Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

This combination of an Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a top-tier experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that remains demanding at high settings. The pairing ranks 119th out of 1,741 tested combos, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations evaluated for this game. The CPU, which sits at the 77th percentile among all processors, and the GPU, at the 88th percentile among all graphics cards, combine to deliver frame rates that range from playable at maximum settings to exceptionally high at lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 119 out of 1,741 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems for Downfall. This positioning reflects a balanced pairing where neither component bottlenecks the other in most scenarios. The Intel Core i5-12400 achieves an average benchmark score of 19,850, which puts it within 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-9700 (19,831) and 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-8700 (19,894). It also leads the Intel Core i5-11600K (19,771) by 0.4% and trails the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (19,928) by just 0.4%. This clustering indicates that the CPU's performance is highly competitive with several older and even some higher-tier processors.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, meanwhile, posts an average benchmark score of 53,610, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53,414). It extends its lead to 2.1% over the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52,505) and 2.9% over the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52,086). These margins, while modest in percentage terms, translate into meaningful frame rate differences at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary determinant of performance.

In Downfall specifically, the combo's rank suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER is doing the heavy lifting, as the game's horror atmosphere relies heavily on lighting, shadows, and texture detail—all GPU-intensive features. The i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to feed the GPU without holding it back, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across different settings at each resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why. It comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is particularly relevant for Downfall, a game that can consume significant VRAM at high resolutions and detail settings. The 16 GB capacity ensures that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU does not run into memory constraints that would cause stuttering or texture pop-in.

The GPU's clock speeds—2,295 MHz base and 2,550 MHz boost—are relatively high for the Ada Lovelace architecture, and they contribute to the card's substantial compute capabilities. The RTX 4080 SUPER achieves 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, backed by 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation units. It also includes 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, though Downfall's 2016 release date means it likely does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS features that these cores enable. Instead, the raw rasterization throughput is what drives performance in this title.

The GPU's pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are critical for Downfall's visual fidelity. The game's horror aesthetic relies on detailed textures and complex lighting, both of which tax the texture and pixel processing units. The fact that the GPU holds the 88th percentile among all graphics cards underscores its capability to handle such workloads with authority.

At 1080p, the GPU is often underutilized because the CPU becomes the limiting factor, but at 1440p and especially 4K, the RTX 4080 SUPER's strengths come to the forefront. The measured frame rates reflect this shift, with the GPU's role expanding as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data for this combo reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 385.9 FPS, but this drops to 281.3 FPS at 1440p and 179.1 FPS at 4K—a reduction of 27.1% from 1080p to 1440p and 53.6% from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the CPU is capable of sustaining very high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU's workload grows substantially as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the scaling is similar but with slightly different proportions. The 1080p result of 264.4 FPS falls to 187.5 FPS at 1440p (a 29.1% decrease) and 116.4 FPS at 4K (a 56.0% decrease). The consistency of these percentages across settings suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at all resolutions above 1080p, with the CPU maintaining sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

The Ultra settings tell a more dramatic story. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 169.7 FPS, which is still highly playable, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 75.7 FPS—a 55.4% reduction. This is the only configuration where the frame rate approaches the threshold where gameplay smoothness could be compromised, though 75.7 FPS remains well above playable standards for most users.

The scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the limiting component in nearly all scenarios. The i5-12400's performance, as measured by its 3DMark scores (910 single-thread, 5,890 max-threads), is sufficient to drive frame rates well above what the GPU can render at higher resolutions. This is a well-balanced pairing for Downfall, where the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and high bandwidth are fully utilized at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 385.9 FPS, Medium settings yield 325.6 FPS, and High settings achieve 264.4 FPS. Even Ultra settings maintain a robust 169.7 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is heavily CPU-limited in some scenarios, as the i5-12400's single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and PassMark single-thread score of 3,456 cap the maximum achievable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show the GPU beginning to assert its influence. Low settings average 281.3 FPS, Medium settings drop to 231.8 FPS, and High settings produce 187.5 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p average 121 FPS, which is a significant step down from the 169.7 FPS at 1080p Ultra but still provides a smooth experience for a horror title where atmospheric tension matters more than raw refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities are fully tested. Low settings average 179.1 FPS, Medium settings achieve 144.8 FPS, and High settings produce 116.4 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 75.7 FPS, which represents the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls below the 100 FPS mark. This result is still well within the range of high-refresh-rate gaming, but it highlights the demands of Downfall's Ultra preset at 4K resolution.

The progression from 1080p to 4K at each setting reveals a consistent pattern: the frame rate drops by roughly half when moving from 1080p to 4K, regardless of quality preset. This linear scaling confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's contribution remains constant across the resolution range.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Downfall at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, it averages 75.7 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is playable, though it is the most demanding configuration tested. For higher frame rates at 4K, dropping to High settings yields 116.4 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400 scores 19,850 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 (19,831) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K (19,771). It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 (19,894) by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (19,928) by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53,610, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489) and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52,086). It ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Which component limits performance at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is often the limiting factor. Low settings produce 385.9 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that the GPU could likely exceed if the CPU allowed. The i5-12400's single-thread performance of 910 in 3DMark and 3,456 in PassMark single-thread tests caps the maximum achievable frame rate.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4080 SUPER have, and does it matter for Downfall?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 736.3 GB/s bandwidth. This is ample for Downfall at any resolution and setting, preventing memory-related stuttering even at 4K Ultra.

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

A: The combination ranks 119th out of 1,741 tested combos for Downfall, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations evaluated for this game.