Downfall

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a compelling, high-refresh-rate experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a clear hierarchy of bottlenecks that shifts depending on the resolution. At 1080p, the CPU’s 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock are the primary drivers, pushing frame rates to levels that the GPU cannot fully utilize. As resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of compute become the definitive limiting factor, with the frame rate dropping in a pattern that aligns perfectly with pixel-count scaling. The measured results indicate a system that is exceptionally balanced for 1440p, yet shows signs of CPU saturation at lower resolutions and GPU-bound behavior at the highest setting. This analysis will break down the measured FPS data, the role of each component, and the practical settings recommendations that emerge from the numbers.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of that degradation is not uniform across all settings presets. At 1080p, the system achieves its highest frame rates, with the Low preset hitting an average of 397 FPS and the Medium preset reaching 325 FPS. Moving to 1440p, these numbers drop to 284 FPS and 232 FPS respectively, representing a 28.5% and 28.6% decrease. However, the most dramatic shift occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K, where the same settings see averages of 177 FPS and 144 FPS, a further 37.7% and 37.9% reduction. This non-linear scaling is a hallmark of a system transitioning from a CPU-bound state at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound state at 4K, where the sheer pixel count overwhelms the GPU’s rendering capabilities.

The Ultra preset tells a slightly different story, with a 119 FPS average at 1440p dropping to 74 FPS at 4K, a 37.8% decline that is nearly identical to the percentage drops seen in the High and Medium presets. This consistency suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB frame buffer and 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth are being fully utilized at 4K, regardless of the visual complexity. In contrast, the gap between 1080p and 1440p for Ultra is only 28.6%, indicating that the CPU can still feed frames efficiently at 1440p, but the GPU’s workload becomes the dominant constraint once 4K is introduced. The data implies that for a 4K display, the GPU is the bottleneck, while at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, a classic dual-component bottleneck that shifts with resolution.

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

The RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance in Downfall is heavily influenced by its memory subsystem and clock speeds. With a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, the GPU is capable of sustained high-frequency operation, which is reflected in the high average frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, running at an effective speed of 23 Gbps, provides a 736.3 GB/s bandwidth. This is particularly relevant at 4K, where the Ultra preset demands more memory and bandwidth, and the observed 74 FPS average suggests that the GPU’s memory subsystem is being pushed to its limits. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is exactly half of the 1080p Low result (74 vs 397), which indicates a direct correlation between pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth usage.

The GPU’s compute capability, measured at 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32, is a strong indicator of its ability to handle the game’s shader complexity. At 1440p, the High preset’s 190 FPS average is only 28.5% lower than the 1080p High result, which suggests that the GPU has enough raw compute to handle the increased pixel load without significant frame loss. However, the jump to 4K exposes a more severe constraint, as the High preset’s 118 FPS average is 37.8% lower than the 1440p High result. This disproportionate drop points to a memory bandwidth bottleneck, as the 736.3 GB/s cannot keep up with the texture and framebuffer demands of 4K rendering. The GPU’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present, but the data shows that the game’s core workload is more dependent on pixel throughput and memory speed than on ray tracing or DLSS, as the frame rates scale with resolution in a linear fashion.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 397 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is the absolute peak performance in the measured data, indicating that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop from 1440p to 4K on the High preset?

A: The average FPS drops from 190 FPS at 2560x1440 to 118 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 72 FPS, or 37.9%. This is the largest percentage drop between consecutive resolutions for the High preset, suggesting a GPU bottleneck at 4K.

Q: Which preset offers the highest average FPS at 4K?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 provides the highest 4K average FPS, at 177 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 144 FPS, while High drops to 118 FPS and Ultra falls to 74 FPS.

Q: What is the FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 284 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 119 FPS. This represents a 165 FPS difference, or a 58.1% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest settings.

Q: Does the game provide a min FPS for all settings?

A: No, only the Medium preset at each resolution has a recorded min FPS. For example, at 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 276 FPS, while at 1440p it is 197 FPS, and at 4K it is 123 FPS. The other presets lack min FPS data, but the average FPS is still measured.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 1080p Low performance?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, which is exactly 81.4% lower than the 1080p Low preset’s 397 FPS. This highlights the massive performance cost of enabling the highest settings at the highest resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS of 397, followed by the Medium preset at 325 FPS with a min FPS of 276 and a max FPS of 374. The High preset averages 267 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 167 FPS. This order is expected, but the margin between Low and Ultra is substantial at 230 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not the constraint at this resolution. The 1080p data suggests that the GPU is capable of rendering the game at very high frame rates, and the Ultra preset’s 167 FPS is still above the 144 Hz refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 284 FPS, which is still very high, while the Medium preset averages 232 FPS with a min FPS of 197 and a max FPS of 267. The High preset averages 190 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 119 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 58.1% reduction, which is less severe than the 58.1% reduction seen at 1080p, but the absolute frame rates are still above 119 FPS, making 1440p a very playable resolution. The 1440p data suggests a balanced load, where the GPU is starting to become more involved, but the CPU still has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 177 FPS, the Medium preset averages 144 FPS with a min FPS of 123 and a max FPS of 166, the High preset averages 118 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured scenario that falls below 100 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding configuration. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 58.2% reduction, which is consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are lower across the board. The min FPS of 123 FPS for the Medium preset is still above 60 FPS, but the Ultra preset lacks a min FPS, suggesting that it may be more prone to frame drops.

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

The Intel Core i7-14794KF plays a critical role in the higher frame rates observed at 1080p, where its 20 cores and 28 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck. The CPU’s base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235 points. This is crucial for a game like Downfall, which is a horror title that likely relies on single-threaded game logic and AI updates. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU can sustain frame rates above 300 FPS in the Low preset, which is far beyond what the GPU can deliver, confirming the CPU’s capability.

The CPU’s multi-core performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi score of 44167 points, which places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. However, the game’s performance does not scale with core count alone; the 4K results show a more significant frame rate drop, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The CPU’s L3 cache of 33 MB is shared across the cores, which helps with data reuse, but the 1080p data suggests that the CPU is never fully utilized, as the frame rates are higher than what the GPU can handle at 1440p. The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 is a spec detail, but the measured data does not show a memory bottleneck, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU scaling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 267 FPS is more than sufficient for any 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitor, and the Ultra preset at 167 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays. The Low preset is unnecessary, as it only offers a marginal 130 FPS increase over High, but it will likely reduce visual fidelity without a tangible benefit for a 240 Hz display. The data indicates that High is the best balance for 1080p, providing a 60 FPS headroom over the Ultra preset while maintaining a higher visual quality.

For 1440p, the High preset at 190 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a 60 FPS advantage over the Ultra preset (119 FPS) while still staying above 144 FPS. The Medium preset at 232 FPS is also viable, but the High preset provides a better visual experience without sacrificing the refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 119 FPS is playable, but it falls below the 144 Hz threshold, which may be a concern for competitive players. For 4K displays, the data suggests that the Medium preset at 144 FPS is the best choice, as it offers a 26 FPS improvement over High (118 FPS) and is the only preset that maintains a 144 FPS average. The Low preset at 177 FPS is an option, but the visual quality hit is likely too high for a horror game where atmosphere is important. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is only suitable for 60 Hz displays, but it is not recommended for higher refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested combos, this particular pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks at 280th out of 3716 combos, placing it in the top 7.5% of all tested systems. This is a strong ranking, but it is not at the very top, which suggests that other combinations of higher-end GPUs or CPUs may yield better performance. The CPU’s performance percentile of 94 indicates it is a high-end processor, and its nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, which is 1% slower in average benchmark score. The GPU’s percentile is 86, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which is 0.1% slower in average score. This means the combo is well-matched, with no single component being a major outlier.

The ranking is more significant when considering that the combo is in the 280th spot, which means there are 3436 combos that are slower, but only 279 that are faster. This suggests that the system is very capable, but it is not in the absolute top tier. The data indicates that the combo is optimized for 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, but at 4K, it is limited by the GPU’s memory bandwidth. The combo rank in-game is a holistic measure of performance across all resolutions and settings, and it reflects the fact that the system is very strong but not the absolute best. The fact that the CPU and GPU have a similar percentile ranking (94 vs. 86) suggests a balanced system, but the GPU’s lower percentile may be the reason the combo does not rank higher, as the CPU can handle more demanding graphics work.