Downfall

FAQ

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Core i7-14700KF?

A: The launch MSRP is $384. This processor is part of Intel's Core 14th Gen series, built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 125 W TDP.

Q: How does the Core i7-14700KF compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i7-14700KF scores 70,163 on average, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1% (70,879 vs. 70,163) and edges the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X by 0.9% (69,515).

Q: What is the Radeon RX 7700's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15,852. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, scores 15,862, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the two are nearly identical in aggregate performance.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Downfall out of all tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1308 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the upper-middle portion of the database, indicating solid but not top-tier performance for this specific game.

Q: What memory and interface specifications does the Radeon RX 7700 have?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. It uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and has a boost clock of 2459 MHz with a game clock of 2041 MHz.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 7700 stack up against the RTX 3060 Ti in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700 scores 15,852 on average, which is 1.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's 16,129. This places the two cards very close in raw compute performance, though in-game results may vary.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 brings a substantial memory configuration to Downfall: 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a horror title from 2016, and the data indicates the GPU's memory subsystem is more than adequate for the demands of the game, even at higher resolutions. The 16 GB capacity ensures that texture-heavy scenes at 4K do not hit a VRAM ceiling, which is a critical factor in a genre that relies on detailed environments for atmosphere.

Clock speeds for the RX 7700 are 1900 MHz base, 2041 MHz game, and 2459 MHz boost. These clocks, combined with the 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs, define the raw throughput available to render Downfall's scenes. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s suggest a card capable of handling high-resolution rendering with significant headroom. In this game, the GPU's role is to maintain frame pacing during sudden visual shifts, which the measured FPS data shows it does successfully across all settings.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 15,852 and 58th percentile ranking indicate mid-pack performance among all GPUs. For Downfall specifically, the measured results show that the RX 7700 is the primary driver of frame rates at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p. The 40 RT cores, though not heavily utilized in a 2016 title, add architectural completeness for any modern features that might be patched in.

The bus interface of PCIe 4.0 x16 is fully sufficient for this workload, and the dual-slot design with dual 8-pin power connectors suggests a card that runs capably under sustained load. The FP32 throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS provides a theoretical ceiling that aligns with the measured 4K High average of 72 FPS. Overall, the GPU's role in this combo is to provide consistent, high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and strong 60+ FPS performance at 1440p, with 4K requiring settings adjustments.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K, revealing where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the game runs at 240 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 171 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 107 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 29% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steep decline at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

At Medium settings, the scaling follows a similar trajectory: 196 FPS at 1080p, 140 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 38%, nearly identical to the Low preset's decline. This consistency suggests that the rendering workload scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU's compute resources are being saturated as pixel count increases.

High settings show a more pronounced scaling curve: 161 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 29% and 37%, respectively, mirroring the other presets. The absolute FPS values at 4K High (72 FPS) indicate that this preset is still playable at 4K, but the margin for error is thinner. Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling: 101 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and just 45 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, highlighting that this preset is too demanding for the RX 7700 at maximum resolution.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU (with its 20 cores and 28 threads) provides enough headroom for the GPU to reach high frame rates across all presets. However, as resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU's workload grows, and the frame rate becomes increasingly GPU-bound. The 240 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at that resolution, but the 107 FPS at 4K Low indicates that the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are the primary constraints at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i7-14700KF and Radeon RX 7700 combination delivers excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 240 FPS, which is a strong indicator of the CPU's ability to feed the GPU at high frame rates. Medium settings yield 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS and a maximum of 226 FPS, providing a smooth experience with minimal frame drops. High settings average 161 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 101 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 139 FPS, demonstrating that the preset choice significantly impacts performance even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings average 171 FPS, which is still well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings average 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. High settings achieve 115 FPS, which is playable for most users. Ultra settings fall to 72 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS but represents a substantial drop from the 101 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings average 107 FPS, which is solid for 4K gaming. Medium settings average 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, providing a playable experience with some occasional dips. High settings average 72 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for a horror title where immersion matters more than competitive frame rates. Ultra settings average 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in a less fluid experience during fast-paced sequences.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions: 167 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. These minimums are 85%, 85%, and 85% of their respective averages, indicating that the frame pacing is consistent without severe stutters. The absence of minimum data for other presets in the fact pack limits further analysis, but the available numbers suggest a stable performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks

In Downfall, the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1308 out of 2928 tested combos. This places it in the 44.7th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning that roughly 55% of other combos perform better in this game. The rank reflects a balanced but not exceptional pairing, where the CPU's strong multi-core performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167) is not fully leveraged by a 2016 horror title that likely favors single-core performance.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 94 among all CPUs indicates that the i7-14700KF is a top-tier processor, but its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmarks—the Ryzen 7 9700F, Ryzen 9 7940HX, Ryzen 9 7950X, and Core Ultra 7 265K—are all within 1% of its average score. This tight grouping means that the CPU choice has minimal impact on the combo's rank in Downfall, as any of these processors would likely produce similar frame rates.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 58 among all GPUs is more indicative of the combo's performance ceiling. The RX 7700's nearest rivals include the Radeon R9 370X (0.1% lower), Radeon RX 9060 (1% higher), Radeon Pro W5500 (1.1% lower), and RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% higher). These small deltas suggest that the GPU is the primary determinant of the combo's rank in Downfall, as the game's rendering demands are more dependent on graphics hardware than CPU throughput.

The combo rank of 1308 out of 2928 means that while this system is not a top performer in Downfall, it is also far from the bottom. The measured FPS data supports this, with the combo achieving solid 60+ FPS at 4K on Medium and High settings, and exceeding 100 FPS at 1440p on all presets except Ultra. The rank reflects a system that can handle the game well at most settings, with only 4K Ultra proving too demanding.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with even Ultra averaging 101 FPS. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors (144Hz or higher), the Low preset at 240 FPS or Medium at 196 FPS offers the smoothest experience. However, for a horror game where visual atmosphere is key, the High preset at 161 FPS provides a good balance between fidelity and performance. Ultra at 101 FPS is also viable, making 1080p the most flexible resolution for this combo.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 140 FPS (minimum 119 FPS) emerges as the best choice for a smooth, immersive experience. This preset maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS with minimal dips, ensuring stable performance during tense moments. The High preset at 115 FPS is also excellent, offering improved visuals with only a modest FPS penalty. Ultra at 72 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive, so it is only recommended for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate consistency. The Low preset at 171 FPS is unnecessary unless competitive play is the priority.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 87 FPS (minimum 74 FPS) is the clear recommendation. This preset provides a solid 4K experience with frame rates that stay comfortably above 60 FPS, and the minimum of 74 FPS ensures no significant stutters. The High preset at 72 FPS is also acceptable, though it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 107 FPS offers the highest frame rate at 4K but sacrifices visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in a less fluid experience.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the strongest combination of visual quality and performance, with an average of 140 FPS and a minimum of 119 FPS. If 4K is the target, Medium at 87 FPS is the most reliable choice. The data indicates that this combo performs best when settings are kept at Medium or High, avoiding the Ultra preset's steep performance cost at higher resolutions.