Downfall

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers playable frame rates in Downfall, but the data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card. At 1080p, the combo produces excellent results, with the Low preset hitting 150.1 FPS and High reaching 98 FPS. As resolution climbs, the GPU's workload becomes the bottleneck, causing a steep drop in performance. At 4K, the High preset falls to 47 FPS, and Ultra plunges to 28.5 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling pattern makes it clear that the i7-13700K has ample headroom at lower resolutions, but the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus limit the experience at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable but severe decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 150.1 FPS at 1080p to 104.1 FPS at 1440p, then falls further to 64.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 57.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The High preset tells a similar story: 98 FPS at 1080p, 74.1 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly sharp, suggesting that the memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s) and pixel rate (85.68 GPixel/s) are insufficient to maintain performance at higher resolutions.

Medium settings follow the same trend, with 120.2 FPS at 1080p, 84.3 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, starting at 63.7 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 46 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 28.5 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra widens at higher resolutions, which is typical for a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 86.4 FPS, but at 4K it narrows to 35.7 FPS, showing that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The data indicates that the i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is never the bottleneck; instead, the GTX 1660 SUPER's compute throughput (5.027 TFLOPS FP32) is what governs the frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing ranks 1499 out of 1741 combos for Downfall. That places it in the lower 14% of all tested systems, which aligns with the GPU's modest standing. The GTX 1660 SUPER has a percentile of 55 against all GPUs, meaning it outperforms just over half of the graphics cards in the database. Its average benchmark score is 14286, and its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, which scores 14314 with a deltaPct of -0.2%, making the two nearly identical in raw performance. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics is also close at 14315, with a deltaPct of -0.2%, while the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389, a 0.7% delta.

The CPU, by contrast, is a powerhouse. The i7-13700K has a percentile of 93 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, scores 47334 with a deltaPct of -0.1%, meaning the KF is essentially identical. The AMD EPYC 4364P scores 47131 (0.3% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900F scores 47081 (0.4% delta). The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU creates a lopsided pairing. In Downfall, the combo rank reflects this imbalance: the CPU is capable of far more, but the GPU holds the system back, particularly at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance for the best experience. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 98 FPS, which is smooth for a horror title where responsiveness matters. Medium offers 120.2 FPS, and Low hits 150.1 FPS, but High is the sweet spot because it balances visual fidelity with frame rate. Ultra at 1080p drops to 63.7 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced sequences. The data shows that High at 1080p is the most sensible choice, as it maintains a high frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 1440p, the High preset yields 74.1 FPS, which is adequate for most players. Medium provides 84.3 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often worth the 10 FPS trade-off. Low at 1440p hits 104.1 FPS, but that setting is likely too stripped down for a game that relies on atmosphere. Ultra at 1440p falls to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, so it should be avoided. For 4K, the situation is more challenging. High produces 47 FPS, Medium 56 FPS, and Low 64.2 FPS. None of these reach a consistent 60 FPS, but Medium at 56 FPS is the best compromise, offering better visuals than Low while remaining more responsive than High. Ultra at 4K is not viable at 28.5 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Downfall at 60 FPS on a 1440p monitor?*

A: Yes, at High settings the combo achieves 74.1 FPS at 2560x1440, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings reach 84.3 FPS, and Low hits 104.1 FPS, so there is headroom for smoother performance.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in general benchmark performance?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314, which is a deltaPct of -0.2%, meaning the RX Vega 11 is slightly faster. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics is also at 14315 (-0.2%), while the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389, a 0.7% advantage for the 5500 XT.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 4K resolution?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 produces 56 FPS, which is the highest frame rate among the more visually demanding settings. Low reaches 64.2 FPS, but the visual quality is likely too poor for a horror game. High and Ultra are not recommended at 4K, as they drop to 47 FPS and 28.5 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this pairing?

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The i7-13700K has a percentile of 93 against all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 47282 is nearly identical to its closest rival, the i7-13700KF. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a pattern typical of GPU limitation, not CPU limitation.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to the i9-12900F?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, while the Intel Core i9-12900F scores 47081. The deltaPct is 0.4%, meaning the i7-13700K is slightly faster. The i7-13700KF is the closest rival at 47334, with a deltaPct of -0.1%, making the KF marginally faster.

*Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM sufficient for Downfall?*

A: The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory appears adequate based on the measured results. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops significantly (28.5 FPS at 4K), but this is likely due to the GPU's compute limits rather than VRAM capacity, as the memory bus width is 192-bit and bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER is the definitive limiting factor in this configuration. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards. The GPU's base clock is 1530 MHz, with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it features 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The pixel rate is 85.68 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 157.1 GTexel/s. These specs translate to a raw compute capability of 5.027 TFLOPS FP32, which is on the lower end for gaming.

In Downfall, the GPU's performance is reflected in the measured FPS. At 1080p, the GPU can push beyond 100 FPS on lower presets, but at 4K, it struggles to maintain 60 FPS even on Low. The benchmark scores confirm its mid-range position: the PassMark G3D score is 12699, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278. The GPU's percentile of 55 versus all GPUs shows it is average, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.7% in average score. This means the GTX 1660 SUPER is not a high-end part, and its age (release date 2019-10-28) shows in demanding scenarios. The VRAM size is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the bandwidth and compute power are what cause the frame rate to tumble at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K provides an enormous amount of processing headroom that goes largely unused in Downfall. With 16 cores and 24 threads, it is a 13th Gen Raptor Lake part with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and its integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU. The CPU's benchmark results are exceptional: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 39000, Geekbench multicore hits 17731, and PassMark multithread reaches 45887.

The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. The frame rate differences between 1080p and 4K are almost entirely due to the GPU's workload. The i7-13700K's percentile of 93 against all CPUs places it in the top 7% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 47282 is within 0.5% of its nearest rivals. For Downfall, a game that does not appear to be heavily threaded, the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 singlecore score of 5505, PassMark single-thread of 4333) is more than sufficient. The combination of high clock speeds and 24 threads ensures that the CPU will never be the reason for a frame rate drop, even in scenes with many dynamic elements. The only caveat is that this level of CPU performance is wasted when paired with a GPU that ranks in the 55th percentile.