Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable experience in Downfall, but the margin of safety varies sharply across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, including Ultra at 68 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the High preset holds 78 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 49 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low settings remain viable at 72 FPS average, with Medium at 59 FPS and High at 49 FPS. The data indicates a GPU-bound title where the Arc B570’s 10 GB GDDR6 memory and 380 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor as resolution increases, while the i5-14600KF’s 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for the horror game’s CPU demands.

Best Settings per Resolution

Benchmark results show that Downfall’s most demanding playable preset at each resolution is defined by the 60 FPS playable threshold. The measured FPS data provides exact averages for each combination, and the verdict confirms which settings clear the bar.

At 3840x2160, the highest preset that maintains at or above 60 FPS average is Low, with a measured 72 FPS average. The Medium preset falls just short at 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS. High settings produce 49 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 30 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 13 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 10 FPS, indicating that each step up in quality carries a substantial cost at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the most demanding option that stays above 60 FPS, delivering 78 FPS average. Medium runs at 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS, while Low reaches 116 FPS average. Ultra falls below the threshold at 49 FPS average, matching the 4K High result exactly. This suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a rendering load that the Arc B570 cannot sustain at this resolution, regardless of the CPU’s capabilities.

At 1920x1080, every preset exceeds 60 FPS average, so the best settings are Ultra at 68 FPS average. High runs at 109 FPS average, Medium at 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS, and Low at 163 FPS average. The Ultra preset’s 68 FPS average is the closest margin to the threshold, but it remains comfortably playable. The scaling from Medium to High at 1080p is a 24 FPS drop, and from High to Ultra a 41 FPS drop, showing that the Ultra preset is particularly demanding relative to the lower tiers.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution has exactly one preset that lands near but not above the 60 FPS line at 4K and 1440p, while 1080p has enough headroom to enable Ultra. For users prioritizing visual fidelity, 1080p Ultra is the only configuration that combines maximum quality with a playable frame rate.

CPU and GPU Roles

Comparing the measured FPS across resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates Downfall’s performance. The CPU, Intel Core i5-14600KF, has a benchmark percentile of 90 against all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 49394. The GPU, Intel Arc B570, has a percentile of 65 against all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 20556. These figures suggest the GPU is the weaker link, and the FPS data corroborates this.

At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 95 FPS (163 to 68). At 2560x1440, the same preset range spans 67 FPS (116 to 49). At 3840x2160, the span is 42 FPS (72 to 30). The shrinking delta as resolution increases indicates that the GPU’s fixed rendering capacity is being consumed by pixel throughput, leaving less headroom for quality settings. The CPU’s role remains constant, but the GPU’s workload grows disproportionately with resolution.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is a drop from 109 FPS to 78 FPS, a 28% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, the drop is from 78 FPS to 49 FPS, a 37% reduction. These percentages exceed the pixel count increase (1.78x from 1080p to 1440p, 2.25x from 1440p to 4K), meaning Downfall’s rendering cost scales super-linearly with resolution. That behavior points to GPU-bound operations such as shading and memory bandwidth, where the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are the relevant constraints.

At Medium settings, the same resolution scaling shows 133 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 38%, nearly identical to the High preset’s 37% drop. The consistency across presets confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, not the quality level. The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594, indicate it can handle the game’s logic and draw calls at any resolution, but the GPU saturates first.

The i5-14600KF’s 14 cores and 20 threads, along with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, provide substantial single-thread performance that Downfall’s horror genre likely relies on for physics and AI. However, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (30 FPS) and 4K High (49 FPS) are identical to what a weaker CPU might produce if the GPU is the bottleneck. The conclusion is that the GPU dictates playability, and the CPU is not the constraining component in any measured configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides exact average FPS, with minimum and maximum values available for Medium settings at each resolution. All other presets report only averages.

At 3840x2160, the results are as follows. Low settings achieve 72 FPS average. Medium settings achieve 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS. High settings achieve 49 FPS average. Ultra settings achieve 30 FPS average. The Medium preset’s 50 FPS minimum indicates that during demanding scenes, the frame rate can dip below the playable threshold even though the average is close to 60. The 68 FPS maximum shows occasional lighter scenes, but the overall experience at 4K Medium is borderline.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 116 FPS average, Medium at 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS, High at 78 FPS average, and Ultra at 49 FPS average. The Medium preset’s minimum of 81 FPS stays well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a consistent experience. The High preset’s 78 FPS average leaves a 18 FPS margin over playable, while Ultra’s 49 FPS average is 11 FPS short.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 163 FPS average, Medium at 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS, High at 109 FPS average, and Ultra at 68 FPS average. Even the lowest minimum across all 1080p presets, the Medium preset’s 113 FPS, exceeds the playable threshold by a wide margin. The Ultra preset’s 68 FPS average is the only configuration at 1080p that approaches the threshold, but it remains playable.

The minimum and maximum data for Medium settings reveals frame time variance. At 4K, the spread from minimum to maximum is 18 FPS, representing significant variance relative to the 59 FPS average. At 1440p, the spread is 29 FPS, which is a larger absolute range but smaller relative to the 95 FPS average. At 1080p, the spread is 40 FPS, the largest absolute range but smallest relative to the 133 FPS average. The data suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s limited headroom causes more consistent but lower frame rates, while at lower resolutions, the GPU can burst to higher peaks but also fluctuate more.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-14600KF, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for CPU-bound scenarios. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, a 0.3% delta from the i5-14600KF’s 49394. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a 0.4% delta. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, a 0.8% delta. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796, a -0.8% delta. In Downfall, where the CPU is not the bottleneck, any of these processors would deliver identical FPS in the measured scenarios.

For the Intel Arc B570, the nearest rivals are more relevant because the GPU is the limiting factor. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, a 0.1% delta from the Arc B570’s 20556. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, a -0.1% delta. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, a 0.4% delta. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, a -0.5% delta. These four GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in Downfall, meaning a system with an RTX 3070 Mobile or Arc A750 would match the Arc B570’s performance at each resolution and preset.

The GPU rival deltas are all within 0.5%, so the differences are negligible for gameplay. The Arc A750, being a desktop card from the same Intel family, would be the most direct substitute. The RTX 3070 Mobile, despite its mobile designation, scores nearly identically and would behave the same in Downfall. Users with any of these GPUs and a CPU in the i5-14600KF’s performance class should expect the same measured FPS.

The CPU rivals show that the i5-14600KF sits in a tight cluster, with the Ryzen 9 7900 and Ryzen AI Max+ 388 both within 0.8%. None of these CPUs would change the game’s performance because the GPU bottleneck dominates. However, for users who also run CPU-intensive tasks outside Downfall, the average benchmark scores indicate that the Ryzen AI Max+ 388 holds a slight edge, while the Core Ultra 5 245 trails by a similar margin.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS for Ultra at 1920x1080 is 68, which exceeds the playable threshold of 60 FPS. This is the only resolution where Ultra is playable.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440 for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The High preset is the best option, with a measured average FPS of 78. Medium runs at 95 FPS and Low at 116 FPS, but High offers the highest visual quality that remains above 60 FPS. Ultra falls short at 49 FPS average.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: Only at Low settings, which achieve 72 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. High and Ultra are not playable at 49 FPS and 30 FPS averages, respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750 in Downfall?

A: The two GPUs have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with the Arc B570 at 20556 and the Arc A750 at 20582, a delta of -0.1%. In Downfall, they would produce essentially the same FPS at every resolution and preset.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings at 1920x1080?

A: The minimum FPS for Medium at 1920x1080 is 113, with a maximum of 153 and an average of 133. This minimum remains well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Which component limits performance in Downfall at 3840x2160?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B570 has a lower percentile versus all GPUs (65) compared to the CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs (90). The measured FPS drops from 72 at Low to 30 at Ultra at 4K, indicating GPU rendering capacity is the constraint, while the CPU has sufficient headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2988 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. This places the system in the lower 20 percent of all tested configurations, which reflects the GPU’s mid-range position. The Arc B570’s percentile versus all GPUs is 65, meaning it outperforms 65 percent of GPUs in the database, but the 3716 combo ranking shows that many systems with stronger GPUs achieve higher FPS in this game.

The combo’s rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 4K, only Low settings clear 60 FPS, which is a modest result compared to top-tier systems. At 1440p, the High preset’s 78 FPS average is respectable but not exceptional. At 1080p, the Ultra preset’s 68 FPS average is playable, but many GPU combinations would deliver higher frame rates at the same settings.

The ranking also reflects the CPU’s strength relative to the GPU. The i5-14600KF sits in the 90th percentile for CPUs, but the combo rank is dragged down by the GPU’s 65th percentile standing. In a game like Downfall that is GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the CPU’s high percentile does little to improve the combo’s position. Users seeking a higher rank would need to pair the CPU with a stronger GPU, or accept the current performance profile.

The delta between the combo rank and the GPU percentile indicates that the game’s rendering demands align with the GPU’s weaknesses. The Arc B570’s 10 GB memory and 160-bit bus width are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset’s 30 FPS average shows the hardware’s limits. The combo ranking of 2988 out of 3716 is a quantitative measure of this limitation.

The Verdict

The data shows that this PC can run Downfall, but the playable settings depend entirely on the resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS at every preset, with Ultra achieving 68 FPS average. This is the recommended configuration for full visual quality, as all settings are playable and the Ultra preset provides the highest fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable at High, Medium, and Low settings. The High preset delivers 78 FPS average, which is the best visual quality that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra is not playable, with a 49 FPS average that falls 11 FPS short of the threshold. Users at 1440p should select High settings to balance quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the system is only playable at Low settings, with a 72 FPS average. Medium falls below the threshold at 59 FPS average, and its minimum of 50 FPS indicates noticeable dips. High and Ultra are not playable at 49 FPS and 30 FPS averages, respectively. For 4K, Low settings are the sole option that meets the playable threshold.

The verdict by resolution confirms this analysis: 1920x1080 has four playable settings (High, Low, Medium, Ultra), 2560x1440 has three (High, Low, Medium), and 3840x2160 has one (Low). The best settings at each resolution are Ultra at 1080p (68 FPS), High at 1440p (78 FPS), and Low at 4K (72 FPS). The system’s overall capability is defined by the Arc B570’s performance ceiling, which enables smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p but restricts 4K to the lowest quality preset. The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides sufficient CPU performance across all resolutions, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations at higher pixel counts.