Downfall

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti presents a striking imbalance in the horror title Downfall. The benchmark data shows a processor that ranks in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, paired with a graphics card that sits in the 55th percentile against all GPUs. This setup suggests a system where the CPU has significant headroom, leaving the GTX 1660 Ti as the primary arbiter of frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions and settings where the data indicates a steep performance cliff.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this specific CPU and GPU combination in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 1504 out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the lower tier of systems for this particular game.

Q: How does the Core i7-12700KF compare to its closest rival, the Core i5-14400?

A: The Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35355, which is a negligible 0.1% higher than the Core i5-14400's score of 35336. The performance difference between the two is effectively a tie.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti's benchmark score compare to the AMD Radeon RX 570X?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has an average score of 13925, which is 0.4% higher than the Radeon RX 570X's score of 13871. This indicates they are very closely matched in raw compute potential.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 146.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 29.5 FPS, observed at 3840x2160 (4K) resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 Ti considered a current product by the manufacturer?

A: No, the production status for the GTX 1660 Ti is listed as "End-of-life," indicating it is a discontinued product from NVIDIA.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the definitive performance limiter in this configuration for Downfall. The data shows a clear pattern where frame rates are highly sensitive to both resolution and graphical settings, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The card features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1500 MHz, with a boost clock of 1770 MHz.

When examining the benchmark results, the GPU's workload becomes apparent. At 1080p, the card can deliver high frame rates, but this is the only resolution where it can push beyond the 144 Hz mark, and only at Low settings (146.3 FPS). As the resolution increases to 1440p, the performance drops significantly, with the average FPS at High settings falling to 69.7. The strain becomes even more evident at 4K, where even the Medium preset averages only 51.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset collapses to 29.5 FPS. These numbers suggest that the 6 GB VRAM and the card's raw compute power—a FP32 throughput of 5.437 TFLOPS—are insufficient to maintain fluid performance at higher resolutions. The card's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 51 indicates a relatively weak showing in modern API workloads, which likely contributes to the significant performance dips observed when the graphical load is increased.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the Intel Core i7-12700KF is a high-end desktop processor that provides an immense amount of computational headroom. With 12 cores and 20 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing capability. Its architecture is Alder Lake, built on a 10 nm process, and it can boost up to 5.00 GHz from a base clock of 3.60 GHz. The processor's benchmark scores are formidable, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, demonstrating its strength in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads.

The CPU's role in Downfall appears to be secondary, as its performance is far beyond what the GTX 1660 Ti can utilize in this game. The data implies that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested setting. Even in the most demanding scenario (4K Ultra, 29.5 FPS), the frame rate is so low that it is almost certainly caused by the GPU hitting its limits, not the CPU failing to feed it data. This is supported by the CPU's average benchmark score of 35355, which is 0.1% higher than the Core i5-14400 and 0.2% higher than the Core i7-13800H. The processor's high single-thread performance ensures that game logic and draw calls are processed quickly, but this capability is left largely untapped. The combination creates a system where the CPU's potential is essentially capped by the graphics card's output.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i7-12700KF and GTX 1660 Ti is ranked 1504 out of 1741 total combos in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems. This low ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's age and performance class. While the CPU is in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, the GPU is only in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. This mismatch is the defining characteristic of the system's performance profile.

The data suggests that the system's rank is dragged down by the graphics card. A CPU of this caliber, which scores within 0.2% of the Core i9-12900HX, would typically be paired with a much more powerful GPU to achieve a high in-game rank. The fact that this combo only manages 42.3 FPS at 4K High settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across different resolutions. Instead, the frame rates plummet as resolution increases, which is a clear sign of GPU saturation. The system's overall rank is thus a reflection of its weakest link, the GTX 1660 Ti, which holds back the entire platform in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the GTX 1660 Ti's capabilities in Downfall. At 1920x1080, the card performs admirably in lower presets. The Low setting yields an average of 146.3 FPS, while Medium produces 124.2 FPS and High delivers 101.9 FPS. However, the Ultra preset sees a significant drop to 64.3 FPS, showing a 37.8% decrease from the High preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance penalty is substantial. The Low setting averages 107.1 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium preset drops to 86.3 FPS. The High preset falls to 69.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset struggles to maintain 44.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is a massive 62.7 FPS, highlighting the GPU's limitations with higher graphical fidelity.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the card is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset averages 66.7 FPS, which is the only playable option. The Medium preset drops to 51.7 FPS, and the High preset falls to 42.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable, with an average of just 29.5 FPS. This data shows that the GTX 1660 Ti is only suitable for 4K gaming at the lowest settings, and even then, it barely maintains a 60 FPS average.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience in Downfall with this hardware depends heavily on the target resolution. For a 1080p display, the High preset at 101.9 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, offering a smooth experience without the steep performance cost of the Ultra preset. If a higher refresh rate is preferred, the Medium preset at 124.2 FPS is a viable option, but it sacrifices some visual fidelity.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 86.3 FPS is the recommended choice. It maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS, which is crucial for a smooth experience, while still offering a reasonable level of visual detail. The High preset at 69.7 FPS is also playable, but users may notice more frequent frame drops. The Ultra preset should be avoided at this resolution.

At 4K, the choices are severely limited. The Low preset, averaging 66.7 FPS, is the only option that provides a consistently playable frame rate. Any higher preset will result in an average below 60 FPS, which can feel sluggish in a horror game that relies on atmosphere and tension. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU in Downfall beyond the lowest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at High settings drops from 101.9 to 69.7, a 31.6% decrease. From 1440p to 4K, the High preset falls further from 69.7 to 42.3, another 39.3% decrease. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti's rendering pipeline is saturated by the increased pixel count.

The pattern is consistent across most settings. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 124.2 at 1080p to 86.3 at 1440p (a 30.5% decrease) and then to 51.7 at 4K (a 40.1% decrease). Even at Low settings, which are less demanding on the GPU, the scaling is steep: 146.3 at 1080p, 107.1 at 1440p, and 66.7 at 4K. This consistent drop of roughly 30% from 1080p to 1440p and another 40% from 1440p to 4K across all presets confirms that the GPU is the limiting component.

The data implies that the Core i7-12700KF has no influence on these scaling trends. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing frame rate drops at higher resolutions, as the CPU workload remains constant while the GPU workload increases. Instead, the frame rate drops proportionally with the pixel count, which is a definitive sign of a GPU-limited system. The CPU's power is simply waiting for a more capable graphics card to unlock its potential in Downfall.