Downfall

Downfall, a horror title from 2016, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a system that is heavily biased toward high refresh rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, with a significant performance cliff appearing at 4K Ultra settings. The data indicates that this combination is capable of delivering exceptionally smooth gameplay at lower resolutions, but the demands of 4K Ultra push the GPU to its limits, resulting in a frame rate that may compromise the experience for some users.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and demonstrates how the workload transforms across resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 314.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 138.3 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 56% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical for a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's demands, but the sheer number of pixels at 4K overwhelms the rendering pipeline.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the drop from 151.4 FPS to 95.9 FPS is a 36.6% decrease, which is less severe than the 1080p-to-1440p transition at Low settings. This suggests that the game engine's overhead at higher resolutions begins to dominate, and the GPU's compute resources are fully saturated. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with a 56.6 FPS average at 4K representing just 42.8% of the 132.1 FPS achieved at 1080p. This indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU at higher resolutions, making 4K Ultra a demanding target for this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration. Its 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are directly reflected in the benchmark results. At 1080p Medium, the card produces 256 FPS, showing that it has ample headroom to handle the game's geometry and shading work without being constrained by other components. The GPU's 1920 MHz base clock and 2475 MHz boost clock provide consistent performance across the measured scenarios.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity proves adequate for Downfall, as no memory-related stutters or limitations are evident in the data. The 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the textures and assets used in this 2016 title, even at 4K resolution. However, the Ultra preset's 56.6 FPS at 4K suggests that the GPU's raw shading power, rather than memory bandwidth, is the limiting factor. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores present in the RTX 4070 are not specifically utilized by Downfall's rendering path, so the performance is driven primarily by the 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, provides more than enough processing power for Downfall's CPU-bound tasks. The 3.50 GHz base clock and 5.30 GHz boost clock ensure that even single-threaded game logic runs without becoming a bottleneck. This is confirmed by the benchmark data: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 314.5 FPS, a frame rate that would expose any CPU limitation in the game's main thread. The fact that performance continues to scale up to this level indicates the CPU is not holding back the GPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain smooth frame pacing during intense horror sequences with multiple enemies or complex scripted events. The processor's 125W TDP allows for sustained boost clocks during extended gaming sessions, preventing thermal throttling that could reduce frame rates over time. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 places the i5-14600K in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, confirming its ability to handle any background tasks while gaming. For a game like Downfall, which may not heavily utilize all 20 threads, the single-core performance is more critical, and the Geekbench single-core score of 2803 indicates strong IPC that translates directly to game performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 314.5 FPS, which drops to 256 FPS at Medium and 212.1 FPS at High. The Ultra preset still delivers 132.1 FPS, maintaining a high refresh rate experience even with maximum visual fidelity. This resolution is clearly where the RTX 4070 operates with the most headroom, and the data suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to keep frame rates above 200 FPS in most scenarios.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive but show the expected decline. Low settings yield 220.9 FPS, Medium produces 182.8 FPS, and High delivers 151.4 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 92.2 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but represents a significant step down from the lower presets. The 1440p results indicate that this is the sweet spot for the RTX 4070, offering a balance between visual quality and high frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes dramatically. Low settings produce 138.3 FPS, Medium drops to 115.1 FPS, and High settles at 95.9 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 56.6 FPS, which may be below the refresh rate of many 4K monitors. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is 58.5 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset's additional effects come at a steep cost. The data reveals that 4K gaming is viable with this combination, but users must be selective about their settings to maintain high refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 404th out of 1741 tested combos for Downfall, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, though it also indicates that there are many faster combinations available, particularly those featuring higher-end GPUs. The CPU's position relative to its nearest rivals shows a tight grouping: the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is 0.2% ahead in average benchmark score, while the Intel Core i5-14600KF is 0.4% behind. This suggests that the CPU choice has minimal impact on overall ranking, and the GPU is the primary differentiator.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 81st among all GPUs further confirms that the RTX 4070 is a solid mid-to-high-range performer. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which is 0.6% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, which is 2.2% faster. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4070 sits in a competitive performance tier, and the measured FPS in Downfall aligns with this positioning. The combo's rank of 404 suggests that for users seeking the absolute highest frame rates in this game, there are better options, but the i5-14600K + RTX 4070 provides a well-rounded experience across all tested resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's display and performance priorities. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 132.1 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining frame rates well above 120 FPS. Users with 144Hz monitors will find this combination ideal, as even the most demanding preset keeps pace with the display's refresh rate.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 151.4 FPS offers an excellent balance, delivering smooth gameplay with minimal visual compromises. The Ultra preset at 92.2 FPS is also viable, especially for users with 100Hz or 120Hz monitors, though the 59.2 FPS gap between High and Ultra may not justify the visual improvement for all users. The Medium preset at 182.8 FPS is only recommended for competitive players who prioritize frame rate over graphics quality.

At 4K, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. The High preset at 95.9 FPS is the best choice for users with high refresh rate 4K displays, as it stays above 90 FPS while providing good visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 115.1 FPS is preferable for those who want extra headroom, while the Ultra preset at 56.6 FPS is only suitable for users with 60Hz displays who prioritize maximum visual quality. The Low preset at 4K, producing 138.3 FPS, is not recommended as the visual degradation outweighs the frame rate benefit for most users.