Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a thoroughly playable experience in Downfall across all tested resolutions, with the data showing that the GPU is the primary bottleneck only at 4K Ultra settings. At 1080p and 1440p, this combo produces exceptionally high frame rates that will satisfy users with high-refresh-rate displays, while 4K remains viable at High settings with an average of 93 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for this combination show a clear progression of performance scaling as resolution and graphical demands increase. At 1920x1080, the lowest tested resolution, the combo achieves an average of 312 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 256 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 217 FPS and a maximum of 294 FPS. Moving to High settings at 1080p yields 210 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 131 FPS average. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the system is far beyond the playable threshold of 60 FPS, with even the most demanding preset maintaining a substantial margin.

At 2560x1440, performance remains exceptionally strong. Low settings produce an average of 223 FPS, Medium settings deliver 182 FPS with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 210 FPS, and High settings reach 150 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 1440p still manages 94 FPS average, which is comfortably above the playable threshold and indicates that this resolution does not present a serious challenge to the hardware combination.

The 3840x2160 results show the first signs of strain, though the system remains playable across most settings. Low settings at 4K produce 139 FPS average, Medium settings yield 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS, and High settings sustain 93 FPS average. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 58 FPS average, falling just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution reduces the average frame rate by roughly 30-40%, with the Ultra preset at 4K being the only configuration that fails to maintain 60 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling between resolutions reveals that the RTX 4070 is the dominant factor in this game, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower settings. Comparing the 1080p Low result of 312 FPS to the 1440p Low result of 223 FPS shows a 28.5% reduction in frame rate from a 1.78x increase in pixel count, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor even at the lowest settings. Similarly, the 4K Low result of 139 FPS represents a 55.4% drop from the 1440p Low figure, again demonstrating GPU-bound behavior.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further confirms this analysis. At 1080p, the difference between Low (312 FPS) and Ultra (131 FPS) is 181 FPS, a 58% reduction. At 1440p, Low produces 223 FPS while Ultra produces 94 FPS, a 57.8% reduction. At 4K, Low yields 139 FPS while Ultra yields 58 FPS, a 58.3% reduction. The consistency of this scaling across resolutions suggests that the game's graphical settings impose uniform GPU load increases, and the CPU is never the primary constraint.

The Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, provides ample processing power for this horror title. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it has substantial headroom for gaming workloads. Even at 1080p with frame rates exceeding 300 FPS, the data does not show any sign of CPU limitation, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution changes rather than plateauing at a CPU-imposed ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks at position 862 out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall. This places the system in the top 23.2% of all combinations tested, which is a strong result given the game's age and the hardware's capabilities. The ranking reflects the GPU's 81st percentile standing among all GPUs and the CPU's 90th percentile among all CPUs, creating a balanced pairing that performs well above the median.

The rank of 862 out of 3716 indicates that while this combo is not at the absolute top of the charts, it outperforms the vast majority of tested systems. The data shows that the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 puts it in the same performance class as the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, 0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.4% delta), while slightly trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, -1.3% delta). This positioning explains why the 4K Ultra preset falls just short of 60 FPS, as the GPU is performing at a level that is competitive but not top-tier for the most demanding settings.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 58 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The highest playable setting at 4K is High, which maintains 93 FPS average.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers 94 FPS average, which is the highest quality setting that remains above 60 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 312 FPS at 1920x1080 to 139 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 55.4% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 131 FPS to 58 FPS, a 55.7% reduction.

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

A: The GPU is the primary factor. The consistent scaling between resolutions and presets, with frame rates dropping by roughly 55-58% from 1080p to 4K regardless of settings, indicates that the RTX 4070 is the bottleneck, not the Core Ultra 5 245.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded in the benchmarks?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 97 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The minimums for other settings are 155 FPS at 1440p Medium and 217 FPS at 1080p Medium.

Q: Does this combo support high refresh rate displays at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset produces 131 FPS average, while High settings reach 210 FPS and Low settings reach 312 FPS, all of which are sufficient for 120Hz or 144Hz displays.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in benchmark scores provide insight into what other processors would deliver similar performance in this system. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G has an average score of 49196, which is 0.4% lower than the Core Ultra 5 245's 48995, indicating nearly identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, just 0.5% higher, while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, 0.6% lower. The Intel Core i5-14600K is the most notable rival, scoring 48618, which is 0.8% lower than the Ultra 5 245. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning that swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would produce effectively identical frame rates in Downfall, as the game is GPU-bound.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4070's 37648, making it the closest match in raw benchmark terms. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, 0.4% lower, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157, 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher than the RTX 4070. These differences are small enough that any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical results in Downfall, with the RTX 4080 Mobile potentially offering a marginal improvement in the 4K Ultra preset, though it would still likely fall short of 60 FPS given the 1.3% performance delta.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS average is High, which delivers 93 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution produces 58 FPS and is therefore not playable according to the 60 FPS threshold. The Low and Medium presets also remain playable, with 139 FPS and 114 FPS respectively, but High offers the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, and the Ultra preset delivers 94 FPS average, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual fidelity. This provides a significant buffer above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes. The High preset at 150 FPS and Medium at 182 FPS are also viable options for users who prioritize higher frame rates over visual quality.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, producing 131 FPS average. This is more than double the playable threshold and indicates that the system has substantial headroom at this resolution. The data shows that even the most demanding settings at 1080p do not come close to challenging this hardware combination, making it an excellent choice for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.