Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an overwhelmingly capable combination for Downfall, delivering playable frame rates at every tested resolution and preset. Benchmark data confirms that this system does not merely meet the 60 FPS threshold; it shatters it, with the weakest recorded average still hitting 90 FPS at 4K Ultra. This pairing ranks in the top 1% of all tested configurations, making it a definitive choice for high-refresh-rate horror gaming without compromise.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest graphical preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: The system achieves a 90 FPS average on the Ultra preset at 3840x2160, making it the most demanding playable setting at that resolution. Lower presets yield even higher performance, with High at 144 FPS, Medium at 175 FPS, and Low at 214 FPS.

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

A: The Core i5-14400F scores 32,279 in the average benchmark, placing it within a 0.5% margin of its closest competitors. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900, and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2%.

Q: Is there any resolution where the RTX 5090 D fails to reach 60 FPS?

A: No. The data shows no such failure case. At 3840x2160, the lowest recorded average is 90 FPS on Ultra settings. All other resolutions and presets produce significantly higher frame rates, with the minimum observed average being 144 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 5090 D and its nearest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712. The closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904, which is 1.1% lower. Conversely, the RTX 5090 D trails the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.6% and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants by 2.1% to 2.4%.

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

A: The combination of the Core i5-14400F and RTX 5090 D ranks 34th out of 3,716 tested combos. This places it in the top 0.9% of all configurations evaluated for Downfall, indicating exceptional performance relative to the broader hardware landscape.

Q: What is the frame rate jump from 1080p to 1440p on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the system averages 202 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Ultra drops this to 144 FPS, representing a 28.7% reduction in average frame rate. The performance remains far above the 60 FPS threshold, demonstrating the GPU's headroom at lower resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 202 FPS. This setting maximizes visual fidelity while still providing more than triple the 60 FPS playability threshold. The performance scaling from Lower to Ultra is substantial, with Low hitting 414 FPS, Medium at 386 FPS, and High at 324 FPS, but the Ultra preset’s 202 FPS average leaves no reason to sacrifice image quality for additional speed.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again takes the crown with a 144 FPS average. This is a critical threshold, as it aligns perfectly with the refresh rate of many high-end monitors, ensuring smooth motion without any need for frame limiting or adaptive sync. The Medium preset offers 282 FPS and High provides 231 FPS, but Ultra’s visual gains come at a modest performance cost that is entirely acceptable given the 84 FPS buffer above the 60 FPS minimum.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset remains the most demanding option that stays above 60 FPS, producing a 90 FPS average. This is the only resolution where the GPU begins to show tangible load, yet it still clears the threshold by 50%. The High preset runs at 144 FPS, Medium at 175 FPS, and Low at 214 FPS, but for 4K gaming, the Ultra preset’s 90 FPS average is the sweet spot for balancing graphical detail with fluidity.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a GPU-bound scenario that becomes increasingly pronounced as resolution rises. At 1920x1080, the Core i5-14400F’s single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3,055 Cinebench R23 single-core score, allows the RTX 5090 D to stretch its legs, producing 414 FPS on Low settings. The 202 FPS Ultra result at this resolution suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU without creating a bottleneck, as the performance gap between presets is driven primarily by GPU workload.

Scaling to 2560x1440, the GPU’s role becomes more dominant. The Ultra preset drops from 202 FPS to 144 FPS, a 28.7% decrease, while the Low preset falls from 414 FPS to 345 FPS, a 16.7% reduction. This differential indicates that higher settings amplify the GPU’s workload more than the CPU’s, confirming that the graphics card is the primary performance arbiter at this resolution. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for game logic and physics, but the frame rate is dictated by pixel throughput.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s dominance is absolute. The Ultra preset’s 90 FPS average is 55.4% lower than the 1080p Ultra result, while the Low preset’s 214 FPS is 48.3% lower than the 1080p Low result. This nearly uniform scaling across presets points to a pure GPU limitation, as the RTX 5090 D’s 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance are taxed heavily by the 8.3 million pixels per frame. The CPU’s influence is negligible at this resolution, with the Core i5-14400F’s 21,645 Cinebench R23 multi-core score being more than sufficient for the game’s demands.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-14400F’s average benchmark score of 32,279 places it in a tightly clustered group of rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, with a score of 32,233, is the closest match at a 0.1% delta, making it virtually indistinguishable in synthetic tests. The Intel Core i9-11900 (32,226) and Intel Core i7-12800H (32,121) are similarly close, with deltas of 0.2% and 0.5% respectively. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32,354) edges out the i5-14400F by 0.2%, meaning any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Downfall when paired with the same GPU.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D’s average score of 77,712 is closely matched by the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which scores 76,904 — a 1.1% deficit that translates to a negligible FPS difference in practice. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940) is 1.6% faster, while the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396) and 16 GB (79,605) variants are 2.1% and 2.4% faster respectively. These deltaPct values suggest that swapping the RTX 5090 D for any of these rivals would result in frame rate changes of only a few percentage points, keeping the system firmly above the 60 FPS threshold at all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination holds the 34th position out of 3,716 tested configurations for Downfall. This ranking places it in the 99th percentile of all combos, meaning only 33 systems performed better in the entire benchmark database. The top-tier ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates: no other combo in the top 1% would be expected to produce significantly higher results given the game’s rendering demands. The data indicates that this pairing is not merely sufficient but exceptional, with the GPU’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs combining to create a system that outperforms the vast majority of alternatives.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall with authority at every resolution and preset combination tested. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Ultra with a 90 FPS average; at 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 144 FPS; and at 1920x1080, Ultra achieves 202 FPS. All four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution, with the lowest recorded average being the 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS. The RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit bus provide ample bandwidth for 4K textures, while the Core i5-14400F’s 10 cores ensure no CPU-related stutters. For gamers seeking maximum visual quality, the Ultra preset at 4K is the definitive choice, but those prioritizing frame rate can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p. The data conclusively shows that this combo offers no playability compromises for Downfall, making it a top-tier option for horror enthusiasts who demand both atmosphere and fluidity.