Downfall

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Downfall, ranking in the top 16% of all tested combinations. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still capable of pushing frame rates beyond 300 FPS at 1080p with lowered settings, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate horror gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Downfall?*

A: This combination ranks 277th out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the 84th percentile of all systems tested in the game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70074. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70104, 0% delta) and the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% delta ahead). It also slightly edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, -0.5% delta).

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark performance stack up against its nearest competitors?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576. It performs nearly identically to the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653, -0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, -0.3% delta), while leading the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991, 1.4% delta ahead).

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate observed is 347.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average frame rate recorded is 67.3 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics that could be used as a fallback?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i7-14700K includes UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics, though the discrete RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary video output for gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant performance driver in Downfall at higher resolutions. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, it features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with 7168 shading units, provides the raw compute power necessary for the game's horror visuals.

The data confirms the GPU's central role. At 4K Ultra settings, the system drops to 67.3 FPS, a 41% reduction from the 106.4 FPS seen at 4K High. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB frame buffer and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being heavily taxed by the highest quality presets. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 56 RT cores also ensure full feature compatibility with modern rendering paths, even if the game's demands at Ultra settings push the card to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

Frame rates scale dramatically with resolution, revealing the system's shifting bottleneck. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average FPS from 231.6 to 167, a 28% drop. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High is even more severe, falling from 167 to 106.4 FPS, a 36% reduction.

This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER becomes the primary limiting component as pixel count increases. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 347.4 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is decisively the bottleneck, as the frame rate plummets to 67.3 FPS. The scaling factor from 1080p Low (347.4 FPS) to 4K Low (156.5 FPS) is 2.2x, which closely matches the pixel count increase, confirming that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K and RTX 4070 SUPER combination sits at rank 277 out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all systems. This strong positioning is a result of the synergy between the CPU's high multi-threaded performance and the GPU's substantial rasterization power.

When compared to the GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 SUPER is nearly indistinguishable from the RTX A6000 (0.2% faster) and the RX 7650 GRE (0.3% faster). In practical terms, this means the combo's ranking is not held back by the GPU. Conversely, the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom for the game's logic and physics, ensuring that the system does not experience a CPU-side bottleneck until frame rates exceed 300 FPS at 1080p. The ranking reflects a balanced system that performs exceptionally well across the board.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K provides the computational foundation for this system, and its influence is most visible at lower resolutions where the GPU is underutilized. With 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture, it can handle heavy background loads and game logic without contention. Its boost clock of 5.60 GHz, combined with 33 MB of shared L3 cache, ensures low latency access to frequently used data.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are elite: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. In Downfall, this power translates to the ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p. The jump from 1080p High (231.6 FPS) to 1080p Low (347.4 FPS) shows that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively when the graphical load is reduced. However, the data also shows that at 4K Ultra, the CPU's role diminishes, as frame rates drop to 67.3 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU has become the sole limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance:

• Ultra: 144.0 FPS
• High: 231.6 FPS
• Medium: 284.1 FPS
• Low: 347.4 FPS

At 2560x1440, the system remains highly capable:

• Ultra: 104.1 FPS
• High: 167.0 FPS
• Medium: 202.1 FPS
• Low: 250.6 FPS

At 3840x2160, the GPU is pushed harder:

• Ultra: 67.3 FPS
• High: 106.4 FPS
• Medium: 127.9 FPS
• Low: 156.5 FPS

The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER can maintain playable frame rates at 4K with High settings (106.4 FPS) and even achieves interactive frame rates at 4K Ultra (67.3 FPS). The sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming is 1440p, where all presets except Ultra exceed 160 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the High preset is the optimal choice, delivering 106.4 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the Ultra preset's 67.3 FPS, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to justify the 37% performance penalty in a fast-paced horror game. The Medium preset at 4K offers a further boost to 127.9 FPS for players who prioritize smoothness over visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset is recommended for the best balance, yielding 167 FPS. Players with 144Hz monitors can comfortably use High, while those with 240Hz displays may prefer the Medium preset at 202.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is still viable at 104.1 FPS but is not ideal for competitive play.

For 1080p, the High preset provides 231.6 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any monitor. However, the Low preset's 347.4 FPS is available for players seeking maximum responsiveness on 360Hz displays. Given the game's horror genre, the Medium preset at 284.1 FPS offers a good compromise between enhanced shadows and lighting effects and the high frame rates needed to maintain immersion. The Ultra preset at 144 FPS is the recommended starting point for players who want maximum visual quality on a standard 144Hz monitor.