Downfall

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a wide performance envelope in Downfall, with average frame rates ranging from 35.7 FPS at 4K Ultra to 190.3 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s headroom becomes apparent only at 1080p. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, setting recommendations, component roles, and overall ranking of this specific combo based solely on the measured results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 129.7 at 1920x1080 to 90.8 at 2560x1440, and further to 57.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, with the most significant single step occurring between 1440p and 4K.

The pattern holds for other presets. At Medium settings, the average drops from 153.6 FPS at 1080p to 115.0 at 1440p and 66.8 at 4K. At Low settings, the numbers are 190.3, 136.2, and 82.8 respectively. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 82.6 FPS at 1080p, 56.0 at 1440p, and just 35.7 at 4K. The delta between 1440p and 4K is disproportionately large in every case, suggesting that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become saturated before the rendering pipeline reaches its compute limits.

The scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately, but at 4K, the GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput is the bottleneck. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47.1 FPS, whereas at 1080p that same gap is 107.7 FPS, showing that the GPU’s capacity is being consumed by resolution before settings can fully utilize the CPU’s headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate, with the optimal preset depending on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings deliver 129.7 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for higher refresh rates. Medium at 1080p reaches 153.6 FPS, a 18.4% improvement over High, while Low jumps to 190.3 FPS. Ultra at 1080p still manages 82.6 FPS, making it playable but with a significant 36.3% reduction compared to High.

For 1440p, High settings provide 90.8 FPS, which is the best balance between fidelity and smoothness. Medium at 1440p hits 115.0 FPS, a 26.6% gain over High, while Low reaches 136.2 FPS. Ultra at 1440p drops to 56.0 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS mark and suggests that this preset is only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over motion fluidity.

At 4K, High settings produce 57.6 FPS, marginally under the 60 FPS target. Medium at 4K offers 66.8 FPS, a 16% improvement over High and the only preset at this resolution that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Low at 4K reaches 82.8 FPS but sacrifices substantial visual detail. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as 35.7 FPS falls into a range where gameplay responsiveness is noticeably compromised. The data indicates that Medium is the highest preset that maintains playable frame rates across all three resolutions, while High is viable at 1080p and 1440p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER operates with a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective rate, providing a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the card at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (avg score 19706, deltaPct 0.3), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (avg score 19680, deltaPct 0.5), the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (avg score 19623, deltaPct 0.8), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (avg score 19519, deltaPct 1.3). The RTX 2060 SUPER outperforms all of these by a narrow margin, with a maximum delta of 1.3% over the Tesla K40m. This clustering indicates that the GPU’s performance in synthetic tests is tightly grouped with these older or lower-tier cards, yet the measured game results show it handles Downfall adequately at high settings up to 1440p.

The 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present in the TU106 chip, but the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing or DLSS effects. The game’s horror genre may not rely heavily on these features, and the 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput appears to be the dominant factor in the observed scaling. The GPU’s 175 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, though power consumption is not directly reflected in the frame rate measurements.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Downfall, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1273 out of 1741 total combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, indicating that while the components are capable, the combination is not optimized for this particular title. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-tier standing (63rd percentile) combined with the CPU’s high-end position (96th percentile), resulting in a system where the GPU likely bottlenecks the CPU in most scenarios.

The combo rank of 1273 suggests that many other pairings achieve higher average FPS in Downfall, likely due to more balanced GPU selections relative to the CPU’s capabilities. The CPU’s percentile of 96 versus the GPU’s 63 creates a significant imbalance, which is visible in the resolution scaling data where the frame rate drops sharply at 4K. This ranking does not imply poor performance in absolute terms — the combo still delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p — but it does indicate that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It carries 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, along with a Geekbench multicore score of 19287 and a single-core score of 2972. Its percentile versus all CPUs is 96, with an average benchmark score of 70104.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700K (avg score 70074, deltaPct 0), the AMD EPYC 9115 (avg score 69887, deltaPct 0.3), the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (avg score 70420, deltaPct -0.4), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (avg score 71056, deltaPct -1.3). The i7-14700KF sits within 0.4% of the Ryzen 9 9950X and 1.3% below the Xeon Platinum 8270, showing that its synthetic performance is competitive with high-end server and desktop parts.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is evident in the 1080p results, where Low settings reach 190.3 FPS and High settings reach 129.7 FPS. These numbers suggest that the CPU can drive frame rates well above 120 FPS at lower resolutions, but the GPU limits further gains. The 20-core, 28-thread configuration provides ample headroom for the game’s horror title, which is unlikely to stress all cores simultaneously. The measured data does not show a scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck, as the frame rate consistently scales with resolution and settings rather than showing a flat ceiling.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 129.7.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems in Downfall?

A: This combination ranks 1273 out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of all configurations.

Q: Which preset provides the highest frame rate above 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Medium settings at 3840x2160 deliver an average of 66.8 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that exceeds 60 FPS, aside from Low at 82.8 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER is at the 63rd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 19774.

Q: How much faster is the CPU at 1080p Low compared to 4K Low?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Low is 190.3, while at 4K Low it is 82.8, representing a 107.5 FPS difference.

Q: Which CPU rival has the closest average benchmark score to the i7-14700KF?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average score of 70074 with a deltaPct of 0, making it the nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks.