Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

This combo ranking 280th out of 3,716 tested configurations places it in the top 7.5% of all system pairings for Downfall, a horror title that demands sustained frame delivery rather than raw peak throughput. The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination demonstrates a balanced profile, though the data reveals distinct bottlenecks emerging at different resolution and quality tiers.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 280 out of 3,716 tested systems places this pairing in the 92nd percentile of all configurations evaluated for Downfall. Benchmark results indicate that this system sits well ahead of the median tested combo, but it is not among the absolute top-tier configurations. The rank reflects the measured FPS across all 12 tested scenarios, which range from 74 FPS at 4K Ultra to 397 FPS at 1080p Low.

The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 86, while the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 84, suggesting that both primary components are operating near their expected performance class without either being a significant outlier. The average benchmark score for the GPU is 54,209, while the CPU's average benchmark score is 35,287. These figures align with the measured in-game performance, where the system delivers playable frame rates at every tested setting, with only the 4K Ultra preset dipping below 100 FPS.

Compared to its nearest CPU rivals, the i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35,287 is 0.1% below the Intel Core i5-13600T (35,305) and 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-12700KF (35,365). The deltaPct values of -0.1, -0.2, -0.3, and -0.4 against the four nearest rivals indicate that all five CPUs perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks. For the GPU, the RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 54,209 is 0.1% below the RTX 4080 (54,247) and 1.1% below the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). The deltaPct values here show a slightly larger gap, but still within 2.8% of the nearest competitor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, with memory running at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). These specifications place it well above the minimum requirements for Downfall, a horror game that does not exhibit extreme VRAM pressure at the tested resolutions.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system achieves 397 FPS at Low settings, which suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution and settings combination. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 74 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed. The difference between 4K Low (177 FPS) and 4K Ultra (74 FPS) represents a 58.2% reduction in performance, which corresponds to the increased shading, texture, and post-processing demands at higher quality settings.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 52.22 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s provide ample compute for this title. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while not specifically utilized by Downfall's rendering pipeline, contribute to the overall graphics processing capability. The 10,240 shading units and 320 texture mapping units handle the game's visual effects efficiently, as evidenced by the strong performance at 1440p High (190 FPS) and 4K High (118 FPS).

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 397 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest tested average is 74 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 280th out of 3,716 tested combos, placing it in the top 7.5% of all configurations tested for Downfall.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 4080 SUPER and its closest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 54,209 is 0.1% below the RTX 4080's score of 54,247, indicating nearly identical synthetic performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate drops from 177 FPS at Low to 74 FPS at Ultra, a 58.2% reduction driven by graphics load.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded at any tested setting?

A: The 4K Ultra preset shows an average of 74 FPS, which is the lowest average across all tested resolution and settings combinations. The Medium presets at 4K and 1440p show minimum FPS values of 123 and 197, respectively.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35,287 is within 0.4% of all four nearest rivals, with the largest gap being 0.4% below the Intel Core 5 213PE (35,428).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 397 FPS average, followed by Medium at 325 FPS (with a minimum of 276 FPS and maximum of 374 FPS), High at 267 FPS, and Ultra at 167 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 57.9% reduction in average FPS, from 397 to 167.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected scaling. Low settings produce 284 FPS average, Medium drops to 232 FPS (minimum 197, maximum 267), High reaches 190 FPS, and Ultra falls to 119 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings ranges from 28.5% at Low (397 vs 284) to 28.7% at Ultra (167 vs 119).

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload increases substantially. Low settings still manage 177 FPS average, Medium achieves 144 FPS (minimum 123, maximum 166), High produces 118 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 37.7% at Low (284 vs 177), 37.9% at Medium (232 vs 144), 37.9% at High (190 vs 118), and 37.8% at Ultra (119 vs 74).

The Medium presets at all three resolutions include minimum and maximum FPS data, which is not available for the other settings. At 1080p Medium, the spread between minimum and maximum is 98 FPS (276 to 374). At 1440p Medium, the spread is 70 FPS (197 to 267). At 4K Medium, the spread narrows to 43 FPS (123 to 166), indicating more consistent frame delivery at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU draws up to 125 W TDP and uses the Alder Lake-S architecture on Intel Socket 1700. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 25 MB shared L3 cache.

Synthetic benchmarks show the CPU's multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 19,784, while the single-core score is 1,850.5. The Geekbench multicore score is 15,790, and single-core is 2,308. PassMark multithread score reaches 34,404, with single-thread at 4,013. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1,043 (single thread) to 9,979 (max threads), indicating good thread scaling across the 12-core configuration.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p Low, the 397 FPS average indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach very high frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,276 and 8-thread score of 7,202 suggest that the CPU handles the game's thread workload effectively. The 20 threads provide headroom for background processes and the game's engine, though Downfall is not a heavily threaded title compared to modern strategy or simulation games.

The CPU's percentile rank of 84 versus all CPUs, combined with the nearest rival deltas all within 0.4%, confirms that the i7-12700K performs as expected for its class. The 84th percentile means this CPU outperforms 84% of all tested CPUs, which is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4080 SUPER in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings based on display resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings produce playable frame rates, with even Ultra exceeding 165 FPS. The High preset at 267 FPS offers a balance between visual quality and performance headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. For maximum frame rates, Low at 397 FPS serves competitive or latency-sensitive scenarios, though the visual tradeoff may be significant in a horror title where atmosphere matters.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 190 FPS provides an excellent experience on 144Hz or 165Hz monitors. Medium at 232 FPS offers additional headroom for gamers prioritizing frame rate stability, while Ultra at 119 FPS remains above 100 FPS and should be considered if visual fidelity is the primary concern. The data shows that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combination, delivering nearly 2x the frame rate of 4K Ultra while maintaining high visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations shift. Low at 177 FPS is suitable for competitive play, but the Medium preset at 144 FPS (minimum 123, maximum 166) provides the best combination of visual quality and frame rate stability for 4K displays. High at 118 FPS is still playable and offers improved visuals, while Ultra at 74 FPS dips below the 100 FPS threshold that many gamers consider ideal for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset appears to be the recommended choice, as it maintains a minimum FPS of 123, ensuring no significant frame drops during intense horror sequences.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a consistent pattern across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 397 FPS at 1080p to 284 FPS at 1440p (a 28.5% reduction) and then to 177 FPS at 4K (a 37.7% reduction from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low is 55.4%.

At Medium settings, the progression goes from 325 FPS at 1080p to 232 FPS at 1440p (28.6% reduction) and then to 144 FPS at 4K (37.9% reduction from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 55.7%. The High settings show a similar trend: 267 FPS at 1080p, 190 FPS at 1440p (28.8% reduction), and 118 FPS at 4K (37.9% reduction from 1440p), totaling a 55.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

At Ultra settings, the pattern holds: 167 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p (28.7% reduction), and 74 FPS at 4K (37.8% reduction from 1440p), totaling a 55.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The consistency of these percentages across all settings indicates that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, with the GPU's workload scaling predictably with pixel count.

The nearly uniform percentage reductions across settings suggest that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when moving from 1440p to 4K. The CPU's role becomes less significant at higher resolutions, as the GPU takes longer to render each frame. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is similar in percentage terms, but the absolute FPS values remain high enough that the CPU may still contribute to frame generation at these lower resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, with ample headroom at 1080p and acceptable but reduced performance at 4K.