Downfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2988 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. That places this configuration in the bottom fifth of all tested systems, a positioning that reflects the demanding nature of this horror title rather than a fundamental flaw in either component. The 728-combo gap between this system and the top of the field is substantial, but the data suggests the pairing is capable of delivering playable experiences at several settings and resolution combinations.

This rank is noteworthy because the CPU itself sits in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 65th percentile against all GPUs. The disparity between those two percentile positions hints that the graphics card is the constraining element in this pairing, a conclusion reinforced by the measured FPS data showing the gap between low and ultra settings widening as resolution increases. The combo rank of 2988/3716 means roughly 80% of tested configurations outperform this one in Downfall, but the measured results show that this particular combination still has viable paths to smooth gameplay.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 brings 10 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 160-bit bus, yielding 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534 — a 0.1% difference that puts the Arc B570 effectively at parity with that mobile part. The Intel Arc A750 trails by 0.1% at 20582, meaning the B570 and A750 are essentially interchangeable in raw compute terms.

In Downfall specifically, the GPU's 10 GB frame buffer appears sufficient across all tested settings, as the measured data shows no resolution or settings combination hitting a memory ceiling. The card's 2304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units deliver a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, while the 80 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s. These figures translate directly into the FPS numbers seen in the measured results: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 163 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 30 FPS. The GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the primary driver of this scaling behavior, with the card handling lighter loads comfortably while struggling with the full feature set at high pixel counts.

The Arc B570's 18 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) are present in the hardware, though Downfall's 2016 release date means the game likely does not leverage these features heavily. The GPU's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class, and the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides adequate bandwidth for the card's memory subsystem.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Downfall with this combo?

A: The data shows 1440p High delivering 78 FPS average, which is smooth for a horror title. 1080p High reaches 109 FPS, while 4K High drops to 49 FPS. The sweet spot for visual quality and performance is 1440p High, offering a 59% FPS improvement over 4K High while maintaining higher resolution than 1080p.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rival?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile's 20534 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Arc A750's 20582. This places the three cards within a 0.2% performance band, making them statistically equivalent in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings in Downfall?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 68 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 49 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 30 FPS. Ultra settings are viable only at 1080p for a consistently smooth experience, with 1440p Ultra being borderline acceptable for less demanding players.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with this setup?

A: The measured results show 163 FPS at Low, 133 FPS at Medium, 109 FPS at High, and 68 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 113 ensures no drops below the 100 FPS threshold, making it the safest choice for high-refresh displays.

Q: How does the CPU's performance rank relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 49394. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores 49228 (0.3% slower), while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796 (0.8% faster).

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: At 4K Low, the combo averages 72 FPS, which is playable. 4K Medium averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50, and 4K High averages 49 FPS. Only 4K Ultra (30 FPS) falls below acceptable thresholds. Players willing to compromise on settings can achieve playable 4K performance.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Downfall spans three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a complete picture of this combo's capabilities.

At 1920x1080, the results show a clear progression: Low averages 163 FPS, Medium averages 133 FPS with a minimum of 113 and maximum of 153, High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The jump from Low to Ultra represents a 58% performance reduction, with the gap between Medium and High (24 FPS) being the largest single-step drop among the 1080p presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the trend continues with lower absolute numbers: Low averages 116 FPS, Medium averages 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 and maximum of 110, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, ranging from 29% at Low (163 to 116 FPS) to 28% at Ultra (68 to 49 FPS).

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress further: Low averages 72 FPS, Medium averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 and maximum of 68, High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more severe, with Low falling 38% (116 to 72 FPS) and Ultra falling 39% (49 to 30 FPS).

The Medium preset is unique in the dataset as the only settings level with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. This allows for an analysis of frame time consistency: at 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 40 FPS; at 1440p, it narrows to 29 FPS; at 4K, it narrows further to 18 FPS. This suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time variance at the cost of lower average FPS.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals important characteristics about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the combo delivers 163 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 29% from 1080p to 1440p and 38% from 1440p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the corresponding figures are 68 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K — drops of 28% and 39%, respectively.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings levels is telling. Whether running Low or Ultra, the resolution scaling penalty remains nearly identical, which indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at all settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS drops at higher resolutions (where the GPU workload dominates) and larger drops at lower resolutions (where CPU overhead becomes more significant). Instead, the uniform scaling suggests the Arc B570 is saturated across all tested configurations.

The absolute FPS numbers reinforce this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the system produces 163 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates, yet the GPU still cannot fully leverage the CPU's capabilities — the i5-14600KF's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 indicate ample headroom for frame generation. The 4K Ultra result of 30 FPS, which is exactly half the 1080p Ultra result of 68 FPS, demonstrates the GPU's pixel throughput limit: doubling the pixel count halves the frame rate, a textbook GPU-bound signature.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its 3.50 GHz base clock boosts to 5.30 GHz, and the 125 W TDP places it in the mainstream desktop segment. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. These specifications position the processor in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600KF demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 32544, while single-core scores 4594. Geekbench results show 17085 multi-core and 2445 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score of 38697 and single-thread score of 4273 further confirm the CPU's balanced capability across both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, has an average score of 49228 — a 0.3% difference that makes the two effectively equivalent in aggregate performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 trails by 0.8% at 48995, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 leads by 0.8% at 49796. This tight clustering means the i5-14600KF is competitive with modern alternatives, and its performance in Downfall is unlikely to be the limiting factor.

Downfall, as a horror game from 2016, likely relies more on single-threaded performance than multi-core scaling. The i5-14600KF's 5.30 GHz boost clock and strong single-core scores provide ample headroom for the game's engine. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 163 FPS, a figure that would not be possible if the CPU were constraining performance. The CPU's role in this pairing is to feed the GPU efficiently, a task it handles without becoming a bottleneck at any tested resolution or setting.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience for this combo in Downfall, depending on the player's resolution and performance priorities.

At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience: 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS. This provides a 24 FPS improvement over High (109 FPS) while maintaining a minimum frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset reaches 163 FPS but sacrifices visual quality for a performance margin that most displays cannot utilize. Ultra at 68 FPS is playable but lacks the headroom for demanding scenes, and the 65 FPS gap between Medium and Ultra is substantial.

At 1440p, the High preset (78 FPS) is the recommended choice. It offers a 17 FPS improvement over Ultra (49 FPS) while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium (95 FPS). The Medium preset's minimum of 81 FPS is actually higher than High's average, suggesting that players prioritizing frame consistency might prefer Medium at this resolution. However, the visual quality difference between Medium and High typically justifies the 17 FPS trade-off for most players.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Low (72 FPS) and Medium (59 FPS) are both playable, but High (49 FPS) approaches the edge of acceptable performance. Ultra (30 FPS) is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity above all else. For a horror game where atmosphere and lighting are critical, the Medium preset at 4K (59 FPS with a 50 FPS minimum) represents the best compromise between visual quality and smooth gameplay.

Across all resolutions, the data indicates that this combo performs best when settings are kept at Medium or High rather than pushed to Ultra. The performance cost of Ultra is disproportionate to its visual benefit, and the Medium preset's consistent minimum FPS values (113 at 1080p, 81 at 1440p, 50 at 4K) make it the safest choice for maintaining stable frame rates during intense horror sequences.