Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-13400F + Intel Arc B370

The pairing of Intel's Core i5-13400F with the Intel Arc B370 integrated graphics produces a fascinating study in system bottlenecks for the 2016 horror title Downfall. This combination ranks 3429th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, yet the measured frame rates reveal a playable experience at certain settings. The data suggests this is a system where the GPU is almost entirely the limiting factor, with the CPU's substantial multi-threaded capacity never coming close to being taxed by a game from this era.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 96 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p (a 29% reduction), then further to 43 FPS at 4K (a 37% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where each pixel count increase directly translates to proportional rendering workload growth.

For Medium settings, the same resolution progression yields 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are relatively consistent: 28% from 1080p to 1440p, and 38% from 1440p to 4K. High settings show 64 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K, with drops of 28% and 37% respectively. This consistency across settings strongly indicates that the Arc B370's rendering pipeline is the bottleneck, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

Ultra settings reveal the steepest curve: 40 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and just 18 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 28%, but the 1440p to 4K drop is 38%, suggesting that at the highest quality preset, the GPU is hitting a performance cliff where memory bandwidth or shader throughput becomes critical. The fact that the Ultra preset at 4K produces only 18 FPS average—below the 24 FPS threshold for smooth motion—indicates this combination is not viable for maximum quality at high resolutions.

The scaling behavior implies that players seeking higher resolutions should prioritize reducing graphical settings rather than relying on resolution scaling alone. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 56 FPS (96 vs 40), while at 4K it narrows to 25 FPS (43 vs 18). This narrowing suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU's fixed computational resources become the dominant constraint, making settings adjustments less impactful than they are at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 operates as an integrated graphics solution with a 25 W TDP, which fundamentally shapes its performance profile. Its base clock of 300 MHz boosts to 2400 MHz, and the memory is system-shared, meaning bandwidth is "System Dependent" rather than fixed. This architecture explains why the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, 0.2% ahead) and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, 0.7% ahead).

The shared memory architecture is particularly relevant for a 2016 horror game like Downfall. With system-shared memory, the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which can cause frame time spikes during intense scenes. The measured minimum FPS values support this: at 1080p Medium, the minimum is 67 FPS against an average of 78 FPS (a 14% variance), while at 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 48 FPS against a 56 FPS average (a 14% variance). The 4K Medium row shows a minimum of 30 FPS against a 35 FPS average, maintaining the same proportional variance.

The GPU's shading units (1280), texture mapping units (40), and render output units (20) provide a theoretical pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures, combined with 10 ray tracing cores and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance, suggest the architecture is designed for efficiency rather than raw throughput. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is relatively high for an integrated part, but the low TDP of 25 W constrains sustained performance.

The data shows that the Arc B370's performance in Downfall is consistently below playable thresholds at higher resolutions with demanding settings. The fact that its nearest rivals are all legacy parts from over a decade ago (ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD FirePro M2000) underscores its position as a low-end solution. Interestingly, the GPU's 3DMark score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570's 1186, yet Downfall's frame rates show this GPU handling a 2016 title at acceptable levels only at 1080p with lower presets.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Downfall at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 96, and with Medium settings it is 78 FPS. High settings produce 64 FPS average, all above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth. Ultra settings drop to 40 FPS average, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in terms of raw benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% behind the Arc B370.

Q: What is the largest FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: Across all settings, the Ultra preset shows the largest absolute drop of 22 FPS (from 40 FPS at 1080p to 18 FPS at 4K). In percentage terms, the Low preset drops 55% (96 to 43 FPS), Medium drops 55% (78 to 35 FPS), High drops 55% (64 to 29 FPS), and Ultra drops 55% (40 to 18 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta). The Intel Core 5 120 scores 25362 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25365 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25201 (0.4% lower).

Q: Does the system-shared memory configuration affect gaming performance in Downfall?

A: The minimum FPS data suggests some frame time variance, with 1080p Medium showing 67 FPS minimum against 78 FPS average. However, the variance percentage remains consistent across resolutions (14% at both 1080p and 1440p Medium), indicating that the shared memory architecture does not introduce disproportionate stuttering at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. Low settings deliver 96 FPS average, Medium produces 78 FPS (with minimum 67 and maximum 90), High achieves 64 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 56 FPS, representing a 58% reduction in performance when maxing out quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings pattern yields 68 FPS on Low, 56 FPS on Medium (minimum 48, maximum 64), 46 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 39 FPS, a 57% reduction. Notably, 1440p High at 46 FPS is only slightly above the 4K Low result of 43 FPS, suggesting that players targeting higher resolutions should consider Low or Medium presets.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings produce 43 FPS average, Medium delivers 35 FPS (minimum 30, maximum 40), High falls to 29 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K approaches playable territory, and even then, it does not reach the 60 FPS threshold that 1080p users can enjoy.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with complete min/max data, providing insight into frame consistency. At 1080p, the 67-90 FPS range shows a 23 FPS spread; at 1440p, the 48-64 FPS range shows a 16 FPS spread; and at 4K, the 30-40 FPS range shows a 10 FPS spread. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time spikes but also lowering overall performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B370 ranks 3429th out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the bottom 7.7% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's position in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. The massive disparity between CPU and GPU performance tiers explains why this combo underperforms relative to the processor's capabilities.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 25292 places it in the 77th percentile, with nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta) and Intel Core 5 120 (25362, 0.3% delta) showing that the 13400F is competitive with high-end mobile and mid-range desktop parts. However, the GPU's 5th percentile ranking (score 1184) drags the entire system down to the bottom 8% of game test combos.

This ranking suggests that the Arc B370 is the clear performance ceiling for this configuration. Even though the CPU could handle significantly more demanding graphics workloads, the integrated GPU cannot translate that potential into higher frame rates in Downfall. The rank of 3429 out of 3716 indicates that most other tested combinations—even those with weaker CPUs—likely outperform this pairing because they use dedicated graphics cards.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset (78 FPS average) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the 67 FPS minimum ensuring consistent smoothness. The High preset (64 FPS) is also viable, though the 14 FPS drop from Medium may not justify the visual gains. Low settings (96 FPS) are excessive for standard 60 Hz displays but useful for high refresh rate monitors.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset (68 FPS) is the only option that reliably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium (56 FPS) is playable but may show occasional dips below 60 FPS, as the 48 FPS minimum indicates. High (46 FPS) and Ultra (29 FPS) are not recommended for smooth gameplay at this resolution. The data suggests that 1440p users should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (43 FPS) offers a playable experience, and even this falls short of 60 FPS. Medium (35 FPS) and High (29 FPS) are borderline, while Ultra (18 FPS) is effectively unplayable. Players with 4K displays should either use Low settings or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

The most balanced recommendation across all resolutions is the Medium preset, which provides the best quality-to-performance ratio. It delivers 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K, with the minimum FPS remaining within 86% of the average at all resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample capacity for gaming workloads. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 22604, while single-core scores 3191. PassMark multithread scores 25032, with single-thread at 3634.

In Downfall, a 2016 horror title, the CPU's capabilities far exceed what the game requires. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking means that even the CPU's 2-thread performance (3DMark score 1880) is not the limiting factor. The single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark suggests adequate per-core performance for older game engines, which typically rely on one or two primary threads.

The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292, places it in the same performance class as the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365). This level of processing power is substantially more than needed for Downfall's horror gameplay, which rarely demands high CPU throughput. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would yield significant FPS improvements, while any CPU upgrade would provide negligible gains in this title.

The 65 W TDP and Raptor Lake architecture with 10 nm process node indicate an efficient processor that will not bottleneck in this game. The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, combined with dual-channel memory bus, provides flexibility for system builders, though the game's performance is ultimately constrained by the GPU's system-shared memory architecture.