Downfall

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D in Downfall presents a study in extreme component imbalance. The data shows a 14 nm Comet Lake six-core processor from 2020 driving a 5 nm Blackwell flagship from 2025, and the benchmark results are heavily skewed by which component is under load. At lower resolutions, the CPU’s age becomes apparent, while at 4K, the GPU’s immense power takes over. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets to determine where this combination excels and where it leaves performance on the table.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The processor features a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus, delivering 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. Its production status is listed as Active, and it was released in 2020, making it a previous-generation part relative to the GPU it is paired with here.

In synthetic benchmarks, the processor’s strengths and weaknesses are clear. Its single-thread performance is modest, scoring 688 points in the 3dMark single-thread test and 1451 points in Cinebench R23 single-core. Multi-threaded results are more respectable for its class, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 6257. The processor’s percentile ranking against all CPUs is 68, indicating it sits in the upper third of all tested processors. Interestingly, its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% lower), showing it is tightly clustered with a diverse set of chips.

The impact on Downfall is most visible at 1080p, where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 246 FPS, and with Low settings, it reaches 284 FPS. The gap between Low and High settings is 38 FPS, which is a relatively small margin. This suggests that even at Low settings, the processor is struggling to feed the GPU more frames, capping performance. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 2541 and its 3dMark 2-thread score of 1350 indicate that its per-core performance is not exceptional, which directly translates to a ceiling in this horror title when the resolution is low enough for the GPU to render frames quickly.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monolithic powerhouse, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It packs 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Memory is a defining feature: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, providing a staggering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The card has a TDP of 575 W and requires a 950 W power supply. Its launch MSRP is 2,299 USD.

In synthetic tests, the RTX 5090 D scores 44,065 in Passmark G3D and 310,674 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average score include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% lower) and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (2.4% lower), which is notable given those are mobile and data-center parts respectively, while this is a desktop flagship.

The GPU’s dominance in Downfall is most pronounced at 4K. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo delivers 144 FPS, and with Ultra settings, it still manages 90 FPS. The GPU’s massive memory bandwidth and 32 GB VRAM ensure that texture streaming and high-resolution rendering are not bottlenecks. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 124 FPS (214 vs 90), which shows the GPU is scaling its workload significantly with settings. However, the fact that the 4K High result (144 FPS) exactly matches the 1440p Ultra result (144 FPS) suggests that at 1440p Ultra, the CPU is already holding the GPU back from reaching its full potential, as the GPU should be capable of higher frame rates at the lower resolution.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows a clear trend: performance drops as resolution increases, but the rate of drop varies by settings preset. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 246 at 1080p to 220 at 1440p, a drop of 26 FPS (approximately 10.6%). From 1440p to 4K, it drops further to 144 FPS, a decrease of 76 FPS (approximately 34.5%). This steepening decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the rendering load increases significantly.

For Low settings, the pattern is different. At 1080p, the combo hits 284 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 254 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 214 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 70 FPS (approximately 24.6%), which is a smaller percentage than the High settings drop. This is because at Low settings, the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor at all resolutions. The GPU has less work to do, so it waits on the CPU to send draw calls. The fact that 4K Low (214 FPS) is higher than 4K High (144 FPS) confirms that the GPU is doing more work at High, but it also shows that even at 4K Low, the CPU is still able to push over 200 FPS, meaning it is not completely overwhelmed.

Medium settings show the most stable scaling. At 1080p, the average is 264 FPS, at 1440p it is 236 FPS, and at 4K it is 175 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium also scales well: 225 at 1080p, 201 at 1440p, and 149 at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset is the most balanced for this combo, as neither component is completely dominating the performance curve. The data indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, particularly on higher settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Core i5-10400F and RTX 5090 D achieves a combo rank of 221 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall. This places it in the top 7.5% of all tested combos, which is a strong showing considering the age of the CPU. However, the ranking is likely held back by the CPU’s performance in lower-resolution tests, where it cannot fully utilize the GPU’s power. The GPU’s percentile rank of 92 is significantly higher than the CPU’s percentile rank of 68, which suggests that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting in this pairing.

The high combo rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s extraordinary performance at 4K. If the ranking were based solely on 4K Ultra performance, this combo would likely rank much higher, as the 90 FPS average at 4K Ultra is a demanding workload that few GPUs can handle. However, at 1080p Low, the combo’s 284 FPS is impressive but not class-leading, as many newer CPUs paired with high-end GPUs can exceed that figure. The 221st rank out of 2928 combos indicates that while this is a fast combination, there are 220 other combos that are faster overall, likely featuring more modern processors that can better keep pace with the GPU at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The data suggests yes at lower resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 246 FPS, but at 1080p Low, it only gains 38 FPS to reach 284 FPS. This small gain indicates the CPU is limiting the frame rate, as a GPU-bound scenario would typically show a larger jump between Low and High settings.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this combo?

A: The data suggests 1440p is the sweet spot. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 220 FPS, which is only 26 FPS lower than 1080p High but offers significantly higher visual fidelity. At 4K High, the frame rate drops to 144 FPS, which is still excellent for a horror title.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D’s memory configuration impact performance?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This ensures that high-resolution textures and complex scenes in Downfall do not cause memory-related stutters, allowing the card to maintain high average frame rates even at 4K.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 214 on Low to 90 on Ultra, a difference of 124 FPS. This large gap shows that the Ultra preset imposes a substantial rendering load on the GPU, reducing performance by more than half.

Q: Is this combo better at 1080p or 4K?

A: The combo is relatively better at 4K. At 1080p, the CPU limits performance, as shown by the small FPS gains between settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, allowing it to stretch its legs. The 4K High result of 144 FPS is more competitive relative to other hardware than the 1080p result.

Q: How does the CPU’s synthetic score correlate with its in-game performance?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451 are moderate for a 2020 part. In-game, this translates to solid but not exceptional performance at 1080p, where the CPU’s 3dMark 2-thread score of 1350 becomes relevant, as Downfall likely relies on a few threads for game logic.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this hardware combination. For players targeting the highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 284 FPS, but this mode fails to utilize the GPU’s capabilities and will look dated. A better choice for competitive play is the Medium preset at 1080p, which offers 264 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS, providing a smoother experience with improved visuals over Low.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p is the recommended choice. It achieves 220 FPS average, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors, and the visual jump from 1080p to 1440p is substantial. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 144 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High for the performance cost.

At 4K, the High preset is the maximum recommended setting, as it delivers 144 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 90 FPS, which may be acceptable for a horror game where slower pacing is common, but the drop from 144 to 90 FPS is significant. The Medium preset at 4K offers 175 FPS, which is a strong middle ground for players who want high resolution without sacrificing too much speed. The data indicates that the Medium preset across all resolutions provides the most consistent frame times, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum FPS values (149 at 4K, 201 at 1440p, 225 at 1080p), suggesting it is the most stable configuration for this specific CPU-GPU pairing.