Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a remarkably consistent 1080p experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a sharp drop-off as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the combo is clearly GPU-bound at higher presets, yet the scaling from Low to Ultra shows the CPU is not the limiting factor even at the lowest settings. Moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low, average FPS falls from 192 to 84.9, a reduction of about 56%. The gap narrows proportionally at higher settings: High drops from 128.2 to 55.2 (a 57% loss), Medium from 154.9 to 71.8 (a 54% loss), and Ultra from 80.7 to 36.2 (a 55% loss). This consistent ~55% scaling penalty across all presets strongly indicates the RTX 3060 Ti’s memory bandwidth and rasterization throughput become the bottleneck at 4K, rather than any CPU constraint.

The 1440p results confirm this pattern. At 2560x1440, Low settings hit 134.3 FPS, Medium 111.9, High 90.1, and Ultra 57.8. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 30% performance at every preset, which is typical for a GPU that relies on its 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 80 ROPs. The 4K Ultra figure of 36.2 FPS is the only sub-60 result in the entire dataset, making it clear that this combination is not designed for maxed-out 4K gaming in Downfall. Benchmark results indicate that players targeting 60 FPS should avoid 4K Ultra entirely, as even 4K High (55.2) falls short, while 4K Medium (71.8) provides a viable path to smooth gameplay at the cost of some visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake-S processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 nm process node place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 19221. In Downfall, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations; the data shows it handles this effortlessly. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 192 FPS, which is far beyond what the RTX 3060 Ti can sustain at higher settings. This suggests the i5-12400F is not a bottleneck even in the most CPU-light scenario tested.

Synthetic benchmarks reinforce this. The processor scores 16518 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2332 in single-core, with a 3DMark max-thread score of 5912. Compared to its nearest rivals, it sits within a tight band: it is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-8700K and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%. This clustering means the i5-12400F delivers essentially identical CPU-bound performance to those parts in Downfall, and the measured FPS differences across resolutions are almost entirely attributable to the GPU. For a horror title like Downfall, which relies on consistent frame pacing rather than massive core counts, the 6-core / 12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost is more than adequate.

The lack of a significant FPS increase when dropping from High to Low at 1080p (128.2 vs 192) further proves that the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU’s pixel throughput is. Players should not expect any CPU upgrade to improve frame rates in this game with this GPU, as the data shows the i5-12400F is already delivering headroom above the GPU’s capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, High settings offer 128.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for higher refresh rates. Medium settings bump that to 154.9 FPS, and Low reaches 192 FPS, but the visual degradation in a horror game is often not worth the extra frames. Ultra at 1080p drops to 80.7 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 37% performance penalty over High for what is typically marginal visual improvement in this genre. For most players, High at 1080p is the sweet spot: it maintains a high frame rate while preserving the atmospheric details that matter in horror.

At 1440p, High delivers 90.1 FPS, which is excellent for a 1440p monitor. Medium is also viable at 111.9 FPS, but High offers a better balance of quality and speed. Ultra at 1440p (57.8 FPS) is borderline, dipping below 60 FPS, so it is only recommended for players who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness and have a VRR display. At 4K, the recommendation flips: Medium (71.8 FPS) is the only preset that consistently clears 60 FPS, making it the default choice for 4K owners. High at 4K (55.2) is playable but not ideal, while Ultra (36.2) should be avoided unless the player accepts a slideshow-like experience. Low at 4K (84.9) is technically smooth but sacrifices the game’s horror atmosphere.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1266 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all configurations. That ranking is respectable but not elite, reflecting the RTX 3060 Ti’s position in the GPU hierarchy. The GPU itself scores in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120, while the CPU sits in the 77th percentile. The combo’s ranking is dragged down by the GPU’s mid-range status, as the CPU has more headroom than the GPU can use.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3060 Ti is nearly identical in average score: it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6700M by 0.2%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon 890M by 0.5%, while edging out the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP by 0.7%. This means that swapping the 3060 Ti for any of those cards would yield virtually identical FPS in Downfall, assuming the CPU remains the same. The combo rank of 1266 suggests that roughly 27% of tested configurations perform better, which is consistent with the 3060 Ti’s 69th percentile GPU ranking. For a horror game that is not particularly demanding, this combo sits in the upper-middle tier, capable of high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p, but not designed for 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is an Ampere-based GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 1665 MHz, and it features 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The GPU’s 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are the key metrics for Downfall, a title that relies on texture detail and lighting effects. The data shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p Low, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling.

At 1080p, the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to push High settings to 128.2 FPS, but Ultra drops to 80.7 FPS, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are stressed by the highest preset. At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become stark: Ultra averages 36.2 FPS, and even Low only reaches 84.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is particularly telling, as it aligns with the GPU’s pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s being overwhelmed by the 3840x2160 resolution’s 8.3 million pixels per frame. The GPU’s passmark G3D score of 20349 and DirectX 12 score of 78 place it well below top-tier cards, and its 69th percentile ranking reflects its mid-range status.

The RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM is not directly measured in the FPS data, but the sharp drop from 4K Medium (71.8) to 4K High (55.2) suggests that the High preset’s texture requirements exceed the available memory bandwidth, causing a 23% performance hit. For Downfall, the GPU is the clear limiting component at 1440p and 4K, and players should tune settings to keep the GPU’s workload manageable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 192 FPS, Medium 154.9 FPS, High 128.2 FPS, and Ultra 80.7 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 26.7 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 47.5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a disproportionately heavy load. At 2560x1440, Low hits 134.3 FPS, Medium 111.9 FPS, High 90.1 FPS, and Ultra 57.8 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% across all presets, confirming the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 84.9 FPS, Medium 71.8 FPS, High 55.2 FPS, and Ultra 36.2 FPS. The 4K to 1440p scaling is steep, with 4K Low losing 49.4 FPS compared to 1440p Low, and 4K Ultra losing 21.6 FPS compared to 1440p Ultra. The only preset that maintains a playable 60+ FPS at 4K is Medium, which delivers 71.8 FPS. High and Ultra both fall below 60, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay. Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 3060 Ti is a strong 1080p and capable 1440p card, but 4K requires significant settings compromises to stay above 60 FPS.