Downfall

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 lands at rank 2009 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. That places this pairing in the 46th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 54% of the combos in the database deliver higher average frame rates in this horror title. This is a mid-pack result—not a top-tier combination, but far from a weak one.

The ranking reflects a balance between a strong modern CPU and a mainstream GPU. The i5-14600K sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the RTX 4060 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank being lower than both individual component percentiles suggests that in Downfall, the pairing is somewhat held back by the GPU's position relative to the CPU's strength. The data indicates that many of the combos ranked above this one likely feature more powerful graphics cards, even if their CPUs are less capable.

Benchmark results show this combo is well-suited for smooth gameplay at most settings, but it will struggle to maintain high frame rates at the most demanding presets. The rank also implies that there is headroom in the CPU for a faster GPU if a user were to upgrade later, but as configured, the system performs as a coherent mid-range solution for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a chip size of 159 mm² and 18,900 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with memory clocked at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). It comes equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, 48 ROPs, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores, delivering 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is critical at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game's requirements, as the measured FPS data shows playable results even at 4K with medium settings. However, the 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors when pushing ultra settings, where the frame rate drops significantly.

The RTX 4060's performance in this title is modest relative to its peers. Its average benchmark score of 17639 places it at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (deltaPct 0.7). These deltas are all within 1% of the RTX 4060's score, indicating that in synthetic benchmarks, this card performs nearly identically to those older or integrated alternatives.

For Downfall specifically, the GPU's ray tracing and tensor cores are present but the game's results suggest traditional rasterization is the primary workload. The card's 115 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU make it an efficient choice, but the power delivery is not the focus here—the frame rate data tells the performance story.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Downfall and how many total combos are tested?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K + RTX 4060 combo ranks 2009 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rival GPUs in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (+0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (+0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (+0.7% delta). All rivals are within 1% of the RTX 4060's score.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo achieves in Downfall?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 226 at 1080p with Low settings. The lowest average is 42 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60+ FPS at 4K in Downfall?

A: Yes, at 4K with Low settings the average is 101 FPS, with Medium settings it drops to 82 FPS (min 70, max 95), and with High settings it averages 68 FPS. However, at Ultra settings it falls to 42 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to its nearest rival CPUs?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698 (-0.2% delta), the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (+0.3% delta), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (+0.7% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (-0.8% delta).

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect Downfall?

A: The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. In Downfall, this configuration handles up to High settings at 4K (68 FPS average) but cannot sustain playable frame rates at Ultra settings (42 FPS average).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Downfall is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1080p, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 226 FPS, Medium settings average 185 FPS (with min 157 and max 213), High settings average 152 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 95 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is never CPU-limited in a meaningful way—even at Ultra, the frame rate stays well above 90 FPS, providing a very smooth experience.

Moving to 1440p, the performance scales down but remains strong. Low settings average 162 FPS, Medium settings average 132 FPS (min 112, max 152), High settings average 108 FPS, and Ultra settings average 68 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly consistent, suggesting a balanced workload shift. At Ultra, the 68 FPS average is still playable but begins to show the GPU's limits.

At 4K, the picture changes more dramatically. Low settings still deliver a respectable 101 FPS average, and Medium settings hold at 82 FPS (min 70, max 95). High settings average 68 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target for most displays. However, Ultra settings collapse to 42 FPS, making that preset impractical for smooth gameplay. The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become significant constraints.

The min FPS data points available (157 at 1080p Medium, 112 at 1440p Medium, 70 at 4K Medium) indicate that frame pacing is generally consistent, with no severe stuttering observed in the measured results. The gap between min and max FPS widens as resolution increases, which is typical for GPU-bound scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about which component is limiting performance in Downfall. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 226 at 1080p to 162 at 1440p (a 28% decrease) and then to 101 at 4K (a 55% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is the primary bottleneck even at 1080p, as the CPU could likely push higher frame rates if given the chance.

At Medium settings, the progression is 185 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p (a 29% decrease), and 82 FPS at 4K (a 56% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings indicates a stable computational load that scales predictably with pixel count. The GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are being utilized in a linear fashion.

High settings show a similar trend: 152 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p (a 29% decrease), and 68 FPS at 4K (a 55% decrease from 1080p). This consistency across three settings levels reinforces that the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor throughout, and the CPU is not constraining performance at any resolution.

The exception is Ultra settings, where the drop is more severe: 95 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p (a 28% decrease), and 42 FPS at 4K (a 56% decrease from 1080p). While the percentage drops are similar, the absolute values at 4K Ultra fall below playable thresholds, indicating that the combination of high resolution and maximum settings overwhelms the GPU's capabilities. The 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth likely contribute to this collapse, as Ultra settings in Downfall appear to demand more memory throughput than the card can provide at 4K.

Overall, the scaling data shows that the RTX 4060 is consistently the limiting component across all tested configurations. The CPU's performance headroom means that upgrading the GPU would yield significant FPS gains, particularly at 1440p and 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 257 mm². It features a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and includes UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is largely supportive rather than performance-limiting. The benchmark data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, where CPU load is typically highest relative to GPU load, the combo achieves 226 FPS. This is well above what most displays can show, indicating that the i5-14600K is not a bottleneck in this title. The 14-core configuration with 20 threads provides ample processing power for the game's logic, physics, and AI systems.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its strength. It achieves 24491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2064 in single-core, 13709 in Cinebench R20 multi-core and 1935 in single-core, and 16673 in Geekbench multi-core with 2491 in single-core. These scores place it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals—the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, -0.2% delta), AMD EPYC 4345P (48470, +0.3% delta), Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287, +0.7% delta), and Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995, -0.8% delta)—are all within 1% of its score, showing that the i5-14600K sits in a tightly competitive performance band.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly beneficial for gaming, as Downfall likely relies on single-threaded performance for many of its core systems. The PassMark single-thread score of 4270 indicates strong per-core performance, which helps ensure that frame times remain consistent. The CPU's memory controller, supporting dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5, provides adequate bandwidth for feeding the GPU, though the 272.0 GB/s GPU memory bandwidth is the more critical factor in this pairing.

The data indicates that the i5-14600K is overqualified for the RTX 4060 in Downfall. The GPU becomes the limiting factor at every resolution and setting combination tested, and the CPU never appears to constrain performance. This is evident from the fact that FPS scales almost exclusively with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables. In practical terms, this combo offers a balanced experience at 1080p and 1440p, with the CPU providing headroom for future GPU upgrades without requiring a platform change.