Downfall

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data for Downfall shows a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern when moving from 1080p to 4K, with frame rates at High settings dropping from 154 FPS at 1920x1080 to 68 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 56% reduction in average FPS when pixel count quadruples, which is a strong indicator that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is clearly not the bottleneck here — the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more revealing: 229 FPS at 1080p falls to 164 FPS at 1440p and then to 102 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 229 FPS is particularly telling because it approaches the upper range where even a strong CPU like the i7-14700KF might start to show some limitation, but the drop to 164 FPS at 1440p Low shows the GPU taking over as the dominant constraint. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial — 102 FPS versus 43 FPS — which confirms that the RX 6700 XT's rendering pipeline is what determines performance at 3840x2160.

The pattern across all settings is consistent: the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K grows as settings increase. At Low, the drop is 55% (229 to 102 FPS). At Medium, it is 56% (187 to 83 FPS). At High, it is also 56% (154 to 68 FPS). At Ultra, the drop is 55% (96 to 43 FPS). This uniformity suggests the resolution scaling is driven by raw pixel throughput rather than by any specific setting's computational cost. The RX 6700 XT's 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 192-bit bus are the hardware features most relevant to this behavior, as higher resolutions demand more memory traffic per frame.

The fact that 4K Ultra produces 43 FPS — below the 60 FPS threshold — while 4K Medium produces 83 FPS indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering workloads that push the GPU past its comfortable operating range. The 4K Medium row includes a minimum FPS of 71 and a maximum of 96, showing reasonable frame pacing, whereas the 4K Ultra row has no minimum recorded, suggesting less stable performance. For players targeting 4K, the data clearly points to the GPU as the limiting factor, with the CPU contributing little to the performance ceiling at this resolution.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the specification most relevant to Downfall's performance at high resolutions. The card's base clock is 2321 MHz, with a boost clock of 2581 MHz and a game clock of 2424 MHz — these clock speeds determine how quickly the 2560 shading units can process the horror game's geometry and lighting effects.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, which scores 27435 — a delta of 0%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565, which is 0.5% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839, 1.5% higher. This positions the RX 6700 XT in a performance tier where it can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably but struggles at 4K Ultra in Downfall specifically.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU's capabilities clearly: at 1080p High, the card delivers 154 FPS, which is excellent for a horror title where smooth motion matters for atmosphere. At 1440p High, it produces 110 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High result of 68 FPS is playable but not ideal, and 4K Ultra at 43 FPS falls below what most players would consider smooth. The 12 GB VRAM appears sufficient for all tested settings, as no VRAM-related stuttering or min-FPS anomalies appear in the Medium preset rows where min and max FPS were recorded.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) means it can handle modern rendering features, and its Vulkan 1.4 support provides additional API flexibility. The card's 40 ray tracing cores are present but Downfall's performance at 4K Ultra suggests the game's most demanding settings may not leverage these efficiently, or the rasterization load is simply too high. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS and texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s are the raw throughput numbers that explain why 1080p and 1440p results are so strong while 4K Ultra falls short.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide the single-thread performance that games like Downfall typically rely on for game logic, AI, and physics calculations. The CPU's L3 cache is 33 MB shared, with 2 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core — ample cache for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700KF posts a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235, which places it at the 94th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 70163, putting it just 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69996) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875). The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is 0.9% lower, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, 1% higher. These margins are tiny, indicating that the i7-14700KF is firmly in the top tier of desktop CPUs for gaming workloads.

For Downfall specifically, the CPU's role in the measured FPS is secondary to the GPU. The 1080p Low result of 229 FPS is the only scenario where the CPU might approach its limit, as frame rates above 200 FPS require very fast single-thread processing. The i7-14700KF's boost clock of 5.60 GHz and its PassMark single-thread score of 4480 suggest it can handle such high frame rates without becoming the bottleneck. However, the fact that 1080p Low (229 FPS) is only 38% higher than 1080p High (154 FPS) shows that even at 1080p, the GPU's capabilities are the main determinant of performance.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier (for overclocking) indicate it is designed for high-performance desktop systems, and its DDR4/DDR5 memory support with dual-channel configuration provides flexibility. The Geekbench single-core score of 2578 and multicore score of 21462 further confirm the CPU's strength. In Downfall, the data shows that the i7-14700KF does not limit the RX 6700 XT at any tested resolution or settings combination — the GPU is always the first component to reach its ceiling, particularly at 4K Ultra where the 43 FPS result is clearly a GPU limitation rather than a CPU one.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), for a total of 12 data points. The combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1949 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the upper-middle range of all possible pairings.

At 1920x1080, the results are strong across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 229 FPS, Medium produces 187 FPS (with a minimum of 159 and maximum of 215), High produces 154 FPS, and Ultra produces 96 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 133 FPS, which is the largest absolute range among all resolutions. The Medium preset at 1080p shows the most stable frame pacing with a recorded minimum of 159 FPS, suggesting that this setting combination maintains consistent performance without significant drops.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very playable. Low settings deliver 164 FPS, Medium delivers 134 FPS (minimum 114, maximum 154), High delivers 110 FPS, and Ultra delivers 69 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 28-30% for each preset, which aligns with the pixel count increase of about 78% (2,073,600 to 3,686,400 pixels). The 1440p Ultra result of 69 FPS is close to the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline playable option for players who prioritize visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings produce 102 FPS, Medium produces 83 FPS (minimum 71, maximum 96), High produces 68 FPS, and Ultra produces 43 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only 4K preset with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing a range of 25 FPS (71 to 96), which indicates some variability but no catastrophic drops. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is the weakest performance in the entire dataset, falling well below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

The incremental cost of each settings tier is consistent across resolutions. Moving from Low to Medium costs roughly 20-25% of the Low FPS value, from Medium to High costs another 15-20%, and from High to Ultra costs another 30-40%. The Ultra preset is disproportionately expensive compared to the other tiers, which suggests it enables effects that have a multiplicative impact on GPU workload. This pattern holds at all three resolutions, confirming that the Ultra preset is the most demanding option in Downfall.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: At 4K Medium, the system averages 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, which is smooth. At 4K High, the average drops to 68 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best 1080p preset for this hardware in Downfall?

A: The 1080p High preset delivers 154 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides good visual quality. The 1080p Ultra preset delivers 96 FPS, still smooth, but the 60 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the extra visual load.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6700 XT's average benchmark score is 27425, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, 0% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 27565 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839 (1.5% higher). These are all within a 1.5% range, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Downfall at 1440p?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. At 1440p, the RX 6700 XT delivers 110 FPS at High settings and 69 FPS at Ultra, while the i7-14700KF is capable of much higher frame rates based on its benchmark scores. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and single-core score of 6235 in Cinebench R23 indicate it is not constraining these results.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded, and at which settings?

A: The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 71, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum value. The 1440p Medium preset records a minimum of 114 FPS, and the 1080p Medium preset records a minimum of 159 FPS.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: The combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1949 out of 3716 total tested combinations, placing it in the 52nd percentile of all combos. This reflects the GPU's mid-to-high tier positioning (72nd percentile among GPUs) combined with the CPU's high-tier positioning (94th percentile among CPUs).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the player's target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the High preset at 154 FPS average offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the Ultra preset's 96 FPS result represents a 38% drop in frame rate for what is likely a modest visual improvement in a horror title. The 1080p Medium preset at 187 FPS is also excellent, but High provides better visuals while still maintaining a massive margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

For 1440p, the High preset at 110 FPS is the recommended choice. The Ultra preset at 69 FPS is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, and horror games often have sudden visual spikes that could push frame rates lower. The 1440p Medium preset at 134 FPS is a safer choice for players who prioritize consistency, but High's 110 FPS is still well above the playability threshold and provides noticeably better image quality.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 83 FPS is the only sensible choice. The High preset at 68 FPS is close to the 60 FPS threshold but risks dropping below during intense moments, while the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is simply too slow for a smooth experience. The 4K Low preset at 102 FPS is an option for players who want maximum frame rates, but Medium's 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS provides a better visual experience without sacrificing smoothness.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is not worth its performance cost at any resolution. The jump from High to Ultra costs roughly 38% of the High FPS value at 1080p, 37% at 1440p, and 37% at 4K. This consistent percentage penalty indicates that the Ultra preset enables rendering features that are disproportionately expensive relative to their visual impact in Downfall. Players should stick with High at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K, to get the best experience from this hardware combination.