Downfall

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination delivers a surprisingly broad range of performance in Downfall, spanning from a highly playable 157 FPS at 1080p Low to a borderline 29 FPS at 4K Ultra. This wide spread suggests a system where the balance between CPU and GPU shifts dramatically depending on the resolution and preset, making it a fascinating case study for how a 6-core, 12-thread processor from 2021 pairs with a 2016-era graphics card in a horror title. The data indicates that while the GTX 1070 remains the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, the i5-11400F’s strong single-threaded performance is more than adequate to keep frame rates high when the graphical load is reduced.

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

The progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, with frame rates falling at a steep, consistent rate. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 105 at 1920x1080 to 75 at 2560x1440, a 28.6% reduction, and then plunges further to 47 at 3840x2160, a 37.3% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern is typical of a graphics card that is being pushed to its limits, as the number of pixels being rendered quadruples from 1080p to 4K, placing an exponentially larger burden on the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are clearly being saturated at the higher resolutions, causing the performance to scale almost linearly with pixel count rather than being held back by the CPU.

When the preset is lowered to Medium, the same trend holds, but the absolute frame rates are higher, indicating that the GPU is still the limiting factor. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 128 FPS, which drops to 92 at 1440p and 57 at 4K. The percentage drops between resolutions are 28.1% and 38.0% respectively, nearly identical to the High preset scaling. This consistency suggests that the graphical settings are primarily affecting the GPU’s workload without shifting the bottleneck to the processor. The i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears more than capable of feeding the GTX 1070 at these frame rates, as the CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution.

The Low preset, however, tells a slightly different story. Here, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with 157 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.7%, and from 1440p to 4K it is 37.5%. While the relative scaling is similar, the absolute numbers suggest that at 1080p Low, the CPU might be starting to approach its limits. The 157 FPS average is a high bar for any processor to maintain, and while the i5-11400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps, it is possible that the frame rate is no longer purely GPU-limited at this configuration. The fact that the 4K Low result of 70 FPS is still higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 66 FPS reinforces that the GPU is the dominant constraint across most of the tested range.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the workhorse of this combination, and its specifications directly explain the observed performance ceiling. With a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, the Pascal-based GP104 chip provides a solid foundation for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, running at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yields a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. This is sufficient for the texture and geometry data in Downfall, but the 4K results suggest that the memory bandwidth and the GPU’s raw compute power (6.463 TFLOPS FP32) are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at that resolution.

The data shows a clear hierarchy in settings at each resolution, with the Ultra preset being particularly punishing. At 4K Ultra, the GPU produces an average of only 29 FPS, which is a 50% drop from the Medium preset’s 57 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra settings likely enable effects that heavily tax the shader units and memory subsystem, such as high-resolution shadows, ambient occlusion, and post-processing filters. The GTX 1070’s 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs are being overwhelmed. In contrast, the Low preset at 4K achieves 70 FPS, showing that when the GPU’s load is reduced, it can still deliver playable performance even at 2160p, though the visual fidelity is significantly compromised.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in a modest position, with a percentile rank of 47 versus all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD FirePro W5000 (avg score 9803, -0.2% delta) and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (avg score 9832, -0.5% delta), are professional workstation cards with similar average scores, but they are not designed for gaming. This context suggests that the GTX 1070 is an older, mid-range consumer card that is being outclassed by modern hardware, but it still holds its own in a game like Downfall when settings are managed appropriately. The 47th percentile ranking means that over half of all GPUs in the database would outperform it, yet the measured FPS in this title remain respectable at lower resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Downfall with this combo for a smooth experience?*

A: The data suggests that 1920x1080 is the most consistent resolution, with average FPS ranging from 66 at Ultra to 157 at Low. At 2560x1440, the frame rates are still playable, with the High preset averaging 75 FPS, but 4K is only viable on the Low preset, which averages 70 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17120, which is a 0.3% delta, meaning the i5 is slightly faster. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, a -0.4% delta, making it marginally slower than the i5-11400F in this comparison.

Q: Is the GTX 1070 a bottleneck at 1080p with this processor?

A: At 1080p with High or Medium settings, the CPU is likely not the limiting factor, as the frame rates of 105 and 128 FPS respectively are high. However, at 1080p Low with 157 FPS, the CPU may be nearing its limit, as the GPU’s workload is reduced enough that the processor’s single-thread performance becomes more relevant.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 and maximum of 105. The Ultra preset averages only 47 FPS, which is a 48.9% reduction in performance, indicating that the Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?*

A: The combination ranks 3074 out of 3716 total tested combos in the game. This places it in the lower half of all systems tested, which is consistent with the GPU’s 47th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Q: Does the game show a large performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes, the gap is substantial. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 70 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 29 FPS. This 41 FPS difference represents a 58.6% drop in performance, confirming that the Ultra preset is far too demanding for this GPU at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 157 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 and a maximum of 147 FPS, showing good consistency. The High preset averages 105 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS. This demonstrates a smooth degradation from Low to Ultra, with a 57.9% drop from the lowest to the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset averages 112 FPS, which is still highly playable. The Medium preset averages 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105 FPS. The High preset averages 75 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 47 FPS. The transition from Low to Ultra at this resolution represents a 58.0% reduction in average FPS, mirroring the 1080p scaling but at lower absolute numbers.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly struggling. The Low preset manages an average of 70 FPS, which is surprisingly playable for 4K. The Medium preset averages 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 66 FPS. The High preset averages 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41 FPS, or a 58.6% drop, which is the largest absolute difference across all resolutions, highlighting the extreme demands of Ultra settings at 2160p.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds a rank of 3074 out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 17.3% of all systems tested, which is a stark indicator of its age and performance tier. The GPU’s percentile rank of 47 versus all GPUs, combined with the CPU’s percentile rank of 71 versus all CPUs, suggests that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor for this combo’s overall standing. The CPU is a relatively strong performer, sitting in the top 29% of all processors, but it is paired with a GPU that is only in the top 53%.

This rank implies that while the combo is capable of playing the game at lower resolutions and settings, it will be outclassed by the vast majority of modern systems. The 3716 total combos in the database likely include many with newer GPUs that have far higher average benchmark scores. The GTX 1070’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are all professional or older cards, such as the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (avg score 9724, 0.6% delta) and the AMD FirePro W5000 (avg score 9803, -0.2% delta), which are not intended for gaming and would likely perform worse in real-world game tests. This context reinforces that the combo’s low rank is driven by the GPU’s age rather than any deficiency in the CPU.

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

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides ample processing power for Downfall. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, along with a 12 MB shared L3 cache, ensure that it can handle the game’s logic, AI, and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios. The synthetic benchmark data supports this, with a single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark_single_thread and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024, indicating strong per-core performance. This is crucial for a horror game that may rely on single-threaded tasks for scripting and enemy behavior.

The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and Geekbench multi-core score of 7737. With 12 threads, it can efficiently distribute workloads across its cores, which is beneficial for modern games that utilize multiple threads for various systems. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 157 FPS average is high, but the CPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs implies that many processors could achieve even higher frame rates in this scenario. The fact that the frame rates scale so predictably with resolution and settings points to the GPU being the primary constraint.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (avg score 17120, 0.3% delta) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (avg score 17074, 0.6% delta). These are vastly different processors, with the EPYC being a server chip and the Ultra 7 being a low-power mobile part, yet their average scores are nearly identical. This highlights that the i5-11400F is a well-rounded desktop processor that offers balanced performance across various workloads, making it a suitable partner for a mid-range GPU like the GTX 1070.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s priority for visual quality versus frame rate smoothness. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset is the best balance, offering an average of 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS. This ensures a fluid experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while still providing better visual fidelity than the Low preset. The High preset, at 105 FPS, is also viable and offers improved graphics, but the drop to 66 FPS on Ultra makes that preset less desirable due to the potential for stutter in a horror game where smoothness is key.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again provides the most balanced experience, with an average of 92 FPS and a minimum of 78 FPS. This is smooth and playable, while the High preset at 75 FPS is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 47 FPS is too inconsistent for a game that may have sudden action sequences, and the Low preset at 112 FPS sacrifices too much visual detail for the extra performance. For 4K, the only sensible choice is the Low preset, which averages 70 FPS. The Medium preset at 57 FPS is borderline, and the High (47 FPS) and Ultra (29 FPS) presets are not recommended due to their low frame rates.

In summary, the data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combination at both 1080p and 1440p, providing high frame rates with a good balance of visual quality. At 4K, users must accept the Low preset to achieve a playable experience. The Ultra preset is only suitable for 1080p, where the 66 FPS average is still just above the playable threshold, but it is not recommended for any higher resolution. This guidance is based purely on the measured average and minimum FPS values, ensuring a consistent and enjoyable experience in Downfall.