Downfall

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a strong performance profile in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. Across the three tested resolutions, the combination consistently produces frame rates well above the 60 FPS playability threshold, with the only exception being the Ultra preset at 4K. The data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, offering a wide range of playable configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combo covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Average FPS figures are provided for each configuration; minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded in the database.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest performance ceiling. On the Low preset, the average FPS reaches 254.7. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 210.8, which is a decrease of approximately 17.2% from Low. The High preset yields an average of 175, a further reduction of about 17.0% from Medium. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 109.8, which is 37.3% lower than High. All four presets at 1080p clear the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, with even the most demanding setting maintaining nearly double the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains very high. The Low preset produces an average of 185.2 FPS. Medium drops to 149.5, a reduction of 19.3% relative to Low. High comes in at 123, which is 17.7% lower than Medium. The Ultra preset averages 78 FPS, a 36.6% decrease from High. Again, every preset at 1440p stays above 60 FPS, though the Ultra setting has a smaller margin of safety compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the strain on the system becomes more apparent. The Low preset averages 114.9 FPS. Medium averages 96.2, a 16.3% reduction from Low. High averages 76.5, a 20.5% drop from Medium. The Ultra preset falls to 50.2 FPS, which is 34.4% lower than High and sits below the 60 FPS playability threshold. This is the only configuration in the dataset where the combo fails to reach playable frame rates.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent. For a given preset, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 27% to 29% (for example, Low goes from 254.7 to 185.2, a 27.3% drop; High goes from 175 to 123, a 29.7% drop). Moving from 1440p to 4K results in larger drops, ranging from 33% to 38% depending on the preset (Medium goes from 149.5 to 96.2, a 35.7% drop; Ultra goes from 78 to 50.2, a 35.6% drop). The Low preset shows the smallest absolute decline between 1440p and 4K, from 185.2 to 114.9, a 38.0% drop, while High shows a similar relative decline from 123 to 76.5, a 37.8% drop.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU becomes the dominant performance factor as resolution increases, while the CPU's role is more prominent at lower resolutions. The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and it ranks in the 47th percentile among all CPUs in the database. The RTX 3070, with 5888 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, ranks in the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

At 1920x1080, the system produces extremely high frame rates, up to 254.7 FPS on Low. Such high FPS numbers suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at this resolution, but the GPU is not being fully utilized on lower presets. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 144.9 FPS (254.7 vs 109.8), indicating that the GPU has significant headroom when settings are reduced. The CPU's single-core performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935, is sufficient to drive these frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the GPU workload increases. The FPS drops across all presets compared to 1080p, but the relative ordering remains the same. The CPU still appears capable of keeping up, as the Ultra preset at 1440p averages 78 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that at this resolution, the GPU is beginning to take on a larger share of the workload, but the CPU is not yet limiting performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Ultra preset drops to 50.2 FPS, below the playable threshold. The CPU's performance is unlikely to be the cause of this drop, as the same CPU produces over 100 FPS on the Low preset at 4K (114.9 FPS). The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a consistent reduction across presets, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The RTX 3070's pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are being taxed more heavily at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings.

The role of the CPU is more evident in the frame rate differences between presets at the same resolution. At 1080p, reducing settings from Ultra to Low increases FPS by 144.9, while at 4K, the same reduction increases FPS by 64.7 (from 50.2 to 114.9). This suggests that at 1080p, the GPU has spare capacity that can be unlocked by lowering settings, whereas at 4K, the GPU is closer to its limits and the CPU has less influence on the final frame rate. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 places it near rivals like the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, within 0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, within 0.4%), indicating it is a mid-tier processor for this workload.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings is 109.8, which is well above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS at 3840x2160?

A: At 4K, the High preset is the most demanding option that stays playable, with an average of 76.5 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the threshold at 50.2 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset?

A: The High preset drops from an average of 175 FPS at 1080p to 123 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 52 FPS, which is approximately 29.7% lower.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 the main performance limiter at 1440p?

A: The data indicates that at 1440p, the GPU is becoming more significant, but the system still achieves 78 FPS on Ultra, suggesting the CPU is not severely limiting performance. The GPU likely has less headroom compared to 1080p.

Q: Which settings preset should be avoided at 4K to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 should be avoided, as it averages 50.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High, Medium, and Low all remain above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested combinations in the database?

A: This combo ranks 1565 out of 3716 tested combinations for Downfall, placing it in the upper half of all tested systems.

The Verdict

The database confirms that this PC can run Downfall across all three resolutions, with the exception of the Ultra preset at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset averaging 109.8 FPS. The best playable setting at 1080p is Ultra, which delivers the highest quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds. All four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 78 FPS. The best settings at 1440p is Ultra, as it provides the maximum visual fidelity while remaining above the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 50.2 FPS, which is not playable. However, the High preset averages 76.5 FPS, which is above 60 FPS. The Low and Medium presets also remain playable, with averages of 114.9 and 96.2 respectively. The verdict for 4K is that High is the best setting, as it offers the highest quality among the playable options.

For users seeking a stable 60 FPS experience, the system is fully capable at 1080p and 1440p with any preset, and at 4K with High settings or lower. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that fails to meet the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Downfall, this combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1565 out of 3716 tested combos. This places the system in the 42nd percentile of all recorded configurations, meaning it outperforms approximately 58% of tested systems in this game.

The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The i5-9400 has a percentile rank of 47 among all CPUs, while the RTX 3070 has a percentile rank of 61 among all GPUs. The combination's in-game rank of 1565 is consistent with a system where the GPU is the stronger component, which is typical for a modern pairing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 is close to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, 0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, 0.4% faster), indicating that the processor is a mid-range part.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 17208 places it near the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083, 0.7% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% slower). The RTX 3070 is slightly ahead of these rivals in raw benchmark terms. The combination's rank in Downfall suggests that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting, as the CPU's lower percentile rank does not prevent the system from achieving high frame rates in this title.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the measured FPS data, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, averaging 109.8 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and it maintains a substantial margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is also the best, with an average of 78 FPS. While this is lower than the 1080p result, it still clears the playable threshold by 18 FPS, providing a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the High preset is the best playable option, averaging 76.5 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 50.2 FPS, so High is the recommended maximum setting for 4K. Medium and Low also remain playable, but High offers the best visual quality without dropping below 60 FPS.

These settings represent the maximum quality that can be achieved while maintaining playable frame rates. Users who prefer higher frame rates can always select lower presets, as the Low and Medium settings provide significantly higher FPS at every resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, within 0.2%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, 0.3% slower), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, 0.4% slower), and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, 0.4% faster). These CPUs would behave similarly in terms of overall processing power, meaning they would likely produce comparable frame rates in Downfall when paired with the same GPU. The differences are small, with a maximum delta of 0.4%, so swapping to any of these CPUs would not meaningfully change the gaming experience.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083, 0.7% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% slower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, 1.1% slower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, 1.5% faster). The RTX 3070 sits slightly below the Tesla K40c in average benchmark score, but the differences are minor. A system using any of these GPUs with the same CPU would likely produce similar frame rates in Downfall, with the largest deviation being the Tesla K40c at 1.5% faster.

In practical terms, users with a comparable CPU or GPU should expect similar performance to the measured data. The small deltas between rivals mean that the overall playability verdict would remain unchanged: 1080p and 1440p can run Ultra settings, while 4K is limited to High settings for a stable 60 FPS experience. The only configuration to avoid is 4K Ultra, which falls below the playable threshold regardless of the minor performance differences among these rival components.