Downfall

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1689th out of 1741 tested combinations for Downfall. This places the combo in the bottom 3% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's modest standing in the broader hardware landscape. The GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 8713 is statistically indistinguishable from its nearest rivals — the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, AMD Radeon 550X, and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 all fall within a 0.5% delta. The CPU, by contrast, performs far better relative to its own field, ranking in the 75th percentile with an average score of 17181. This mismatch between the two components suggests the graphics card is the limiting factor in demanding scenarios, a hypothesis the measured frame rates strongly support.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1689 out of 1741 is a clear signal that this system is positioned near the entry level for this horror title. With only 52 combinations performing worse, the data indicates that most tested systems deliver higher average frame rates. The GPU's percentile ranking of 43rd among all graphics cards aligns with this bottom-tier placement. It is importantly the CPU's percentile of 75th is far more respectable, meaning the processor is not the primary constraint in this pairing. The delta between the component rankings creates an interesting dynamic: while the i5-11400F has headroom to drive a stronger GPU, the GTX 1650 caps the system's overall capability. In practice, this means the combo's rank is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card's performance envelope, not the CPU's computational power.

GPU Role

The GTX 1650 brings 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. For a horror game like Downfall, which often relies on atmospheric textures and lighting effects, this memory configuration is workable but not generous. The GPU's base clock runs at 1485 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz, and its 896 shading units process graphics data at a peak FP32 rate of 2.984 TFLOPS. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s, figures that explain the measured performance ceilings. The card's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are adequate for modern titles, but the 4 GB frame buffer becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows a stark drop from 88.4 FPS at 1080p Low to 19.9 FPS at 4K Ultra, a pattern that points directly to the GPU struggling with memory and shading demands as resolution and quality scale upward.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a predictable yet steep decline as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable results across most settings: 88.4 FPS on Low, 75.4 on Medium, and 59.7 on High, with Ultra dropping to 36.3. Moving to 1440p, those numbers fall to 64.1, 55.9, and 42.5 respectively, with Ultra at 29.9. The jump to 4K is punishing — High settings yield just 26.2 FPS, Medium 34, Low 38.8, and Ultra a mere 19.9. The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K shows a roughly 55-65% reduction in frame rate across comparable settings, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, running from a 2.60 GHz base to a 4.40 GHz boost, are not the limiting factor here; the consistent FPS drops track the GPU's rendering load rather than any CPU bottleneck. The fact that Low settings at 4K (38.8 FPS) barely surpass Medium at 1440p (55.9 FPS) underscores how resolution stress overwhelms the GTX 1650's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain smooth gameplay?

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where all settings stay above 36 FPS, with Low and Medium hitting 88.4 and 75.4 FPS respectively. At 1440p, only Low (64.1) and Medium (55.9) remain in a comfortable range, while 4K never exceeds 38.8 FPS even on Low.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i5-11400F ranks in the 75th percentile among CPUs with a strong multithreaded score of 14372 in Cinebench R23, while the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K align with GPU rendering load, indicating the graphics card is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 8713 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4% delta), AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4%), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8761, -0.5%). The Quadro P2200 is 0.5% slower. These differences are negligible in practice.

Q: What settings should be avoided at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings should be avoided at 1440p, as the measured average of 29.9 FPS falls below playable thresholds. High settings at 42.5 FPS are marginal, while Medium at 55.9 offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Does the 4 GB VRAM limit performance in this game?

A: Yes, the 4 GB GDDR5 memory appears to be a constraint at higher resolutions. The steep FPS drop from 1440p Medium (55.9) to 4K Medium (34) — a 39% reduction — is consistent with memory bandwidth saturation, as the 128.1 GB/s bandwidth struggles to feed the frame buffer at 4K.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS in Downfall?

A: Only at 1080p on Low (88.4 FPS) or Medium (75.4 FPS). High settings at 1080p fall just short at 59.7 FPS. At 1440p, no setting reaches 60 FPS, with Low being the closest at 64.1 but Medium dropping to 55.9.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the measured data points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot. This setting delivers 75.4 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold while providing better visual fidelity than Low. High settings at 1080p are nearly as good — 59.7 FPS — and may be preferable for those prioritizing image quality over a few extra frames. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended choice at 55.9 FPS, as it offers a playable frame rate without the visual compromises of Low. Ultra settings should be avoided at any resolution above 1080p; the 1440p Ultra result of 29.9 FPS and 4K Ultra of 19.9 FPS are not viable for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that pushing beyond Medium at higher resolutions yields diminishing returns, as the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth become overwhelmed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz can boost up to 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, placing it in the 75th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, Intel Core i7-1260P, and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U — all score within 0.2% of the i5-11400F's average of 17181, indicating the processor is competitive with modern mid-range options. In Downfall, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as the measured FPS scaling follows resolution and settings changes rather than CPU load variations. The 12 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and game logic, but the GTX 1650's 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the ceiling that defines overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured dataset offers a clear picture of the combo's capabilities across twelve configurations. At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 88.4 FPS, Medium 75.4, High 59.7, and Ultra 36.3. Moving to 2560x1440, the results drop to: Low 64.1, Medium 55.9, High 42.5, and Ultra 29.9. At 3840x2160, the performance falls further: Low 38.8, Medium 34, High 26.2, and Ultra 19.9. The gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases — a 52.1 FPS difference at 1080p, 34.2 at 1440p, and 18.9 at 4K. This narrowing delta suggests that at higher resolutions, even Low settings stress the GPU enough to approach its limits, leaving less room for quality scaling to impact performance. The 1080p Low result of 88.4 FPS is the only configuration that approaches the GPU's theoretical peak, while 4K Ultra at 19.9 FPS represents the absolute floor of playability. These numbers paint a portrait of a system that excels at 1080p gaming but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, making resolution choice the single most important factor in the user experience.