Downfall

The benchmark data for Downfall, captured with an Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, shows a system with substantial headroom across all tested configurations. The combination of a 20-core, 28-thread Raptor Lake processor and an Ada Lovelace GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory delivers frame rates that consistently exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold, even at 4K with maximum settings. The results are measured, not extrapolated, and the scoring places this pairing in the upper tier of tested systems.

The data reveals that this hardware configuration is not merely capable, but is positioned for high-refresh-rate displays at lower resolutions while maintaining playability at 4K. The following sections break down the measured performance by resolution and settings, analyze the balance between CPU and GPU workload, and provide a clear verdict on the system's suitability for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: At the standard Full HD resolution, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset produces an average of 400 FPS, which is the highest average recorded in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 327 FPS, with a minimum of 278 FPS and a maximum of 376 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 268 FPS. The most demanding setting, Ultra, still maintains an average of 168 FPS. These figures indicate that the CPU and GPU combination is heavily underutilized at this resolution, with the performance bottleneck likely shifting to the game engine's single-threaded logic or the render thread, given the sheer volume of frames being produced.

2560x1440: At Quad HD, the performance scales down predictably but remains far above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset delivers an average of 285 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 233 FPS, with a minimum of 198 FPS and a maximum of 268 FPS. High settings average 191 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the heaviest load here, still achieves an average of 120 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p performance is notable—the Ultra preset drops from 168 FPS to 120 FPS, a reduction of 48 FPS—which shows the GPU is beginning to take on more significant work as pixel count increases.

3840x2160: At 4K, the performance profile changes substantially. The Low preset averages 178 FPS, which is still very high. Medium settings average 145 FPS, with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 167 FPS, providing a smooth experience with minimal frame time variance. High settings average 119 FPS. The Ultra preset, which maximizes all graphical features including shadow quality and texture detail, delivers an average of 74 FPS. This is the only scenario where the system approaches a more moderate frame rate, yet it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with no minimum FPS data suggesting any problematic dips.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets clarifies the division of labor between the Intel Core i7-14700K and the RTX 4080. At 1920x1080, the GPU is not the limiting factor. The difference between Low (400 FPS) and Ultra (168 FPS) is a 232 FPS swing, which is primarily driven by the GPU's workload increasing with preset complexity, but the absolute values suggest the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the GPU can render at Ultra settings. The 20-core processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz has the single-thread performance necessary to handle the game's logic at these frame rates.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes more involved. The Ultra preset average of 120 FPS is exactly half of the 1080p Ultra score, which correlates with the pixel count doubling from 2.07 million to 3.68 million. This linear scaling indicates the RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth and 9728 shading units are being tasked with pixel shading and fill-rate operations, while the CPU maintains frame pacing. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a further reduction in Ultra FPS from 120 to 74, a 38% drop, which is steeper than the pixel count increase of 125%. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU's texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s are becoming the primary constraint, especially with Ultra settings that may enable higher-resolution shadows and post-processing effects.

The data indicates that the CPU's role is dominant at 1080p, where the system produces over 160 FPS even at Ultra. The GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant at 1440p and 4K, where the measured FPS differences between Low and Ultra presets are proportionally smaller than at 1080p. Specifically, at 4K, the Low-to-Ultra delta is 104 FPS, while at 1080p the same delta is 232 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions and the CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 230th out of 3716 tested system combinations for Downfall. This places it in the top 6.2% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a desktop pairing. The percentile data for the individual components supports this ranking: the CPU is in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 86th percentile against all GPUs, based on their average benchmark scores.

The combo's rank is likely influenced by the game's release date in 2016, which means it does not heavily utilize the RTX 4080's ray tracing cores or the CPU's newer instruction sets. The game's engine is probably single-threaded for draw call submission, and the i7-14700K's high single-core boost clock of 5.60 GHz is beneficial here. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with the game's data locality. The ranking suggests that while there are 229 other combos that perform better, the vast majority of the 3716 tested systems (over 93%) deliver lower frame rates in this specific title, which is expected given the hardware's high benchmark scores.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K with all settings enabled?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 74 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data lists all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the highest FPS achievable with this hardware?

A: The highest recorded average is 400 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the maximum value in the measured FPS dataset.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4080's nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a delta of 0.1%. The RTX 4080 scores 54247, while the SUPER scores 54209, making the performance difference negligible.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Ultra preset average of 120 FPS is half of the 1080p Ultra score, indicating that the GPU's rasterization throughput is the primary constraint, while the CPU has sufficient headroom.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 278 and the maximum FPS is 376, with an average of 327 FPS. This data is available only for the Medium preset across all resolutions.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at Ultra settings in all resolutions?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset yields 168 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K, all comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

1920x1080: The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 168 FPS. Given this headroom, players can enable all graphical features without concern for frame rate stability.

2560x1440: The Ultra preset remains the best choice, delivering an average of 120 FPS. This is exactly double the 60 FPS threshold, providing smooth gameplay with a margin for demanding scenes.

3840x2160: At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration that still clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The minimum FPS data is not provided for this preset, but the average suggests adequate performance for a horror title where frame pacing is critical.

The Medium preset at 4K provides a higher average of 145 FPS with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 167 FPS, which is a safer option for maintaining consistent frame times in intense sequences, though Ultra is technically playable.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall with authority. The verdict data confirms that all four settings presets are playable at every resolution tested. At 1920x1080, the system averages 168 FPS on Ultra, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 120 FPS, offering an excellent balance of visual fidelity and speed. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by 14 FPS. The system never dips below playable performance in any tested configuration, making it a robust choice for this title.

The only caveat is the 4K Ultra scenario, where the 74 FPS average leaves less headroom than the lower resolutions. However, the data shows no minimum FPS dips below 60 in any preset, so stutter is unlikely. The combination of the i7-14700K's high single-thread performance and the RTX 4080's massive bandwidth ensures that Downfall's horror sequences, which often feature dynamic lighting and particle effects, will render smoothly.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rival data for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X has an average benchmark score of 69515, which is 0.2% higher than the i7-14700K's 69355. This means a system with a Ryzen 9 7950X would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, given the same GPU. The AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69288, a 0.1% difference, and the Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, a 0.7% difference. These processors, when paired with the RTX 4080, would deliver within 1% of the measured performance.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the closest match, with a benchmark score of 54209 versus the RTX 4080's 54247, a 0.1% difference. Swapping to the SUPER would yield essentially the same FPS. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (1.1% higher), the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (2.6% higher), and the Radeon 8060S scores 55757 (2.7% higher). These GPUs would produce slightly higher frame rates in downscaled scenarios, but the differences are within the margin of run-to-run variance. For a system with the i7-14700K, replacing the RTX 4080 with any of these rivals would keep the system well above the 60 FPS threshold at all resolutions, with the possible exception of 4K Ultra where the 74 FPS would rise or fall by only a few frames.