Downfall

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-14600K sits in a tightly contested performance band. The database places it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its closest rival, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, scores 48698, a difference of only 0.2 percent. The AMD EPYC 4345P trails by a negligible 0.3 percent, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX is 0.7 percent behind. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 leads the group at 48995, putting the i5-14600K 0.8 percent behind that part. In practical terms, any of these four processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Downfall; the margins are within run-to-run variance for this type of workload.

The GPU side presents a stark contrast. The Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3 percent slower), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5 percent slower), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5 percent slower), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7 percent slower). The Arc B390 is therefore slightly ahead of that cluster, but the delta is small enough that any of these GPUs would produce similar frame rates in the same scenario. The data shows a system built around a top-decile CPU paired with a bottom-decile GPU; the GPU is clearly the limiting factor in every measured configuration.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Downfall at 4K with High settings?

A: No. The recorded average at 3840x2160 High is 32 FPS, well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Ultra at 4K drops to 20 FPS average. No setting at 4K reaches 60 FPS; the verdict for 3840x2160 lists no playable settings.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: Medium is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 2560x1440, with an average of 62 FPS (minimum 53, maximum 71). Low also clears the threshold at 76 FPS average, but Medium offers higher visual quality while staying above 60.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. That is 1.3 percent above the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5 percent above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5 percent above the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7 percent above the GeForce GT 710 (1443). The performance differences among these five GPUs are small enough to be considered equivalent in real-world gaming.

Q: Does the CPU hold the system back at 1080p?

A: No. The Core i5-14600K ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are within 0.8 percent of its average score. At 1920x1080, the Arc B390 reaches 71 FPS average on High, which is a GPU-bound result. The CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested in Downfall.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The average is 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High, Medium, and Low all clear 60 FPS at 1080p, but Ultra does not. The verdict for 1920x1080 lists High, Medium, and Low as playable, with High as the best visual preset at 71 FPS average.

Q: How does the 4K Medium result compare to the 1080p Medium result?

A: At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 44. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100. The 1080p result is more than double the 4K result, showing a steep resolution scaling penalty for this GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded averages are 47 FPS on Low, 39 FPS on Medium, 32 FPS on High, and 20 FPS on Ultra. The only preset with min and max values recorded is Medium: minimum 33, maximum 44. The gap from Low to Ultra is 27 FPS, a 57 percent drop from the Low figure. None of these averages approach the 60 FPS threshold; the best case, Low at 47 FPS, is 13 FPS short.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 76 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 32 FPS on Ultra. Medium has the only recorded min and max in this resolution: minimum 53, maximum 71. Low and Medium clear 60 FPS, High falls 9 FPS short, and Ultra is 28 FPS below the threshold. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the averages are 106 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, 71 FPS on High, and 44 FPS on Ultra. Medium again has the only min and max data: minimum 74, maximum 100. Low, Medium, and High all exceed 60 FPS, with Low nearly doubling the threshold. Ultra is the only preset that fails, coming in 16 FPS short of playable. The full range from Low to Ultra spans 62 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in quality costs a substantial portion of performance, and the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K under any preset. At 1440p, the system is borderline playable on Medium. At 1080p, three of four presets are comfortably playable.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall, but only at certain resolutions and presets. The verdict by resolution is explicit: at 3840x2160, no settings are playable. The best recorded 4K average is 47 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, Low and Medium are playable, with Medium being the best preset at 62 FPS average. At 1920x1080, High, Medium, and Low are playable, with High as the best preset at 71 FPS average.

The 60 FPS playable threshold is met at 1440p only on Low and Medium, and at 1080p on High, Medium, and Low. The combination of a high-end CPU and a low-end GPU means that the system is usable for this game, but the experience is capped by the graphics card. For a stable 60 FPS with the highest possible quality, 1080p High at 71 FPS average is the recommended target. Dropping to 1440p forces a compromise: Medium averages 62 FPS but with a recorded minimum of 53, which means occasional dips below 60. The 1080p Medium result, averaging 87 FPS with a minimum of 74, provides a larger safety margin. The verdict is clear: 1080p is the only resolution where the system can comfortably exceed 60 FPS across multiple presets.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor in this combination is heavily skewed. The Core i5-14600K delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4270. It ranks at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The Arc B390, by contrast, ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs with a single 3DMark score of 1482. In Downfall, the recorded frame rates move almost entirely with resolution and preset changes, which are GPU-driven variables. The CPU is not the constraint.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. At Medium settings, the average drops from 87 FPS at 1080p to 62 FPS at 1440p, a 29 percent reduction, and then to 39 FPS at 4K, a further 37 percent reduction. The GPU is responsible for this steep curve. At 1080p High, the system averages 71 FPS; at 1440p High, 51 FPS; at 4K High, 32 FPS. The pattern is consistent: the GPU cannot keep pace as pixel count rises.

The CPU's role is visible only in the upper bounds. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 106 FPS average, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond the 60 FPS threshold. If the GPU were stronger, the i5-14600K would have headroom to push higher frame rates. The recorded numbers show no CPU-bound plateau at any resolution or preset; every frame rate is limited by the Arc B390. For this game, the GPU matters far more at every resolution, and the CPU is effectively a non-factor in determining playability.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so there is no best playable setting. The closest is Low at 47 FPS average, but that falls short of the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the best setting that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 62 FPS. The recorded minimum is 53, so the average clears the threshold but the low end does dip below it. Low also qualifies at 76 FPS average, but Medium is the highest quality option that maintains a playable average.

At 1920x1080, the best setting that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 71 FPS. Medium averages 87 FPS and Low averages 106 FPS, but High is the highest quality preset that remains playable. Ultra fails at 44 FPS average. The recommendation from the data is 1080p High for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, with 1440p Medium as the alternative for users who prioritize resolution over detail.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's measured results for Downfall, this combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3303 out of 3716 tested combos. That places it in the bottom 11 percent of all configurations measured for this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's position at the 9th percentile among all GPUs; the CPU's 90th percentile standing does not compensate for the graphics bottleneck.

The rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. A combo that cannot reach 60 FPS at 4K under any preset, and only barely clears 60 FPS at 1440p Medium, will naturally sit low in a ranking of hundreds of systems. The data indicates that this pairing is unusual: a strong processor paired with a very weak integrated-style GPU. In Downfall, the low rank is driven entirely by the graphics side. The CPU's nearest rivals, all within 0.8 percent of its average score, would not change the outcome if swapped in; the GPU would still limit every result. The 3303rd place ranking is therefore a GPU-limited result, not a reflection of the processor's capability.