Downfall

Downfall, the 2016 horror title, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data shows this pairing ranks 420th out of 1,741 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the top quartile of all tested systems. This positions the combo as a high-end performer for the title, though the specific frame rate results across different settings and resolutions reveal a complex relationship between the CPU, GPU, and the game's engine.

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 based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and can boost up to 4.60 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The processor's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,279 and a single-core score of 3,004, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 10,971 and a single-core score of 2,301.

The data indicates that this CPU is well-suited for Downfall's demands at high frame rates. The benchmark results show that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 311.3 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower graphical loads. The processor's 3DMark scores further support this, with a single-thread score of 960 and a 16-thread score of 7,314, indicating strong per-core performance that is beneficial for game logic and physics.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Core i5-13400F holds its ground. The average benchmark score for this CPU is 25,236, placing it at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. It sits within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which scores 25,365, and is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H, which scores 25,201. The margin against the AMD EPYC 9474F and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 is a mere 0.5%. These tight deltas suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i5-13400F performs on par with these alternatives, and the difference in Downfall's frame rates would be negligible compared to these chips.

The Passmark multi-thread score of 25,032 and the Passmark single-thread score of 3,634 reinforce the processor's balanced capability. For a horror game like Downfall, which often involves complex lighting and shadow calculations that can stress the CPU, the 16 threads provide ample headroom. The data shows that at 1440p Low, the system still produces 224.9 FPS, indicating that even at higher resolutions, the CPU is not the primary limiting factor until the GPU load becomes more significant.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and memory runs at 21 Gbps effective. With 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, the card offers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. It also includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores.

The GPU's role in Downfall is clearly demonstrated by the performance scaling across settings. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 57.1 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra, it achieves 129.2 FPS. This substantial drop indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by the game's highest preset at high resolutions. The 12 GB VRAM buffer is likely sufficient for Downfall's textures, but the raw compute load at 4K Ultra is significant, as evidenced by the performance dip.

The RTX 4070's benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 26,927 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 168,006. Its average benchmark score is 37,283, placing it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival comparisons are unusual, as the card is only 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37,507, and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A. The RTX 4070 is actually 2.2% behind the RTX 4080 Mobile, scoring 38,135, and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M, scoring 36,371. These deltas are small, but the data indicates that for Downfall, the RTX 4070's performance is closely matched with older or mobile parts in synthetic tests, though the measured FPS tells a story of strong real-world gaming capability.

The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are crucial for rendering the detailed environments in Downfall. The data shows that at 1440p High, the system produces 149.8 FPS, which is a very playable level. The GPU's capability to handle the game's horror atmosphere, which relies on dynamic lighting and shadow effects, is reflected in the strong performance at medium and high settings.

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

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 209.7 FPS, while Medium offers 255.4 FPS and Low reaches 311.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 129.2 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold but represents a significant drop from High. The data suggests that at 1080p, High is the best balance, as it provides a substantial frame rate advantage over Ultra while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium.

For 1440p, the High preset produces 149.8 FPS, which is excellent for a horror game that may benefit from higher frame rates for smooth camera panning. Medium at 1440p offers 182.9 FPS, while Low reaches 224.9 FPS. Ultra at 1440p drops to 96 FPS. The recommendation here is High, as it stays well above 100 FPS and avoids the steep performance penalty of Ultra, which is nearly 36% slower than High.

At 4K, the situation changes. The High preset yields 93 FPS, which is playable, while Medium offers 113.2 FPS and Low reaches 140.2 FPS. Ultra at 4K drops to 57.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, Medium or High are the best choices. High provides 93 FPS, which is close to the 100 FPS mark, and the visual upgrade over Medium may be worth the 20 FPS loss. However, for those prioritizing frame rate, Medium at 113.2 FPS is a strong alternative. Ultra should be avoided at 4K due to the sub-60 FPS average.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is at 1440p High, which offers a high frame rate with a balance of visual quality. This preset ensures the game runs smoothly without the excessive load of Ultra, and it leverages the GPU's capabilities effectively without pushing the system to its limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 311.3, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25,236, which is 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D's score of 25,365, and 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H's score of 25,201.

Q: Is the GPU capable of handling 4K Ultra settings in this game?

A: No, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 57.1, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: At which resolution and preset does the system achieve exactly 96 FPS?

A: The system achieves 96 FPS at 2560x1440 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: What is the GPU's Passmark G3D score and how does it rank?

A: The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 26,927, and its overall average benchmark score of 37,283 places it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Medium preset compared to 1440p Medium?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 255.4, while at 1440p Medium, it is 182.9, making the 1080p preset approximately 39.6% faster.

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

The measured FPS data across resolutions provides clear insight into the system's bottleneck characteristics. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 209.7 at 1080p to 149.8 at 1440p, a 28.6% decrease, and then to 93 at 4K, a further 37.9% decrease from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor as resolution rises, as the CPU's performance headroom at lower resolutions is sufficient to maintain high frame rates.

At Low settings, the drop is more pronounced: from 311.3 FPS at 1080p to 224.9 FPS at 1440p (a 27.8% decrease), and then to 140.2 FPS at 4K (a 37.7% decrease from 1440p). This suggests that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU is still the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the CPU is likely not the bottleneck given the high frame rates at 1080p.

The data for Medium settings shows a similar trend: 255.4 FPS at 1080p, 182.9 FPS at 1440p (a 28.4% decrease), and 113.2 FPS at 4K (a 38.1% decrease). The consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU's rendering workload scales predictably with resolution, while the CPU maintains its ability to keep up.

Ultra settings show the most severe scaling, with 129.2 FPS at 1080p dropping to 96 FPS at 1440p (a 25.7% decrease) and then to 57.1 FPS at 4K (a 40.5% decrease). The steep drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings, where the frame rate nearly halves, strongly indicates that the GPU is the definitive limiting component at this preset. The RTX 4070's compute resources are saturated by the combination of high resolution and Ultra effects, leading to the sub-60 FPS result.

The resolution scaling analysis points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck in Downfall for this configuration. While the CPU is capable of delivering high frame rates at lower resolutions, the GPU's workload increases substantially with resolution, and the system's performance is tied to the RTX 4070's ability to process the game's visuals. The data shows that at 1080p, the system is more balanced, but as resolution increases, the GPU's limitations become more apparent, particularly at Ultra settings.