Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers extraordinary performance in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. Benchmark data shows this combination crushes the 60 FPS playable threshold at every resolution tested, with average frame rates ranging from 84 FPS at 4K Ultra to 452 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured results reveal a system with immense headroom, making it a top-tier choice for this game despite the GPU's modern architecture facing a title from a decade earlier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four quality presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 201 FPS, while Medium produces 164 FPS with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 189 FPS. High settings achieve 135 FPS average, and the demanding Ultra preset still holds a robust 84 FPS average. Notably, the Ultra preset has no recorded minimum or maximum values, but the average alone confirms it stays far above the playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates scale dramatically upward. The Low preset reaches an extraordinary 323 FPS average, while Medium hits 264 FPS with a range of 225 to 304 FPS. High settings produce 217 FPS average, and Ultra maintains 135 FPS average. The jump from 4K to 1440p shows roughly a 60% improvement in average FPS across most presets, indicating the GPU has significant untapped headroom at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the performance becomes almost excessive for a horror game. Low settings average 452 FPS, Medium averages 370 FPS with a minimum of 314 FPS and maximum of 425 FPS, High averages 303 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 190 FPS average. The 1080p Medium preset's minimum of 314 FPS is higher than the 4K Ultra average of 84 FPS, highlighting how resolution dominates the performance envelope here.

The scaling pattern between resolutions is consistent: dropping from 4K to 1440p improves FPS by roughly 60%, and dropping from 1440p to 1080p improves it by another 40-50%. This linear scaling suggests the RTX 5090 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU begins to play a more significant role.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals an interesting dynamic between the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the RTX 5090. At 4K resolution, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as evidenced by the dramatic FPS drop when moving from 1440p to 4K on the same preset. For example, Ultra settings fall from 135 FPS at 1440p to 84 FPS at 4K, a 38% reduction that directly correlates with the 2.25x increase in pixel count.

At 1440p, the balance shifts slightly. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads, with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, begin to matter more, but the GPU still dominates. The fact that Low preset at 1440p reaches 323 FPS while the same preset at 4K reaches 201 FPS shows that pixel throughput remains the primary constraint even at lower quality settings.

At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced. The jump from 1440p Low (323 FPS) to 1080p Low (452 FPS) is only 40%, whereas the same resolution change at Ultra yields a 41% improvement (135 to 190 FPS). This diminishing scaling suggests the CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, starts to cap frame rates in the 400-450 FPS range.

The RTX 5090's massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are overkill for this game, but they ensure zero memory-related stutters even at 4K Ultra. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate feeding for the GPU, though the data implies that at 1080p, the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4394 is the more relevant metric.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 84 FPS. This provides a 40% safety margin above the playable threshold, making it the clear choice for 4K gaming. The High preset at 135 FPS and Medium at 164 FPS offer alternatives for higher refresh rates, but Ultra's 84 FPS is already well within playable territory.

For 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, averaging 135 FPS. This represents a 125% margin above 60 FPS, giving ample room for demanding scenes or future patches. The data shows no reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution, as even the minimum recorded FPS on Medium (225 FPS) far exceeds what any 1440p monitor can display.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 190 FPS, making it the definitive best setting. This is more than triple the playable threshold, and even the most demanding moments would not drop below 60 FPS given the headroom. The fact that Ultra at 1080p (190 FPS) is still higher than Low at 4K (201 FPS) demonstrates that resolution matters more than quality settings for this hardware.

The verdict data confirms all playable settings include every preset at every resolution, but the "best settings" designation correctly identifies Ultra as the optimal choice across the board. This is a rare scenario where maximum quality and playability perfectly align.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, show how close the Core Ultra 5 245 sits to other processors. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, just 0.4% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, a 0.5% advantage. On the Intel side, the Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698 (0.6% lower) and the Core i5-14600K scores 48618 (0.8% lower). These deltaPct values are all within 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are surprisingly different hardware. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605, just 0.3% above the RTX 5090's average, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396 (0.6% higher). The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (1.1% higher) and the Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959 (1.4% lower). These deltaPct values suggest that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 is comparable to these professional and mobile parts, though in actual Downfall gaming, the 5090's gaming-specific features would likely differentiate it.

The tight clustering of these rival scores indicates that for this game, the CPU choice matters less than the GPU. A system with any of these four CPUs paired with the RTX 5090 would deliver nearly identical FPS, as the GPU is the dominant factor at all resolutions tested.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Downfall? The answer is a definitive yes, with exceptional headroom. The verdict data shows that at 3840x2160, all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 84 FPS — the lowest recorded average across all tests, yet still 40% above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 135 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra reaches 190 FPS.

The playable settings list confirms that every resolution and every preset combination clears 60 FPS. There is no scenario where this hardware dips below playable performance. The RTX 5090's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs position this combo in the top tier of tested hardware.

The data suggests this system is not just playable but overkill for Downfall. At 1080p, the 452 FPS Low preset and 370 FPS Medium preset exceed the refresh rate of virtually all consumer monitors, meaning users would need a 360Hz or higher display to fully utilize the hardware. Even at 4K Ultra, the 84 FPS average is suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K displays.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3,716 tested combinations in the benchmark database, this pairing of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 63rd. This places it in the top 1.7% of all tested combos for Downfall. The rank is particularly impressive given that many higher-ranked combinations likely feature even more powerful CPUs paired with the same RTX 5090.

The 63rd rank out of 3,716 means there are 62 combinations that perform better, but these are almost certainly systems with flagship CPUs like the Ryzen 9 9950X or Core Ultra 9 285K. The Core Ultra 5 245's 14 cores and 14 threads, while sufficient for gaming, may slightly bottleneck the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions where CPU overhead becomes more significant.

This ranking in the 98.3rd percentile of all combos indicates that users looking for top-tier Downfall performance should consider this pairing as a reference point. The gap between this combo and the top 62 is likely minimal in real-world gaming, especially at 4K where the GPU is the clear bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K resolution?

A: Ultra settings at 3840x2160 average 84 FPS, which is the most demanding preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: Does this system exceed 60 FPS at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 190. Low settings reach 452 FPS average, and Medium averages 370 FPS with a minimum of 314 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228 in average benchmarks, which is 0.5% higher than the Core Ultra 5 245's score. This difference is negligible and would not produce noticeable FPS changes in Downfall.

Q: What is the lowest recorded minimum FPS across all tests?

A: The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 140 FPS, which is the only recorded minimum value in the data. All other presets only have average FPS listed, but the 140 FPS minimum is still far above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the RTX 5090's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rival, the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, scores 79,605, just 0.3% higher.

Q: How many total combinations were tested for this game?

A: The benchmark database includes 3,716 tested combinations for Downfall. This specific CPU and GPU pairing ranks 63rd, placing it in the top 1.7% of all tested configurations.