Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a formidable 1080p and 1440p experience in Downfall, though the data reveals a distinct shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the combo’s standing among 1,741 tested configurations, and answers key questions about the hardware pairing.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts up to 4.40 GHz, and it carries 18 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 1.25 MB of L2 per core. The CPU’s 3DMark scores—5,895 for 16 threads and 909 for single-thread—indicate a balanced throughput profile that scales well with multi-threaded workloads, though its single-thread performance is comparatively modest.

In Downfall, a Horror title from 2016, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 291.7 FPS, a figure that suggests the i5-12400F is comfortably feeding the RX 6800 XT without becoming a limiting factor. The processor’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16,518 and single-core score of 2,332 further contextualize its capability: it ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, placing it near the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (-0.7% delta). This proximity in average benchmark score (19,221 vs. 19,210 and 19,364, respectively) implies that the i5-12400F offers comparable compute headroom to those chips in gaming scenarios.

However, the data shows that CPU-bound scenarios are not where this combo struggles. The bottleneck appears more tied to the GPU’s performance ceiling, especially when settings are cranked to Ultra. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 122.4, a 58% reduction from the Low preset. This steep decline aligns with the GPU’s raw capability—20.74 TFLOPS FP32 and 288.0 GPixel/s pixel rate—but also indicates that the RX 6800 XT is being pushed harder, not that the CPU is failing to keep pace. The i5-12400F’s PassMark single-thread score of 3,481 and multithread score of 19,433 reinforce that it can sustain high frame rates without stuttering, provided the GPU isn’t saturated.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 582nd out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the upper third of all configurations. This rank reflects a pairing that is neither top-tier nor mid-pack; it’s a strong mid-to-high performer, but it doesn’t crack the elite tier reserved for the most powerful CPUs and GPUs.

Contextualizing the GPU’s own standing helps explain this. The RX 6800 XT sits in the 87th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49,982. Its nearest rivals—the Intel Arc A550M (0.5% delta), NVIDIA RTX A1000 (-1.7% delta), and NVIDIA CMP 50HX (1.9% delta)—show it’s competitive but not dominant. The CPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 77th percentile, meaning the combo’s overall rank is dragged down slightly by the processor’s relative position. Yet, the measured FPS data tells a more favorable story: at 1440p High, the combo delivers 141.2 FPS, and at 1080p High, 193.3 FPS, which are playable-to-smooth numbers for most gamers.

The rank of 582 out of 1,741 is also a function of the game’s age and optimization. Downfall released in 2016, and modern hardware like this pairing benefits from architectural improvements—the CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support (20 lanes) and the GPU’s PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensure data transfer is not a constraint. The combo outranks many configurations with newer CPUs or GPUs, but it falls short of those with top-tier silicon, such as a Ryzen 9 or RTX 4090, which would naturally occupy higher ranks. In essence, the rank reflects a balanced, capable setup that excels in high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming, but isn’t built to dominate 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: How does the i5-12400F perform relative to its closest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400F’s average benchmark score of 19,221 is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K (19,210, 0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i5-1335U (19,167, 0.3% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19,364) by -0.7% and leads the AMD EPYC 7773X (18,979) by 1.3%, indicating near-parity with its immediate competitors.

*Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Downfall, and how significant is that?*

A: The combo ranks 582nd out of 1,741 tested combinations. This places it in the top 33% of all configurations, reflecting a solid mid-to-high-tier pairing that outperforms the majority of setups, though it doesn’t approach the top 100.

Q: Does the RX 6800 XT’s performance hold up against its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6800 XT’s average score of 49,982 is 0.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A550M (49,737) and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49,071). It trails the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50,826) by -1.7% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (48,704) by 2.6%, showing it’s competitive with, but not clearly superior to, these alternatives.

Q: What kind of FPS can one expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 141.2. This is a smooth experience for most displays, and the jump to 167.5 FPS at Medium settings shows headroom for tweaking.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution or setting?

A: The data doesn’t indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 291.7 FPS, suggesting the CPU can drive high frame rates. The FPS drops at Ultra settings (e.g., 1080p Ultra at 122.4 FPS) are more attributable to GPU workload scaling than CPU limitations.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread capability?

A: The i5-12400F scores 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 5,895 in 16-thread tests, a ratio of about 6.5x. Its Cinebench R23 scores (2,332 single-core, 16,518 multi-core) show a similar scaling, indicating strong multi-threading for its 6-core/12-thread design.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for this combo in Downfall covers three resolutions and four settings tiers, providing a clear picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 291.7. Moving to Medium, it drops to 239.4 FPS, a 17.9% decrease. High settings yield 193.3 FPS, and Ultra brings the average down to 122.4 FPS, a 58% reduction from Low. These numbers indicate that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 1080p, with the CPU maintaining sufficient headroom.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute values. Low settings produce 209.4 FPS, which drops to 167.5 FPS at Medium (a 20% decrease). High settings average 141.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 88.8 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 57.6%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling, suggesting a consistent GPU-bound behavior.

At 3840x2160, 4K resolution, the combo’s limits become apparent. Low settings yield 129.9 FPS, Medium drops to 104.8 FPS, and High averages 86.6 FPS. Ultra settings produce just 51.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 60.5% reduction, the steepest of all resolutions, underscoring the GPU’s struggle at this tier.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Analyzing the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 291.7 (1080p) to 209.4 (1440p) to 129.9 (4K). This represents a 55.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the drop is from 193.3 to 141.2 to 86.6, a 55.2% reduction. At Ultra, the numbers go from 122.4 to 88.8 to 51.3, a 58.1% reduction.

The consistency across settings—roughly a 55-58% drop from 1080p to 4K—indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The RX 6800 XT’s 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB GDDR6 buffer are being taxed as pixel count increases, but the CPU’s performance remains stable. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we’d expect the FPS drop to be less severe at lower settings (where GPU load is lower), but the data shows a uniform scaling pattern.

This is further supported by the 4K Ultra result of 51.3 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. The GPU’s 20.74 TFLOPS and 128 ROPs are insufficient for fully maxed-out 4K in this title, while the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are not the constraint. At 1080p and 1440p, the combo excels, but 4K Ultra demands a more powerful GPU. The data suggests that for optimal 4K performance, one would need to drop to High or Medium settings, where 86.6 and 104.8 FPS are achievable, respectively.