Downfall

Resolution Scaling

Downfall’s frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a classic shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers exceptionally high raw throughput. The Low preset averages 367 FPS, while Medium and High reach 300.2 FPS and 248.9 FPS respectively. Even the demanding Ultra preset holds 152 FPS. These numbers indicate the system is largely CPU-limited at 1080p; the GPU has ample headroom, and the processor’s 6 cores and 12 threads are doing the heavy lifting to feed frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings drop to 263.2 FPS, a reduction of 103.8 FPS from 1080p. Medium falls to 213.9 FPS, and High to 178.2 FPS. The Ultra preset, which was already demanding, drops to 108.5 FPS. The consistency of the drop across all settings—roughly 28% lower at 1440p compared to 1080p for each preset—signals that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the increased pixel count at 1440p starts to tax the shading units and ROPs more heavily.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. High settings deliver 106.5 FPS, which is still playable, but the drop from 1440p is steep: 71.7 FPS lower. Medium at 4K yields 132.6 FPS, while Low hits 165.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, collapses to 70.9 FPS. This 4K Ultra result is telling—it is less than half of the 1080p Ultra score (152 FPS). The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being fully utilized at 4K, especially with the heavier shading and texture workloads present in Ultra settings. The CPU’s role diminishes as resolution climbs; the i5-12400’s 4.40 GHz boost clock is more than adequate to keep pace at 4K, where pixel throughput dominates.

The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot where the balance between CPU and GPU workload is most even. At 1080p, the CPU’s 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and passmark single-thread score of 3456 suggest it can push high frame rates, but the GPU is not fully stressed. At 4K, the GPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs is tested, and the results show it can still handle the game well, but the Ultra preset clearly requires more than the card’s 80 ROPs can deliver at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset is the most sensible starting point. At 1080p, it produces 248.9 FPS, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates. At 1440p, High averages 178.2 FPS, still excellent for high-refresh monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains 106.5 FPS, which is comfortable for 60 Hz displays and playable on 120 Hz panels. The jump from High to Ultra is where the cost becomes severe: at 4K, Ultra drops to 70.9 FPS, a 35.6 FPS loss (33% lower) for what is typically a marginal visual improvement in a horror title like Downfall.

The Medium preset offers a more conservative alternative, particularly for 4K. It delivers 132.6 FPS at 4K, 213.9 FPS at 1440p, and 300.2 FPS at 1080p. This preset is ideal for players who prioritize frame rate stability over maximum fidelity. The Low preset, while hitting 367 FPS at 1080p and 165.9 FPS at 4K, sacrifices too much visual detail for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting for tension. The benchmark data suggests that Low is unnecessary for this hardware combination except for extreme competitive play, which is atypical for the horror genre.

The Ultra preset is only advisable at 1080p, where it holds 152 FPS. At 1440p, the 108.5 FPS average is borderline for high-refresh gaming, and at 4K, the 70.9 FPS result introduces noticeable frame pacing issues in a game where smooth motion is critical for immersion. Given that the RTX 4070 Ti sits at the 85th percentile of all GPUs and the i5-12400 at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, the data supports using High as the default. It avoids the steep performance cliff of Ultra while retaining the visual features that matter most in Downfall’s dark environments.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the average FPS is 106.5, which is playable. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 70.9 FPS. For a stable 60 FPS experience, High is recommended; for 120 Hz displays, Medium at 132.6 FPS is the safer choice.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests it is the limiting factor at 1080p Low, where the system produces 367 FPS. The GPU’s raw power (40.09 TFLOPS) is not fully utilized at that resolution, as indicated by the steep drop to 263.2 FPS at 1440p. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, along with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, cap the maximum frame rate.

Q: How much performance is lost by moving from 1440p to 4K?

A: The loss varies by preset. On High, the drop is from 178.2 FPS to 106.5 FPS, a reduction of 71.7 FPS (40%). On Low, it drops from 263.2 FPS to 165.9 FPS, a reduction of 97.3 FPS (37%). The GPU workload scales significantly with pixel count.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset in Downfall?

A: Only at 1080p, where it averages 152 FPS. At 1440p, the 108.5 FPS result may be acceptable for some, but at 4K, the 70.9 FPS average is a significant compromise. The High preset offers a better balance of fidelity and performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and High settings at 1440p?

A: Low produces 263.2 FPS, while High produces 178.2 FPS. The difference is 85 FPS, meaning High is 32% slower. This gap is consistent with the increased shading and texture work required by higher settings.

Q: Is this GPU powerful enough for future horror titles?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti ranks in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44900. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, is only 0.6% faster, indicating it holds up well. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is a solid foundation for current and near-future releases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 367 FPS. Medium reaches 300.2 FPS, and High achieves 248.9 FPS. The Ultra preset pulls 152 FPS. These figures demonstrate that at 1080p, the combination is rarely constrained by the GPU; the CPU’s single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 910) and multi-thread capability (3dmark max-threads score of 5890) are the primary drivers.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop consistently. Low yields 263.2 FPS, Medium produces 213.9 FPS, and High delivers 178.2 FPS. Ultra falls to 108.5 FPS. The pattern shows a roughly 28-30% decrease from 1080p across all settings, which is a typical GPU-bound scaling curve. The RTX 4070 Ti’s pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are being utilized more heavily here.

At 3840x2160, the results are substantially lower. Low averages 165.9 FPS, Medium hits 132.6 FPS, and High manages 106.5 FPS. Ultra drops to 70.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 95 FPS, indicating that the visual effects in Ultra (likely shadows, reflections, and post-processing) have a multiplicative effect on the GPU’s workload. The 4K results align with the GPU’s 85th percentile rank, showing it is a strong but not top-tier performer.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions. Its chip, AD104, built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, contains 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The card’s 7680 shading units and 240 TMUs handle the bulk of the pixel and texture work in Downfall. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s data demands at 4K, as evidenced by the playable frame rates.

The clock speeds are notable: a base of 2310 MHz and a boost of 2610 MHz. The 21 Gbps effective memory speed helps maintain high throughput. In benchmark terms, the GPU scores 31624 in passmark g3d and 18396 in passmark gpu_compute. Its average benchmark score of 44900 places it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, is 0.6% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro 580 is 1.6% slower. This suggests the RTX 4070 Ti is well-positioned for demanding titles.

The GPU’s role in Downfall is most apparent in the Ultra preset at 4K. The 70.9 FPS result is a stark contrast to the 367 FPS at 1080p Low. This indicates that the card’s 80 ROPs and 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are the limiting factors at 4K Ultra. The card’s 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are not directly referenced in the measured FPS data, but they contribute to the overall feature set. The 285 W TDP and suggested 600 W PSU are consistent with a high-performance card that requires adequate power delivery.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 serves as the supporting actor, but its performance is critical at lower resolutions. This 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S family has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast access to game data. The CPU’s 3dmark results are telling: a single-thread score of 910 and a max-threads score of 5890. In cinebench r23, it scores 2249 single-core and 15935 multi-core. These figures place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU’s bottleneck is evident at 1080p Low, where the system hits 367 FPS. This is a CPU-limited scenario; the GPU is not being fully utilized. At 1440p and 4K, the frame rates drop, but the CPU keeps pace. The i5-12400’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (0.2% slower). This shows it is competitive with older higher-tier chips, despite having fewer cores than some.

The processor’s role in Downfall is less about raw multi-threaded grunt and more about maintaining high single-thread throughput. The game’s engine, being a 2016 horror title, likely relies more on single-threaded performance for game logic and AI. The i5-12400’s 4.40 GHz boost clock and strong single-core cinebench r23 score of 2249 ensure that it does not hold back the RTX 4070 Ti at 1080p and 1440p. However, at 1080p Low, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the data shows the GPU could theoretically push higher frames if the CPU allowed. The passmark single-thread score of 3456 reinforces this, indicating a capable but not exceptional single-thread performer.