Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Downfall, with performance scaling that clearly shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at 4K. The dataset shows this combo is capable of triple-digit frame rates across nearly all tested configurations, though the steep cost of Ultra settings at higher resolutions requires careful selection.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a predictable yet pronounced drop in frame rates as resolution increases, but the degree of that drop changes depending on the settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 369 FPS at 1920x1080 to 264 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 105 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields 164 FPS, which is 205 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that at Low settings, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor even at 1080p, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames but the graphics card cannot maintain the same throughput as pixel count increases.

The pattern shifts when examining High settings. At 1920x1080, the average is 248 FPS; at 2560x1440, it drops to 177 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it falls to 110 FPS. The percentage drops between each step are roughly 29% from 1080p to 1440p and 38% from 1440p to 4K. This consistent scaling suggests a balanced workload where both the CPU and GPU contribute to the bottleneck, though the larger drop at the 4K step points to the GPU's rasterization limits becoming more dominant.

Medium settings show a similar trajectory, with averages of 302 FPS at 1080p, 216 FPS at 1440p, and 134 FPS at 4K. The 4K result includes a minimum observed frame rate of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but still maintaining a playable experience. Ultra settings, however, present a stark contrast: 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and only 69 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is a substantial 42 FPS reduction, representing a 38% loss, which clearly demonstrates that Ultra settings at 4K are heavily GPU-bound.

The data indicates that this combination can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease across all settings, but 4K Ultra pushes the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER to its limits. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 95 FPS, while at 1080p that same gap is 214 FPS, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting component when resolution is maximized. For users targeting 4K, the choice between High and Medium settings becomes critical, as the 24 FPS difference between them (110 vs. 134 FPS) may be worth the visual trade-off.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all settings produce playable frame rates, but Ultra at 155 FPS is the most visually demanding option that still maintains a high refresh rate. Medium at 302 FPS and High at 248 FPS offer significant headroom for high-refresh monitors, while Low at 369 FPS is excessive for most displays and likely introduces diminishing returns on visual quality.

For 2560x1440, High settings at 177 FPS provide the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as Ultra at 111 FPS is still smooth but the 66 FPS penalty may not justify the graphical upgrade. Medium at 216 FPS is the choice for users prioritizing frame rate over detail, and Low at 264 FPS is suitable for competitive play where every frame matters. The 1440p data suggests that High is the sweet spot, as it remains well above the 144 Hz threshold while offering superior image quality to Medium.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations become more constrained. Ultra at 69 FPS is technically playable but falls below the 90 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for smooth motion. High at 110 FPS is the clear recommendation for 4K users, as it delivers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and approaches 120 Hz capabilities on compatible displays. Medium at 134 FPS is the performance-oriented choice, but the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in a horror title where atmospheric detail matters. Low at 164 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution, as the GPU is already the bottleneck and lowering settings further does not proportionally increase performance relative to the visual cost.

The data shows that the best experience per the measured rows is High settings at 1440p (177 FPS) or High settings at 4K (110 FPS), depending on display resolution. Medium settings provide a 39 FPS boost over High at 4K, but the 24 FPS drop from Medium to High is a smaller penalty than the 65 FPS drop from High to Ultra, making High the most efficient preset overall.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration is notable for its lack of hyper-threading, meaning the thread count equals the core count. The CPU's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085, placing it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 46062 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with a 0.1% delta from the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and a -0.1% delta from the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 369 FPS, which suggests the CPU can sustain very high frame rates when graphics load is minimal. The fact that this number does not exceed 400 FPS indicates that the CPU's single-thread performance, while strong, still imposes an upper ceiling on frame generation. The PassMark single-thread score of 4516 reinforces this, as it is a solid result but not class-leading.

The CPU's 14 cores are likely underutilized in Downfall, as the game's release date of 2016-02-28 suggests it was designed for older, lower-core-count processors. The multi-threaded performance, evidenced by the PassMark multithread score of 37816, is more than sufficient for any background tasks, but the game's engine probably relies on a few heavily loaded threads. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz is the more relevant specification for this title, as higher single-thread clocks directly translate to better frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

Comparing to rivals, the Core Ultra 5 235 sits within 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 4364P and AMD EPYC 7303 in average benchmark score, but those are server processors with different characteristics. The Intel Core i9-13900HX, which scores 46098, is only 0.1% ahead, meaning the Ultra 5 235 is effectively on par with a high-end mobile chip in synthetic benchmarks. This parity suggests that the CPU is not the weak link in this combo, and any frame rate limitations at 1080p are more likely due to the game's engine or the GPU's overhead.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 289th out of 2928 tested combinations for Downfall, placing it in the 90th percentile of all combos. This ranking is strong, indicating that this pairing performs well above average for this specific title. The top 10% placement is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show high performance across all resolutions and settings.

The rank suggests that while this combo is not the absolute fastest available, it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested. The 289th position out of 2928 means there are 288 combos that achieve higher average frame rates, but the delta between this combo and those above it is likely small given the high absolute FPS numbers. The combo's performance is particularly impressive considering the CPU's mid-range positioning (89th percentile) and the GPU's slightly lower percentile (76th), yet the combination still lands in the top 10% of game-specific results.

This ranking also implies that the game is not extremely demanding on either component, as a mid-to-high-end CPU and a high-end GPU can produce such strong results. The 4K Ultra score of 69 FPS, while the lowest in the dataset, is still above the 60 FPS baseline, and the 1440p High score of 177 FPS is well into high-refresh territory. The combo's rank would likely improve at lower resolutions, where the CPU's contribution is more significant, but the overall ranking reflects a balanced system that handles Downfall exceptionally well.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture and a 5 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is 2610 MHz with a base clock of 2340 MHz, and it contains 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. Its FP32 performance is rated at 44.10 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 69 FPS is a clear indication that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the limiting factor when maximum graphical fidelity is enabled. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this 2016 title, as even at 4K the memory usage is unlikely to approach the capacity, but the compute load from Ultra settings stresses the GPU's shading units and ROPs.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 31811 places it at the 76th percentile of all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5569 shows strong modern API performance. The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark data include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (31206, -0.4% delta), the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (31220, -0.4%), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31532, -1.4%), and the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31676, -1.9%). This places the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER slightly behind the TITAN RTX in average benchmark score but ahead of the Quadro and GRID cards.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s is a key specification for Downfall, as the game's textures and effects at 4K require substantial data throughput. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (134 FPS) versus 4K High (110 FPS) shows a 24 FPS difference, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shader throughput are both engaged. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K (110 to 69 FPS) is more severe, indicating that Ultra settings introduce effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU's compute units.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings achieve 369 FPS, Medium settings achieve 302 FPS with a minimum of 257 and a maximum of 347, High settings achieve 248 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 155 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 67 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 54 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 93 FPS. This shows that Ultra settings impose the largest performance penalty at 1080p, consuming 214 FPS compared to Low.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 264 FPS, Medium at 216 FPS with a minimum of 183 and a maximum of 248, High at 177 FPS, and Ultra at 111 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 48 FPS, Medium to High is 39 FPS, and High to Ultra is 66 FPS. The relative penalty for Ultra is slightly smaller than at 1080p, but the absolute frame rates are lower across the board, reflecting the increased pixel workload.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 164 FPS, Medium at 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 154, High at 110 FPS, and Ultra at 69 FPS. The differences are 30 FPS between Low and Medium, 24 FPS between Medium and High, and 41 FPS between High and Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration in the dataset that falls below 100 FPS, and it is 86 FPS lower than the 4K Low result.

The data shows that Medium settings are the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range is 257 to 347 FPS, a spread of 90 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 183 to 248 FPS, a spread of 65 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range tightens further to 114 to 154 FPS, a spread of 40 FPS. This indicates that as resolution increases, frame times become more consistent, likely because the GPU's workload becomes more uniform and less susceptible to CPU-related stutters.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest average frame rate is 369 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is 4K Ultra settings playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but marginally. The average frame rate at 3840x2160 Ultra is 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS baseline but below the 90 FPS threshold for ideal smoothness.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 177 FPS at 2560x1440 High to 110 FPS at 3840x2160 High, a reduction of 67 FPS or roughly 38%.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the bottleneck, as the frame rate of 369 FPS does not scale linearly with the CPU's strong single-thread performance, and the drop to 264 FPS at 1440p Low indicates GPU limitations.

Q: Does the Core Ultra 5 235's lack of hyper-threading affect game performance?

A: The measured data shows no negative impact, as the combo achieves high frame rates across all settings, and the CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock are sufficient for Downfall.

Q: What is the frame time variance at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum recorded frame rate is 114 FPS and the maximum is 154 FPS, resulting in a spread of 40 FPS around the 134 FPS average.