Downfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER places 2630th out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, landing in the 29th percentile overall. That is a modest standing, and the data shows this is a combination where the GPU is the clear limiting factor for this horror title. The CPU sits in the 91st percentile among all processors tested, while the GPU sits in the 62nd percentile — the gap between those two positions explains most of what you see in the frame rate results.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals reinforces that this processor is not the bottleneck. The i7-14700F's average benchmark score of 53620 is essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, 0.2% ahead) and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, 0.3% behind). It also edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288, 0.6% ahead) and the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206, 0.8% ahead). These are all high-end parts, and the i7-14700F trades blows with them within a single percentage point. The GPU, by contrast, sits in a much lower tier relative to its own field. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average score of 18093 is within 1.6% of its nearest rivals — the RTX 3060 Mobile (18159, 0.4% ahead), Radeon Pro 5700 (18189, 0.5% ahead), Radeon RX 460 (18373, 1.5% ahead), and Arc A770M (18383, 1.6% ahead). None of those are modern flagship parts.

The practical takeaway is that this combo will run Downfall, but it will not run it at the top of any charts. The rank of 2630 reflects a system that is competent for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with heavier settings. The data suggests that if you are chasing higher frame rates, upgrading the GPU would yield far more benefit than swapping the CPU.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 SUPER brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1470 MHz and it boosts to 1650 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The card has 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. It delivers 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 14.36 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1). The GPU is built on TSMC's 12 nm process with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die.

In Downfall specifically, these specifications translate into a card that handles 1080p and 1440p well, but starts to show its age at 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 128 FPS average. At 1440p High, that drops to 92 FPS. At 4K High, it falls to 57 FPS. The pattern is consistent: the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and 448 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra setting (36 FPS) shows the card running out of headroom.

The GPU's percentile standing of 62 means it outperforms roughly six out of ten GPUs in the database, which is respectable for a card from 2019 but not competitive with modern mid-range or high-end options. The measured data in Downfall confirms this — the card produces playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on most presets, but the 4K results are marginal at best. The 57 FPS at 4K High is technically playable, but the 36 FPS at 4K Ultra is not a smooth experience for a horror game where reaction time matters.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1080p High (128 FPS) to 1440p High (92 FPS) is a 28% drop, and moving from 1440p High to 4K High (57 FPS) is another 38% drop. The total decline from 1080p High to 4K High is 55%. This steep falloff is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is similar but at higher absolute numbers: 191 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. That is a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K as well. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across presets suggests the limiting factor is the GPU's raw rendering capability rather than any specific setting. The CPU is not the constraint here — if it were, the frame rates would cluster closer together across resolutions.

The Medium preset shows the same trend with a smaller data set: 156 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. The minimum frame rates also scale downward, with 133 FPS minimum at 1080p Medium, 95 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 59 FPS at 4K Medium. The 4K Medium result, with a 59 FPS minimum, is right at the edge of what most players would consider acceptable for a smooth experience.

At 1080p, even the Ultra preset (80 FPS) is comfortably playable. But at 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 36 FPS, which is a 55% reduction from 1080p Ultra. This is a clear sign that the RTX 2060 SUPER is not designed for 4K gaming in demanding titles, and Downfall at 4K should be treated as a lower-settings scenario for this combo.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings in Downfall?

A: The measured average is 128 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay and represents a good balance of visual quality and performance for this combo.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F or the RTX 2060 SUPER the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 62nd percentile. The frame rate drops of roughly 55% from 1080p to 4K across multiple presets are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average is 85 FPS, which is playable. At Medium, it drops to 69 FPS with a 59 FPS minimum. At High, it drops to 57 FPS. At Ultra, it falls to 36 FPS, which is not a smooth experience. So 4K is possible, but only with lower settings.

Q: How does the i7-14700F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700F's average benchmark score of 53620 is within 0.8% of its four nearest rivals. It trails the Intel Xeon 6505P by 0.2%, leads the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 0.3%, leads the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X by 0.6%, and leads the AMD EPYC 7313P by 0.8%.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, which is a solid experience. The High preset delivers 92 FPS, and Ultra drops to 57 FPS. Medium offers the best combination of smoothness and visual quality at this resolution.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 2060 SUPER have, and does it matter for Downfall?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The frame rate drops at 4K, particularly at Ultra (36 FPS), suggest that memory capacity and bandwidth are contributing factors in the higher-resolution results.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which presets work best at each resolution. For 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 80 FPS average, which is still well above playable thresholds, so there is no reason to compromise on quality if you have a 1080p monitor. The High preset at 128 FPS is excellent for high-refresh displays, and even Medium at 156 FPS is viable for competitive play. The Low preset at 191 FPS is there if you want maximum frame rates, but it is unnecessary for a horror title.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 112 FPS with a 95 FPS minimum is the sweet spot. It provides enough headroom to avoid noticeable frame drops while maintaining good visual quality. High at 92 FPS is also acceptable, but the 57 FPS at Ultra is a significant step down that may cause stutter in tense scenes. If you prioritize smoothness over visuals, Medium is the recommendation; if you want better visuals, High is still playable.

For 4K, the choices are more constrained. Low at 85 FPS is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 69 FPS with a 59 FPS minimum is borderline — it will be playable for most of the time, but the minimum frame rate suggests occasional dips. High at 57 FPS is marginal, and Ultra at 36 FPS is not recommended for a game where you need to react quickly to threats. The data suggests that 4K play on this combo should be limited to Low or Medium settings.

The overall recommendation is to target 1080p or 1440p with this combo. At 1080p, you can max out settings and still get 80 FPS. At 1440p, Medium or High gives you a smooth experience. At 4K, you are trading visual quality for frame rate, and the results are only acceptable on lower presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, with ECC memory support. The CPU uses the Intel Socket 1700 and provides PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700F shows strong multi-threaded performance: 35,122 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 14,751 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, and 3,540 in Cinebench R15 multi-core. Single-core scores are equally solid, with 4,958 in R23 single-core and 2,082 in R20 single-core. The Geekbench scores are 19,620 multi-core and 2,429 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 41,317, and single-thread is 4,257.

For Downfall, the CPU's role is largely to keep up with the GPU, and it does that without issue. The game's frame rates scale predictably with resolution, which is a sign that the CPU is feeding the GPU fast enough. If the CPU were the bottleneck, you would expect to see frame rates plateau at 1080p and not improve much with lower settings — but the data shows a wide spread from 36 FPS (4K Ultra) to 191 FPS (1080p Low), which indicates the GPU is doing the heavy lifting.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking versus the GPU's 62nd percentile means there is headroom on the CPU side. If you were to pair this processor with a faster GPU, the frame rates in Downfall would likely improve significantly, particularly at higher resolutions. The 20 cores and 28 threads are far more than this game needs, but they ensure there is no CPU-induced stutter or frame pacing issues. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz also helps with single-threaded tasks, which are common in game logic and physics.

In short, the i7-14700F is not holding this combo back. It is a high-end processor that sits in the top 10% of all CPUs tested, and its performance in Downfall is limited only by the GPU it is paired with. The measured results reflect the GPU's capabilities, not the CPU's. If you are looking to upgrade this system, the data points squarely at the graphics card as the component to replace first.