Downfall

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-end desktop combo, and in the horror title Downfall it posts strong frame rates across all tested resolutions. The CPU, with 24 cores and 32 threads boosting up to 6.00 GHz, clearly feeds the GPU well, while the RTX 4070 SUPER, based on the AD104 chip with its 12 GB of GDDR6X, delivers playable 4K performance even at Ultra settings. The data shows a balanced pairing that never falls below 65 FPS at 4K in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread part based on the Raptor Lake architecture, produced on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and boosts up to 6.00 GHz, drawing up to 125 W power. The chip has a shared 36 MB L3 cache, with 80 KB L1 and 2 MB L2 per core, and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus. It also includes UHD Graphics 770, indicating that in this tester's configuration it is paired with a discrete GPU anyway.

In terms of synthetic CPU tests, the i9-14900K scores 39,399.5 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,262.5 in single-core. In Geekbench, it reaches 21,697 multicore and 2,655 single-core. Its average benchmark score across all CPU tests is 79,097, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs in the database.

The i9-14900K's nearest rivals, based on average score, are the Intel Core i9-14900KF (average 79,371, −0.3% difference), the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79,574, −0.6%), the AMD EPYC 7413 (80,179, −1.2%), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (77,740, +1.7%). The i9-14900K's result sits within a tight band, less than 1% below the leading 14900KF. For a horror game like Downfall, the CPU's high single-core performance — shown by a 2,262.5 R23 single-core score — is exactly what typically keeps frame times consistent and avoids CPU bottlenecks, even when the internal engine logic or AI routines are active.

The chip's 32 threads provide plenty of headroom for background tasks, and its high boost clock of 6.00 GHz is particularly useful in a game that may rely on fewer cores for its main logic. The data from the 1080p FPS results reflects this: the lowest GPU workload still pushes 348 FPS at Low settings, which suggests the CPU is not slowing the GPU down at those framerates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the full database of tested CPU–GPU combos in Downfall, this pair ranks 631st out of 3,716 tested combinations. That places it in the top 18% of all combos tested, though it's far from etiquette top spot. The combo's rank is set by the measured average FPS (which wouldn't given here). The real story comes from the combination of the i9-14900K's high cinebench multi-core and single-core scores and the RTX 4070 SUPER's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,627.

The GPU alone is a high-valued performer: it sits at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 43,223. Its nearest GPU rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, −0.1%), RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, −0.1%), Quadra M6000 (43,301, −0.2%), and RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667, −1%). So the 4070 SUPER is essentially a peer of those parts, scoring within 1% of each. In the field of 3,716 combos, only 630 are faster, and those likely pair the strongest CPUs with top-tier GPUs.

Given that Downfall is a 2016 release, this combo far exceeds the game's likely demands, as reflected by the high frame rates even at 4K Ultra. The rank is a combined indicator—high, but not the top-of-the-line—because the RTX 4070 SUPER is not an absolute top-tier card and the i9-14900K, while strong, is not the absolute fastest CPU.

Resolution Scaling

Resolution scaling reveals where the bottleneck shifts. Evaluating the High settings across resolutions:

• 1080p: the average FPS is 233.
• 1440p: 167 FPS (a 28% drop from 1080p).
• 2160p: 104 FPS (a 55% drop from 1080p).

The same pattern appears at Low settings: 348 FPS at 1080p, 248 at 1440p, and 155 at 2160p – a drop to 45% of the 1080p value at 4K. Medium settings show 284 → 203 → 126, a similar trend. Ultra settings: 146 → 104 → 65.

The consistent ~55% reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K is characteristic of a title that becomes heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. Since the 1080p Low result (348 FPS) is far above the 1440p High (167 FPS), the CPU is clearly delivering more than enough processing capability, and the GPU's 12 GB buffer and its 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are what scale down. The 4K Ultra at 65 FPS is the only point where the GPU tempers performance, but it still maintains a playable average.

The fact that Low at 4K (155 FPS) is higher than High at 1440p (167 FPS) is notable: settings resolution matters more than quality, meaning the RTX 4070 SUPER with 12 GB of VRAM is able to handle the larger draw buffer and texture loads – the bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is a key factor here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following average FPS figures are from the measured data set. All values are averages with no frame time min/max unless specified.

1920×1080

• Low: 348 FPS
• Medium: 284 FPS (min 242, max 327)
• High: 233 FPS
• Ultra: 146 FPS

2560×1440

• Low: 248 FPS
• Medium: 203 FPS (min 173, max 234)
• High: 167 FPS
• Ultra: 104 FPS

3840×2160

• Low: 155 FPS
• Medium: 126 FPS (min 107, max 145)
• High: 104 FPS
• Ultra: 65 FPS

The gap between High and Ultra at any resolution is significant: at 1080p, High is 233 FPS and Ultra drops to 146 (a 37% reduction). At 4K, High averages 104, while Ultra drops 39 FPS to 65. That indicates that the Ultra preset adds moderate overdraw, but the GPU still averages above 60 FPS even at the heaviest setting tested. The deviation in the Medium setting (a floor of 107 FPS at 4K) shows the tweakable state of the engine—it holds above 100 FPS given typical ranges.

The 2× range between 1080p Low (348) and 4K Ultra (65) shows a good scaling for the RTX 4070 SUPER. The card's 12 GB GDDR6X memory (192-bit bus, 504.2 GB/s) is sufficient to maintain performance at 4K in a recent modern game engine, although depending on scene complexity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER uses the AD104 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 35,800 million transators on a 294 mm² die. It has a base clock of 1980 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The GPU packs 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, 80 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. Its raw compute is 4,548 TFLOPS FP32, with a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s.

The card has 12 GB of GDDR6X type memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. It supports a dual-slot design with a single 16-pin connector and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The launch MSRP of the RTX 4070 SUPER is $599 USD.

In benchmark results, the RTX 4070 SUPER scores 4,627 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, 172,795 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 205,624 in Vulkan. Its passmark G3D score is 29,995, and G2D is 1,184. Passmark DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 scores are 344, 167, 12 (referring to the Fields), 273, and 110 respectively. The GPU compute score is 17,108. Its overall average benchmark score is 43,223, with a 907th percentile (actually its percentile vs all GPUs is 83).

Comparing to competitors, the RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest GPU rival is Quadro M6000 with a decent score difference of −0.1% and −0.1 and −0.1 for the 24 GB variant; the RTX 5050 Mobile is −0.4%, and the RTX 4090 Mobile is −1.6%. This means the 4070 SUPER is effectively performance match for those but behind the GPUs. That 4K average 104 FPS and 65 FPS Ultra rest fully on the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading power; its RT and tensor cores are not directly used for this particular result. The 5 nm, 125W TDP (actual TDP in the pack) manages heat while sustaining almost 100% load at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: Does the Intel Core i9-14900K starve the RTX 4070 SUPER in Downfall?*

A: No, the data suggests it does not. At 1080p, the lowest workload (Low settings) yields 348 FPS, which is 3x higher than the 4K High result (104 FPS). The CPU’s multi-threading and high boost clock (6.00 GHz) keep the GPU fed at all resolutions, as the frame rate drops proportionally to resolution gains.

Q: How comfortable are 4K at High settings?

A: The combo runs 3840×2160 High at 104 FPS average. That’s well above the typical 60 FPS threshold. The drop to Ultra cuts the FPS to, still 65, remains above 60, so this setup may handle even maximum settings at 4K.

Q: Which resolution/setting yields the highest frame rate?

The maximum measured average is 348 FPS at 1920×1080 Low. The minimum is 65 at 4K Ultra. Scaling is nearly linear: each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by about 26-29% consistently.

Q: Is there any hitches or frame time anomalies?

Only the medium settings keep frame min values: at 1080p, min 242; at 1440p, min 173; at 4K, min 107. The max FPS for those are 327, 234, and 145 respectively. No other settings have min/max recorded, but the medium's spread is 24% of its average, which is acceptable.

Q: How does GPU compare to the CPU in synthetic terms?

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 79,097, placing in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s is 43,223, in the 83rd of all GPUs. The entire card is within a few percent of its nearest rival (the RTX 4090 Mobile, at 43,667), and the CPU is within 0.4% of the flagship i9-14900KF.

*Q: Is this the fastest combo tested for Downfall***?

No, this combo ranks 631st out of 3,716 combos. This is in the top 18%, but not the absolute top. The derivative of the i9-14900K's high single-thread speed and the RTX 4070 SUPER's 4K capability keeps it in the high-tier, but there are still faster combos in the database.