Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The pairing of Intel's Core i5-11400F with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 D lands at rank 118 out of 2,928 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the top 4% of all configs measured for this horror title. That rank reflects a system capable of extreme frame rates across all resolutions, though the CPU-GPU balance reveals clear bottlenecks at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 118 out of 2,928 tested combinations puts it in the 96th percentile of all systems evaluated for Downfall. This is an exceptionally strong showing, driven almost entirely by the GPU's raw throughput. The RTX 5090 D sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs in the database, while the i5-11400F holds a more modest 71st percentile among all CPUs. The gap between those percentile positions explains why this combo excels in GPU-bound scenarios but leaves performance on the table when the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

Among the measured FPS rows, the system exceeds 200 frames per second in 8 of 12 configurations and never drops below 90 FPS in any tested setting. The rank reflects consistency as much as peak performance — there are no weak configurations in this dataset. However, the delta between the CPU's percentile and the GPU's percentile suggests the i5 is holding back the RTX 5090 D in certain conditions, particularly at 1080p with lower graphical presets where the CPU must feed frames faster than it can manage.

The nearest rivals for the CPU — the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher average score), Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% lower), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% higher) — all sit within a 1% band of the i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17,177. This tight clustering indicates the CPU is competitively positioned for its class, but none of those rivals approach the RTX 5090 D's performance tier.

CPU Role

The Core i5-11400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on Intel's Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process with a die size of 276 mm². Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 80 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, while PCIe Gen 4 provides 20 lanes from the CPU.

In Downfall, a horror game from 2016, the CPU's workload is moderate by modern standards. The i5-11400F's 3DMark scores show a single-thread result of 868 and a max-thread result of 5,652, indicating that multi-threaded performance scales well across its 12 threads. Cinebench R23 scores of 2,024 single-core and 14,340 multi-core confirm this pattern — the chip is capable but not exceptional for its generation.

The limiting factor emerges when examining the FPS data. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 333 FPS average, which is only 44 FPS higher than 1080p High (289 FPS). This relatively small gap between low and high settings at 1080p suggests the CPU is approaching its ceiling for frame generation. The PassMark single-thread score of 2,981 and multithread score of 16,908 indicate the CPU can sustain high frame rates, but the RTX 5090 D is capable of far more than the i5 can feed at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and end-of-life production status position it as a mainstream part, not a high-end enthusiast chip. Its 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,691 versus 8-thread score of 4,691 shows that performance scales reasonably across threads, but the single-thread ceiling of 868 in 3DMark is modest compared to the GPU's capabilities.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs produce 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s.

For Downfall, this GPU is overwhelmingly powerful. The measured FPS data confirms that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 90 FPS average, and at 4K High it reaches 144 FPS. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it well above the CPU's 71st percentile, and its average benchmark score of 77,712 dwarfs the CPU's 17,177. In the nearest rival comparison, the RTX 5090 D leads the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT by 1.1%, trails the RX 6850M XT by 1.6%, and sits 2.1-2.4% behind the Tesla P100 variants — though those rivals are not comparable in gaming performance.

The GPU's 32 GB VRAM is far beyond what Downfall requires, and its 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures no memory bottleneck at any resolution. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 reflect the GPU's raw capabilities, while PassMark G3D score of 44,065 confirms its dominance in DirectX workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 333 FPS average, Medium reaches 310 FPS with a minimum of 264 and maximum of 357, High yields 289 FPS, and Ultra drops to 202 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 131 FPS, indicating that graphical settings have a substantial impact even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a tighter grouping. Low produces 298 FPS, Medium achieves 277 FPS (minimum 236, maximum 319), High reaches 231 FPS, and Ultra falls to 144 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread here is 154 FPS, wider than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution increase while the CPU still holds steady.

At 3840x2160, the system continues to deliver playable frame rates across all settings. Low yields 214 FPS, Medium achieves 175 FPS (minimum 149, maximum 202), High reaches 144 FPS, and Ultra drops to 90 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 124 FPS, narrower than at 1440p but still significant.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently shows the largest gap between minimum and maximum FPS — 93 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. This variance suggests that Medium settings create more variable frame pacing than other presets, likely due to uneven workload distribution between CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the transition from 333 FPS at 1080p to 214 FPS at 4K represents a 35.7% decrease. At High settings, 289 FPS at 1080p drops to 144 FPS at 4K, a 50.2% decrease. Medium settings show a 43.5% drop from 310 to 175 FPS, while Ultra settings show a 55.4% drop from 202 to 90 FPS.

The pattern is telling. Low settings at 1080p produce 333 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given that the GPU could theoretically render far more frames. As resolution increases to 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 214 FPS — still very high, but the 119 FPS reduction indicates the GPU is now doing more work. The fact that 4K Low (214 FPS) is still higher than 1080p Ultra (202 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU has enormous headroom; the CPU is the constraint at lower resolutions and settings.

The Ultra preset scaling shows the clearest GPU-bound behavior. The drop from 202 FPS at 1080p to 144 FPS at 1440p to 90 FPS at 4K reflects a consistent 0.71x and 0.63x scaling factor per resolution step. This is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the CPU has enough throughput to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p with Low or Medium settings, the i5-11400F is the limiting component. At 4K with High or Ultra settings, the RTX 5090 D becomes the primary constraint, though it still delivers 144 FPS and 90 FPS respectively.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for high refresh rate gaming or 4K gaming?

A: It excels at both, but the data shows the strongest performance at 1080p where all settings exceed 200 FPS, while 4K Ultra still maintains 90 FPS. The system is capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions and smooth 4K gameplay at High settings (144 FPS).

Q: Which component limits performance in Downfall?

A: At 1080p and 1440p with Low or Medium settings, the CPU is the limiting factor — this is evident from the small FPS differences between settings at those resolutions. At 4K with High or Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as shown by the larger FPS drops between resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 leads the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT by 1.1% and trails the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.6%, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 2.1%, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 2.4%.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 200 FPS?

A: At 1080p, all settings except Ultra exceed 200 FPS (Low 333, Medium 310, High 289). At 1440p, Low (298) and Medium (277) exceed 200 FPS, while High (231) also crosses that threshold. At 4K, only Low (214) exceeds 200 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-11400F's average score of 17,177 is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17,120), 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-12450H (17,239), 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17,278), and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17,074).

Q: What is the FPS variance at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: Medium settings show the widest variance of any preset. At 1080p, the range is 264 to 357 FPS (93 FPS spread). At 1440p, the range is 236 to 319 FPS (83 FPS spread). At 4K, the range is 149 to 202 FPS (53 FPS spread).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium produces 310 FPS average with a minimum of 264 FPS — both figures comfortably above any refresh rate target. At 1440p, Medium delivers 277 FPS average with a 236 FPS minimum, still sufficient for the highest refresh rate monitors. At 4K, Medium achieves 175 FPS average with a 149 FPS minimum, which exceeds 144 Hz displays.

High settings are the recommended alternative for users prioritizing visual quality over raw frame rates. At 1080p, High yields 289 FPS, which is only 21 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p, High produces 231 FPS, a 46 FPS reduction from Medium. At 4K, High matches the 144 FPS threshold with exactly 144 FPS average, making it the highest settings preset that still hits this refresh rate target.

Ultra settings are only advisable for users with 1080p displays or those willing to accept lower frame rates. At 1080p, Ultra produces 202 FPS, which remains playable. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 144 FPS, matching the High preset's 4K performance. At 4K, Ultra yields 90 FPS, which is smooth but falls short of high refresh rate targets.

Low settings provide minimal benefit at 1080p (333 FPS vs 310 FPS for Medium, a 23 FPS gain) but offer the only path to 200+ FPS at 4K (214 FPS). Given the small FPS difference between Low and Medium at 1080p, Medium is the clear choice unless the user specifically targets the highest possible frame rates at 4K.