Downfall

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Downfall with the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 shows a steep performance gradient across resolutions. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 20 FPS on Ultra to 47 FPS on Low. The High preset averages 32 FPS, while Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. Notably, the Ultra preset at 4K delivers only 20 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold of 60 FPS by a significant margin. The Low preset at 4K, at 47 FPS, is the only configuration approaching playability, but it still falls short.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages improve substantially. The Low preset reaches 76 FPS, Medium averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS, and High averages 51 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 32 FPS, mirroring the 4K Ultra result. The data shows that Medium at 1440p is the first preset to clear the 60 FPS threshold, though its minimum of 53 FPS indicates some dips below that line.

At 1920x1080, the combination performs much more convincingly. Low averages 106 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, and High averages 71 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 44 FPS, which is again below 60 FPS. The jump from 1440p Medium to 1080p High is notable: the average rises from 62 FPS to 71 FPS, a 14.5% improvement, while the resolution drops by roughly 44% in pixel count. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate does not scale proportionally with the reduced pixel load.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS average. The best available average is 47 FPS on Low, but the database verdict lists no playable settings at this resolution. This means the combination cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K under any tested preset. The Medium preset at 4K averages 39 FPS, and High averages 32 FPS, so even dropping to Low only yields 47 FPS, which is 13 FPS short of the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is Medium, which averages 62 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 51 FPS, so it is not playable by the 60 FPS standard. The Low preset averages 76 FPS, which is higher than Medium, but Medium is the recommended choice because it provides a better visual quality while maintaining the 62 FPS average. The minimum of 53 FPS on Medium suggests occasional dips, but the average remains above the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is High, averaging 71 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 44 FPS and is not playable. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS, which is higher than High, but High is the most demanding preset that still clears 60 FPS. The data shows that High at 1080p delivers 71 FPS average, which is 11 FPS above the threshold. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, but High is the better choice for visual fidelity while staying comfortably playable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant bottleneck in this combination. The Core i9-14900K is a high-end desktop processor with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This disparity is reflected in the frame rate scaling across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are uniformly low across all presets. The difference between Low (47 FPS) and Ultra (20 FPS) is 27 FPS, which is a 135% spread. This large gap between presets suggests that the GPU is heavily constrained by pixel output and shading workload. The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are unlikely to be the limiting factor at 4K, as the GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is modest compared to the processor's capabilities.

At 2560x1440, the pattern changes. The Low preset reaches 76 FPS, while Medium drops to 62 FPS, and High falls to 51 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 14 FPS, and from Medium to High costs another 11 FPS. This is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where each increase in visual complexity directly reduces the frame rate. The CPU's role is likely minimal here, as the i9-14900K's single-core performance (2262.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is more than sufficient for a 2016 horror title.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's headroom becomes more apparent. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame delivery limit for this game. The Medium preset at 87 FPS and High at 71 FPS show that the GPU still governs the scaling, but the fact that 1080p Low exceeds 100 FPS indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU well above the playable threshold. The Ultra preset at 44 FPS is a clear GPU limit, as even the powerful CPU cannot compensate for the graphics workload.

The scaling between resolutions tells a clear story. From 1080p Low (106 FPS) to 1440p Low (76 FPS), the average drops by 28.3%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (47 FPS), the average drops by 38.2%. These are large proportional declines, consistent with a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count. The CPU, by contrast, shows no such strain: its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and Passmark multi-thread score of 58674 indicate massive processing headroom for a horror game released in 2016.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i9-14900K are all very close in average benchmark score. The Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79371, which is 0.3% lower than the i9-14900K's 79097. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574, 0.6% higher. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, 1.2% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, 1.7% lower. In practice, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Downfall when paired with the same GPU, because the game is not CPU-limited at the tested settings.

For the Intel Arc B390, the nearest rivals are all much older, low-end NVIDIA GPUs. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower than the Arc B390's 1482. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower, and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. These deltas are small, meaning that swapping the Arc B390 for any of these GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in this game. The GT 710, for instance, would likely deliver within 3% of the Arc B390's performance, which translates to roughly 1 to 3 FPS difference at the measured averages.

The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU means that alternative pairings should focus on the GPU side. Any of the four rival GPUs listed would behave nearly identically to the Arc B390, keeping the same playability boundaries: 1080p High at 71 FPS, 1440p Medium at 62 FPS, and no playable 4K preset. The CPU rivals, by contrast, would not change the outcome at all, since the i9-14900K already provides far more processing power than Downfall requires.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3303 out of 3716 tested combos in the database for Downfall. This places it in the 11th percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 89% of tested systems perform better in this game. The low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, given that the CPU alone ranks in the 95th percentile among all processors.

The rank of 3303 out of 3716 indicates that this pairing is well below average for Downfall. The game, while released in 2016, still requires a reasonably capable GPU to maintain 60 FPS at higher settings. The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is a low baseline, and the GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms that it is near the bottom of the performance spectrum. The i9-14900K's presence does not rescue the combination because the game is GPU-bound at all tested resolutions.

In context, the combo's position in the database reflects the mismatch between the two components. The CPU is among the fastest consumer processors available, while the GPU is comparable to decade-old low-end parts. The ranking of 3303 out of 3716 is a direct consequence of this imbalance, and it accurately predicts the frame rate limitations observed in the measured data.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Downfall? The answer depends on the resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers playable performance on High, Low, and Medium presets. The best playable preset is High with an average of 71 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by 11 FPS. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, and Medium averages 87 FPS, both well above the playable line. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 44 FPS and is not playable.

At 2560x1440, the combination is playable on Low and Medium presets. The best playable preset is Medium with an average of 62 FPS, just above the threshold. The Low preset averages 76 FPS, providing more headroom. The High preset at 1440p averages 51 FPS and fails the playability test, as does Ultra at 32 FPS.

At 3840x2160, there are no playable presets. The closest is Low with an average of 47 FPS, which is 13 FPS short of the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. The database verdict confirms that 4K is not viable for this combination.

The core conclusion is that this system is suitable for 1080p gaming at High settings and 1440p gaming at Medium settings, but it cannot handle 4K at any setting. The Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor, and the powerful i9-14900K cannot overcome the GPU's modest shading throughput. For a game like Downfall, a horror title that likely benefits from stable frame rates, the 1080p High preset at 71 FPS is the recommended configuration, offering a balance of visual quality and smoothness. The 1440p Medium preset at 62 FPS is also viable, but the minimum of 53 FPS suggests occasional stutters. Users seeking 4K performance would need a substantially more powerful GPU.