Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a distinctly GPU-bound experience in Downfall, with the measured frame rates showing a steep scaling curve as resolution increases. Across all four settings presets, the gap between 1080p and 4K averages exceeds 50%, indicating that the Arc B580’s rendering throughput becomes the primary limiter at higher pixel counts, while the 10-core, 16-thread i5-14400F maintains sufficient headroom even at the lowest resolution tested. The benchmark data, collected at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, reveals a combo that is playable at 4K only on reduced settings, but exceptionally capable at 1440p and below.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming a GPU-bound configuration. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 182.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 83.1 FPS at 3840x2160 — a reduction of roughly 55%. At Medium, the decline is from 151.9 FPS to 65.1 FPS, a similar proportional drop. High settings show 124.3 FPS at 1080p versus 57.2 FPS at 4K, and Ultra drops from 78.3 FPS to 35.7 FPS. In every case, the 1440p result sits nearly halfway between the 1080p and 4K figures, which is the expected curve for a system where pixel throughput, not CPU logic, dictates performance.

The Arc B580’s 12 GB GDDR6 memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the texture loads at 4K, but the raw shading capacity — 2560 shading units and 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 — becomes the bottleneck. The i5-14400F, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz and 20 MB of shared L3 cache, does not appear to constrain the GPU at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the 182.7 FPS figure suggests the CPU is still feeding frames comfortably, as there is no sign of a plateau that would indicate a processor limit. The scaling from Medium to High at 1080p (151.9 to 124.3 FPS) is smooth, and the jump from High to Ultra (124.3 to 78.3 FPS) reflects the heavier pixel and post-processing load rather than any CPU stall.

At 4K, the GPU’s limits are stark. Ultra settings yield just 35.7 FPS, which is below the typical 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Dropping to High raises the average to 57.2 FPS, still short of a locked 60. Medium reaches 65.1 FPS, and Low hits 83.1 FPS. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is not viable for this combo, while 4K Medium or Low provides acceptable headroom. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47.4 FPS, showing that settings have a massive impact at this resolution — more so than at 1080p, where the same delta is 104.4 FPS. This wider spread at lower resolutions underscores that the CPU can exploit the GPU’s full range, whereas at 4K the GPU’s ceiling compresses the differences.

FAQ

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

A: The best measured result is 182.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 35.7 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Downfall?*

A: Yes, but only at reduced presets. At 4K Low, the average is 83.1 FPS; at Medium, 65.1 FPS; at High, 57.2 FPS; and at Ultra, 35.7 FPS. A 60 FPS experience requires Medium or lower.

Q: How does the i5-14400F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% faster). It is 0.2% ahead of both the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H, which score 32584 and 32586 respectively.

Q: Is the Arc B580 performance close to other GPUs in its class?

A: The Arc B580’s average benchmark score is 23021. The AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999 (0.1% slower), and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 22950 (0.3% slower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is 0.7% faster at 23181, while the RTX 4060 Mobile is 1.3% slower at 22729.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1920x1080 yields 124.3 FPS, while 2560x1440 yields 88.2 FPS — a drop of 36.1 FPS, or roughly 29%.

Q: Does the CPU’s performance percentile indicate a strong pairing?

A: The i5-14400F ranks in the 88th percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B580 sits in the 66th percentile among GPUs. The CPU is clearly the more capable component, which aligns with the measured GPU-bound scaling.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1339 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the lower half of all configurations, which is consistent with a GPU that, while modern, does not lead its performance class. The Arc B580’s 66th percentile standing among all GPUs means many tested systems include faster graphics hardware, and the 4K Ultra result of 35.7 FPS drags the overall ranking down.

The CPU’s 88th percentile ranking does not compensate for the GPU’s mid-pack position in this title. In synthetic tests, the i5-14400F nearly matches the Intel Core i7-13705H (32586 avg score, -0.2% delta) and outperforms the AMD Ryzen 7 250 by a similar margin, but those CPUs are often paired with higher-tier GPUs in the database. The combo rank of 1339 out of 1741 suggests that while the i5-14400F is a strong processor, the Arc B580 limits the system’s overall standing in a horror title like Downfall, which appears to favor raw GPU throughput over CPU muscle. The data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, so upgrading the GPU would yield a disproportionately large improvement in both measured FPS and combo rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings is playable with large margins. Low settings produce an average of 182.7 FPS, Medium reaches 151.9 FPS, High hits 124.3 FPS, and Ultra still manages 78.3 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs 27.6 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 46.0 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load increase. At this resolution, even the most demanding preset stays well above 60 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable environment for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the averages compress but remain solid. Low delivers 130.3 FPS, Medium 106.9 FPS, High 88.2 FPS, and Ultra 57.9 FPS. The Ultra result falls just below the 60 FPS threshold, meaning a 1440p monitor at Ultra would experience occasional dips below smoothness, though the average is close. High settings at 88.2 FPS provide a safer margin, and Low at 130.3 FPS offers headroom for competitive play. The difference between Medium and High is 18.7 FPS, and between High and Ultra it is 30.3 FPS — the latter being the largest step at this resolution, highlighting Ultra’s extra cost.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become apparent. Low averages 83.1 FPS, which is respectable for 4K. Medium drops to 65.1 FPS, still above 60. High falls to 57.2 FPS, slightly under the 60 FPS target. Ultra plummets to 35.7 FPS, which is not smooth for a horror game where frame pacing matters for atmosphere. The scaling from Medium to High at 4K is 7.9 FPS, and from High to Ultra it is 21.5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects disproportionately strain the Arc B580. The data across all three resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution decreases, confirming the CPU’s ability to feed frames at lower pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 FPS target, the optimal preset depends on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings are viable since the average is 78.3 FPS, leaving a 18.3 FPS buffer above 60. At 2560x1440, High settings at 88.2 FPS offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, while Ultra at 57.9 FPS would require accepting a sub-60 average. For 4K, Medium is the highest preset that consistently clears 60 FPS, with an average of 65.1 FPS; High at 57.2 FPS is borderline and would risk drops below 60 in demanding scenes.

For maximum smoothness at any resolution, Low settings provide the largest margins: 182.7 FPS at 1080p, 130.3 FPS at 1440p, and 83.1 FPS at 4K. These figures suggest that players prioritizing frame rate over visual detail can run Low at 4K comfortably. Conversely, the Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p displays, where the 78.3 FPS average remains fluid. At 1440p, the 57.9 FPS Ultra result is close enough to 60 that some users might accept it, but the data shows High is the safer choice. At 4K, Ultra should be avoided entirely due to the 35.7 FPS average.

The measured values indicate that this combo is best utilized at 1440p High, which delivers 88.2 FPS — a strong balance between the 124.3 FPS at 1080p High and the 57.2 FPS at 4K High. For users with 4K displays, Medium settings at 65.1 FPS are the recommended ceiling, as they maintain a 5.1 FPS margin above the 60 FPS line. The data does not support pushing beyond Medium at 4K without accepting a measurable performance penalty.