Downfall

The Intel Core i7-12700K (launch MSRP $409) paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D (launch MSRP 2,299 USD) delivers a decisive performance outcome in Downfall: every resolution and every preset tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by a wide margin. At 4K Ultra the average is 90 FPS, at 1440p Ultra 144 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra 202 FPS. This combo ranks 28th out of 3,716 tested configurations, placing it in the top 1% of all systems evaluated for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings tiers (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Only the Medium preset includes recorded minimum and maximum frame times; all other presets report only the average.

1920x1080

• Low: 448 FPS average
• Medium: 395 FPS average, with a minimum of 335 FPS and a maximum of 454 FPS
• High: 324 FPS average
• Ultra: 202 FPS average

At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 246 FPS. The Low preset produces nearly 2.2× the frame rate of Ultra, indicating that settings scaling has a substantial impact at this resolution. The Medium preset’s min/max range (335–454) shows a 119 FPS swing, which is wider than the gap between Medium and High averages (71 FPS) — suggesting that frame pacing variability is more pronounced at the middle setting.

2560x1440

• Low: 345 FPS average
• Medium: 282 FPS average, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 324 FPS
• High: 231 FPS average
• Ultra: 144 FPS average

At 1440p, the Low-to-Ultra drop is 201 FPS. The Medium preset’s min/max range (240–324) spans 84 FPS, which is tighter than at 1080p. The Ultra preset still delivers 144 FPS — more than double the 60 FPS threshold.

3840x2160

• Low: 214 FPS average
• Medium: 175 FPS average, with a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 202 FPS
• High: 144 FPS average
• Ultra: 90 FPS average

At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 124 FPS, but every preset remains far above 60 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 149 FPS is still more than 2.4× the playable threshold. The Ultra preset, the most demanding configuration, averages 90 FPS — a 50% headroom over 60 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with recorded min/max data. The largest absolute min/max spread appears at 1080p Medium (119 FPS), while the smallest is at 4K Medium (53 FPS). This suggests that at higher resolutions, frame time consistency improves, likely because the GPU is more consistently saturated.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 448 FPS — a figure that is likely limited by the CPU’s ability to feed draw calls and game logic, given that the GPU is nowhere near its compute ceiling at such a low load. The i7-12700K’s strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1,043, PassMark single-thread score of 4,013) supports this interpretation; it can drive extremely high frame rates when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

As resolution increases, the GPU’s role becomes dominant. Moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low, the average FPS drops from 448 to 214 — a 52% reduction while pixel count quadruples. This is a classic sign of GPU-bound scaling: the RTX 5090 D’s rendering workload grows with resolution, and the CPU’s frame generation rate is no longer the limiting factor. The same pattern holds at Ultra settings: 1080p Ultra yields 202 FPS, while 4K Ultra yields 90 FPS, a 55% drop. The relative consistency of this drop (52% vs 55%) indicates that resolution scaling affects the GPU nearly identically regardless of preset.

Settings scaling also points to GPU dominance. At each resolution, the transition from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by roughly 55–58% (1080p: 448→202, 55%; 1440p: 345→144, 58%; 4K: 214→90, 58%). The near-identical percentage drops across resolutions suggest that the GPU’s shader and rasterization workload scales uniformly with preset quality, independent of resolution. The CPU’s multi-thread capabilities (Cinebench R23 multi-core 19,784, PassMark multi-thread 34,404) are more than sufficient to avoid becoming a constraint even at 1080p Ultra, where the GPU is still the primary driver.

In short, at 1080p and 1440p the RTX 5090 D is the performance arbiter; at 4K it is unequivocally so. The i7-12700K provides enough headroom to feed the GPU at all tested settings, as evidenced by the fact that no preset at any resolution falls below 90 FPS — a level that would expose CPU limitations if present.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals by average benchmark score are all within 0.4% of the i7-12700K’s average of 35,287. The Intel Core i5-13600T (35,305, deltaPct -0.1%), Intel Core i7-12700KF (35,365, -0.2%), Intel Core i7-13700T (35,403, -0.3%), and Intel Core 5 213PE (35,428, -0.4%) would deliver statistically indistinguishable frame rates in Downfall. Any of these processors would yield the same measured FPS values within a rounding error, assuming identical GPU and memory configurations.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals to the RTX 5090 D’s average score of 77,712 are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, deltaPct 1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, -2.4%). These parts fall within 2.4% of the RTX 5090 D’s average score, meaning their in-game performance would be very close — likely within a few FPS at each setting. Note that the RX 6650M XT is a mobile GPU, and the Tesla P100 parts are datacenter-oriented, but their synthetic benchmark averages place them in the same performance tier. In practice, for Downfall, the frame rates would be nearly identical to the values reported here.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Downfall at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. The measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 90 FPS, which is 30 FPS above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra. The 2560x1440 Ultra preset averages 144 FPS, more than double the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: Are there any recorded minimum FPS values?

A: Only the Medium preset includes min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 335 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 240 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 149 FPS. All minimums exceed 60 FPS by a wide margin.

Q: How does this combination rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 28th out of 3,716 configurations, placing it in the top 1% of all tested combos for Downfall.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-threaded performance?

A: The i7-12700K scores 9,979 in 3DMark max threads, 19,784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 34,404 in PassMark multi-thread, indicating ample headroom for high frame rate generation.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5090 D features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Downfall without any compromises. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with the best (Ultra) averaging 90 FPS. At 2560x1440, all settings are playable, with Ultra averaging 144 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with Ultra averaging 202 FPS. In every case, the average FPS is at least 1.5× the 60 FPS threshold, and the lowest recorded minimum (149 FPS at 4K Medium) still exceeds 60 FPS by 2.5×. The system is not merely capable of running the game; it provides a high-refresh-rate experience even at maximum settings and native 4K resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra at every resolution, based on the measured data.

• 3840x2160: Ultra — 90 FPS average
• 2560x1440: Ultra — 144 FPS average
• 1920x1080: Ultra — 202 FPS average

Since all presets clear 60 FPS, there is no need to drop below Ultra to achieve playability. For users prioritizing maximum frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p reaches 448 FPS, but the Ultra preset already delivers 202 FPS, which is well beyond the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors. The data supports running the game at Ultra settings at all three resolutions without sacrificing the 60 FPS baseline.