Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combo ranks 22nd out of 2,928 tested configurations in Downfall, placing it in the top 1% of all tested hardware pairings. The pairing of a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 with the flagship RTX 5090 D produces extremely high frame rates across all resolutions, though the data reveals that the GPU is the dominant performance driver at lower settings while the CPU becomes more relevant at higher settings and lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 22 out of 2,928 tested combinations places this system in an elite tier for Downfall performance. This ranking reflects the synergy between the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, where both components contribute meaningfully to the game's frame output. The CPU sits at the 84th percentile among all tested processors, while the GPU ranks at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs — both are high performers individually, and their combination yields top-tier results in this horror title.

The Core i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35,287 places it in close competition with several recent Intel parts. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35,305, which is a delta of just -0.1% from the 12700K. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35,365 (delta -0.2%), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35,403 (delta -0.3%), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35,428 (delta -0.4%). These sub-one-percent differences indicate that the 12700K is effectively tied with these rivals in synthetic CPU benchmarks, meaning the overall combo rank is largely determined by the GPU's contribution.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 puts it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (2.1% higher) and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 (2.4% higher). These rival deltas are modest, suggesting that the 5090 D's raw compute performance is competitive with high-end mobile and professional cards, though its true strength in Downfall comes from its massive memory subsystem and Blackwell architecture.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 D is built on the GB202 chip using a 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth — this enormous memory bandwidth is critical for Downfall's horror environments, which often feature dense volumetric effects and high-resolution textures.

The GPU's compute specifications are substantial: 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster operation units. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s indicate the card can fill frames at extremely high rates, which aligns with the measured performance in Downfall. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS (with FP16 at the same 1:1 ratio) provides ample headroom for the game's lighting and shadow calculations, which are typically the most demanding workloads in horror titles.

The RTX 5090 D's 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores suggest strong support for advanced rendering features, though the measured FPS data in this pack does not separately quantify ray tracing performance. The card's passmark G3D score of 44,065 and GPU compute score of 28,396 reflect its general-purpose compute strength. In the context of Downfall, the GPU's role is clearly dominant: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 448 FPS, which is more than double the 1080p Ultra result of 202 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower settings where the CPU can keep up.

The 5090 D's percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs, combined with its 32 GB VRAM capacity, means it can handle any texture or geometry load Downfall presents without memory pressure. The 512-bit memory bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensure that even the most detailed scenes stream data quickly enough to avoid hitches.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the combo scales across three resolutions — 1080p, 1440p, and 4K — and the pattern reveals where the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 448 FPS at 1080p to 345 FPS at 1440p (a 23% reduction) and then to 214 FPS at 4K (a further 38% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at higher resolutions indicates the GPU becomes progressively more limiting as pixel count increases, which is expected given the massive fill rate demands of 4K.

At High settings, the scaling is similar but slightly less steep in percentage terms: 324 FPS at 1080p drops to 231 FPS at 1440p (29% reduction) and then to 144 FPS at 4K (38% reduction from 1440p). The 144 FPS at 4K High is exactly the same as the 144 FPS at 1440p Ultra, suggesting that the combination of resolution and settings has a predictable impact on GPU load.

The Medium settings show the most complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 395 FPS with a min of 335 and max of 454. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 282 FPS (min 240, max 324), and at 4K Medium, the average is 175 FPS (min 149, max 202). The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases — from 119 FPS at 1080p to 84 FPS at 1440p to 53 FPS at 4K — indicating that the GPU's frame pacing becomes more consistent under heavier load.

At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 202 FPS at 1080p, 144 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 29%, and from 1440p to 4K is 37.5%. This consistent pattern across all settings suggests that the limiting component is the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p where frame rates exceed 400 FPS — a range where the 12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience in Downfall. For players targeting 4K, the High preset at 144 FPS average is the sweet spot — it delivers smooth, high-refresh-rate performance that matches the 1440p Ultra result exactly, making it the most efficient use of GPU resources at that resolution. Ultra at 4K drops to 90 FPS, which is playable but sacrifices 37.5% of the frame rate for incremental visual gains.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 282 FPS average (min 240, max 324) offer the best balance, as the frame rate remains well above 240 FPS for high-refresh displays while maintaining reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 231 FPS is also excellent, but the Medium preset's min FPS of 240 ensures no drops below the 240 Hz threshold that many esports monitors use. Ultra at 144 FPS is identical to the 4K High result, so players with 1440p 144 Hz displays can choose either based on visual preference.

For 1080p, the Medium preset at 395 FPS (min 335, max 454) provides the highest frame rates with the best consistency — the 335 FPS minimum is the highest min FPS recorded across all tested configurations. The Low preset at 448 FPS is faster on average but lacks the min/max data that would confirm its consistency, and the visual quality trade-off is significant for a horror game where atmosphere matters. High at 324 FPS is also strong for 1080p, but Medium offers 22% more average FPS with only a modest visual difference.

The data suggests that Ultra settings are only advisable at 1080p, where the 202 FPS average still clears the 144 Hz threshold comfortably. At 4K, Ultra's 90 FPS may cause noticeable frame pacing issues on high-refresh displays, making High the recommended maximum setting for that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The highest average frame rate recorded is 448 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings produce 395 FPS average with a minimum of 335 FPS and maximum of 454 FPS — the narrowest spread among 1080p presets. High settings yield 324 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 202 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54.9% reduction in average FPS, indicating that Ultra settings impose a substantial load on the GPU even at 1080p.

2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings achieve 345 FPS average, Medium produces 282 FPS average (min 240, max 324), High delivers 231 FPS average, and Ultra settles at 144 FPS average. The drop from Low to Ultra is 58.3%, slightly steeper than at 1080p, reflecting the increased pixel count's amplification of settings-based GPU load. The Medium preset's 240 FPS minimum ensures no frame drops below the 240 Hz threshold, making it the most consistent option at this resolution.

3840x2160 (4K): Low settings reach 214 FPS average, Medium achieves 175 FPS average (min 149, max 202), High produces 144 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 90 FPS average. The 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS is the lowest recorded average across all tested configurations, while the 4K Low result of 214 FPS demonstrates that the RTX 5090 D's 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth allows high frame rates even at 4K when settings are reduced. The min FPS of 149 at 4K Medium indicates that frame drops stay above the 144 Hz threshold on most displays.

The complete dataset shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier reduces average FPS by approximately 20-35% at a given resolution, and each resolution step up reduces FPS by 23-38% at a given settings tier. The 1080p Low result of 448 FPS is more than double the 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS, illustrating the full range of performance this combo can deliver depending on configuration.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Downfall?

A: This configuration ranks 22nd out of 2,928 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.75% of all tested hardware pairings for this game.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 144 FPS or higher?

A: At 4K, the High preset achieves exactly 144 FPS average, while Medium reaches 175 FPS and Low hits 214 FPS. At 1440p, all four settings (Low 345 FPS, Medium 282 FPS, High 231 FPS, Ultra 144 FPS) exceed 144 FPS. At 1080p, all settings including Ultra (202 FPS) stay well above 144 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (2.1% higher) and the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 (2.4% higher).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Downfall?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 448 FPS, suggesting CPU headroom exists, but at 4K Ultra, the 90 FPS result shows the GPU is heavily loaded. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, is only 0.1% different in average score, indicating the 12700K is not a bottleneck at typical gaming frame rates.

Q: What settings should I use for the most consistent frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset offers the best consistency across all resolutions, with measured min FPS values of 335 at 1080p, 240 at 1440p, and 149 at 4K. In contrast, Low, High, and Ultra presets lack min/max data, but the Medium preset's narrow spreads (119 FPS at 1080p, 84 FPS at 1440p, 53 FPS at 4K) suggest better frame pacing than the extremes.

Q: How does the Core i7-12700K's synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The 12700K's average benchmark score of 35,287 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i5-13600T (35,305, delta -0.1%), Intel Core i7-12700KF (35,365, delta -0.2%), Intel Core i7-13700T (35,403, delta -0.3%), and Intel Core 5 213PE (35,428, delta -0.4%). These differences are all under half a percent, indicating near-identical CPU compute performance.