Downfall

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In the context of Downfall, a horror title from 2016, this CPU provides a massive amount of headroom. Benchmark results indicate that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 312.4 FPS, which is a figure that suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck even at lower resolutions where the graphics load is light. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and its Passmark single-thread score of 4480 ensures that even older game engines that rely on fewer threads will not stall. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-14700KF posts an average benchmark score of 70104, which is effectively identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K (deltaPct: 0) and only 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. This means that in Downfall, the processor's job is mostly to feed the GPU as fast as possible, and the data shows it does so without breaking a sweat, as the FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p and 4K is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for Downfall show a clear hierarchy across the three preset levels tested: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For players seeking the absolute highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers an average of 312.4 FPS, which is an exceptional result for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. However, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for most users. At 1080p, Medium yields 254.7 FPS, which is still far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, while offering better visual fidelity than Low. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p is a significant drop of 46.6 FPS to 208.1, and the jump to Ultra is even steeper, falling to 131.7 FPS. Given that the game is a horror title where atmosphere matters, the High preset at 1440p provides a balanced experience with an average of 150.2 FPS. The Ultra preset, in contrast, proves punishing; at 4K it drops to 56.2 FPS, which is the only measured figure below the 60 FPS threshold. Therefore, the data strongly recommends the Medium preset for maximum smoothness or the High preset for a quality experience, avoiding Ultra unless the user prioritizes visuals over frame rate stability.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K under the High settings reveals the classic behavior of a system that is limited by the GPU at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the average is 208.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the score drops to 150.2 FPS, a reduction of 27.8%. At 4K High, the average falls to 91.2 FPS, which is a 56.2% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is being pushed harder as pixel count increases. The same pattern holds for the Medium settings, where the 1080p average of 254.7 FPS falls to 181.2 FPS at 1440p and then to 115.2 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting component in these scenarios; if it were, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the consistent scaling down as resolution increases points directly to the GPU’s rendering workload. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, is capable, but the 4K Ultra setting at 56.2 FPS shows its limits in this title.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a good match for the RTX 3080 Ti in Downfall?*

A: Yes, the data shows a balanced pairing. At 1080p Low, the system hits 312.4 FPS, indicating the CPU is not holding back the GPU. The processor's 96th percentile ranking and performance within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X confirm it has sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1440p High provides an average of 150.2 FPS, which is above the 144Hz threshold. For a 144Hz display, 4K High is also viable with an average of 91.2 FPS, though it will not saturate the refresh rate.

Q: How much performance do I lose when switching from Medium to High settings?

A: The penalty is substantial. At 1080p, the average drops from 254.7 FPS on Medium to 208.1 FPS on High, a loss of 46.6 FPS. At 4K, the drop is from 115.2 FPS to 91.2 FPS, a loss of 24 FPS.

*Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K Ultra smoothly?*

A: No. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 56.2 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. It is the only measured configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its closest rival in terms of raw performance?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41224, which is only 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and 1.1% lower than the RTX 5070. This indicates they are near-identical in compute power.

Q: Does the CPU matter more at 1080p or 4K in this game?

A: The CPU matters more at 1080p. The data shows the FPS scales down proportionally with resolution, meaning the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. At 1080p, the i7-14700KF’s high single-thread score of 4480 helps maintain extremely high frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the primary driver of frame rates in Downfall, especially at higher resolutions. With a boost clock of 1665 MHz and a 384-bit memory bus delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, this card is built for high-throughput rendering. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient for the textures and effects in a horror game of this era. The GPU’s benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 26896 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s influence is clear: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 312.4 FPS, but the performance scales down with resolution and settings, hitting 91.2 FPS at 4K High. The GPU’s relative position against its nearest rivals is tight, with its average score of 41224 being just 0.5% behind the RTX 3090 and 1.6% behind the Tesla M40. This means that in Downfall, the 3080 Ti should perform nearly identically to those cards, making it a predictable choice for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming or solid 4K performance on medium presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for Downfall with this configuration is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 312.4 FPS, the Medium preset averages 254.7 FPS, the High preset averages 208.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 131.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 219.3 FPS, the Medium preset averages 181.2 FPS, the High preset averages 150.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 95 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 140.5 FPS, the Medium preset averages 115.2 FPS, the High preset averages 91.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 56.2 FPS. Across all twelve configurations, the data shows a consistent pattern: doubling the resolution from 1080p to 4K on the same settings roughly halves the frame rate, while jumping from Low to Ultra on the same resolution reduces performance by more than half. The single worst-case scenario is 4K Ultra at 56.2 FPS, while the best-case is 1080p Low at 312.4 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 3080 Ti is capable of handling High settings at 4K, but Ultra remains out of reach for a smooth experience.