Downfall

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers overwhelming performance in Downfall, a 2016 horror title. Measured data shows the combo clears the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested resolution and preset, with average frame rates ranging from 83.8 FPS at 4K Ultra to 443.8 FPS at 1080p Low. The benchmark results place this pairing in the 60th percentile position out of 3,716 tested combos for this game, indicating it sits comfortably in the upper tier of hardware configurations. What follows is a detailed breakdown of how this CPU-GPU pairing behaves across resolutions, settings, and what the numbers imply for actual gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 5090 with the i7-12700KF shows a clear progression from Low to Ultra. The Low preset delivers 200.6 FPS average, while Medium drops to 168.5 FPS, and High settles at 137.9 FPS. The Ultra preset takes the largest performance hit, falling to 83.8 FPS average. This represents a steep 58.2% reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K, but even the most demanding setting remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The step from High to Ultra is particularly punishing, costing 54.1 FPS, which is a 39% drop — a significant penalty for the visual uplift that Ultra presumably provides.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the headroom expands considerably. Low settings produce 324.8 FPS, Medium reaches 265.5 FPS, and High holds at 216.7 FPS. Ultra at 1440p delivers 138.1 FPS, which is still more than double the playability threshold. The scaling between High and Ultra at this resolution shows a 78.6 FPS loss, or 36% — proportionally similar to the 4K drop but with absolute numbers high enough that the difference is barely perceptible on most displays. Notably, 1440p Ultra outperforms 4K High by a mere 0.2 FPS (138.1 vs 137.9), suggesting that resolution scaling has a near-linear impact at these extreme performance levels.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination becomes almost absurdly fast. Low settings hit 443.8 FPS, Medium achieves 376.9 FPS, and High reaches 305.4 FPS. Ultra at 1080p produces 190.5 FPS, which exceeds the 4K High result by 52.6 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is substantial across all settings: Low drops by 119 FPS (443.8 to 324.8), Medium by 111.4 FPS (376.9 to 265.5), High by 88.7 FPS (305.4 to 216.7), and Ultra by 52.4 FPS (190.5 to 138.1). These deltas indicate that resolution scaling remains consistent across presets, though the absolute differences shrink as settings become more demanding.

All measured FPS values are averages; the data does not include min or max FPS figures. This means the analysis relies solely on average performance, which can mask occasional frame dips. However, given the enormous margins above 60 FPS at every data point, even a hypothetical 50% drop from the average would only threaten playability at 4K Ultra (83.8 FPS average would potentially fall to around 42 FPS under severe stuttering).

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals an interesting dynamic between the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Downfall. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads from the Alder Lake architecture, demonstrates strong single-threaded capability with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,071. The GPU, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. In a 2016 horror title, the combination behaves as expected: the GPU becomes the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's headroom shows at lower settings.

At 1080p, the scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 253.3 FPS range (443.8 to 190.5), indicating that the GPU is still heavily utilized even at the lowest settings. The i7-12700KF's 3DMark multi-thread score of 9,283 and PassMark multi-thread score of 34,092 suggest it can feed the RTX 5090 adequately at these frame rates. The 1080p Low result of 443.8 FPS implies the CPU is not a bottleneck — the GPU is still the limiting factor even at extreme frame rates, as evidenced by the fact that increasing resolution to 1440p drops the same preset to 324.8 FPS.

At 1440p and 4K, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The transition from 1440p to 4K at each preset shows consistent reductions: Low drops 38.2% (324.8 to 200.6), Medium falls 36.5% (265.5 to 168.5), High loses 36.4% (216.7 to 137.9), and Ultra decreases 39.3% (138.1 to 83.8). The uniformity of these percentage drops across settings suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at these resolutions, with the CPU maintaining sufficient headroom. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, which explains why even 4K Ultra remains playable — the memory subsystem is not a limiting factor.

The CPU's influence is most visible in the preset scaling at 1080p. The gap between 1080p Low and Medium is 66.9 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Low and Medium is 59.3 FPS, and at 4K it is 32.1 FPS. This narrowing delta as resolution increases points to the GPU becoming more dominant. Conversely, the CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,282 and Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 28,838 suggest it can handle the game's threading demands without issue, even at 1080p where frame rates approach 444 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K Ultra settings above 60 FPS?*

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 83.8 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by 23.8 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration tested, and it remains comfortably playable.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from High to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce 216.7 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 138.1 FPS. This represents a loss of 78.6 FPS, or approximately 36% of the High preset's performance. The absolute difference is large, but both settings far exceed the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU remains the primary factor even at 1080p. The RTX 5090's performance scales consistently with resolution changes, and the i7-12700KF's strong single-thread score of 1,043 in 3DMark suggests it is not holding back the GPU. The 1080p Low result of 443.8 FPS would likely be even higher if the CPU were the bottleneck, but the GPU still shows resolution-based scaling.

Q: What is the largest FPS drop between consecutive presets?

A: The largest single-preset drop occurs at 4K when moving from High to Ultra, where average FPS falls from 137.9 to 83.8 — a 54.1 FPS reduction. This 39% drop is the steepest penalty for enabling the highest settings at any resolution.

Q: How does 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra in terms of frame rate?

A: 4K Ultra delivers 83.8 FPS, while 1080p Ultra produces 190.5 FPS. The 4K result is 56% lower than the 1080p figure, illustrating the substantial cost of quadrupling the pixel count. Despite this, 4K Ultra still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a healthy margin.

Q: Does the combination rank highly among all tested hardware for this game?

A: The combo ranks 60th out of 3,716 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.6% of all configurations. This percentile position reflects the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the i7-12700KF's 85th percentile among all CPUs.

The Verdict

The data is unequivocal: this PC can run Downfall at every resolution and preset combination tested. The verdictByResolution field confirms that all four settings at each of the three resolutions — 4K, 1440p, and 1080p — are playable, with the best settings being Ultra at every resolution. At 3840x2160, the best achievable settings are Ultra with an average of 83.8 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by 23.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 138.1 FPS, providing 78.1 FPS of headroom. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces 190.5 FPS, more than triple the playability threshold.

The practical implication is that users can enable the highest visual quality without compromise. For 4K displays, Ultra settings deliver smooth performance with room to spare. For 1440p and 1080p monitors with high refresh rates, the system can push well beyond 60 FPS even at Ultra, and at lower presets it can approach or exceed 300 FPS, making it suitable for 240Hz or even 360Hz displays at 1080p. The only scenario where the system might approach its limits is if a future update or mod increases the graphical demands beyond the current Ultra preset, but as tested, the hardware has significant margin.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3,716 hardware combinations tested in Downfall, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 60th. This position places it in the 98.4th percentile of all tested combos, meaning only 59 configurations deliver higher average performance in this game. The rank reflects the combination of the CPU's 85th percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842, which drives much of this ranking, is notably higher than the i7-12700KF's average CPU score of 35,365. This disparity suggests the GPU contributes more to the overall combo ranking in this graphics-intensive title. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking is respectable but not elite, while the GPU's 92nd percentile is near the top of the field. The combination of a strong but not top-tier CPU with an elite GPU results in a top-60 finish, indicating that Downfall benefits more from GPU horsepower than CPU throughput, consistent with its horror genre focus on visual atmosphere over complex simulation.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, running at 83.8 FPS average. This is the maximum quality option available, and it delivers 23.8 FPS of headroom above the playability threshold. Lower presets at this resolution offer even more performance: High runs at 137.9 FPS, Medium at 168.5 FPS, and Low at 200.6 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best setting, achieving 138.1 FPS average. This provides 78.1 FPS of headroom over the 60 FPS threshold, which is more than double the headroom seen at 4K. The High setting at 1440p reaches 216.7 FPS, Medium hits 265.5 FPS, and Low produces 324.8 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra runs at 190.5 FPS, offering 130.5 FPS of margin above the threshold. This is the only resolution where Ultra settings exceed 190 FPS, and the lower presets reach exceptional levels: High at 305.4 FPS, Medium at 376.9 FPS, and Low at 443.8 FPS. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, even the Ultra preset will keep up with most monitors, while lower settings can saturate virtually any display available.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-12700KF provide insight into what other CPUs would deliver similar performance in this pairing. The Intel Core i7-13700T has an average benchmark score of 35,403, which is just 0.1% lower than the i7-12700KF's 35,365. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35,305, a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core 5 213PE achieves 35,428, also 0.2% off. The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35,287, matching the i7-12700KF within 0.2%. All four alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, with differences likely under 1 FPS in most scenarios.

For the GPU side, the nearest rivals are more unexpected. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 on average, just 0.3% below the RTX 5090's 79,842. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB achieves 79,396, a 0.6% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940, trailing by 1.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090's average. These deltas suggest that while the RTX 5090 is a strong performer, its nearest alternatives in synthetic benchmarks are within 1.4% of its score, potentially translating to single-digit FPS differences in Downfall. However, these rival GPUs come from different market segments — the Tesla and Pro Vega are workstation-oriented — so real-world gaming performance may diverge from synthetic averages.