Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the combo never dips below 48 FPS, indicating a robust baseline for a game that relies on atmosphere and sudden movement. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings but shows signs of CPU limitation at lower presets, making it a versatile performer that rewards users who understand its scaling behavior.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Downfall?*

A: The top result is 254.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the maximum measured output across the entire dataset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 48, which is the lowest measured result. This suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding scenario for this hardware.

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

A: The data indicates a shift: at 1080p Low, the system hits 254.9 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is the primary limiter, as the frame rate falls to 48 FPS despite the CPU having headroom.

Q: What is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 181.5 FPS while Ultra averages 78.6 FPS, representing a drop of over 102 FPS. This shows that the Ultra preset heavily taxes the GPU.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 772 out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database for Downfall.

Q: Is the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM a factor in this game’s results?

A: The data does not show any VRAM-related stutters or crashes, and the 8 GB capacity appears sufficient for all tested settings, as average FPS remains stable even at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable pattern of decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude varies by settings preset. At Low settings, moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces the average FPS from 254.9 to 181.5, a 28.8% drop. Scaling further to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 115.3, which is a 54.7% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep curve at Low settings suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions; instead, the GPU’s fill-rate and memory bandwidth are being pushed harder.

For the High preset, the drop from 1080p (175.1 FPS) to 1440p (125 FPS) is 28.6%, and then to 4K (78.8 FPS) is a 55% reduction. The consistency of these percentages across Low and High presets indicates that the game’s rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a 2016 title without ray tracing or heavy compute effects. The Ultra preset, however, behaves differently: from 1080p (110.5 FPS) to 1440p (78.6 FPS) there is a 28.9% drop, but the jump to 4K (48 FPS) represents a 56.6% reduction. This slight acceleration at 4K Ultra points to the GPU hitting a hard ceiling, likely due to the combination of high-resolution textures and post-processing effects.

The data implies that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is often operating above 120 FPS for most presets, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the results are playable but not competitive, with only the Low preset exceeding 100 FPS. The limiting component shifts clearly: at 1080p Low, the 254.9 FPS ceiling is likely imposed by the CPU’s single-thread performance, while at 4K Ultra, the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the decisive factors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, based on the GA104 chip with 5888 shading units and 96 ROPs, is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions. Its boost clock of 1725 MHz and memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) provide a theoretical bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer. In Downfall, the GPU’s role is most evident at 4K, where the average FPS for Ultra settings is 48, whereas the CPU could likely sustain higher if the GPU were not saturated. The 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 317.4 GTexel/s texture rate are ample for a game from 2016, but the Ultra preset’s demand at 3840x2160 exposes the GPU’s limits.

Comparing the RTX 3070 to its nearest rivals in the database, it sits within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (deltaPct 0.9) and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (deltaPct 1). This means that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 3070 is effectively tied with those cards, but in Downfall, the measured FPS suggests the 8 GB VRAM and modern architecture provide a tangible advantage in texture-heavy scenes. The GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores that it is a mid-to-high-tier part, but not a flagship, which aligns with the observed 4K Ultra performance.

The pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are balanced for 1440p gaming, where the High preset achieves 125 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 254.9 FPS Low result, which is likely limited by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls. The data suggests that for this game, the RTX 3070 is best utilized at 1440p, where it offers a wide margin above 60 FPS for all presets except Ultra, which still holds at 78.6 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. Low settings average 254.9 FPS, Medium averages 209.8 FPS, High averages 175.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 110.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 56.6% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the Ultra preset adds significant visual effects that cost performance. The gap between Medium and High is 34.7 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 64.6 FPS, making Ultra the most expensive step in terms of FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 181.5 FPS (Low), 147.7 FPS (Medium), 125 FPS (High), and 78.6 FPS (Ultra). The relative ordering remains the same, but the absolute differences shrink: the Low-to-Ultra gap is now 102.9 FPS. Interestingly, the Medium preset at 1440p (147.7 FPS) outperforms the High preset at 1080p (175.1 FPS) by a smaller margin than expected, showing that resolution scaling has a moderate impact on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 115.3 FPS (Low), 97 FPS (Medium), 78.8 FPS (High), and 48 FPS (Ultra). The Low-to-Ultra gap is 67.3 FPS, which is smaller than at 1440p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming saturated and the CPU has less influence. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that drops below 60 FPS, making it the least viable option for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K (97 FPS) is notably strong, offering a good balance between visual fidelity and frame rate.

Across all resolutions, the High preset consistently provides a stable experience, with 175.1 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 78.8 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the system can handle 4K High comfortably, but Ultra is reserved for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400, with 6 cores and 12 threads, has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provide adequate feeding for the RTX 3070. In Downfall, the CPU’s role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 254.9 FPS. This result is close to the CPU’s practical limit, as the 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and 2-thread score of 1692 suggest that the game’s main thread is heavily utilized.

Comparing the i5-12400 to its nearest rivals, it is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-9700 (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (deltaPct -0.2). The i5-12400 also outperforms the Intel Core i5-11600K by 0.4%. These small deltas imply that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game; any of these processors would yield similar frame rates at lower resolutions. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and single-core score of 2249 further indicate that the i5-12400 has ample headroom for most gaming scenarios, but the 254.9 FPS ceiling suggests that Downfall’s engine is single-thread limited.

At higher resolutions, the CPU’s impact diminishes. From 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops are consistent across settings, which points to the GPU as the bottleneck. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a solid mid-range part, but not a top-tier performer. For this game, the data implies that users with a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor will see the CPU’s limits, while those at 1440p or 4K will be GPU-bound.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, High averages 175.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for additional background tasks. At 1440p, High delivers 125 FPS, making it ideal for 120 Hz monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains 78.8 FPS, which is smooth for most players.

The Medium preset is a strong alternative for users who want higher frame rates without sacrificing too much detail. At 1440p, Medium achieves 147.7 FPS, which is a 22.7 FPS improvement over High. At 4K, Medium hits 97 FPS, a 18.2 FPS gain over High, making it the best option for 4K gaming if the user prefers a higher refresh rate. The Low preset should be avoided unless the user has a 240 Hz monitor at 1080p, as the 254.9 FPS result is only marginally useful in that scenario.

The Ultra preset is the least recommended, as it yields the largest performance penalty. At 1080p, Ultra drops to 110.5 FPS, which is a 36.9% reduction from High. At 1440p, Ultra falls to 78.6 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The visual difference between High and Ultra is likely not worth the frame rate cost, especially at higher resolutions.

For the best experience, the data suggests using High at 1440p, as it offers a 125 FPS average with a 78.6 FPS floor at Ultra. If the user prioritizes frame rate over visuals, Medium at 4K provides 97 FPS, which is a solid compromise.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combo ranks 772 out of 1741 tested configurations in Downfall, placing it in the 55.7th percentile of all combos. This rank is consistent with the hardware’s mid-to-high-tier positioning: the CPU sits in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. The rank suggests that this combo is slightly below the median of top-tier systems but well above entry-level builds.

The data shows that the combo’s performance is more limited by the GPU than the CPU at higher resolutions, as the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the weakest point. In comparison to the CPU’s nearest rivals (Intel Core i7-9700 and Intel Core i7-8700), the i5-12400 is virtually identical in synthetic benchmarks, meaning that the rank is mostly determined by the RTX 3070’s capabilities. The GPU’s proximity to the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (deltaPct 0.9) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (deltaPct 1) in benchmarks does not fully translate to Downfall, where the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and Ampere architecture provide a clear advantage in this specific title.

Overall, the combo ranks in the top half of the database, which is a solid result for a 1440p-focused gaming system. The measured FPS confirms that it can handle 4K at Medium settings comfortably, but the 772nd rank indicates that there are many faster combos available. For users with this hardware, the best performance is achieved at 1440p High, where it ranks well within the top tier of playable configurations.