Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The data for Downfall with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU's headroom becomes apparent only at 1080p where frame rates soar. The combination ranks 30th out of 1,741 tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of systems analyzed for this horror title. The measured performance spans from a demanding 80.5 FPS at 4K Ultra to an exceptionally fluid 444.6 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the hardware is capable of far more than the game's visual presets typically demand.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the system delivers 295.1 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 213.1 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 129.6 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 56.1% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings, a steep decline that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. The RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth, is being pushed harder as pixel count increases, but the CPU's role diminishes correspondingly.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. From 1080p to 1440p at Low, the drop is from 444.6 FPS to 316.8 FPS, a 28.7% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low brings another 38.4% reduction to 195.2 FPS. At Ultra, the same progression yields 185.3 FPS at 1080p, 132.1 FPS at 1440p, and 80.5 FPS at 4K — a cumulative 56.6% loss from the lowest resolution to the highest. This consistent pattern across all four settings presets confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, with the GPU's rendering load increasing nearly linearly with pixel count.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-limited, given that the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads can feed frames faster than the game's engine can process them. At 4K, however, the RTX 4090's raw compute — 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate — becomes the binding constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 80.5 FPS, while still playable, is less than half the 1080p Low figure, illustrating the massive workload difference between these endpoints.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K brings 16 cores and 24 threads from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 39,000 and a single-core score of 5,505. The PassMark multithread score of 45,887 and single-thread score of 4,333 further confirm its strength. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core provide ample headroom for game logic and asset streaming.

In Downfall, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 444.6 FPS. This figure is 2.28 times the 4K Ultra result of 80.5 FPS, and the gap widens as resolution drops. At 1080p, the GPU is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU's ability to process draw calls and game simulation becomes relevant. The i7-13700K's 3DMark scores — 12,412 at max threads and 1,136 single-thread — suggest it can handle even the most demanding CPU-bound scenarios, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 93 among all processors places it in the top tier. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700KF with an average score of 47,334 (a -0.1% delta) and the AMD EPYC 4364P at 47,131 (+0.3%). These differences are negligible, indicating that the 13700K is effectively at parity with its closest competitors. For Downfall specifically, the CPU's role is to avoid becoming a bottleneck, and the data shows it succeeds: even at 1080p Low, the system maintains over 400 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not the constraint.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 444.6, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 80.5, which is the lowest measured result across all configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p High?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the system delivers 213.1 FPS. Given the RTX 4090's capabilities, this is likely GPU-bound, as the CPU can sustain higher frame rates at 1080p.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings yield 444.6 FPS while Ultra yields 185.3 FPS, a difference of 259.3 FPS, indicating the GPU workload increases significantly with visual quality.

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

A: This combination ranks 30th out of 1,741 tested combos for Downfall, placing it in the top 2% of all systems analyzed.

Q: Does the 24 GB VRAM of the RTX 4090 matter for Downfall?

A: The 24 GB GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is likely more than sufficient for Downfall, as the game's requirements are well below this capacity, allowing the GPU to focus on compute rather than memory swapping.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 30 out of 1,741 tested combinations in Downfall. This top-2% placement reflects the strength of both components working together. The CPU's percentile ranking of 93 and the GPU's percentile ranking of 91 among their respective categories reinforce that this is a high-end pairing.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking. At 4K Ultra, the system manages 80.5 FPS, which is respectable for the most demanding preset. At 1440p High, it reaches 213.1 FPS, and at 1080p High, it hits 295.1 FPS. These numbers place the combo well above the median for most systems, which would struggle to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra with such consistency.

The ranking also reflects the balance between the two components. The i7-13700K's nearest rival, the i7-13700KF, shows a delta of -0.1%, meaning they perform nearly identically. The RTX 4090's nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, shows a -0.4% delta, again a negligible difference. This suggests that the combo's high rank is not due to an outlier CPU or GPU but rather the combination of two top-tier parts that complement each other well in this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. At 4K Ultra, the system delivers 80.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. At 4K High, the frame rate rises to 129.6 FPS, a 61% improvement over Ultra while still maintaining high visual fidelity. For players with a 4K display, High settings offer the best balance of image quality and performance.

At 1440p, Medium settings provide 259.5 FPS, while High reaches 213.1 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 46.4 FPS, which may not be perceptible on a 144 Hz monitor. Ultra at 1440p drops to 132.1 FPS, which is still excellent but represents a significant reduction. For 1440p users, High settings are recommended as they deliver well above refresh rates while preserving visual quality.

At 1080p, the system exceeds 295 FPS even at High settings, and reaches 360.3 FPS at Medium. Ultra at 1080p yields 185.3 FPS, which is still far above any display's refresh rate. Given that even Ultra at 1080p produces over 180 FPS, players can choose the highest visual preset without concern for performance. The data suggests that the system is so powerful at 1080p that settings choice is purely a matter of visual preference rather than performance necessity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 444.6 FPS at Low, 360.3 FPS at Medium, 295.1 FPS at High, and 185.3 FPS at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58.3% reduction in frame rate as settings increase. The largest drop occurs between High and Ultra, a 109.8 FPS difference, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant additional GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the results are 316.8 FPS at Low, 259.5 FPS at Medium, 213.1 FPS at High, and 132.1 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 184.7 FPS, a 58.3% reduction consistent with the 1080p pattern. The High to Ultra gap narrows slightly to 81.0 FPS, but remains substantial.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves 195.2 FPS at Low, 163.5 FPS at Medium, 129.6 FPS at High, and 80.5 FPS at Ultra. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 114.7 FPS, a 58.8% decrease. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 80.5 FPS is the only configuration that falls below 100 FPS, highlighting the extreme demands of the highest preset at the highest resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs provide massive parallel processing power. The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are key to its ability to maintain high frame rates across all settings.

The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, ensuring that texture streaming and frame buffer operations are never constrained by memory throughput. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz, up from a base of 2235 MHz, allows it to scale performance dynamically. Its PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 confirm its position as a top-tier graphics solution.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is most evident in the resolution scaling. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU-bound behavior: as pixel count increases, the GPU's rendering workload grows, and the CPU becomes less relevant. The RTX 4090's 450 W TDP and triple-slot design reflect its high power draw, but the data shows this power is translated into exceptional performance. The GPU's percentile ranking of 91 among all GPUs, with nearest rivals like the Tesla T4 and Tesla P40 showing less than 1% score differences, reinforces that this is one of the fastest graphics cards available.