Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B580

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B580 produces a fascinating benchmark profile in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly scales with both resolution and settings in ways that reveal the underlying hardware balance. Across the measured configurations, this combo delivers playable frame rates at most settings, but the data exposes a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions and a more balanced picture at 1080p. The combo ranks 2802nd out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which suggests that while this pairing handles the game adequately, it does not dominate the field. The measured FPS values range from a low of 34 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 185 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating a wide performance envelope that depends heavily on user choices.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 124 at 1920x1080 to 88 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36 FPS, and then falls further to 55 at 3840x2160, representing a 69 FPS total decline from the 1080p baseline. This translates to roughly a 56% performance loss when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is substantial and indicates that the Intel Arc B580's rendering capabilities are being heavily taxed by the pixel count increase.

The scaling pattern at Low settings is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low result of 185 FPS drops to 132 FPS at 1440p and then to 82 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 56%, matching the High setting decline almost exactly. This consistency across settings suggests that resolution scaling is independent of the graphics preset, which is a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the constraining factor here; otherwise, the scaling pattern would show diminishing returns at higher resolutions as the GPU becomes more saturated.

At Medium settings, the data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing additional insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 151 FPS with a minimum of 128 and maximum of 174, giving a spread of 46 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 108 FPS with a range of 92 to 124, a spread of 32 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 67 FPS with a range of 57 to 77, a spread of just 20 FPS. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent when the GPU is fully utilized, whereas at 1080p, the CPU or other system components may introduce more variability.

The Ultra setting shows the steepest drop-off. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 77 FPS, which falls to 55 FPS at 1440p and then to 34 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS is below the generally accepted 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and even the 1440p Ultra result of 55 FPS is marginal. The data suggests that Ultra settings at 4K are not viable for this combo in Downfall, while 1080p Ultra remains playable but not ideal. The resolution scaling at Ultra follows the same linear pattern as other settings, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 185, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this pairing, with the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B580 delivering well over triple-digit frame rates only at the lowest preset and resolution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 bottlenecking the Intel Arc B580 in Downfall?

A: The data indicates no significant CPU bottleneck. The resolution scaling pattern shows consistent frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, but instead it drops by roughly 56% from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K with acceptable performance?

A: At 4K, the measured results show 55 FPS at High, 67 FPS at Medium, and 82 FPS at Low settings. The Medium setting at 4K is the most balanced option, offering 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K is not recommended, as it produces only 34 FPS average.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which places it 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330. It is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F. These are marginal differences, indicating the i5-12400 sits in a tightly contested performance tier.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2802nd out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the 75th percentile of the database. This means roughly three-quarters of tested combos perform better, but the pairing still delivers playable frame rates at most settings and resolutions.

Q: Does the Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM provide enough memory for Downfall?

A: The measured results show no indication of VRAM-related performance degradation, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution. The 12 GB GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for this game, even at 4K Ultra, where the performance drop is attributable to raw GPU compute rather than memory capacity.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of performance in Downfall, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions. The GPU's specifications include a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 13.67 TFLOPS. The memory configuration features 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities are the limiting factor at 4K. The difference between 1080p Low (185 FPS) and 4K Low (82 FPS) represents a 103 FPS drop, which cannot be attributed to CPU limitations given the i5-12400's performance. The GPU's 80 ROPs are likely the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as fill-rate-intensive operations scale directly with pixel count. The 20 ray tracing cores are present but not directly relevant to this non-RT horror title, and the 2560 shaders handle the traditional rasterization workload.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. The PassMark G3D score of 15748 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% faster), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.7% faster). These rival comparisons suggest the B580 delivers performance in the range of previous-generation high-end GPUs, which aligns with the measured FPS results in Downfall. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS is respectable for a 190 W TDP part, and the 5 nm TSMC process allows for efficient operation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2802 out of 3716 tested combinations places it in the bottom quartile of the database. This ranking reflects the overall performance of the pairing relative to all other CPU-GPU combinations tested in Downfall. The percentile placement suggests that while the i5-12400 and Arc B580 can produce playable frame rates, many other combinations achieve higher performance. The CPU's percentile of 72 among all CPUs is notably higher than the combo's overall rank, indicating that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD EPYC 7643, Intel Core i7-1355U, AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, and Intel Core i3-14100F, all of which score within 1% of the i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18683. This tight clustering suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's ranking. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, have similar average benchmark scores, but the B580's 68th percentile ranking among GPUs is more modest than the CPU's 72nd percentile.

The large number of combos (3716) in the database means that the rank of 2802 represents a significant portion of the performance distribution. This suggests that for Downfall specifically, the combination of a mid-range 6-core CPU with a mid-range GPU does not produce exceptional results. The game's 2016 release date may favor older, lower-resolution workloads, but the measured 4K results indicate that modern hardware can still be challenged by this title at high settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data supports specific settings recommendations based on resolution targets. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, but Medium offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. The Medium preset delivers 151 FPS average with a minimum of 128 FPS, which exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate of many monitors. High settings at 1080p produce 124 FPS, which is still excellent, while Ultra drops to 77 FPS — playable but with less headroom. Low settings at 1080p reach 185 FPS, which is unnecessary for most displays.

At 2560x1440, the Medium setting is the clear winner. The average of 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS provides smooth gameplay on 144 Hz displays, while High settings at 88 FPS are also acceptable. The Ultra setting at 1440p produces 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided for competitive play. Low settings at 1440p reach 132 FPS, which is viable for high-refresh-rate gaming but sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the choice narrows considerably. The Medium setting delivers 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS, which is the only 4K option that maintains playable frame rates. High settings at 4K produce 55 FPS, which is borderline, while Low settings at 82 FPS offer the smoothest experience but with significant visual compromises. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 34 FPS average falls well below playability standards. For 4K users, Medium is the optimal choice, providing a 67 FPS average that balances visual quality with performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 185 FPS average, Medium produces 151 FPS average with a range of 128 to 174, High produces 124 FPS average, and Ultra produces 77 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 108 FPS, indicating that settings have a substantial impact on performance. The Medium setting's range of 128 to 174 FPS shows variability of 46 FPS, which suggests some frame pacing inconsistency at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the measured values are: Low at 132 FPS, Medium at 108 FPS average with a range of 92 to 124, High at 88 FPS, and Ultra at 55 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 77 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The Medium range of 92 to 124 FPS shows a spread of 32 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 82 FPS, Medium at 67 FPS average with a range of 57 to 77, High at 55 FPS, and Ultra at 34 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 4K is 48 FPS, which is the smallest of all three resolutions, reinforcing that the GPU is heavily saturated at 4K. The Medium range of 57 to 77 FPS shows a spread of 20 FPS, indicating more consistent frame pacing when the GPU is fully loaded. The minimum FPS of 57 at 4K Medium is close to the 60 FPS target, suggesting that this setting is at the edge of comfortable playability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications suggest it is more than adequate for Downfall. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this Alder Lake-S processor offers strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for game logic, while the dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support ensures sufficient memory bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15989 multi-core and 2257 single-core, while Geekbench shows 8564 multi-core and 1848 single-core. The PassMark multithread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 further confirm its balanced performance. The 3DMark scores range from 910 single-thread to 5890 max-threads, showing good scaling across thread counts. These scores place the CPU in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, as the resolution scaling patterns do not indicate CPU limitation. However, the 1080p Low result of 185 FPS suggests the CPU can feed the GPU at high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 and max-thread score of 5890 indicate that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is consistent, which is important for modern games that utilize multiple cores. The 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node also suggest efficient operation, though these factors do not directly impact gaming performance metrics.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database — the AMD EPYC 7643, Intel Core i7-1355U, AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, and Intel Core i3-14100F — all score within 1% of the i5-12400. This indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's performance; the GPU's capabilities are the determining factor in Downfall's measured frame rates. The i5-12400's strong single-threaded performance (910 in 3DMark single-thread) ensures that even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU is most likely to be challenged, the frame rates remain high at 185 FPS.