Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER pairing delivers a dominant performance profile in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly favors high refresh rate displays. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings indicate that this combination is never left wanting for computational power, with the bottleneck shifting decisively toward the graphics card only at the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide substantial single-thread headroom, which is critical for a horror game like Downfall that relies on scripted sequences and AI-driven scares. The processor's L3 cache is 20 MB shared, with 1.25 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core, ensuring that game logic and entity updates are fed without stutter.

Benchmark data shows the CPU sits at the 88th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32508. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, posts a nearly identical average score of 32513, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 is 0.2% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 250 is 0.2% ahead, placing the i5-14400F in a tightly contested mid-high tier. In multi-threaded workloads, the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 and Geekbench multicore score of 11209 show strong parallel throughput, while the PassMark multithread score of 25783 reinforces its capability to handle background tasks without impacting frame pacing.

For Downfall, the CPU's role is largely to maintain a high floor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 366 FPS average, which is far beyond any display's refresh rate and indicates the CPU is not limiting. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is heavily stressed, the CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093, PassMark single-thread score of 3723) ensures that the game's physics and AI updates do not introduce frame hitches. The processor's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node also mean it runs cool enough to sustain boost clocks during extended play sessions, though the data does not quantify thermal throttling. The 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU provide ample bandwidth for the GPU, though the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER only uses PCIe 4.0, which is backward compatible.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align perfectly with the demands of Downfall's horror environments, which often feature dark, texture-heavy scenes. The GPU is built on TSMC's 5 nm process with the AD103 chip, containing 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. Its base clock of 2340 MHz and boost clock of 2610 MHz provide the raw compute needed for high frame rates, while the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is particularly relevant for a 2016 title, as it allows the GPU to cache large texture sets and shader data without resorting to slower system memory.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 8448 shading units, 264 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, backed by 66 RT cores and 264 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 44.10 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 250.6 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s. These figures translate to high fill rates that benefit Downfall's dynamic lighting and particle effects. Benchmark results place the GPU at the 86th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, scores 49071, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is slightly behind that mining card in synthetic averages. However, the NVIDIA RTX A2000 is 1.6% behind, and the RTX A1000 Mobile is 2% behind, while the Intel Arc A550M is 2.1% ahead.

In Downfall, the GPU's impact is visible in the scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not the limiter, as the system hits 366 FPS. But at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, dropping to 66.9 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM is never saturated at any tested setting, as even the most demanding configuration does not show signs of memory-related stuttering in the average FPS data. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure it can handle the game's rendering paths efficiently, and the 285 W TDP is well within the suggested 600 W PSU specification.

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

The measured frame rates reveal a clear scaling pattern that shifts the bottleneck from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 247 at 1920x1080 to 179.2 at 2560x1440, a decrease of 27.4%, and then to 109.7 at 3840x2160, a further drop of 38.8%. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is increasingly responsible for frame generation as resolution rises, with the CPU maintaining a high enough ceiling to avoid becoming the primary constraint.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The system achieves 366 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 261.3 at 1440p (-28.6%) and then to 166.4 at 4K (-36.3%). The fact that 4K Low still delivers 166.4 FPS suggests the CPU is not limiting even at lower graphical loads, as the GPU is still capable of pushing well above 144 Hz. At Medium settings, the pattern continues: 304.1 FPS at 1080p, 217.1 at 1440p (-28.6%), and 132.5 at 4K (-39.0%). The relatively consistent percentage drops across Low, Medium, and High settings indicate that the GPU's workload scales linearly with resolution, with no sudden cliff that would suggest a CPU or memory bottleneck.

The Ultra settings tell a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the system hits 157.1 FPS, which drops to 112.9 at 1440p (-28.1%) and then to 66.9 at 4K (-40.7%). The 4K Ultra figure is the only one that falls below 100 FPS, and the larger percentage drop at 4K Ultra compared to High settings suggests that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are being fully taxed. At 1080p Ultra, the 157.1 FPS is still high, but the gap between Ultra and High at 1080p (157.1 vs 247) is 36.4%, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant shader load that the GPU must process alongside the resolution scaling. Overall, the data shows that the i5-14400F is sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER at all tested resolutions, with the GPU being the sole limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU/GPU combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 366, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the GPU is able to render frames at a rate far beyond typical display refresh rates.

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

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H's score of 32513, a delta of 0%. It is also 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 250.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER struggle with 4K Ultra settings in this game?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 66.9, which is the lowest measured value. This is a 40.7% drop from the 1440p Ultra result of 112.9 FPS, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this configuration.

*Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER sufficient for Downfall at maximum settings?*

A: Based on the measured FPS data, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory does not cause any performance anomalies. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, and there is no evidence of VRAM-related stuttering or crashes at any tested setting, including 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs, and who is its closest competitor?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is at the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which has an average benchmark score of 49071, placing the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 0.7% behind that card.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p High to 4K High?

A: The average FPS drops from 247 at 1920x1080 High to 109.7 at 3840x2160 High, a decrease of 55.6%. This indicates that the GPU's workload doubles as resolution increases, but the system still maintains playable frame rates above 100 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended configuration. This setting delivers an average of 179.2 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for most high-refresh monitors, while the visual quality is significantly better than Low or Medium. The 1440p High result represents a 38.4% improvement over the 4K High figure of 109.7 FPS, but the quality difference between 1440p and 4K is often less noticeable in a horror game with dark scenes, making the higher frame rate more valuable for smooth camera panning.

If the user has a 4K display, the High preset at 3840x2160 is the sweet spot, as it yields 109.7 FPS. This is above 60 FPS and provides a comfortable margin for dips during intense scenes. The Medium preset at 4K (132.5 FPS) offers a 20.8% frame rate increase over High, but the visual downgrade in shadows and textures may reduce the game's atmospheric tension. The Ultra preset at 4K (66.9 FPS) is not recommended for competitive play, as it drops below 70 FPS, which can feel less responsive in a horror game where quick reactions are needed.

For users with 1080p monitors, the High preset at 1920x1080 (247 FPS) is the maximum sensible choice, as Ultra (157.1 FPS) provides diminishing returns for a 36.4% frame rate penalty. The Low preset (366 FPS) is only useful for extreme competitive play or if the user has a 360 Hz display, but the visual quality is too compromised for the intended horror experience. At 1440p, the Low preset (261.3 FPS) is overkill for most displays, and Medium (217.1 FPS) offers a better visual experience with only a 16.9% reduction in frame rate. The data indicates that High settings provide the most balanced experience across all resolutions, with the CPU and GPU both performing well within their capabilities.