to accept sub-60 FPS performance or reduce resolution.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B390 combination can run Downfall, but only under specific conditions. The verdictByResolution data is clear: at 1920x1080, three presets (High, Medium, Low) clear the 60 FPS threshold, with High being the best choice at 71 FPS average. At 2560x1440, two presets (Medium at 62 FPS, Low at 76 FPS) are playable, but the minimum frame rate at Medium (53 FPS) indicates occasional dips below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, this system cannot deliver playable performance in Downfall. The best 4K result is 47 FPS on Low settings, which falls well short of the 60 FPS playable threshold. The GPU's system-shared memory and low benchmark percentile (9th) make high-resolution gaming impractical.

For users with this hardware, the recommended configuration is 1080p High or 1440p Medium, depending on whether resolution or visual quality takes priority. The CPU is not the constraint; the Arc B390's performance ceiling limits this combo to entry-level gaming at lower resolutions. The database's ranking of 3303 out of 3716 combos accurately reflects this system's position: it can handle older or less demanding titles at modest settings, but it is not suited for high-resolution or high-refresh-rate gaming in Downfall.