Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 produces a wide performance envelope in Downfall, with average frame rates spanning from 45 FPS at 4K Ultra to 240 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data reveals a system that is clearly capable of high-refresh-rate gameplay at mainstream resolutions, while 4K Ultra remains the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions shows a predictable load shift, but the magnitude of the drops between 1440p and 4K indicates where the graphics card begins to hit its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings produces a drop from 161 FPS to 115 FPS, a reduction of 46 FPS or roughly 28.6%. Moving further up to 3840x2160 at High sees the average fall to 72 FPS, another 43 FPS loss. This progression—161 to 115 to 72—shows a nearly linear decline in frame rate as pixel count increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at these settings. The data indicates that at High settings, the Radeon RX 7700 is the primary limiting factor, as the frame rate scales inversely with the resolution's pixel count.

At Medium settings, the same pattern holds with slightly higher absolute numbers: 196 FPS at 1080p, 140 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is 56 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 53 FPS. This consistency suggests that the workload is scaling smoothly with resolution, and neither the CPU nor the GPU is experiencing a sudden bottleneck at any specific point. The 4K Medium result of 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, shows that the system can maintain playable frame rates even at the highest resolution when settings are moderated.

Low settings tell a different story. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 240 FPS, which is likely approaching the practical ceiling for this combination. The jump to 171 FPS at 1440p Low represents a 69 FPS drop, and then 107 FPS at 4K Low is another 64 FPS reduction. The fact that 4K Low (107 FPS) is actually faster than 1080p High (161 FPS) but slower than 1080p Medium (196 FPS) illustrates how much headroom exists in the graphics settings rather than the resolution. The 4K Low result of 107 FPS being higher than the 1440p Medium result of 140 FPS shows that the settings preset has a larger impact on performance than the resolution step.

Ultra settings are the outlier. At 1080p Ultra the average is 101 FPS, at 1440p Ultra it drops to 72 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 45 FPS. This represents a 28.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37.5% drop from 1440p to 4K. The increasingly steep decline at Ultra settings suggests that the GPU is being pushed beyond its comfortable operating range, and the 45 FPS result at 4K Ultra confirms that this configuration is not suited for maximum quality at maximum resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination in Downfall?*

A: The highest measured average is 240 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, at Low, Medium, and High settings. The averages are 107 FPS, 87 FPS, and 72 FPS respectively. Only at 4K Ultra does the average drop below 60 FPS, hitting 45 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: The 1080p Medium average is 196 FPS, while the 1440p Medium average is 140 FPS. This represents a 56 FPS advantage for 1080p, or roughly a 40% increase.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows an average of 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS. This indicates a stable frame delivery with a spread of 42 FPS between the minimum and maximum.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever outperform the High preset at the same resolution?

A: No. At every resolution, the High preset produces a higher average frame rate than Ultra. The gap is 60 FPS at 1080p (161 vs 101), 43 FPS at 1440p (115 vs 72), and 27 FPS at 4K (72 vs 45).

Q: What is the performance cost of moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average drops from 115 FPS to 72 FPS, a reduction of 43 FPS or approximately 37.4%.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant factor in Downfall's frame rates, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient to handle the texture and geometry loads at 4K without visible stuttering in the measured data. The 4K Medium result, with a minimum of 74 FPS, suggests that memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck, as the frame times remain relatively tight even at higher resolutions.

The clock speeds of the RX 7700—1900 MHz base, 2041 MHz game clock, and 2459 MHz boost—allow the card to scale its performance dynamically. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 240 FPS, which is likely where the GPU's rendering throughput aligns with the CPU's ability to feed it. The fact that 1080p High (161 FPS) is slower than 1440p Low (171 FPS) indicates that the settings preset has a more significant impact on the GPU workload than the resolution itself, which is a common trait for horror titles that rely heavily on lighting and shadow effects.

The GPU's 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs are the key architectural components driving these results. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s explain why the card can handle 4K Medium at 87 FPS but struggles at 4K Ultra with 45 FPS. The Ultra preset likely enables additional post-processing effects and higher-quality shadows that multiply the pixel and texture work, pushing the GPU past its comfortable throughput. The benchmark data from PassMark G3D score of 20974 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 place this GPU in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with its mid-range positioning relative to the measured frame rates in Downfall.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Downfall, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1735 out of 3716 total combinations. This places it in the 53.3rd percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of the configurations in this particular game. The rank of 1735 suggests that while this is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is far from a low-end pairing, and the measured frame rates confirm that it can deliver smooth gameplay at most settings.

The CPU's overall benchmark standing helps contextualize this rank. The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394 and sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, which indicates that the processor is not holding back the system in Downfall. The nearest rivals to the CPU—the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49196 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 at 48995 (0.8% lower)—are all very closely matched, suggesting that any of these CPUs would produce similar results in this game. The fact that the combo rank is in the middle of the pack, despite the CPU being in the top 10%, points to the GPU being the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Conversely, the GPU's standing is more modest. The RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852 and sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862 (0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 at 16014 (1% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16129 (1.7% higher)—are all within a very tight performance band. This clustering explains why the combo rank is not higher: the GPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, and the 3716 tested combinations include many systems with more powerful graphics cards that push further up the ranks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 240 FPS, which is the peak measurement in the entire dataset. Medium settings follow at 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS and a maximum of 226 FPS, showing a stable 59 FPS range. High settings drop to 161 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 101 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p is 139 FPS, from 101 FPS at Ultra to 240 FPS at Low. This wide range indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU even at the lowest settings, and the bottleneck only appears when the GPU workload increases with higher quality presets.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 171 FPS for Low, 140 FPS for Medium, 115 FPS for High, and 72 FPS for Ultra. The Medium settings show a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS, which is a tighter distribution than at 1080p Medium (167 to 226 FPS). This suggests that at 1440p, the workload is more evenly balanced between the CPU and GPU, resulting in more consistent frame delivery. The jump from 1440p Ultra at 72 FPS to 1440p High at 115 FPS is a 43 FPS difference, which is the largest single-step improvement in the 1440p data.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 107 FPS for Low, 87 FPS for Medium, 72 FPS for High, and 45 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, which is the only 4K data point with min/max measurements. The 26 FPS spread between the minimum and maximum at 4K Medium indicates that the GPU is still managing frame times effectively, but the 45 FPS at Ultra is the only measurement in the entire dataset that falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The progression from 107 FPS at Low to 45 FPS at Ultra at 4K shows a 62 FPS drop, which is the largest absolute difference between settings at any single resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS, which is well above any display refresh rate likely to be used. At 1440p, Medium produces 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes stay comfortably above 100 FPS. At 4K, Medium hits 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that maintains a consistent 60+ FPS floor while still offering higher visual quality than Low.

For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, the High preset is the viable alternative. It delivers 161 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result of 72 FPS is perfectly playable on a 60 Hz display, and the 1440p High result of 115 FPS is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the data shows that the jump from High to Ultra is not worth the performance cost: at every resolution, Ultra is roughly 37-40% slower than High, with no measured benefit in the data beyond the preset label.

The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate displays at 1080p. The 240 FPS result at 1080p Low is the only measurement that approaches the limits of what a 240 Hz monitor could display, and it comes at the cost of visual quality. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it is the only setting that produces sub-60 FPS averages, and it does so at every resolution tested. The data clearly shows that Medium is the sweet spot for this combination, offering the best trade-off between the 196 FPS at 1080p and the 87 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides the computational foundation for the frame rates seen in Downfall. With 14 cores and 20 threads, the processor has ample parallelism for the game's logic and physics calculations. The base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz allow the CPU to respond quickly to single-threaded workloads, which is critical for a horror title that may rely on scripted events and AI-driven sequences. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency in scenarios where the game needs to load new areas or spawn entities.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU is performing at a high level relative to the rest of the market. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 both place the processor in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The Geekbench multicore result of 17085 and single-core of 2445 further confirm this standing. In Downfall, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 240 FPS suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates, and the 1080p Medium result of 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS indicates that the processor can maintain consistent frame delivery even when the GPU is working harder.

The nearest CPU rivals, all within 0.8% of the i5-14600KF's average benchmark score, suggest that this level of performance is not unique. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G are essentially tied, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is also very close. This clustering means that in Downfall, swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would likely produce nearly identical frame rates, as the game does not appear to be CPU-limited in the higher resolution and settings configurations. The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory give system builders flexibility, but the data shows that the GPU is the component that determines the playable settings in this title.