Downfall

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a broad range of frame rates in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The benchmark database provides measured average FPS at three resolutions and four presets, with a playability threshold of 60 FPS. This analysis interprets those numbers, compares the components to nearby rivals, and determines the best settings for each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data set reports average frame rates only; minimum and maximum values are not available. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: higher presets lower the average FPS, and increasing resolution reduces performance sharply.

At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally fast. Low settings produce 297.5 FPS, Medium drops to 244.1, High to 199.2, and Ultra to 126.5. The spread from Low to Ultra is 171 FPS, a 57% reduction. Even the most demanding preset clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. The high numbers suggest that at 1080p the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, though the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads (with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz) likely contribute to the headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates still remain very high. Low produces 213.7 FPS, Medium 172.6, High 143.3, and Ultra 90.4. The gap between Low and Ultra is 123.3 FPS, a 42% drop. All presets stay above 60 FPS, with Ultra still delivering a comfortable 50% margin over the threshold. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset is notable: for example, High drops from 199.2 to 143.3, a 28% reduction, which indicates the GPU’s memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s) and 10 GB GDDR6X buffer begin to matter more.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. Low produces 134.2 FPS, Medium 107.3, and High 92.2, all well above 60. However, Ultra falls to 58.8 FPS, missing the threshold by 1.2 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 33.4 FPS, and from Low to Ultra the loss is 75.4 FPS. This is the only resolution where the most demanding preset is not playable. The 4K results clearly show the GPU’s 320-bit bus and 10 GB memory are the primary scaling factor; the CPU’s compute capabilities are not the limiting element at this resolution.

The data also shows that the relative drop from Low to Ultra is consistent across resolutions: 2.35× at 1080p, 2.36× at 1440p, and 2.28× at 4K. This consistency suggests that the game’s quality presets scale evenly, and the combo’s performance curve is predictable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i7-14700K’s average benchmark score is 69,355, which places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are all AMD processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69,515, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the 14700K is essentially tied. The AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69,288, a +0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69,875 (-0.7%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69,996 (-0.9%). These four chips are within 0.9% of the 14700K, so a system with any of them would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, provided the GPU and memory configuration are the same.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23,172, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are a mix of older and lower-end parts. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23,249, a -0.3% delta; the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23,250 (-0.3%); the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23,273 (-0.4%); and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23,276 (-0.4%). These deltas are all under half a percent, so in synthetic benchmarks they are essentially interchangeable. However, the RTX 3080’s actual gaming performance may differ from these parts due to driver optimizations and memory characteristics, but the data shows that the 3080’s compute capabilities are statistically equivalent to these rivals.

For a user seeking a similar experience, a system with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and an AMD Radeon RX 6600M would have benchmark scores within 0.4% of the 14700K + RTX 3080, though the RX 6600M is a laptop-class GPU. The more relevant comparison is that the 3080’s performance sits in the same band as the older P106-100 and the Radeon Pro Vega 16, indicating that the GPU is not a high-end part today, but it is still capable of handling this 2016 title at high frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results allow us to infer which component is more critical at each resolution. The CPU is a 20-core, 28-thread part with a 94th percentile score, while the GPU is a 68th percentile part. In a game like Downfall, which is not particularly demanding by modern standards, the CPU’s headroom is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any setting.

At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 126.5 (Ultra) to 297.5 (Low). The fact that the Low preset reaches nearly 300 FPS suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames, and the GPU is the primary constraint as presets increase. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 171 FPS, which is a 57% reduction. This is a large drop, indicating that the GPU’s shader load and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors when quality settings are raised.

At 1440p, the pattern continues. Low yields 213.7 FPS, while Ultra yields 90.4 FPS. The absolute numbers are lower than at 1080p, but the relative drop from Low to Ultra is 58% (123.3 FPS). The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 28% at each preset, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is still likely capable of exceeding the GPU’s output, as the 14700K’s single-thread performance is high (PassMark single-thread score of 4472).

At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The FPS drops from 134.2 at Low to 58.8 at Ultra. The Ultra preset falls below 60, and even High only reaches 92.2. The 4K data shows that the GPU’s pixel fill rate (164.2 GPixel/s) and texture rate (465.1 GTexel/s) are the limiting resource. The CPU’s role is minimal at this resolution, as the frame rates are dictated by the GPU’s ability to process the higher pixel count.

Overall, the scaling across resolutions shows that the GPU is the more important component for this game, especially at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the CPU still has enough headroom to allow the GPU to be the main variable, but the GPU is always the limiting factor when presets are raised. The CPU’s performance only matters if the GPU can output more frames than the CPU can handle, which is unlikely given the CPU’s high benchmark scores.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 can run Downfall at all tested resolutions, with one exception. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 58.8 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets at 4K – Low, Medium, and High – clear 60 FPS. The best playable preset at 4K is High, with an average of 92.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, every preset is playable, including Ultra at 90.4 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 126.5 FPS.

The data confirms that this combo can deliver a smooth experience in Downfall at 1080p and 1440p on the highest quality settings, and at 4K it only fails on the most demanding preset. For players who prioritize 4K, dropping from Ultra to High yields a 33 FPS improvement (from 58.8 to 92.2), a significant gain. The system is therefore a strong performer for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of CPU and GPU ranks 1052nd out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall. That places it in the 72nd percentile of all combos – above average but not in the top tier. The CPU alone sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is only in the 68th percentile. This disparity explains the overall ranking: the CPU is high-end, but the GPU is mid-range by current standards. A combo with a similarly strong CPU but a faster GPU would likely rank higher. The 1052nd rank means that a significant portion of tested systems (about 28%) produce higher frame rates in this game, but the 14700K + RTX 3080 is still comfortably above the median.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Ultra at 126.5 FPS
• 2560x1440: Ultra at 90.4 FPS
• 3840x2160: High at 92.2 FPS

At 1080p and 1440p, the system can run the highest quality preset with ample headroom. At 4K, the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS is High, not Ultra. Players who want the absolute best visuals at 4K will need to accept a frame rate slightly below 60, or drop to High for a smooth experience. The data shows that the 60 FPS threshold is met with a large margin at all playable settings, so even the most demanding playable configuration leaves room for the game’s performance to vary without dropping below the threshold.