Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Downfall, but the data clearly shows that settings management is the key to keeping frame rates smooth. This combination sits at rank 1456 out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of systems in this horror title. The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus provide enough bandwidth for 1080p and 1440p gaming, though the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution reveals where the GPU’s Pascal architecture begins to strain. The following analysis breaks down exactly which presets to use and what the measured numbers mean for your experience.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific CPU-GPU pairing, the data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 129.2 FPS, which is only 24.1 FPS below High’s 104.7 FPS and 65.3 FPS above Ultra’s 64 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 24.5 FPS at 1080p, while the jump from High to Ultra costs a massive 40.7 FPS. This pattern repeats at 2560x1440, where Medium hits 93.6 FPS, High drops to 76.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.9 FPS. The Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom.

If you prioritize frame rate over visuals, Low is the only other viable option, providing 153.3 FPS at 1080p and 112.9 FPS at 1440p. However, the visual quality loss from Medium to Low is noticeable in a horror game where atmosphere matters. At 4K, the situation changes: Medium drops to 58.1 FPS, which is still playable, but High falls to 45.7 FPS and Ultra becomes borderline unplayable at 31.9 FPS. For 4K, stick with Medium or Low (71.9 FPS) unless you accept sub-60 FPS gameplay. Ultra is never recommended with this combo, as it produces the lowest frame rates at every resolution.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070 is the primary bottleneck in this pairing, and the benchmark data makes this clear through the massive FPS swings between settings. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Downfall at 1080p and 1440p, but the 256.3 GB/s bandwidth and 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance limit how much detail the card can push. At 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor: Ultra at 3840x2160 produces just 31.9 FPS, a 50% drop from Medium’s 58.1 FPS. The GPU’s boost clock of 1683 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the Pascal architecture lacks the raw throughput for 4K Ultra in this title.

The GTX 1070’s percentile rank of 51 places it squarely in the middle of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the GTX 1650 SUPER, is only 1.4% faster in average benchmark scores. This means the 1070 is not a weak card, but it is clearly outclassed by modern GPUs. The i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has no trouble feeding the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the 153.3 FPS Low result. The CPU’s 88th percentile ranking and R23 multi-core score of 21914 show it has ample headroom. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield far larger FPS gains than upgrading the CPU for this game.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 60 FPS on High settings?*

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 High produces 104.7 FPS and at 2560x1440 High produces 76.8 FPS. At 3840x2160 High falls to 45.7 FPS, so 4K High requires dropping to Medium or Low.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: Medium at 2560x1440 delivers 93.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. High drops to 76.8 FPS, still playable, but Ultra at 46.9 FPS is not recommended.

Q: Is the GTX 1070 VRAM sufficient for 4K in this game?

A: The 8 GB VRAM is not the primary issue; the GPU’s throughput is. At 4K Low, the combo produces 71.9 FPS, proving the VRAM is adequate. The problem is that Ultra at 4K requires more compute power than this GPU can provide, yielding only 31.9 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to the GTX 1650 SUPER?

A: The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score is 12331, which is 1.4% lower than the GTX 1650 SUPER’s 12504. In practice, the two cards perform nearly identically in Downfall, though the 1070 has 8 GB VRAM versus the 1650 SUPER’s typical 4 GB.

Q: Is the i5-14400F holding back the GTX 1070?

A: No. The CPU’s 88th percentile ranking and 21914 R23 multi-core score indicate it is far more capable than the GPU. The FPS drops from Low to Ultra are purely GPU-driven, as the CPU can handle the physics and AI load without issue.

Q: What is the worst-case FPS for this combo?

A: The lowest measured average is 31.9 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. Even at 1080p Ultra, the combo only reaches 64 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing ranks 1456 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 16th percentile of all system configurations. This is a low rank, but it is not surprising given that the GTX 1070 launched in 2016 and is now end-of-life. The CPU, however, is a modern part that ranks in the 88th percentile among all CPUs, meaning the combo’s low rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The data shows that this rank is consistent with the GPU’s performance class: the GTX 1070’s nearest rivals, such as the GTX 1650 SUPER and GTX 880M, all sit within 1.7% of its average score.

For context, the i5-14400F alone ranks near the Intel Core i7-12800H (0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (0.2% delta), confirming it is a high-tier processor. The disconnect between CPU and GPU performance explains why the combo rank is so low: you are pairing a 2024 CPU with a 2016 GPU. If you own this system, the upgrade path is clear — replace the GTX 1070 first. The CPU has enough headroom to support a much faster GPU without becoming a bottleneck in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the combo produces 153.3 FPS at 1080p, 112.9 FPS at 1440p, and 71.9 FPS at 4K. This is a 53.1% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. At Ultra settings, the drop is even more severe: 64 FPS at 1080p, 46.9 FPS at 1440p, and 31.9 FPS at 4K — a 50.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings: from 1080p to 1440p, FPS drops by roughly 26-27% at every preset. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is more variable, ranging from 32.1% at Low (112.9 to 71.9) to 37.9% at Ultra (46.9 to 31.9). This steeper decline at higher resolutions confirms that the GTX 1070’s memory bandwidth (256.3 GB/s) is insufficient for 4K. The i5-14400F, with its 20 MB of L3 cache and 10 cores, does not contribute to this scaling — it simply feeds the GPU faster than the GPU can render. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain flat across resolutions, which is not the case here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: Low 153.3 FPS, Medium 129.2 FPS, High 104.7 FPS, Ultra 64 FPS.

At 1080p, the combo is fully GPU-bound. Low and Medium both exceed 120 FPS, providing a smooth experience for high-refresh monitors. High is still above 100 FPS, but Ultra dips to 64 FPS, which is below the 144 Hz threshold and only marginally above 60 FPS.

2560x1440: Low 112.9 FPS, Medium 93.6 FPS, High 76.8 FPS, Ultra 46.9 FPS.

1440p is the practical limit for this combo. Medium and High both stay above 75 FPS, making them playable on standard 60 Hz displays and even entry-level 144 Hz monitors. Ultra falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for competitive play.

3840x2160: Low 71.9 FPS, Medium 58.1 FPS, High 45.7 FPS, Ultra 31.9 FPS.

4K is only viable at Low or Medium settings. Low hits 71.9 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium drops to 58.1 FPS — just below the 60 FPS target. High and Ultra are not recommended, as they produce sub-50 FPS experiences that will feel stuttery in a horror game.

The data shows that the GTX 1070 is a capable 1080p card and a decent 1440p card, but it struggles at 4K. The i5-14400F provides ample CPU performance, so any FPS improvements in Downfall will require a GPU upgrade. For now, use Medium at 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate.