Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 shows a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination produces 92.1 FPS average, which drops to 64.4 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 43.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 30% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and an additional 32% reduction from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the graphics card is the dominant limiting factor even at the lowest quality preset.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher settings. With High settings, the average FPS moves from 59.2 at 1080p to 43.0 at 1440p (a 27% drop), then to 24.3 at 4K (a 43% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic degradation: 37.7 FPS at 1080p, 27.3 FPS at 1440p, and 15.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below playable thresholds, and even the 1440p Ultra figure sits at the edge of acceptable performance for a horror title where smooth motion matters for atmosphere.

The data suggests that the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count rises. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution: at 1080p, Ultra delivers 59% of Low's frame rate (37.7 vs 92.1), while at 4K that ratio drops to 35% (15.1 vs 43.7). This indicates that higher resolutions amplify the cost of quality settings, a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's capabilities are largely irrelevant here, as the 20-core i7-14700F has ample headroom to feed the GTX 1650 at any resolution tested.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a Turing-architecture part built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its memory clock runs at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective), yielding 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz, and it houses 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. These specifications produce a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 2.984 TFLOPS.

In Downfall, the GTX 1650's role is decisive. The benchmark results show that the GPU sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4%), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8761, -0.5%). The Quadro P2200 trails by 0.5% at 8671. This tight clustering places the GTX 1650 firmly in entry-level territory, which explains why it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K.

The GPU's 4 GB VRAM capacity is a notable constraint for Downfall's higher presets. While the game is from 2016 and not particularly demanding by modern standards, the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the card to its limit, yielding only 15.1 FPS. The 2.984 TFLOPS compute throughput and 93.24 GTexel/s texture rate are simply insufficient for the pixel and texture workloads at that resolution and quality level. At 1080p, however, the card performs admirably, with Low preset reaching 92.1 FPS and Medium hitting 72.6 FPS, suggesting that the GTX 1650 remains viable for 1080p gaming in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a Raptor Lake Refresh part with 20 cores and 28 threads, running at a 2.10 GHz base clock and boosting to 5.40 GHz. It features 33 MB of shared L3 cache, with 2 MB L2 and 80 KB L1 per core. The CPU's benchmarks are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 35443 and single-core 5003, while Geekbench multi-core reaches 16571 and single-core 2711. The PassMark multi-thread score is 41765, with a single-thread score of 4261.

This processor occupies the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450, -0.6% delta), the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681, -1.1%), and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, +1.2%). The EPYC 7313P trails by 1.7% at 53206. These results confirm that the i7-14700F is a high-end desktop CPU, yet in Downfall, its influence on frame rates is minimal.

The measured FPS data shows that the GTX 1650 consistently bottlenecks the system. At 1080p Low, the CPU could theoretically drive far more frames than 92.1, but the GPU's limits cap performance. The CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 28 threads are more than sufficient for Downfall's workload, which is primarily GPU-bound. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is severely overtaxed at 15.1 FPS, the CPU's utilization likely remains low, as the frame rate is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth. The i7-14700F's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node (with a 257 mm² die) make it an efficient partner, but it is not the component defining performance here.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for playable settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 92.1 FPS, Medium reaches 72.6 FPS, and High manages 59.2 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 37.7 FPS, which is still technically playable but may feel less smooth in a horror game that relies on tension and sudden movement. For a balance of visual fidelity and performance, Medium at 1080p offers 72.6 FPS, a 21% improvement over High while retaining most quality features. Low at 1080p maximizes smoothness at 92.1 FPS, which is ideal for competitive or reaction-heavy sequences.

At 2560x1440, the options narrow. Low delivers 64.4 FPS, which is playable, while Medium drops to 52.2 FPS and High to 43.0 FPS. Ultra at 1440p yields 27.3 FPS, which is borderline for a horror experience where frame pacing matters. The data suggests that 1440p users should stick to Low or Medium, with Medium offering 52.2 FPS as a reasonable compromise between quality and fluidity. High at 1440p is acceptable at 43.0 FPS but may introduce noticeable stutter in fast scenes.

At 3840x2160, only Low (43.7 FPS) approaches playability. Medium (32.7 FPS) and High (24.3 FPS) are marginal, while Ultra (15.1 FPS) is effectively unplayable. For 4K, the recommendation is clear: use Low settings if 4K resolution is mandatory, or consider dropping to 1440p Medium for a better experience. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and limited bandwidth make 4K Ultra a non-option, as the 15.1 FPS result confirms.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combination in Downfall?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. At Low settings, the combo achieves 92.1 FPS, and even Ultra reaches 37.7 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (64.4 FPS) and Medium (52.2 FPS) remain comfortably playable, while 4K is limited to Low at 43.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1650 averages 8713 in benchmark tests, placing it at the 43rd percentile. The RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 8746 (-0.4%), the Radeon 550X scores 8749 (-0.4%), the Radeon Pro WX 5100 scores 8761 (-0.5%), and the Quadro P2200 scores 8671 (+0.5%). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Is the i7-14700F overkill for the GTX 1650 in this game?

A: The CPU's benchmark scores (35443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 41765 in PassMark multi-thread) place it at the 94th percentile, far above the GPU's 43rd percentile. In Downfall, the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions and settings, so the CPU's performance headroom goes unused, but it ensures no CPU-side bottlenecks occur.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 37.7 FPS. This is a significant drop from High (59.2 FPS) and Medium (72.6 FPS), suggesting the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 2.984 TFLOPS compute.

Q: Can the GTX 1650 handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 43.7 FPS. Medium drops to 32.7 FPS, High to 24.3 FPS, and Ultra to 15.1 FPS. The 4 GB memory capacity and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for higher quality presets at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X?

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is 0.6% lower than the Ryzen 9 9900X's 54450. In Downfall, such a small difference would have no measurable impact on frame rates, as the GPU dominates performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS table for the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Downfall is as follows:

At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 92.1 FPS average, Medium produces 72.6 FPS, High produces 59.2 FPS, and Ultra produces 37.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 59% reduction in frame rate, with each preset step costing approximately 15-20 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 64.4 FPS, Medium delivers 52.2 FPS, High delivers 43.0 FPS, and Ultra delivers 27.3 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is substantial: 27.7 FPS at Low, 20.4 FPS at Medium, 16.2 FPS at High, and 10.4 FPS at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, Low settings yield 43.7 FPS, Medium yields 32.7 FPS, High yields 24.3 FPS, and Ultra yields 15.1 FPS. Compared to 1440p, the 4K results show further reductions of 20.7 FPS at Low, 19.5 FPS at Medium, 18.7 FPS at High, and 12.2 FPS at Ultra.

The data reveals that the GTX 1650's performance scales roughly linearly with resolution at each settings level, with the Ultra preset showing the steepest absolute declines. The combination of this GPU with the i7-14700F is best suited for 1080p play, where even High settings remain above 55 FPS. The combo ranks 1699th out of 1741 combinations in Downfall, placing it near the bottom of the performance distribution, which aligns with the GPU's 43rd percentile standing and the game's relatively high demands on graphics hardware. No min or max FPS values were recorded, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates, which consistently show the GPU as the primary bottleneck across all tested configurations.