Downfall

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

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, using a 10nm process node. It carries a 2.50 GHz base clock and a 4.60 GHz boost clock, backed by 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 per core. With a 65W TDP, this is a mainstream desktop chip, and its benchmark footprint confirms it: in Cinebench R23 it scores 21,279 multi-core and 3,004 single-core, while Geekbench returns 10,971 multi-core and 2,301 single-core.

In Downfall, a horror title from 2016, the CPU's role is substantial but not dominant. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 262.3 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate across all tested settings and resolutions. That figure indicates the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with minimal bottleneck at lower graphical loads. The single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and 3,634 in PassMark single-thread tests point to strong per-core performance, which matters for a game engine that often relies on a handful of primary threads for scene logic and enemy AI.

The 16-thread capability shows in the multi-threaded benchmarks: 7,314 in 3DMark 16-thread, 8,937 in Cinebench R20, and 25,032 in PassMark multithread. These scores suggest the i5-13400F can handle background tasks and game threads simultaneously without choking. For Downfall, the data indicates the CPU is never the primary limiter at any resolution—even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 46.8, the constraint is far more likely the GPU's rendering load than the processor's compute capacity. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 25,236, places it in the upper tier of desktop chips, just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data for Downfall spans four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. The sweet spot for a smooth experience depends heavily on the target display. At 1080p, Medium delivers 215.4 FPS average, which is a 46.9 FPS drop from Low (262.3) but a substantial 103.7 FPS gain over High (174.9). For players with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, Medium at 1080p offers headroom above the refresh ceiling while retaining visual fidelity improvements over Low. High at 1080p still clears 174.9 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh displays, but Ultra drops to 111.7 FPS—still playable but a 37.7% reduction from Medium.

At 1440p, the picture shifts. Medium produces 154.2 FPS average, which is ideal for 144Hz panels; High trails at 122.6 FPS, still above 120 FPS for most gaming monitors. Low at 1440p reaches 188 FPS, indicating that even at this resolution, the GPU has ample headroom when settings are minimized. Ultra at 1440p falls to 79.1 FPS, which is a 48.7% drop from Medium—a steep penalty for marginal visual gains in a horror title where atmospheric lighting and shadows carry weight.

For 4K, the recommendations tighten. Medium yields 93.5 FPS average, which is above 60 FPS and suitable for smooth 4K play on standard 60Hz displays. High drops to 78.4 FPS, still comfortable. Low at 4K hits 115.7 FPS, suggesting that even at 4K, the combo can push beyond 100 FPS if settings are sacrificed. Ultra at 4K is the outlier: 46.8 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold and introduces noticeable judder. The data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra at 4K; Medium or High at 4K provides the best balance of frame rate and image quality. Overall, Medium is the recommended preset across all resolutions for this combo, as it consistently maintains high frame rates while offering a meaningful visual upgrade over Low.

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

The scaling pattern across resolutions reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the combo moves from 262.3 FPS at 1080p to 188 FPS at 1440p—a 28.3% drop—and then to 115.7 FPS at 4K, a 38.5% drop from 1440p. This progressive decline with each resolution step is classic GPU-bound behavior: the CPU maintains its frame delivery, but the Radeon RX 7700 XT must process increasingly larger pixel counts.

At Medium settings, the drops are similar in proportion: 215.4 FPS at 1080p, 154.2 FPS at 1440p (-28.4%), and 93.5 FPS at 4K (-39.4%). High settings show a slightly steeper descent: 174.9 FPS at 1080p, 122.6 FPS at 1440p (-29.9%), and 78.4 FPS at 4K (-36.1%). Ultra is the most punishing: 111.7 FPS at 1080p, 79.1 FPS at 1440p (-29.2%), and 46.8 FPS at 4K (-40.8%).

The consistency of these percentage drops—roughly 28-30% from 1080p to 1440p, then 36-41% from 1440p to 4K—points to a GPU that scales predictably with resolution. The i5-13400F's strong single-thread performance means it does not introduce variable frame pacing or CPU-side stutters as resolutions change. If the CPU were the limiter, the FPS would plateau or drop less steeply at higher resolutions, but the data shows no such plateau. The 4K Ultra result of 46.8 FPS is particularly telling: the GPU's compute resources are saturated, and the 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on the RX 7700 XT, with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, is likely being taxed by the high-resolution textures and effects at that preset. In summary, resolution scaling in Downfall is smooth and predictable, with the GPU as the clear limiting component at 4K and the CPU maintaining its end of the bargain throughout.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT lands at rank 741 out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the 57th percentile of all combinations—solidly in the upper half, but not among the elite. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-to-high tier positioning: the RX 7700 XT holds a 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30,097, and sits within 0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30,109) and 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29,969).

The CPU's contribution to this rank is respectable but not exceptional. The i5-13400F's 82nd percentile among CPUs and average score of 25,236 place it 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365) and 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25,201). In Downfall, the combo's rank suggests that while the CPU is capable, the GPU's 73rd percentile holds the combination back from higher placements. Combos ranked higher in this game likely feature stronger GPUs—either higher-tier RDNA 3 or RTX 40-series cards—that can sustain higher frame rates at Ultra presets, where this combo's 4K result of 46.8 FPS hurts its standing.

The gap between the CPU's and GPU's percentiles (82 vs. 73) is notable: it indicates a slight imbalance, where the processor has more headroom than the graphics card can exploit. In a game like Downfall, which is not known for extreme CPU demands, this imbalance is acceptable—the combo still delivers playable frame rates at nearly every setting. But for users seeking top-tier performance, the data suggests the RX 7700 XT is the limiting factor, and upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU. The rank of 741 out of 1,741 is a fair reflection of this pairing's overall capability: strong for 1080p and 1440p gaming, adequate for 4K at medium settings, but not a leaderboard-topper.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5nm process at TSMC. It packs 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clock speeds are substantial: a base of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. With 3,456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, the card offers 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s.

In Downfall, the GPU's performance is directly tied to its memory bandwidth and compute throughput. At 1080p Low, the 262.3 FPS average demonstrates the card's raw fill-rate capability at low pixel loads. The 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2016 horror title, even at 4K Ultra, where the 46.8 FPS average suggests the compute units are the bottleneck rather than memory capacity. The 432.0 GB/s bandwidth handles the game's texture streaming without visible hitches, as evidenced by the smooth FPS scaling across presets.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range status: 22,547 in PassMark G3D and 12,912 in PassMark GPU compute, with a 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5060, scores 30,109 in average benchmarks—a 0.0% delta—while the RX 570 trails by 0.2% at 30,158. In the context of Downfall, the RX 7700 XT's boost clock of 2544 MHz provides ample single-frame performance for the game's horror atmosphere, which relies on dynamic lighting and shadow effects. The 54 ray accelerators (RT cores) are present, though Downfall predates widespread ray tracing adoption, so their impact is minimal in this title.

The GPU's 245W TDP and 550W suggested PSU rating indicate a power-hungry card, but the measured FPS data shows it delivers consistent performance across all tested configurations. The 4K Medium result of 93.5 FPS is the standout: it demonstrates that the card can handle 4K gaming when settings are moderated, a feat that would have been reserved for flagship cards in the game's 2016 release era. Overall, the RX 7700 XT is the driving force in this combo, with its clock speeds and memory subsystem proving well-matched to Downfall's graphical demands.