Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall with the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 154.3 average FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 108.8 average FPS, a reduction of approximately 29.5%. At 3840x2160, the average FPS falls further to 65.4, representing a 57.6% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 4060 becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises, since the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, Low produces 224.7 FPS while Ultra produces 97.6 FPS, a difference of 127.1 FPS. At 1440p, the spread is 161.6 FPS versus 70.5 FPS, a difference of 91.1 FPS. At 4K, Low achieves 100.6 FPS while Ultra falls to 40.6 FPS, a difference of 60.0 FPS. The absolute gap narrows as resolution increases because the GPU saturates, but the relative penalty for Ultra settings grows steeper.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the i7-14700KF's strong single-thread performance—reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290—keeps the CPU from bottlenecking. The RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width become more relevant at 1440p and 4K, where texture bandwidth demands escalate. The 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears sufficient for 1080p but constrains 4K performance, particularly at Ultra settings where the 40.6 FPS result falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly targeted for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the most balanced experience. It delivers 133.7 average FPS, which is 23.9% higher than High at the same resolution (108.8 FPS) and 89.6% higher than Ultra (70.5 FPS). The Medium setting at 1440p also maintains a comfortable margin above 120 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

For 1080p users, the High preset at 154.3 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium (182.7 FPS) while staying well above the 144 Hz refresh threshold. Ultra at 1080p yields 97.6 FPS, which is playable but sacrifices the fluidity that High achieves with only a modest visual trade-off. The Low preset at 224.7 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rates over all visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 80.8 FPS is the only viable option for maintaining acceptable smoothness. High at 65.4 FPS is borderline for 60 Hz displays, while Ultra at 40.6 FPS falls below playable standards for most users. Low at 100.6 FPS is technically the smoothest 4K option, but the visual degradation from Low settings at this resolution undermines the point of 4K rendering. The data indicates that 4K Ultra should be avoided entirely with this combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 224.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Low preset at 2560x1440 produces 161.6 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it produces 100.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321), 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338), 0.7% higher than the Intel Arc B580 (23021), and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M (22999). The GPU sits in the 66th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the Core i7-14700KF a high-performing CPU relative to other processors?

A: Yes, the i7-14700KF ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 70104 is 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887) and 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420). It is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K, which scores 70074.

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 70.5. This is 35.4% lower than High at the same resolution (108.8 FPS) and represents the largest settings penalty among the three resolutions tested.

Q: Does the combo perform better at 1080p High or 1440p Medium?

A: The 1080p High preset delivers 154.3 FPS, which is 15.4% higher than the 1440p Medium preset at 133.7 FPS. The 1440p Medium offers a resolution advantage, but the frame rate difference favors 1080p High for users prioritizing smoothness.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 980th out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution. This rank reflects the RTX 4060's position in the 66th GPU percentile rather than the CPU's much higher 96th percentile standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the settings ladder shows a clear progression. Low settings deliver 224.7 FPS. Medium settings reduce performance to 182.7 FPS, a drop of 18.7% from Low. High settings further reduce to 154.3 FPS, a 15.5% drop from Medium. Ultra settings produce 97.6 FPS, a 36.7% drop from High. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 127.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom at this resolution even with the most demanding preset.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with a steeper curve. Low settings produce 161.6 FPS. Medium settings deliver 133.7 FPS, a 17.3% reduction from Low. High settings yield 108.8 FPS, an 18.6% reduction from Medium. Ultra settings drop to 70.5 FPS, a 35.2% reduction from High. The total spread is 91.1 FPS. The relative penalty for Ultra versus Low is 56.4%, compared to 56.6% at 1080p, showing that the Ultra preset's demands scale similarly across these two resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Low settings produce 100.6 FPS. Medium settings deliver 80.8 FPS, a 19.7% reduction from Low. High settings yield 65.4 FPS, a 19.1% reduction from Medium. Ultra settings drop to 40.6 FPS, a 37.9% reduction from High. The total spread is 60.0 FPS. Notably, the 4K Low result of 100.6 FPS is still lower than the 1440p Ultra result of 70.5 FPS, confirming that resolution scaling has a more significant impact than settings scaling at this tier.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 980th out of 1741 tested combinations in Downfall. This places the combo in the 56.3rd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 56% of tested combos perform better. The rank reflects a significant imbalance: the CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 66th percentile among all GPUs. The combination's overall position is dragged down by the GPU's more modest standing.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700K (average score 70074, deltaPct 0), the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, deltaPct 0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, deltaPct -0.4). These deltas show the i7-14700KF is essentially performance-equivalent to its closest competitors, with less than 0.5% variation in either direction. The GPU's nearest rivals—AMD Radeon RX 6600M, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, Intel Arc B580, and AMD Radeon 760M—all fall within 0.8% of the RTX 4060's average score.

Given the measured frame rates, the combo's 980th rank in Downfall is consistent with the GPU's 66th percentile standing. The CPU's 96th percentile position does not translate into a top-tier gaming rank because Downfall's performance at the tested settings is primarily GPU-bound, especially at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing resources to this combo. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

Benchmark data shows the CPU's strengths. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44557 and single-core score of 6290 indicate strong performance in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The Geekbench multicore score of 19287 and single-core score of 2972 corroborate this assessment. Passmark tests show particular strength in integer math (183056), floating-point math (134393), and multithreaded workloads (52425). The data compression score of 694963 and encryption score of 40046 further demonstrate the CPU's computational breadth.

In Downfall, the CPU's high single-core performance helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p, where the measured Low preset reaches 224.7 FPS. The 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions. However, the measured data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 40.6 FPS, despite the CPU's strong scores, confirms this. The 20-core, 28-thread configuration provides ample headroom for background tasks and future games, but in this specific title, the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus width constrain overall performance.