Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second tell a clear story about where this combo's bottleneck sits. Moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 with identical settings produces a dramatic, consistent drop in performance across every preset, which is the signature of a GPU-limited workload. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 140.4 FPS at 1080p to 100.2 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 62.3 FPS at 4K. That is a 55.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve that indicates the RTX 2070 SUPER is carrying the load almost entirely on its own.

The scaling pattern holds across all presets. At Low settings, the drop is from 211.1 FPS at 1080p down to 150.5 FPS at 1440p, then 93.7 FPS at 4K. Medium settings go from 173.2 FPS at 1080p to 122.6 FPS at 1440p to 74.9 FPS at 4K. Even Ultra, which starts at a playable 87.6 FPS at 1080p, collapses to 66 FPS at 1440p and then 38.5 FPS at 4K. The uniformity of these drops—roughly a 30% penalty moving from 1080p to 1440p, then another 35-40% moving to 4K—confirms that pixel count, not scene complexity, is the dominant variable.

At 1080p, the high frame rates suggest the CPU still has headroom; the Core i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads are not being overtaxed at the lower resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 123.5 FPS, which shows the GPU is still the limiting factor even at the lowest pixel count. If the CPU were the bottleneck, that spread would narrow considerably. The data indicates this is a pairing where the Turing-based GPU runs out of steam at 4K Ultra, but the processor remains a capable partner throughout the resolution range.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific configuration—the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER—ranks 1054 out of 1741 tested combos for Downfall. That places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings, which is a meaningful verdict given the hardware involved. The combo sits in roughly the 39th percentile of tested systems, meaning a majority of combinations deliver higher frame rates in this horror title.

The ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual components. The CPU alone holds the 77th percentile against all processors in the database, while the GPU sits at the 65th percentile against all graphics cards. Yet when combined specifically for Downfall, the pair underperforms what those individual scores might suggest. This discrepancy points to the game's engine characteristics: Downfall appears to reward configurations with stronger GPU headroom at higher resolutions, and the RTX 2070 SUPER's position in the GPU hierarchy—just below the average of its nearest rivals—limits the overall combo.

Context from the nearest rivals reinforces this view. The CPU's closest competitor, the Intel Core i7-9700, has an average benchmark score of 19831, a mere 0.1% difference from the i5-12400's 19850. The i7-8700 scores 19894, effectively identical at -0.2%. These are statistical ties, so the processor choice is not what drags the combo down. On the GPU side, the RTX 2070 SUPER's 22206 average score is 0.5% below the NVIDIA RTX A400's 22307, and 2.3% below the RTX 4060 Mobile's 22729. It is also 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700's 21670. The GPU is mid-pack among its peers, which explains why the combo lands where it does.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K Ultra. The boost clock of 1770 MHz, paired with a base clock of 1605 MHz, provides the raw throughput that drives those 1080p frame rates north of 200 FPS on Low settings.

The GPU's compute resources are substantial for its generation. The 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines combine for a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput of 9.062 TFLOPS is the number that matters for this game's rendering workload. At 4K Ultra, the card simply runs out of fill rate and shader capacity, dropping to 38.5 FPS. The transition from 1440p Ultra at 66 FPS to 4K Ultra at 38.5 FPS is a 41.7% loss, a steep cliff that indicates the 8 GB VRAM buffer and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated.

The ray tracing and tensor cores—40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores respectively—do not appear to provide a measurable benefit in this title based on the frame rate data. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compliance mean it is architecturally modern, but the benchmark results show a GPU that is competitive at 1080p and 1440p, playable at 4K on lower presets, and insufficient for 4K Ultra. The 12 nm process node and 13,600 million transistors on a 545 mm² die represent a design that was already near its limits when this game was released.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can this combo achieve at 1080p on High settings?

A: The measured average is 140.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and indicates smooth gameplay for a horror title where consistent motion is important.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only on lower presets. At 3840x2160, Low settings deliver 93.7 FPS, Medium delivers 74.9 FPS, and High delivers 62.3 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 38.5 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The card's average benchmark score of 22206 is 0.5% below the NVIDIA RTX A400's 22307, 2.3% below the RTX 4060 Mobile's 22729, and 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5700's 21670. It also beats the GTX TITAN Z's 22006 by 0.9%.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The Core i5-12400's 19850 average benchmark score is statistically tied with its nearest rivals—the i7-9700 at 19831 and the i7-8700 at 19894. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a GPU-limited pattern, so the processor is not the constraint.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Downfall?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 on High settings delivers 100.2 FPS, which balances visual quality with a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium settings stay above 60 FPS.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and does it matter here?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The steep performance drop at 4K Ultra—down to 38.5 FPS from 66 FPS at 1440p Ultra—suggests the memory subsystem is a limiting factor at the highest resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides the processing foundation for this combo, and its characteristics are well-suited to the demands of Downfall. The processor features six physical cores and twelve threads via Hyper-Threading, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosting up to 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The 65 W TDP keeps thermal demands modest, but the performance data shows the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game.

Benchmark results place the i5-12400 at the 77th percentile against all CPUs, with an average score of 19850. Its single-thread performance is strong—the 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249 indicate solid per-core throughput, which matters for a horror game that likely has a primary simulation thread. Multi-threaded performance is equally robust: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 15935, and the 3dmark max-thread score of 5890 shows the twelve threads scale well under load.

The CPU's nearest rivals confirm it is performing at the expected level for its class. The i7-9700 scores 19831, a 0.1% difference; the i7-8700 scores 19894, a -0.2% difference; and the i5-11600K scores 19771, a 0.4% difference. None of these deltas exceed 0.4%, meaning the i5-12400 is effectively interchangeable with these processors in terms of average benchmark performance. The memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with dual-channel memory buses, gives system builders flexibility that does not appear to affect this game's frame rates significantly.

At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 211.1 FPS, and even at 1440p Low it maintains 150.5 FPS. These numbers would not be achievable if the CPU were creating a bottleneck. The processor's PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes ensures the GPU has a high-bandwidth connection, although the RTX 2070 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16, which is fully compatible. The i5-12400's integrated UHD Graphics 730 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU installed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this combo, and the recommendation depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, but the sweet spot is High settings at 140.4 FPS. This delivers a substantial improvement over Medium's 173.2 FPS? No—High is lower than Medium. The data shows Medium at 173.2 FPS and High at 140.4 FPS, so Medium offers a 32.8 FPS advantage while likely looking slightly worse. For competitive or fast-paced play, Medium at 173.2 FPS is the better choice; for visual fidelity, High at 140.4 FPS still clears 120 FPS easily. Ultra at 87.6 FPS is acceptable but not ideal for high-refresh displays.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. High settings produce 100.2 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. Medium at 122.6 FPS is the alternative if frame rate is prioritized, while Ultra at 66 FPS is borderline—playable but with less headroom. Low at 150.5 FPS is unnecessary unless the user has a 144 Hz or higher refresh monitor. For most users, High is the clear winner at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the options narrow considerably. High settings at 62.3 FPS barely clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it the maximum viable preset. Medium at 74.9 FPS provides a safer margin, while Low at 93.7 FPS is the smooth option for 4K. Ultra at 38.5 FPS should be avoided entirely; the visual upgrade does not justify the frame rate collapse. The recommendation for 4K is Medium as the default, with High only if the user can tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS. Low is reserved for those who prioritize frame rate stability above all else at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate table for Downfall with this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080, Low settings average 211.1 FPS, Medium averages 173.2 FPS, High averages 140.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 87.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 123.5 FPS, showing a wide performance range across presets.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 150.5 FPS, Medium averages 122.6 FPS, High averages 100.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each preset is consistent: Low falls by 60.6 FPS, Medium by 50.6 FPS, High by 40.2 FPS, and Ultra by 21.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 93.7 FPS, Medium averages 74.9 FPS, High averages 62.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 38.5 FPS. The 4K results show the GPU's limits clearly: Ultra falls below 40 FPS, making it the only preset at any resolution that drops below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows a predictable, monotonic decline as resolution and settings increase, with the steepest penalties occurring at 4K Ultra where the 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are exhausted.