Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 556th out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the upper third of all systems evaluated. This is a strong position for a horror title that tends to reward raw GPU throughput, and the data confirms the RX 9070 is doing the heavy lifting. The combo sits comfortably above the median, meaning the vast majority of tested configurations will struggle to match its frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The 556th rank out of 1,741 combos puts this pairing in the 68th percentile of all tested systems. That is a solid result for a mid-range CPU paired with a current-generation GPU. The i5-14400F itself holds the 88th percentile against all CPUs in synthetic benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 32,508. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores 32,513 with a 0% delta, meaning the two are effectively identical in raw compute. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 sits just 0.2% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 7 250 is 0.2% ahead. This CPU is squarely in the middle of a tight pack of capable processors, and in Downfall it never becomes the bottleneck.

The RX 9070, meanwhile, holds the 79th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 34,780. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA A2, is 0.2% behind, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is 0.7% ahead — an odd pairing that reflects the RX 9070’s strong compute showing. What matters for Downfall is that the GPU is the dominant factor in the measured results, and its 79th percentile standing is what lifts this combo to its 556th rank.

GPU Role

The RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip on a 4 nm process from TSMC. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz, which translates to 20.1 Gbps effective. The GPU has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units. Boost clock is 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz and a base clock of 1330 MHz.

In Downfall, this memory configuration matters. The game’s horror environments are texture-heavy, and 16 GB of VRAM ensures that even Ultra settings at 4K do not spill into system memory. The 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the 52.9 FPS Ultra result at 3840x2160. The GPU’s FP32 throughput of 36.13 TFLOPS and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s give it ample headroom for the game’s lighting and particle effects. The 128 ROPs handle pixel output at 322.6 GPixel/s, which is why the card can push 129.6 FPS at 4K Low without breaking a sweat.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 294.8 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 129.6 FPS — a 56% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 197.9 FPS at 1080p to 90.5 FPS at 4K, a 54% decline. This pattern is consistent with GPU-bound scaling. The CPU is not the limiting factor here; if it were, the drop would be far less pronounced because the resolution would not affect the CPU workload.

The data confirms the RX 9070 is the limiting component. At 1080p, the CPU has to feed frames fast enough to hit 294.8 FPS, and it does. At 4K, the GPU has to render more than four times the pixels, and the frame rate craters accordingly. The i5-14400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for this game’s demands. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,914 and single-core score of 3,093 indicate it can keep pace with the GPU’s output even at high frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The sweet spot for this combo is Medium settings. At 1440p Medium, the system delivers 173.2 FPS, which is smooth on any high-refresh monitor. At 1080p Medium, it hits 242 FPS, leaving plenty of headroom for streaming or recording overhead. High settings are also viable, with 139.5 FPS at 1440p and 197.9 FPS at 1080p, but the jump to Ultra is punishing. Ultra at 1440p drops to 91 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 52.9 FPS.

Ultra is not worth the cost. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 48.5 FPS (from 139.5 to 91), which is a 35% performance hit for what is typically a modest visual gain in a horror game where darkness hides detail. Medium offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate stability. At 4K, Medium still delivers 107.6 FPS, which is playable, but High at 4K at 90.5 FPS is a better visual experience if you have a G-Sync or FreeSync display.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 294.8 FPS, Medium 242 FPS, High 197.9 FPS, Ultra 126.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 52.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 71.7 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive relative to their visual impact.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 208.4 FPS, Medium 173.2 FPS, High 139.5 FPS, Ultra 91 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 35.2 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 48.5 FPS. The pattern holds: each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% performance, but Ultra is the outlier with a much steeper penalty.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 129.6 FPS, Medium 107.6 FPS, High 90.5 FPS, Ultra 52.9 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly struggling with Ultra. The 37.6 FPS difference between High and Ultra is the largest absolute gap in the entire dataset. This is where the RX 9070’s 16 GB of VRAM and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo good for 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At High settings, it delivers 90.5 FPS at 3840x2160, which is playable. At Ultra, it drops to 52.9 FPS, which is borderline for a horror game where smooth motion matters for immersion.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, it hits 173.2 FPS, and at High it stays above 139.5 FPS. Both are well above the 60 FPS threshold and leave headroom for other tasks.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i5-14400F scores 32,508 on average, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513) and the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32,584). It is effectively tied with all of them in compute performance.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 294.8 FPS, and at Ultra it still manages 126.2 FPS. The CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to avoid creating a CPU-side bottleneck.

Q: Is Ultra settings worth the performance hit?

A: No. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 91 FPS from High’s 139.5 FPS, a 35% loss. At 4K, the drop is even worse, from 90.5 FPS to 52.9 FPS. Stick with High or Medium for a better experience.

Q: What is the GPU’s standing among all tested GPUs?

A: The RX 9070 holds the 79th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34,780. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, is 0.2% behind, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is 0.7% ahead.