Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti produces a compelling dataset in Downfall, a horror title that clearly favors high frame rates. The measured results show a system that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint at higher pixel counts. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested settings and resolutions, interprets the CPU and GPU roles, and contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a steep performance gradient as resolution increases, a classic indicator of GPU-bound rendering. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are exceptionally high, ranging from 130 FPS at Ultra to 311 FPS at Low. Moving to 2560x1440, these figures drop significantly: the same Low preset falls to 222 FPS, a 28.6% reduction from the 1080p result. The High preset at 1440p yields 149 FPS, down from 208 FPS at 1080p, while Medium drops from 254 FPS to 182 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 93 FPS, which is 71.5% of the 1080p Ultra score of 130 FPS.

The most pronounced scaling occurs between 1440p and 4K (3840x2160). At 4K, the High preset averages 93 FPS, a 37.6% decrease from the 1440p High result of 149 FPS. Low at 4K hits 138 FPS, down from 222 FPS at 1440p, while Medium falls to 113 FPS from 182 FPS. Ultra at 4K is the most demanding setting, producing only 58 FPS, a 37.6% drop from the 1440p Ultra score of 93 FPS. This pattern indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions but cannot compensate for the exponential pixel fill rate required at 3840x2160.

The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution widens as resolution decreases. At 1080p, the gap between Low (311 FPS) and Ultra (130 FPS) is 181 FPS, a 139.2% difference. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 129 FPS (222 vs. 93), and at 4K, it shrinks to 80 FPS (138 vs. 58). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU are both contributing to performance, but at 4K, the GPU’s workload dominates, compressing the relative impact of settings changes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394. In Downfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, a task it handles with considerable ease given the high frame rates observed.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 311 FPS, which is a clear sign that the CPU can sustain very high frame generation rates. The 14600KF’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 indicate strong parallel and single-threaded performance. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, has a deltaPct of 0.3% relative to the 14600KF’s average score, meaning they are effectively tied in synthetic benchmarks. This near-parity suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 14600KF would perform similarly to the Ryzen 9 7900, but the measured FPS in Downfall are so high that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 58, which is a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU’s 20 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game’s threading model, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS drop from 1440p to 4K is consistent across all settings, regardless of CPU load. The 14600KF’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide low-latency access to frequently used data, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame pacing in a horror title with unpredictable asset loads. The processor’s 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node are spec-level details, but the benchmark results indicate that thermal throttling is not a factor in the measured data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end Ampere architecture GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. Its boost clock is 1665 MHz, and it has 10240 shading units. The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 83, with an average benchmark score of 41187. In Downfall, the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate at higher resolutions, as the data shows a clear correlation between pixel count and FPS.

At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as the average FPS exceeds 200 on Low and Medium settings. The 3080 Ti’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance allows it to render the game’s horror visuals with headroom. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s limits become apparent: 58 FPS average indicates that the 12 GB VRAM and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth are being stressed by the combination of high resolution and high-quality textures. The measured Medium preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 96 and max FPS of 130, with an average of 113, which suggests some variance in frame times, likely due to memory pressure or shader complexity.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 3080 Ti’s average benchmark score of 41187 is 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, while being -1.2% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB. In Downfall, the 3080 Ti’s performance is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, but at 4K, only the Low and Medium presets deliver playable frame rates above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 58 FPS, is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU’s 1665 MHz boost clock and 10240 shading units are the limiting factor for maximum image quality at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows offer a clear hierarchy for optimizing the gameplay experience. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset stands out for its balance: it averages 254 FPS with a min of 216 and max of 292, providing a smooth experience without the performance overhead of Ultra. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 130 FPS, which is still high but represents a 48.8% reduction from Medium, suggesting that the visual gains from Ultra are not worth the performance cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 149 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 182 FPS with a min of 154, making it the best choice for maximising frame rate while maintaining acceptable visuals. The Ultra preset at 1440p (93 FPS) is borderline, but the Low preset (222 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal improvement over High.

For 3840x2160, the data recommends the Low preset for the highest frame rate (138 FPS) or the Medium preset for a balance of visuals and performance (113 FPS, min 96, max 130). The High preset at 4K averages 93 FPS, which is playable but not optimal for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 4K (58 FPS) should be avoided unless the user prioritises visual fidelity over frame rate, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth motion. The Medium preset at 4K provides the best overall experience, with a min FPS of 96 ensuring no severe drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination is ranked 970 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 73.9th percentile of all systems. This rank reflects the strong but not top-tier performance of the hardware. The CPU’s 90th percentile status and the GPU’s 83rd percentile status together yield a combo that excels at 1080p and 1440p but falls short of the highest-end 4K systems.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the fact that the RTX 3080 Ti, while powerful, is not the fastest GPU available. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system produces 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many users. However, the combo’s high scores at lower resolutions, such as 311 FPS at 1080p Low, indicate that it is well-suited for esports and fast-paced horror gameplay where frame rate is paramount. The nearest CPU rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, has a deltaPct of 0.3%, meaning the 14600KF’s performance is statistically identical, so the rank is primarily determined by GPU performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset, with min and max values where available.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 93 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 138 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 113 | 96 | 130 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 58 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 149 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 222 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 182 | 154 | 209 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 93 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 208 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 311 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 254 | 216 | 292 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 130 | - | - |

At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 311 FPS, which is the highest measured score in the dataset. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 216 and max FPS of 292 show a 76 FPS spread, indicating some frame time variance but still a smooth experience. At 1440p, the Low preset (222 FPS) is the fastest, while Ultra (93 FPS) is the slowest. The Medium preset at 1440p has a min of 154 and max of 209, a spread of 55 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset (138 FPS) is the only one that exceeds 120 FPS, while Ultra (58 FPS) is the only one below 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min of 96 and max of 130, a 34 FPS spread, which is the tightest range across all Medium presets, suggesting better frame pacing at higher resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest average FPS is 311, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo fail to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The combo averages 58 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra settings preset, which is the only configuration below 60 FPS in the measured data.

Q: How does the CPU’s synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900’s score of 49228.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth, and how does it relate to 4K performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti’s memory bandwidth is 912.4 GB/s, and the 4K results show a significant drop from 1440p, indicating that memory bandwidth is a limiting factor at high resolutions.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best frame rate at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset provides the highest average FPS at 2560x1440 with 222 FPS, but the Medium preset (182 FPS) offers a better balance of visuals and performance.

*Q: What is the combo’s rank out of all tested combinations in Downfall?*

A: The combo ranks 970 out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the upper quarter of all systems tested.