Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a formidable 4K gaming experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a clear ceiling at the highest visual preset. This combination sits at rank 862 out of 3716 tested combos for this title, placing it comfortably in the top quarter of systems. The RTX 4070, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, proves to be the primary driver of performance, while the 24-core, 24-thread Ultra 9 290K ensures the CPU never becomes a bottleneck at these frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that maintains an average of 60 FPS or higher is High, which delivers an average of 93 FPS. While the Ultra preset is technically playable, it dips to an average of 58 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The data indicates that High settings are the sweet spot for 4K, offering a substantial 35 FPS advantage over Ultra while still providing a visually rich experience.

For 2560x1440 (1440p), the system can handle the absolute maximum. The Ultra preset runs at an average of 94 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS floor. This makes 1440p the resolution where the combo fully unlocks its potential, allowing users to max out every graphical option without compromise. The frame rate headroom here is significant, with the Ultra preset still leaving 34 FPS of buffer before hitting the playability limit.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the story is one of overwhelming performance. The Ultra preset achieves an average of 131 FPS, making it the clear choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The system is so capable at this resolution that even the most demanding settings produce frame rates that are more than double the 60 FPS target, indicating that the bottleneck has shifted entirely to the display's refresh rate rather than the hardware.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Downfall at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, at 4K the combo runs High settings at an average of 93 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it averages 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Ultra preset is entirely playable at 2560x1440, with an average of 94 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS mark at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4070 scores an average benchmark of 37648, which is 1.3% lower than the RTX 4080 Mobile's average score of 38135. This indicates nearly identical performance in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor in this game?

A: No. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has a multithread score of 60860 in PassMark and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731. Its performance is 1.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 9135 and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, showing it is a top-tier processor that will not bottleneck the GPU in this title.

Q: What is the average frame rate on Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system produces an average of 256 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 217 and 294 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the GPU support modern graphics APIs required for this game?

A: Yes, the RTX 4070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, ensuring full compatibility with modern game engines and rendering techniques.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the performance scales predictably with preset quality. The Low preset yields an average of 139 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and suggests the game is not particularly demanding at lower settings. Medium settings reduce the average to 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 131 FPS. High settings bring the average down to 93 FPS. The Ultra preset is the outlier, with an average of 58 FPS, representing a dramatic 37.6% drop from High settings, indicating a significant jump in rendering complexity at the highest preset.

For 2560x1440, the frame rates are consistently high across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 223 FPS. Medium settings average 182 FPS, with a range between 155 and 210 FPS. High settings yield 150 FPS on average. The Ultra preset still manages an impressive 94 FPS average, demonstrating that the RTX 4070 has ample headroom at this resolution. The gap between High and Ultra is 56 FPS, which is substantial but still leaves the Ultra preset in a highly playable range.

At 1920x1080, the system approaches the limits of typical display refresh rates. Low settings hit an average of 312 FPS. Medium settings average 256 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 217 and 294 FPS. High settings deliver 210 FPS on average. Ultra settings produce 131 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is nearly linear, with the 1080p Ultra preset offering 39.4% more performance than the 1440p Ultra preset, confirming that the GPU is the primary performance arbiter.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 862 out of 3716 tested combinations for Downfall, placing it in the 76.8th percentile of all systems tested. This is a strong showing, indicating that this hardware configuration outperforms roughly three-quarters of the other combos in the database. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where the RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs is complemented by the Ultra 9 290K's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The data shows that the GPU is the more limiting component, as its relative ranking is lower than the CPU's, suggesting that users looking for more performance in this title should prioritize a GPU upgrade over a CPU upgrade. With 3,716 total combos tested, being in the top 862 places means this system is well equipped for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and solid 4K performance, but it is not in the top tier of absolute performance, which would require a more powerful graphics card.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is the closest CPU rival, with an average benchmark score of 83807 compared to the 290K's 84003, a negligible 0.2% difference. In practical terms, these two processors are interchangeable for gaming, and users would see no measurable difference in Downfall performance. The AMD EPYC 4584PX and AMD EPYC 9135 are also within 1.1% and 1.2% of the 290K's score, respectively, though these are server-class chips with different platform requirements. The AMD EPYC 7F72 actually scores 1.3% higher, but again, this is a server part. For the GPU, the NVIDIA Tesla P4 is nearly identical in average score (37628 vs 37648, 0.1% difference), but it is a data-center card without display outputs. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% faster, though the mobile variant will have different power characteristics. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% slower. For a desktop gaming build, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K would behave essentially identically to the 290K, and any of these GPU alternatives would produce frame rates within a few percentage points of the RTX 4070 in Downfall.

The Verdict

This system is a capable 4K gaming machine for Downfall, with the data clearly showing it can handle the game at High settings with an average of 93 FPS at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset at 4K is not viable, falling just short of the 60 FPS threshold with an average of 58 FPS. At 2560x1440, the verdict is unequivocal: all presets, including Ultra, clear 60 FPS, with the Ultra preset achieving 94 FPS. For 1920x1080, the system is overkill, delivering 131 FPS on Ultra settings, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate display. The practical advice is to play at 4K High for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, or to step down to 1440p Ultra if maximum graphical settings are a priority. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for this title, and the CPU's massive multi-core performance ensures smooth frame pacing. This is a well-rounded combo that excels at 1440p and handles 4K with a modest settings adjustment.