Downfall

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Downfall, with performance scaling that reveals a clear GPU bottleneck at lower resolutions and a shift towards CPU limitation at 4K Ultra. The data shows this combination ranks 394th out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all system configurations for this title. The RTX 5070’s 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient for the game’s demands, while the i5-9400’s six cores and 4.10 GHz boost clock keep pace until the highest settings and resolutions push the balance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Downfall?*

A: The data shows 2560x1440 yields the most balanced results, with average FPS ranging from 100.5 at Ultra to 239.5 at Low. At 1920x1080, performance is higher but the gains shrink, while 3840x2160 drops below 65 FPS at Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 41687 places it 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 0.7% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 0.5%.

Q: Is the CPU a limiting factor in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 269.6 FPS, suggesting the i5-9400 can drive high frame rates. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 64.3 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is mid-pack but not a bottleneck at lower settings.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 162.2 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is a 37.6% drop from the 1080p High result of 226.1 FPS, confirming the GPU is doing progressively more work as resolution increases.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra delivers 64.3 FPS, while High achieves 101.6 FPS. This represents a 36.7% performance penalty for the Ultra preset, making High a more practical choice for 4K gaming on this hardware.

Q: Does the RTX 5070’s memory capacity matter for this game?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The measured frame rates show no signs of memory capacity stalling at any resolution, suggesting this is adequate for Downfall’s requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 6144 shading units and 192 tensor cores. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory operates at 28 Gbps effective, yielding 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit bus — figures that directly support the high frame rates observed. The GPU’s boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz drive a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s, which are ample for a horror title like Downfall.

Benchmark results place the RTX 5070 in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 41687. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, scores 41441, a delta of 0.6% — meaning the 5070 edges out a previous flagship. This GPU-centric strength is visible in the measured FPS: even at 4K High, the combo sustains 101.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 126.7 FPS (269.6 vs 142.9), showing the GPU has headroom to spare when resolution is low but struggles under max graphical load.

The 50-series card’s 80 ROPs and 48 RT cores suggest it is built for modern rendering workloads, but Downfall’s 2016 release date means it relies more on raw rasterization than ray tracing. The data indicates the GPU is well-utilized: frame rates scale predictably with settings changes, and the 4K Ultra result of 64.3 FPS shows the card reaching its practical limit for this title. The 245 mm dual-slot design and 250 W TDP are consistent with a performance-tier card that pairs logically with a mid-range CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 269.6 FPS; at 1440p Low, this drops to 239.5 FPS (an 11.2% decrease); and at 4K Low, it falls to 150.5 FPS (a 37.2% drop from 1440p). This scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, where the i5-9400 can feed frames quickly enough.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. From 1080p Ultra (142.9 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (100.5 FPS), there is a 29.7% drop. Moving to 4K Ultra yields 64.3 FPS, a 36.0% further reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops suggests the workload is scaling linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution grows larger as resolution increases: 126.7 FPS at 1080p, 139.0 FPS at 1440p, and 86.2 FPS at 4K.

This data implies the CPU becomes more relevant at lower settings and resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 269.6 FPS result may approach the i5-9400’s practical frame delivery limit, given its 6 cores and 6 threads with a 4.10 GHz boost clock. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly saturated, as evidenced by the sub-65 FPS result. The sweet spot appears to be 1440p, where the combo maintains high frame rates across all settings without the extreme drops seen at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The combo delivers its highest raw performance here. Low settings produce 269.6 FPS, Medium 255.1 FPS, and High 226.1 FPS. Ultra drops to 142.9 FPS, a significant 36.8% penalty over High. All results are well above typical display refresh rates, suggesting the system is never constrained at this resolution.

2560x1440: Performance remains strong but shows expected scaling. Low hits 239.5 FPS, Medium 199 FPS, and High 162.2 FPS. Ultra manages 100.5 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 38.0% drop from High. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs between 11.2% (Low) and 29.7% (Ultra) of performance.

3840x2160: This is where the combo shows its limits. Low achieves 150.5 FPS, Medium 124.6 FPS, and High 101.6 FPS. Ultra falls to 64.3 FPS, which is below the 70 FPS threshold that many users consider smooth. The 4K results show a 57.3% drop from Low to Ultra, the largest relative spread across all resolutions.

The data shows no min or max FPS recorded, so the averages represent steady-state performance. The progression from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution follows a consistent pattern, with the largest performance gap always occurring between High and Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows suggest that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, High yields 226.1 FPS, which exceeds what most displays can show, while Ultra’s 142.9 FPS offers no practical benefit for the 36.8% performance cost. At 1440p, High delivers 162.2 FPS, comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors, whereas Ultra drops to 100.5 FPS — still playable but with diminishing visual returns.

For 4K users, High is the only sensible choice. The 101.6 FPS result is smooth, but Ultra’s 64.3 FPS risks noticeable stutter in a horror game where frame pacing matters. Medium settings at 4K provide 124.6 FPS, which could be a fallback if High proves unstable on specific hardware. Low settings are unnecessary at any resolution given the GPU’s headroom; even at 4K, Low produces 150.5 FPS, indicating the game is not particularly demanding.

The optimal preset is High at 1440p, where the combo achieves 162.2 FPS — a 61.7% improvement over 4K High and still 28.2% below the 1080p High result. This configuration maximizes the i5-9400’s capability while letting the RTX 5070 flex its memory bandwidth advantage.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 contributes 6 cores and 6 threads, running at a 2.90 GHz base clock and boosting to 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest by modern standards, yet the measured results show no CPU-induced bottlenecks at most settings. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 2305 places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, scores 2300 (a 0.2% delta) — indicating the i5-9400 is a mid-pack performer.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role becomes evident when comparing 1080p Low (269.6 FPS) to 1440p Low (239.5 FPS). The 30.1 FPS drop suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the smaller-than-expected reduction (11.2%) hints that the CPU may be nearing its frame delivery ceiling. The 4K Low result of 150.5 FPS is 37.2% below 1440p, confirming the GPU takes over as the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The i5-9400’s 65 W TDP and Coffee Lake architecture are dated relative to the RTX 5070’s 5 nm process, but the data shows the pairing works. The CPU’s single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 1125) is adequate for Downfall’s horror gameplay, which typically relies on fewer threads. The 6-thread configuration is sufficient for this 2016 title, and the lack of hyperthreading does not appear to hurt results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 394th out of 1741 tested configurations, placing it in the top 22.6% of all systems benchmarked in Downfall. This rank reflects a pairing of a 50th-percentile CPU with an 83rd-percentile GPU, creating a system that punches above its CPU’s weight class. The RTX 5070’s performance advantage over rivals like the RTX 3090 (0.6% faster) suggests the GPU is carrying the load, while the i5-9400’s mid-pack standing does not drag the overall result down.

The rank of 394 implies that roughly 1347 combos are slower, but the gap to the top is significant — the top 393 systems likely feature newer CPUs with higher IPC and more cores. The data indicates this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU can keep up, but loses ground at 4K Ultra, where the GPU’s 64.3 FPS result falls behind what newer CPU pairings might achieve. For a horror game like Downfall, this rank is respectable, and the measured FPS at High settings across all resolutions confirms the combo is well-matched for smooth, immersive gameplay.