Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a remarkably consistent gaming experience in Downfall, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates show a predictable pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops in near-linear fashion across all settings, indicating that the Radeon RX 6700 XT is doing the heavy lifting while the Core i5-14400F maintains sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 229 FPS, but this drops to 102 FPS at 4K with the same settings—a reduction of 127 FPS that directly corresponds to the increased pixel count. This scaling behavior is typical of a system where the graphics card's rendering throughput, rather than CPU processing power, dictates the final frame rate. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling: at Medium settings, the system delivers 134 FPS at 2560x1440 but falls to 83 FPS at 3840x2160, a 51 FPS difference that underscores the GPU's workload at higher resolutions. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the CPU might be expected to play a larger role, the combo still manages 96 FPS, suggesting that the processor's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for this horror title. The data indicates that users seeking maximum frame rates should target 1080p, while 4K gaming remains viable but with a significant performance penalty.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals a clear hierarchy in how this combo performs across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, the system demonstrates exceptional performance, with averages ranging from 96 FPS at Ultra settings to 229 FPS at Low settings. This wide spread indicates that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution, and the CPU is not limiting performance even in the most demanding preset. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain highly playable, with the Low preset still achieving 164 FPS and Ultra dropping to 69 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of approximately 28-30% across all settings, which is consistent with the increased pixel count of 1.78x. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is more dramatic, with the Low preset falling from 164 FPS to 102 FPS (a 38% drop) and Ultra falling from 69 FPS to 43 FPS (a 38% drop as well). This steeper decline at 4K suggests that the Radeon RX 6700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits, as the higher resolution demands more memory bandwidth and shading power. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 71 and a maximum of 96, with an average of 83, indicating that even in less demanding scenes, the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame times. Benchmark results indicate that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can maintain high frame rates without exceeding its memory or compute capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, though its specifications suggest it is more than capable of handling Downfall's demands. With 10 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 2.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, this processor provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce this capability: it achieves 21,645 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,055 points in single-core, placing it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, with delta percentages of 0.1% and 0.2% respectively, indicating that the i5-14400F is competitive with higher-tier processors in synthetic workloads. In Downfall, the CPU's role is evident when comparing frame rates at different resolutions with the same settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 229 FPS, which is only marginally higher than the 164 FPS at 1440p Low, suggesting that the CPU is not the limiting factor even at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory further enhance its ability to feed data to the GPU without stuttering. The data shows that the i5-14400F's performance is sufficient to keep up with the RX 6700 XT across all tested settings, as the frame rate differences between resolutions are entirely attributable to GPU workload rather than CPU bottlenecks. The processor's 65 TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility indicate a power-efficient design that does not compromise gaming performance, though the measured FPS data does not reveal any scenarios where the CPU's clock speeds or core count become a constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the observed performance in Downfall. Built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, this GPU features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, along with 40 ray tracing cores. Its base clock of 2321 MHz and boost clock of 2581 MHz, coupled with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provide a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. These specifications translate into a Passmark G3D score of 19,786 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,435, with the GPU ranking in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile and RTX 3090, with delta percentages of 0% and -0.5% respectively, showing that the RX 6700 XT holds its own against higher-priced competitors. In Downfall, the GPU's role is most apparent at 4K resolution, where the Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS—a 55% reduction from the 96 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This steep decline is attributable to the GPU's compute throughput and memory bandwidth being saturated at higher resolutions. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 71, which is notably lower than the 114 FPS minimum at 1440p Medium, indicating that the GPU's frame pacing suffers when the resolution increases. The GPU's 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 165.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the card's limitations become evident. The data suggests that the RX 6700 XT is the primary constraint in this combo, as reducing settings from Ultra to Low at any resolution yields a proportional increase in FPS, but the scaling is less pronounced at 4K due to memory bandwidth limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset offers an excellent balance, delivering 154 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay in a horror title where responsiveness matters. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 187 FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS, ensuring consistent frame times even in action-heavy scenes, but the High preset's 154 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold and offers better visual fidelity. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the Low preset at 229 FPS is the best choice, as it maximizes frame rate without sacrificing playability. At 1440p, the High preset achieves 110 FPS, which is ideal for most gaming scenarios, while the Medium preset at 134 FPS provides a slight performance boost with minimal visual impact. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but may introduce occasional stutters in demanding scenes, making High the recommended choice for this resolution. At 4K, the situation is more constrained, with the High preset delivering 68 FPS—just above the 60 FPS playability threshold—while Medium achieves 83 FPS. The Low preset at 4K reaches 102 FPS, but the visual degradation may not be worth the performance gain. Benchmark results indicate that the High preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, balancing visual quality with a 110 FPS average, while 4K users should stick to Medium or High settings to maintain smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p gaming, where it achieves 96 FPS, but the visual improvements over High are marginal relative to the 58 FPS performance drop.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested hardware combinations, the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT pairing ranks 1,949 out of 3,716 combos in Downfall, placing it in the upper half of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the system's solid performance across all resolutions and settings, with no major weaknesses in any category. The combo's percentile ranking of 52.4% (calculated from the rank and total combos) indicates that it outperforms a slight majority of other pairings, though it does not reach the top tier of gaming rigs. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking and the GPU's 72nd percentile ranking suggest that both components are above average individually, but the combination does not boost the system to elite status. The nearest rival combos based on individual component scores include the Intel Core i9-11900 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which show delta percentages of 0.2% and 0% respectively, indicating that this pairing is closely matched with systems featuring higher-end CPUs or GPUs. The measured FPS data reveals that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it consistently delivers high frame rates, but struggles at 4K Ultra, where the 43 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target. This ranking suggests that the combo is well-suited for mainstream gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but users seeking 4K Ultra performance would need to consider more powerful GPU options. The data also shows that the combo's performance is consistent with its component-level benchmarks, with no unexpected bottlenecks or inefficiencies, making it a reliable choice for gamers who prioritize high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The detailed FPS measurements provide a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across all tested scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 229 FPS on Low settings, 187 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 159 FPS and maximum of 215 FPS), 154 FPS on High, and 96 FPS on Ultra. These numbers demonstrate that the combo can handle competitive gaming at 1080p, with even the most demanding preset exceeding 90 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong: Low settings achieve 164 FPS, Medium averages 134 FPS (minimum 114 FPS, maximum 154 FPS), High reaches 110 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69 FPS. The 1440p results show a clear progression where each settings tier reduces the average FPS by approximately 20-30%, with the Ultra preset being the only one that falls below 100 FPS. At 3840x2160, the performance drops more significantly: Low settings average 102 FPS, Medium averages 83 FPS (with a minimum of 71 FPS and maximum of 96 FPS), High achieves 68 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43 FPS. The 4K data reveals that the combo can maintain playable frame rates at Low and Medium settings, but High and Ultra presets struggle to stay above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions (159 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K) indicate that the system maintains stable frame pacing even in demanding scenes, with no significant dips below the average. The maximum FPS values show headroom in less demanding areas, with the 4K Medium preset reaching 96 FPS, suggesting that the GPU can burst above its average when the scene allows. Overall, these measured FPS numbers paint a picture of a versatile combo that is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K playability limited to lower settings.