Downfall

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a robust performance profile in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The benchmark data reveals a system that scales predictably across resolutions and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary performance arbiter at higher graphical loads. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS figures to identify where each component excels and where the system's limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is the expected behavior for a system where the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 268.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 188.9 FPS, a drop of approximately 30%. At 4K, the frame rate falls further to 117 FPS, representing a 56% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling curve is steep, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER is being increasingly taxed by pixel throughput demands.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system produces 396.6 FPS at 1080p, 284.6 FPS at 1440p, and 174.7 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows similar behavior, with 167.9 FPS at 1080p, 120.6 FPS at 1440p, and 75.9 FPS at 4K. The consistent proportional drops across all presets suggest that the resolution scaling is primarily influenced by the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than any CPU bottleneck. The fact that the 4K Ultra figure of 75.9 FPS remains above playable thresholds, despite being the most demanding configuration tested, indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER has sufficient headroom for this game.

Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is proportionally larger than the gap between 1440p and 4K in terms of relative performance loss. For instance, at High settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 79.4 FPS, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 71.9 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being utilized more efficiently at the higher resolution range, or that the game's engine reaches a point of diminishing returns in pixel complexity. The data supports a conclusion that this hardware configuration is well-balanced for 1440p and 4K gaming, with 1080p performance being exceptionally high.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this system, and the measured FPS figures reflect its capabilities. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the textures and assets used in Downfall. The benchmark results show that even at the most demanding configuration tested—4K Ultra—the system maintains 75.9 FPS, which is a strong showing given the GPU's performance percentile of 88.

The GPU's clock speeds contribute to its performance profile. The base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2550 MHz allow for sustained high-frequency operation during gaming workloads. The memory clock of 1438 MHz, running at 23 Gbps effective, ensures that texture streaming and data transfer do not become bottlenecks. The 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance provides ample raw processing power for the shader work required by the game's horror visuals.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER holds a slight edge. The data shows it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M in average benchmark scores. It also leads the AMD Radeon RX 7700S by 2.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2.9%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER is well-positioned among its peers, and the measured FPS in Downfall confirms that this performance translates into high frame rates. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it firmly in the high-end tier, which is consistent with the 4K High result of 117 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF provides the processing backbone for this system, and its specifications suggest it is well-matched to the RTX 4080 SUPER. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the CPU offers substantial multi-threaded capacity, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979 and Geekbench multi-core score of 13596. The base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4091.

In Downfall, a horror game that is not typically CPU-intensive, the CPU's role is less prominent than the GPU's. The measured FPS at 1080p Low settings reaches 396.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high and suggests that the CPU can feed frames to the GPU without becoming a limiting factor at lower graphical loads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9282 and max-thread score of 9983 indicate that the CPU has sufficient multi-threading headroom for the game's physics and AI workloads.

The CPU's performance relative to its peers is tightly clustered. The data shows it is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14400, 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-13800H, and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900HX. It also leads the Intel Core i5-13600T by 0.3%. These minimal deltas suggest that the i7-12700KF is not a performance outlier but rather a solid mid-to-high-end offering. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it is well above average, and the benchmark results in Downfall show no evidence of CPU-induced frame drops, even at 1080p where CPU overhead is typically more visible. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache and the Alder Lake architecture with its hybrid core design provide sufficient data locality for the game's code paths.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 396.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the AMD Radeon RX 7700S in average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER is 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S in average benchmark scores, as indicated by the deltaPct value of 2.1.

Q: What is the performance difference between the i7-12700KF and the Intel Core i9-12900HX?

A: The i7-12700KF is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900HX in average benchmark scores, with a deltaPct of 0.2.

Q: What are the boost clock speeds for the CPU and GPU in this system?

A: The CPU has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and the GPU has a boost clock of 2550 MHz.

Q: Does the system achieve higher FPS at 1440p High or 4K Medium settings?

A: The system achieves 188.9 FPS at 1440p High settings and 142.2 FPS at 4K Medium settings, making the 1440p High configuration faster.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The GPU's memory bandwidth is 736.3 GB/s, provided by 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and performance target. For users with a 1080p display, the High preset at 268.3 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, while the Ultra preset at 167.9 FPS still provides a very smooth experience. The Medium preset at 326.1 FPS is suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors, though the visual fidelity reduction may not be justified given the High preset's already high frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset at 188.9 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides a substantial frame rate buffer above 144 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 120.6 FPS remains viable for users with 120 Hz monitors, but the drop from High is significant—a 36% reduction in performance. The Medium preset at 231 FPS is ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate panels, but the graphical compromises are notable.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 117 FPS delivers the best experience, comfortably exceeding 60 FPS targets and providing headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 142.2 FPS is also an option for users seeking higher frame rates, but the Ultra preset at 75.9 FPS is playable and offers the most visually immersive experience. Given the game's horror genre, where atmosphere and visual detail are paramount, the Ultra preset at 4K may be worth the frame rate trade-off for users with G-SYNC or FreeSync displays. However, the data suggests that High settings provide the most balanced experience across all resolutions, offering consistently high frame rates without the performance penalty of Ultra.