Downfall

FAQ

Q: How does this CPU/GPU combo perform at 4K Ultra in Downfall?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers an average of 68 FPS. That is playable, but it is the weakest preset at this resolution, falling well short of the 109 FPS average seen at High settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rates?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 produces the highest averages across all settings. At Low settings, the combo reaches 364 FPS average, while at Medium it holds 298 FPS, and High still manages 244 FPS. Even Ultra at 1080p yields 153 FPS average, which is higher than any 1440p or 4K preset.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XTX a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: The benchmark results suggest the GPU becomes less of a limiting factor at 1080p, since the frame rate scales dramatically with lower settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the average jumps to 364 FPS, compared to 162 FPS at 4K Low, indicating the CPU can push very high frame rates when the GPU workload is reduced.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This pairing holds rank 524 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 14% of all configurations in the database. That is a strong overall standing, though not elite-tier.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded capability relative to its rivals?

A: The i5-14600KF scores 32,544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and its average benchmark score is 49,394. Compared to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, it is 0.3% ahead; versus the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, it leads by 0.8%. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% ahead of it.

Q: Does the GPU's average benchmark score reflect its gaming performance here?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 19,410, with a percentile rank of 64 among all GPUs. Its nearest rival by average score is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB at 19,334 (0.4% behind), but in actual Downfall measurements, the RX 7900 XTX produces very high frame rates, indicating the synthetic average score understates its real-world capability in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy across four presets at each resolution. For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the High preset is the standout choice. At 3840x2160, High delivers 109 FPS average, which is 41 FPS faster than Ultra (68 FPS) while still offering substantially better visuals than Medium (132 FPS) or Low (162 FPS). The gap between High and Ultra is severe — a 60% performance drop — making Ultra difficult to justify on this hardware unless the user prioritizes maximum fidelity over smoothness.

At 2560x1440, High produces 175 FPS average, which is comfortable for high-refresh monitors. Medium at 213 FPS and Low at 260 FPS are available for competitive play, but High retains enough headroom that most users will prefer it. Ultra at 1440p drops to 109 FPS, which is exactly the same average as High at 4K, so the settings scaling is consistent. For 1920x1080, High at 244 FPS is already far beyond what most displays can show, so there is little reason to drop to Medium (298 FPS) or Low (364 FPS) unless chasing absolute maximum refresh rates.

The data indicates that Medium is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values: at 4K Medium, the range is 113 to 152 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it spans 181 to 245 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it ranges from 253 to 343 FPS. These ranges show that Medium maintains consistent frame pacing without severe dips, making it a reliable fallback if High ever causes stutter on specific hardware configurations. For most users, the recommended path is High at any resolution — it offers the best perceptual quality-to-performance ratio, and the Ultra preset's steep cost in frame rate is not worth the marginal visual improvement in a horror title where smooth motion matters more than subtle texture detail.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz, boosting up to 5.30 GHz, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications position it as a high-end desktop CPU, and its benchmark results confirm strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 32,544 multi-core and 4,594 single-core. The single-core result is particularly relevant for Downfall, a 2016 horror title that likely relies on fewer threads for game logic and physics. The 5.30 GHz boost clock provides ample single-thread headroom, which the measured FPS data supports — even at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 364 FPS average, suggesting the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower GPU loads. The multi-core score of 32,544 ensures that background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems do not create bottlenecks.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 49,394, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals show how tightly grouped this segment is: the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49,228 (0.3% behind), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49,196 (0.4% behind), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48,995 (0.8% behind). Only the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 exceeds it, at 49,796 (0.8% ahead). This means the i5-14600KF sits at the very top of its performance tier, with no meaningful separation from its closest competitors.

For Downfall specifically, the CPU's 20 threads and high boost clock translate into consistent frame delivery. The measured FPS at 4K Low (162 FPS) versus 4K High (109 FPS) shows that even when the GPU is heavily loaded, the CPU keeps up without introducing frame time spikes. The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a straightforward drop-in for existing LGA1700 motherboards, and its unlocked multiplier allows overclocking for users who want extra headroom, though the stock boost clock already appears sufficient for this game's demands.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX holds rank 524 out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the top 14.1% of all configurations in the database, which is a strong result for a mid-to-high-end desktop build. The rank reflects the combination's ability to deliver high frame rates across all resolutions, but it also shows that there are 523 other combos that perform better, likely featuring more powerful CPUs or GPUs.

The ranking is notable because the GPU's individual percentile is only 64 among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 90th percentile. This suggests the CPU is doing more heavy lifting in the overall combo ranking than the GPU's synthetic score would imply. However, the measured FPS data tells a different story: at 4K Ultra, the combo still produces 68 FPS, which is respectable for a demanding title, and at 1080p Low it hits 364 FPS, indicating that the pairing is well-balanced for this game.

Compared to the 3,715 other tested combos, this configuration is neither at the bleeding edge nor struggling. The rank of 524 means it outperforms roughly 85.9% of all tested systems, making it a solid choice for gamers who want high refresh rates at 1440p or playable 4K performance. The gap to the top-ranked combos is likely driven by more expensive CPUs or GPUs with higher synthetic scores, but for Downfall specifically, the measured results show that this combo exceeds the needs of most displays — even at 4K High, it averages 109 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold that most horror games target.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1929 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz and a boost clock of 2498 MHz. Memory runs at 2500 MHz, effectively 20 Gbps. This hardware configuration is substantial for a 2016 horror title, and the measured FPS reflects that.

The GPU's synthetic benchmarks show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,841, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 50,465, and a Vulkan score of 85,612. Its Passmark G3D score is 31,238, with a GPU compute score of 17,689. These numbers place the RX 7900 XTX at the 64th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,410. Its nearest rivals by average score are surprising: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB at 19,334 (0.4% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 at 19,602 (1% ahead), and the AMD FirePro D300 at 19,637 (1.2% ahead). This clustering indicates that the average benchmark score is heavily influenced by compute workloads that do not reflect gaming performance.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling between settings. At 4K, dropping from Ultra (68 FPS) to High (109 FPS) yields a 60% improvement, while Low (162 FPS) is another 49% faster than High. This pattern shows that the RX 7900 XTX has ample headroom at lower settings, but the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits. The 24 GB VRAM is far more than this game requires, so memory capacity is not a constraint — the performance differences come from shader and rasterization workload. At 1440p, the same pattern holds: Ultra at 109 FPS, High at 175 FPS, Medium at 213 FPS, and Low at 260 FPS. The GPU's 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs deliver the raw throughput needed to maintain these high averages, and the 960 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures texture streaming does not cause hitches.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combo produces the following average FPS: Low at 162, Medium at 132 (with a range of 113 to 152), High at 109, and Ultra at 68. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing that frame times are stable within a 39 FPS window. The jump from High to Ultra represents a 41 FPS loss, which is the largest single-preset drop at any resolution — a clear indicator that Ultra's added effects are disproportionately expensive on this GPU.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 260, Medium at 213 (range 181 to 245), High at 175, and Ultra at 109. The 1440p Medium range spans 64 FPS, showing slightly more variance than at 4K, but the averages remain high enough that any display with a 144 Hz or 165 Hz refresh rate will be well-served. The Ultra preset at 1440p matches the High preset at 4K (both 109 FPS), which is a useful reference point for users deciding between resolution and quality.

At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low at 364, Medium at 298 (range 253 to 343), High at 244, and Ultra at 153. The 1080p Medium range is 90 FPS, indicating the widest variance of any preset, but still no concerning dips below 253 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p pushes past 360 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of virtually all consumer monitors, so this setting is only relevant for competitive players with 360 Hz displays. Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: High is the sweet spot, Medium is stable, Low is excessive, and Ultra is for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate.