Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a formidable 4K gaming experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly scales well with modern hardware. Across the measured presets, this combination produces frame rates ranging from 75 FPS at 4K Ultra to 396.6 FPS at 1080p Low, with the data showing that the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game’s demands. The combo ranks 105th out of 1,741 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6% of all pairings in the database, a strong result considering the CPU sits at the 93rd percentile among all processors and the GPU at the 88th percentile among all graphics cards.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot, with average FPS of 192 at High settings and 120.2 at Ultra. Both comfortably exceed 120 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the CPU perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF scores 49,367 in average benchmark score, placing it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K, 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, and 1.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. It trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER sufficient for 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 75, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. Dropping to High settings at the same resolution yields 120 FPS, a significant improvement.

Q: What settings provide the highest frame rates at 1080p?

A: Low settings at 1920x1080 produce 396.6 FPS, while Medium delivers 325.4 FPS and High achieves 268.5 FPS. Even Ultra maintains 168.5 FPS, so all presets are viable at this resolution.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER averages 53,610 in benchmark scores, edging out the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 0.2% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 0.4%. It leads the AMD Radeon RX 7700S by 2.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2.9%.

Q: Does the game benefit more from CPU or GPU performance?

A: The benchmark data indicates the GPU is the primary driver, as frame rates scale dramatically with resolution changes. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 396.6 FPS, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra where performance drops to 75 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy of presets that balances visual quality with frame rate. At 3840x2160, High settings deliver 120 FPS, which is the optimal choice for 4K displays with 120 Hz refresh rates. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 45 FPS (120 down to 75), a 37.5% reduction that most users would find unacceptable given the marginal visual gains in a horror title. Medium at 4K produces 141.6 FPS, offering a 21.6 FPS advantage over High, but the visual fidelity drop is more noticeable than the Ultra-to-High transition.

For 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to Ultra settings, which achieve 120.2 FPS. This is noteworthy because it matches the 4K High result exactly at 120 FPS, demonstrating that the hardware can handle maximum settings at this resolution without sacrificing smoothness. High at 1440p reaches 192 FPS, which is ideal for 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors, while Medium delivers 230.5 FPS for 240 Hz displays.

At 1920x1080, every preset exceeds 168 FPS, so the choice depends entirely on display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. High settings at 268.5 FPS are recommended for 240 Hz monitors, while Ultra at 168.5 FPS suits 165 Hz panels. The data suggests that Low settings are unnecessary at 1080p, as even Ultra maintains frame rates well above typical refresh rates. The most balanced experience across all resolutions is High settings, which never drops below 120 FPS regardless of resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2550 MHz, built on the AD103 chip using TSMC’s 5 nm process with 45,900 million transistors. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Downfall’s textures and effects at any resolution tested.

The GPU’s 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines deliver 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This raw compute power translates directly to the frame rates observed: at 3840x2160, the GPU sustains 176.7 FPS at Low settings, proving that even at 4K, the card is not bandwidth-limited in this title. The memory clock runs at 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective speed, and the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming at Ultra settings does not cause stuttering.

The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but largely unused in Downfall, a 2016 title that predates widespread ray tracing adoption. The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility ensure forward compatibility, but the game’s older engine benefits more from raw rasterization performance. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler design indicate that sustained 4K gaming will generate significant heat, but the measured frame rates show no evidence of thermal throttling. The GPU’s 88th percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 53,610, places it just 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, confirming that it performs at the upper echelon of current hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the resolution where GPU load is highest, the measured average FPS values are 176.7 at Low, 141.6 at Medium, 120 at High, and 75 at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 101.7 FPS drop, with the largest single-step decline occurring between High and Ultra at 45 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces significant post-processing effects or shadow quality increases that disproportionately impact performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings pattern yields 281.8 FPS at Low, 230.5 FPS at Medium, 192 FPS at High, and 120.2 FPS at Ultra. The resolution reduction from 4K to 1440p improves performance by roughly 60% at Low settings (176.7 to 281.8) and 60.3% at Ultra (75 to 120.2). Interestingly, the High-to-Ultra drop at 1440p is 71.8 FPS (192 down to 120.2), a larger absolute decline than at 4K, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional load scales with pixel count.

At 1920x1080, the results are 396.6 FPS at Low, 325.4 FPS at Medium, 268.5 FPS at High, and 168.5 FPS at Ultra. The 1080p Low result of 396.6 FPS approaches the CPU’s potential limit, suggesting that the i5-14600KF’s 14 cores and 20 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution. The gap between 1440p and 1080p at Low settings is 114.8 FPS (281.8 to 396.6), while at Ultra it narrows to 48.3 FPS (120.2 to 168.5), reinforcing that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Across all three resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent scaling: 141.6 FPS at 4K, 230.5 FPS at 1440p, and 325.4 FPS at 1080p. These values represent roughly 63% of the Low preset’s performance at each resolution, while High maintains approximately 68% of Low’s performance. Ultra consistently delivers the largest performance penalty, ranging from 42.5% of Low at 4K to 42.5% at 1440p and 42.5% at 1080p, showing that the Ultra preset’s cost is proportional across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination holds the 105th position out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 6% of all pairings in the database. This ranking is particularly impressive given that the CPU achieves a 93rd percentile score among all processors, while the GPU sits at the 88th percentile among all graphics cards. The combination outperforms what either component’s individual percentile might suggest, indicating excellent synergy in this specific game.

The CPU’s nearest rivals help contextualize its contribution to this ranking. The i5-14600KF scores 49,367 on average, which is 0.4% higher than the i5-14600K’s 49,166 and 0.6% higher than the Ryzen 9 5950X’s 49,062. This narrow margin means that swapping to either of these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, as the game does not appear to be CPU-limited at the tested settings. The 1.4% lead over the Xeon Gold 5318H is more pronounced but still unlikely to affect gameplay.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 53,610 average benchmark score places it just 0.2% ahead of the Radeon RX 6900 XT’s 53,489. This near-tie suggests that users with either card would see comparable performance in Downfall, though the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of VRAM and newer architecture provide additional headroom for future titles. The 2.9% lead over the RTX 5070 Ti is notable, indicating that the 4080 SUPER remains competitive with newer generation hardware.

The 105th rank out of 1,741 combos means that 1,636 other pairings produce lower frame rates in Downfall. This places the combo in the upper echelon of tested configurations, well ahead of mid-range and budget options. The data confirms that this pairing is optimized for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and smooth 4K experiences at High settings, with the measured FPS values supporting its top-tier ranking.