Downfall

Measured FPS Breakdown

Downfall’s measured performance on the Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B370 spans a wide range depending on resolution and preset. At 3840x2160, the combination struggles across the board. The High preset averages 29 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold. Dropping to Medium improves the average to 35 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. The Low preset reaches 43 FPS on average, still short of the target. The Ultra preset at 4K is the weakest result in the entire dataset, averaging only 18 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers climb noticeably. The Low preset averages 68 FPS, crossing the 60 FPS line with room to spare. Medium sits just below that threshold at 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS. High averages 46 FPS, while Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 39 FPS, which shows how steeply the preset scaling impacts performance on this hardware.

At 1920x1080, the picture improves further. Low averages 96 FPS, the highest figure recorded in the entire test set. Medium averages 78 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. High averages 64 FPS, just clearing the playability threshold. Ultra averages 40 FPS, which is a significant drop from High. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 56 FPS, indicating that preset choice matters more than resolution choice for this specific pairing.

Notably, the dataset records min and max FPS only for the Medium preset at each resolution. For 4K Medium, the range is 30 to 40 FPS. For 1440p Medium, the range is 48 to 64 FPS. For 1080p Medium, the range is 67 to 90 FPS. These values suggest that the frame pacing is relatively consistent at Medium settings, with the minimum never falling more than 11 FPS below the average in any resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700K, based on average benchmark scores, are all close in aggregate performance. The AMD EPYC 9115 sits 0.1% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X trails by 0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.7% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is 0.9% behind. These deltas are small enough that any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Downfall. In practice, swapping the i7-14700K for any of these alternatives would not change the measured FPS in a meaningful way, since the GPU is likely the constraining factor in most scenarios.

For the Intel Arc B370, the nearest rivals are considerably older and less capable. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 0.2% higher, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M is 0.7% ahead. The AMD FirePro M2000 trails by 1.4%. These are all legacy parts with scores within a couple of percentage points of the Arc B370. The data suggests that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to these older discrete and mobile GPUs, which places it near the bottom of the current GPU hierarchy. Its 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms that this is a low-end part, and users should expect performance similar to the listed rivals rather than anything modern.

The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU is unusual in the database. The CPU is in the 94th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 5th percentile. This mismatch means that the GPU will almost always be the limiting factor in Downfall, regardless of resolution or preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B370 is the dominant bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 96. At 1440p Low, it drops to 68. At 4K Low, it falls to 43. This scaling with resolution is typical of a GPU-bound workload, where increasing pixel count directly reduces frame rate. The CPU, with 20 cores and 28 threads, is far more capable than any single game needs, and its benchmark scores place it among the fastest desktop processors available.

Preset scaling reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium reduces the average from 96 to 78 FPS, a drop of 18 FPS. Going from Medium to High reduces it from 78 to 64 FPS, another 14 FPS drop. Going from High to Ultra reduces it from 64 to 40 FPS, a 24 FPS drop. The steep decline at Ultra suggests that the GPU is being pushed beyond its limits, with the extra rendering workload causing a disproportionate performance hit.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 68 FPS, Medium 56 FPS, High 46 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 39 FPS, which is similar in magnitude to the 56 FPS drop seen at 1080p, but the percentage reduction is larger because the starting point is lower.

At 4K, even the Low preset averages only 43 FPS, and Ultra falls to 18 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 25 FPS, which is smaller in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, but the relative drop is steep. The CPU has no trouble keeping up at any resolution; the recorded FPS values track almost exactly with the GPU’s expected workload scaling. For this game, the Arc B370 determines the experience, and the i7-14700K simply provides enough headroom to avoid any CPU-side stutter or frame pacing issues.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, this PC can run Downfall at 1920x1080 with High settings, averaging 64 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. The same resolution also supports Medium at 78 FPS and Low at 96 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 68 FPS. Medium at 1440p falls short at 56 FPS, and High and Ultra are well below the threshold at 46 FPS and 29 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best 4K result is Low at 43 FPS, followed by Medium at 35 FPS, High at 29 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is straightforward. For 4K, the database lists no playable settings. For 1440p, the only playable setting is Low. For 1080p, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best of the three. Users targeting 60 FPS should play at 1080p with High or lower, or at 1440p with Low. Anyone expecting 4K performance will be disappointed, as the GPU simply lacks the throughput for that resolution in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database’s full collection of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Downfall, this pairing ranks 3429 out of 3716. That places it in the bottom 8% of all combos tested. The ranking reflects the GPU’s low position in the performance hierarchy more than the CPU’s strength. The i7-14700K is a top-tier processor, but the Arc B370 drags the overall result down significantly. For context, the GPU’s 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with this combo’s poor placement. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking does little to compensate, since Downfall is clearly GPU-bound in almost every scenario tested.

The rank confirms that this is not a combination suited for demanding gaming. While the CPU would pair well with a much stronger GPU, the Arc B370 limits the system to modest settings and resolutions. Users with this exact combo should treat the 1080p High result as the ceiling for a smooth experience, and even that is only marginally above the playability threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so the database records no best settings. The closest option is Low at 43 FPS, but that still fails the playability threshold. At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Low, which averages 68 FPS. This is the only setting at this resolution that clears 60 FPS. Medium at 56 FPS is close but falls short, and High and Ultra are not viable.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is High, averaging 64 FPS. Medium averages 78 FPS and Low averages 96 FPS, both also playable, but High offers the highest visual quality while still maintaining the 60 FPS target. Ultra at 40 FPS is not playable. For users who prefer a higher frame rate over visual fidelity, Low at 1080p provides a 32 FPS margin above the threshold and is the smoothest experience available on this hardware. The data indicates that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot for balanced performance and quality, with a 78 FPS average and a recorded minimum of 67 FPS, which ensures no dips below the playability line.