Downfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER places at rank 1063 out of 1741 tested combinations for Downfall, landing in the 61st percentile of all combos. This is a mid-pack position, indicating a system that delivers competent but not class-leading performance in this horror title. The processor itself sits at the 72nd percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU occupies the 65th percentile, suggesting both components are moderately above average for their respective categories.

The CPU's aggregate benchmark score of 13516 places it nearly neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534 — a negligible 0.1% difference. It also edges out the Intel Core i7-1250U by 0.4% and the Intel Core i3-10105 by 0.6%, while leading the Intel Core i7-7700K by a more substantial 1.8%. This positioning reveals that despite being a budget-oriented 4-core part, the i3-12100F's Alder Lake architecture delivers performance that rivals much higher-tier processors from previous generations.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 places it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% but leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%. These narrow margins demonstrate that the GPU is well-positioned among its contemporaries, though the 12 nm Turing architecture shows its age against newer offerings.

For Downfall specifically, the measured FPS data reveals a system capable of delivering playable frame rates across common resolutions, but with notable compromises at the highest settings. The combo's overall rank suggests that while neither component is exceptional individually, their combination creates a balanced platform for this horror title, which appears to favor GPU throughput given the substantial performance drops at Ultra settings across all resolutions.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Downfall provides clear guidance on optimal settings across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 207.4 FPS, which far exceeds any display refresh rate requirement. The Medium preset still provides 171.4 FPS, while High achieves 140.6 FPS — all comfortably above 120 FPS for high-refresh displays. Even Ultra maintains 86.1 FPS, which remains playable for most users.

At 2560x1440, the performance picture shifts slightly. Low delivers 149 FPS, Medium drops to 122.8 FPS, and High manages 103.8 FPS — all still above 60 FPS. Ultra falls to 60.7 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay but technically playable. For 1440p users prioritizing visual fidelity with responsive gameplay, High presents the best balance, offering nearly double the Ultra frame rate with only a moderate visual compromise.

The 3840x2160 results show the most dramatic scaling. Low achieves 91.5 FPS, Medium drops to 79.9 FPS, and High falls to 60.5 FPS — all playable for 4K gaming. Ultra, however, plummets to 41.6 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS threshold most gamers consider the minimum for smooth play. At 4K resolution, High provides the best experience per the measured data, maintaining playability without the steep performance penalty of Ultra.

For the optimal experience, the data suggests matching settings to display capabilities: Ultra at 1080p, High at 1440p, and High at 4K. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates, likely sacrifices too much visual detail for a horror game where atmosphere matters.

# FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Downfall?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F with RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1063rd out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configs benchmarked for this game.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: All three tested resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) can achieve over 60 FPS at High settings. The only configuration that falls below 60 FPS is 3840x2160 at Ultra, which averages 41.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i3-12100F scores 13516 on average benchmarks, trailing the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX by just 0.1% and leading the Intel Core i7-1250U by 0.4%, the Intel Core i3-10105 by 0.6%, and the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark positioning relative to similar cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER's average score of 22206 places it 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400, 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K, Low settings deliver 91.5 FPS, Medium achieves 79.9 FPS, and High reaches 60.5 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 41.6 FPS, which may not be acceptable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 103.8 FPS compared to Ultra's 60.7 FPS — a 71% improvement in average frame rate.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 207.4 FPS, Medium yields 171.4 FPS, High reaches 140.6 FPS, and Ultra maintains 86.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a predictable degradation, with Ultra delivering 58.5% of Low's frame rate. This resolution clearly favors the system, with even the most demanding preset remaining well above playable thresholds.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance metrics shift downward but remain robust. Low averages 149 FPS, Medium achieves 122.8 FPS, High delivers 103.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60.7 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows compared to 1080p, with Ultra providing only 58.5% of Low's performance at this resolution as well. The 1440p results indicate that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this title at high settings.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Low settings deliver 91.5 FPS, Medium achieves 79.9 FPS, and High reaches 60.5 FPS — all still above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra, however, drops to 41.6 FPS, representing only 45.5% of the Low preset's performance. The 4K Ultra result suggests that the combination of the CPU's 4 cores and the GPU's Turing architecture struggles with the game's most demanding configuration at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, the pattern remains consistent: the step from High to Ultra incurs a significant penalty, while the step from Low to Medium is relatively modest. The data indicates that the game scales more aggressively with GPU load at higher resolutions, with 4K Ultra representing the only configuration that dips below playable frame rates.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant factor in Downfall's performance, as evidenced by the dramatic FPS variations across settings at each resolution. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for this horror title at all but the most demanding configurations. The memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective speed, and the card's 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units handle the game's visual effects.

The GPU operates with a base clock of 1605 MHz and boosts to 1770 MHz, delivering 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The Turing architecture includes 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, though Downfall's performance patterns suggest these features are not heavily utilized given the game's 2016 release date. The card's 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate and 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw throughput needed for the game's horror environments.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its PassMark G3D score of 18169 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 reflect solid DirectX 12 performance, while its Geekbench OpenCL score of 98316 and Vulkan score of 94918 indicate strong compute capabilities. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 151 and DirectX 12 score of 67 suggest better optimization for older APIs, which aligns with the game's 2016 release.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's 215 W TDP and dual-slot design with 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors indicate a power-hungry card, though the suggested 550 W PSU provides adequate headroom. The 267 mm length and 35 mm width require sufficient case clearance, while the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface does not bottleneck this generation of GPU. The card's 12 nm process from TSMC, with 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die, represents the mature Turing architecture that continues to deliver competitive performance in older titles like Downfall.