Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Downfall, a horror title that clearly favors raw GPU throughput. The measured data reveals a combination capable of obliterating even the most demanding settings at 4K, while also exposing a significant CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that the optimal experience hinges on prioritizing visual fidelity at 4K, where the GPU is fully utilized, rather than chasing extreme frame rates at 1080p where the processor becomes the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Downfall shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves an average of 135 FPS, which is a substantial 51 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s 84 FPS. This gap is more than just a number; it represents the difference between a perfectly smooth, high-refresh-rate experience and one that, while still playable, dips below the threshold where motion clarity is optimal for a fast-paced horror game. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 164 FPS, which is 29 FPS higher than High, but the jump from Medium to High appears to offer diminishing returns in terms of frame rate cost versus the visual uplift.

For the best overall experience, the data strongly suggests using the High preset at 3840x2160. This configuration provides a 135 FPS average, which comfortably exceeds the 120Hz refresh rate common on many modern displays, and it does so while maintaining a higher level of visual fidelity than Medium. The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual quality, cuts performance by 51 FPS compared to High, a 37.8% reduction that is difficult to justify when High already delivers such a high frame rate. At 2560x1440, the High preset pushes the average to 217 FPS, but this resolution is less optimal for the RTX 5090 as the CPU begins to assert its influence.

The Low preset at 4K produces 201 FPS, but this is a poor trade-off as it sacrifices visual quality for a frame rate that is only 66 FPS higher than High. Given the horror genre's reliance on atmosphere and detail, the High preset at 4K is the clear winner. It provides the best balance of high fidelity and fluid motion, ensuring the game looks as good as it plays without the performance penalty of Ultra. For users with 1440p displays, the High preset is still the best choice, delivering 217 FPS, but the data implies that the GPU is not being fully exercised at this resolution.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo handle Downfall at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 84 FPS, which is playable. However, the High preset at the same resolution delivers 135 FPS, a 51 FPS improvement, suggesting that Ultra's additional visual strain is not worth the significant performance drop for most users.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 360 on Medium to 303 on High, a difference of 57 FPS. At 3840x2160, the drop is from 164 FPS on Medium to 135 FPS on High, a difference of 29 FPS. The data indicates the performance cost of High over Medium is more pronounced at lower resolutions.

*Q: Is this system CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Downfall?*

A: The data suggests it is heavily CPU-bound at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 387. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, it is 323 FPS. This relatively small drop when increasing resolution by 78% indicates the CPU is the limiting factor, as a GPU-bound scenario would show a much larger FPS decrease.

*Q: How does the RTX 5090's performance in Downfall compare to its direct rivals?*

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 79,842, which places it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. The data shows it is a top-tier performer, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the most demanding preset tested?

A: The Ultra preset is the most demanding. At 3840x2160, it yields an average of 84 FPS, which is the lowest average FPS recorded across all resolutions and settings in the measured data.

Q: Does the i5-12400 hold back the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The CPU's single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 2,257, and its 3DMark single-thread score is 910. These figures, combined with the FPS data, show that at 1080p, the CPU's processing power limits the frame rate, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 holds the rank of 129 out of 3,716 tested combos for Downfall. This places it in the top 3.5% of all configurations, indicating it is an exceptionally high-performing setup for this game. The rank confirms the sheer power of the RTX 5090, which can overcome the limitations of a mid-range CPU in many scenarios.

The CPU's own percentile rank is 72, meaning it performs better than 72% of all CPUs in the database. However, its average benchmark score of 18,683 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7643 which is only 0.1% slower, and the Intel Core i7-1355U which is 0.3% slower. This shows the i5-12400 is a solid, but not exceptional, processor. The high combo rank is therefore almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The data implies that while the CPU is not a weak link for most games, it is the component that will prevent this combo from achieving even higher rankings in CPU-intensive titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this combo scales across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-limited, with the Low preset producing an average of 387 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 360 FPS, with a minimum of 306 and a maximum of 414 FPS. The High preset drops to 303 FPS, while the Ultra preset bottoms out at 190 FPS. The 197 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution highlights the CPU's inability to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain higher frame rates as the graphical load increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show a more significant drop, indicating the GPU is starting to take on more work. The Low preset yields 323 FPS, a 64 FPS decrease from 1080p. Medium averages 264 FPS (min 225, max 304), High averages 217 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 188 FPS, which is slightly less than at 1080p, suggesting the bottleneck is shifting.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the frame rates scale more predictably with settings. The Low preset produces 201 FPS, Medium averages 164 FPS (min 140, max 189), High averages 135 FPS, and Ultra averages 84 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 117 FPS. This resolution is where the RTX 5090's power is most evident, as the performance drop from High to Ultra is substantial, demonstrating the extreme demand of the Ultra preset at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a complex scaling pattern that clearly identifies the limiting component at each resolution. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS on the High preset drops from 303 to 217, a 28.4% decrease. However, from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 217 to 135, a 37.8% decrease. This disproportionate drop at 4K is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

At 1080p, the data shows the CPU is the primary limiter. The 387 FPS on Low settings at 1080p vs. the 323 FPS at 1440p is a relatively small 16.5% decrease for a 78% increase in pixel count. If the GPU were the limit, this FPS drop would be much larger. Conversely, the jump from 1440p to 4K causes a much larger frame rate drop, which is the GPU becoming saturated. This analysis suggests that the i5-12400, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is unable to keep up with the RTX 5090's rendering capacity at lower resolutions, leaving performance on the table. For the best experience, the data indicates that 4K is the preferred resolution for this combo, as it allows the GPU to work harder and deliver a more balanced performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache is a key resource for gaming. The benchmark data shows a significant difference between its multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. For instance, its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 15,989, while its single-core score is 2,257. This gap is typical and expected.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is to process game logic, physics, and draw calls. The measured FPS at 1080p, particularly on Low settings where the GPU load is minimal, shows the CPU's maximum throughput in this game is around 387 FPS. The fact that the FPS does not scale proportionally with resolution at 1080p indicates that the CPU is the bottleneck. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,692 and the single-thread score of 910 suggest that the game may not be fully utilizing all 12 threads, but rather relying heavily on a few high-frequency cores. The CPU's percentile rank of 72 confirms it is a capable mid-range part, but it is clearly outclassed by the RTX 5090 in this specific title, where it prevents the system from reaching its full potential at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing. Its specifications are extraordinary, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 21,760 shading units and a boost clock of 2,407 MHz. Its compute capability is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. These figures place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is to handle rendering, textures, and post-processing effects. At 4K with the Ultra preset, the GPU is pushed to its limits, producing an average of 84 FPS. The fact that the GPU's performance is the limiting factor at 4K is clear from the scaling data. The GPU's immense power is the primary reason this combo ranks so highly, at 129 out of 3,716. Its ability to maintain 135 FPS at 4K High settings affirms its raw processing power. The data suggests that the RTX 5090 is a future-proof card that will be the star of any system, but it is often held back by less powerful CPUs, as seen in this pairing.