Downfall

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K with this Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination?

A: The data shows 4K Ultra runs at an average of 90 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are rated playable at 3840x2160.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440 Ultra, the system delivers 144 FPS on average. The Medium preset at this resolution reaches 282 FPS, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 324 FPS.

Q: How much performance headroom is there at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, even the most demanding Ultra preset averages 202 FPS. Lower presets scale significantly: High at 324 FPS, Medium at 395 FPS (min 335, max 454), and Low at 477 FPS.

Q: Which component has higher benchmark percentiles?

A: The CPU sits at the 90th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 92nd percentile against all GPUs. Both are near the top of their respective distributions, but the GPU ranks slightly higher.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that still stays above 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Ultra at 3840x2160 averages 90 FPS. This is the highest settings tier available in the measurement set, and it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The combination ranks 21st out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top tier of measured performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48,618. Its nearest rivals in CPU performance are all within a narrow band. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48,698, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48,470, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48,287, 0.7% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48,995, 0.8% higher. In practical terms, these four processors would produce nearly identical frame pacing and CPU-bound results in Downfall, with differences well below 1%.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D averages 77,712 in its benchmark suite. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76,904, which is 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, 1.6% higher. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396, 2.1% higher, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605, 2.4% higher. These GPUs would yield nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Downfall, given the sub-3% performance deltas. A user swapping between any of these GPU alternatives would need careful measurement to notice the difference.

The practical implication is that this system sits in a dense performance cluster. For CPU-bound scenarios, the four rival processors would behave similarly. For GPU-bound scenarios, the four rival graphics cards would behave similarly. None of these alternatives would push the system to a different playable settings tier at any resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

Downfall's frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a larger role relative to the GPU. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial: Low averages 477 FPS, while Ultra averages 202 FPS. This 275 FPS spread indicates that the GPU is heavily utilized even at lower settings, but the CPU must keep up with high draw-call rates. The i5-14600K with 14 cores and 20 threads, boosting to 5.30 GHz, provides enough single-thread performance to feed the RTX 5090 D at these frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the GPU workload increases. Low averages 345 FPS, Medium 282 FPS, High 231 FPS, and Ultra 144 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 201 FPS drop, slightly smaller than at 1080p. This suggests the GPU is becoming more dominant, but the CPU still has headroom.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low averages 214 FPS, Medium 175 FPS, High 144 FPS, and Ultra 90 FPS. The 124 FPS spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is the smallest of the three resolutions. Higher resolution increases pixel throughput demands, and the RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth are the primary drivers. The CPU's contribution diminishes as the GPU spends more time on rasterization and pixel shading.

The data indicates a balanced pairing. At 1080p, the CPU is more influential because frame rates exceed 300 FPS on lower presets, demanding high instruction throughput. At 4K, the GPU dominates because pixel fill rates become the constraint. The transition happens gradually across the three resolutions.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall at every resolution and preset combination measured. At 3840x2160, all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable. The best settings at 4K are Ultra, averaging 90 FPS. At 2560x1440, all settings are playable as well, with Ultra averaging 144 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, and Ultra averages 202 FPS.

The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and this system exceeds it by a wide margin even at the most demanding configuration. The 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS provides a 30 FPS buffer above the threshold. At 1440p Ultra, the buffer is 84 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, the buffer is 142 FPS.

There is no configuration in the measured data where this combo falls below 60 FPS. The lowest recorded average is 90 FPS at 4K Ultra, and the lowest minimum FPS recorded is 149 FPS at 4K Medium. This system is not merely playable; it delivers high-refresh-rate performance across the board.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. Low settings average 477 FPS. Medium settings average 395 FPS, with a minimum of 335 FPS and a maximum of 454 FPS. High settings average 324 FPS. Ultra settings average 202 FPS. The minimum FPS values were not recorded for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, but the Medium preset's minimum of 335 FPS indicates strong frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, performance remains well above the playable threshold. Low settings average 345 FPS. Medium settings average 282 FPS, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 324 FPS. High settings average 231 FPS. Ultra settings average 144 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 240 FPS shows that even transient dips stay far above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the load. Low settings average 214 FPS. Medium settings average 175 FPS, with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 202 FPS. High settings average 144 FPS. Ultra settings average 90 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 149 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum across all resolutions and settings, yet it still more than doubles the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling pattern is consistent. From 1080p to 1440p, average FPS drops by roughly 25-30% across presets. From 1440p to 4K, average FPS drops by another 35-40%. This aligns with the pixel count increase: 1080p has roughly 2.1 million pixels, 1440p has 3.7 million, and 4K has 8.3 million.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which averages 202 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it still delivers more than triple the 60 FPS playable threshold. The frame rate is high enough for 144 Hz displays and approaches 240 Hz territory.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, averaging 144 FPS. This exactly matches a 144 Hz refresh rate, making it an ideal configuration for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. The 144 FPS average provides a 84 FPS buffer above the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra, averaging 90 FPS. This clears 60 FPS by 30 FPS, providing a comfortable margin for 4K gaming on high-refresh-rate panels. While not as high as the lower resolutions, 90 FPS is smooth and responsive for a horror title.

In all three resolutions, Ultra is the best playable preset. There is no resolution where the system is forced to drop below Ultra to maintain 60 FPS. This is a significant finding — the combination of the i5-14600K and RTX 5090 D exhausts the settings hierarchy at every resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 21st out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the top 0.6% of all tested systems, a remarkably strong showing. The rank reflects the joint performance of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D working together in this game.

The CPU's 90th percentile against all CPUs and the GPU's 92nd percentile against all GPUs are consistent with a top-21 overall ranking. Neither component is a weak link; both contribute to the system's high standing. The GPU's slightly higher percentile suggests it has a marginally larger impact on the final rank, but the CPU's 14-core, 20-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock provides ample support.

The 3,716 tested combos include a wide range of hardware configurations. Ranking 21st means only 20 other combinations deliver higher average FPS in Downfall. For a horror game released in 2016, this modern hardware combination provides enormous performance headroom. The game's age does not diminish the result — the data shows this system crushes every preset at every resolution.

The rank also indicates that few upgrades would yield meaningful improvements. Moving to a higher-ranked combo would require both a faster CPU and a faster GPU, and the delta would likely be small given the high absolute frame rates already achieved. At 4K Ultra, 90 FPS leaves room for higher refresh rates, but the playable threshold is exceeded by a wide margin.