Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 165th out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations. The pairing delivers exceptional frame rates across all resolutions, with the RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and the Ultra 5 245's 14-core design combining to produce high-refresh-rate performance even at 4K Ultra settings, where the combo still manages an average of 77 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 165 out of 2,928 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems tested in Downfall. This position reflects the strength of both components: the RTX 5080 sits at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 245 reaches the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The pairing of two top-decile components yields a system that outpaces the vast majority of tested hardware in this horror title.

Benchmark data shows the GPU's average benchmark score of 56,083 places it just 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%. The CPU's average score of 48,995 is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, while leading the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. These narrow margins indicate that neither component is dramatically ahead of its closest competitors, yet the overall combination still achieves a top-tier ranking.

The rank position suggests that in Downfall specifically, the balance between GPU throughput and CPU processing is well-matched. The game appears to leverage both the RTX 5080's rendering capabilities and the Ultra 5 245's processing power effectively, as evidenced by the measured FPS data showing strong scaling from 1080p through 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 45,600 million transistors across a 378 mm² die, with 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2617 MHz, with memory running at 1875 MHz for 30 Gbps effective throughput.

Memory configuration is substantial: 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This capacity and bandwidth prove critical in Downfall, where the combo achieves 123 FPS average at 4K High settings. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s give the card ample fill rate for the game's horror visuals. FP32 performance reaches 56.28 TFLOPS, with FP16 matching at 56.28 TFLOPS on a 1:1 ratio.

The GPU's 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores support the DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. The card draws up to 360 W TDP and requires a 750 W suggested PSU, connecting via PCIe 5.0 x16 with a single 16-pin power connector. Its dual-slot design measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

In raw compute benchmarks, the RTX 5080 scores 36,565 in Passmark G3D and 21,789 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637, Geekbench OpenCL score of 235,901, and Geekbench Vulkan score of 255,450 all reflect strong synthetic performance. The GPU's average benchmark score of 56,083 places it just 0.6% above the AMD Radeon 8060S, though the RTX 5080's real-world Downfall results show it handling 4K Ultra at 77 FPS average, indicating the game is demanding at maximum settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 belongs to the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process at TSMC. It houses 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, featuring 14 cores and 14 threads — notably without hyper-threading. Base clock runs at 3.50 GHz with a boost up to 5.10 GHz, all within a 65 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth and includes ECC memory support.

Cache configuration includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The chip connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes and includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units. It fits the Intel Socket 1851 and was released on January 6, 2025, with a launch MSRP of $270. The multiplier is locked, and the part number is SRVFE.

In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,648 in single-core. Cinebench R20 results show 13,828 multi-core and 1,952 single-core, while R15 scores are 3,318 multi-core and 468 single-core. Passmark results include a multithread score of 38,706, single-thread score of 4,394, physics score of 2,569, and floating-point math score of 120,548. Integer math hits 91,187, while extended instructions score 33,304.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 48,995 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, scores 49,196 (0.4% ahead), while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49,228 (0.5% ahead). The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H trails by 0.6% at 48,698, and the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% behind at 48,618. These tight margins mean the Ultra 5 245 is competitively positioned within its performance class.

For Downfall, the CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock appear sufficient to feed the RTX 5080, as evidenced by the high frame rates at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically matters most. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 414 FPS average, suggesting minimal CPU bottleneck in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. High settings produce 123 FPS average, while Medium achieves 151 FPS with a minimum of 128 FPS and maximum of 173 FPS. Low settings jump to 184 FPS average, but Ultra drops to 77 FPS average — the only 4K setting below 120 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 107 FPS, representing a 58% performance range.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), performance scales impressively. Low settings reach 296 FPS average, Medium hits 242 FPS with a range of 206 to 278 FPS, and High produces 198 FPS average. Ultra at 1440p manages 124 FPS average, which remains comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay. The step from 4K High to 1440p High represents a 75 FPS improvement, showing that resolution scaling is substantial.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo reaches very high frame rates. Low settings produce 414 FPS average, Medium achieves 339 FPS with a range of 288 to 390 FPS, and High delivers 278 FPS average. Ultra at 1080p still manages 174 FPS average. Even at 1080p, the Ultra preset sees a significant drop from High — a 104 FPS difference — indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy rendering load regardless of resolution.

The pattern across resolutions shows consistent scaling: 1080p Low (414 FPS) to 1440p Low (296 FPS) to 4K Low (184 FPS) represents a predictable resolution penalty. Similarly, 1080p Ultra (174 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (124 FPS) to 4K Ultra (77 FPS) shows the increasing burden of pixel count at maximum settings. The Medium preset shows the tightest frame pacing with min/max values recorded, suggesting stable performance at that quality level.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle Downfall at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured 4K Ultra average is 77 FPS, which is playable but represents the lowest performance tier among all tested settings. If you require higher frame rates at 4K, dropping to High settings nearly doubles performance to 123 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757) and 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57,367) by 2.2% and leads the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828) by 2.3%.

Q: What is the best resolution to run for high refresh rate monitors?

A: For 144 Hz or higher displays, 1440p is the sweet spot. At 1440p High, the combo delivers 198 FPS average, while even Ultra settings hit 124 FPS. At 4K, only Low (184 FPS) and Medium (151 FPS) exceed 144 FPS thresholds, while High sits at 123 FPS.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the RTX 5080 in this game?

A: The data suggests minimal bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 414 FPS average, indicating the CPU can drive very high frame rates. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking and multi-core score of 32,924 in Cinebench R23 suggest sufficient processing power for this title.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, 4K (123 FPS) is 44% slower than 1080p (278 FPS). At Medium, 4K (151 FPS) is 55% slower than 1080p (339 FPS). At Low, 4K (184 FPS) is 56% slower than 1080p (414 FPS). At Ultra, 4K (77 FPS) is 56% slower than 1080p (174 FPS).

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 128 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 206 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it is 288 FPS. No minimum frame data was recorded for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1440p is the recommended configuration. It delivers 198 FPS average, which saturates most high-refresh-rate monitors while maintaining substantial visual fidelity. At this setting, the combo has enough headroom to handle demanding scenes without dropping below playable thresholds.

For 4K displays, High settings at 123 FPS average provide the best experience, as Ultra drops to 77 FPS — a 37% performance penalty that may not justify the visual improvement in a horror title where smooth motion matters. If higher frame rates are preferred at 4K, Medium settings at 151 FPS average with a documented minimum of 128 FPS offer a stable alternative that stays well above 120 FPS.

Users with 1080p monitors and high refresh rates (240 Hz or above) should consider Medium settings, which deliver 339 FPS average with a minimum of 288 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery even during intense gameplay. Low settings at 1080p reach 414 FPS but sacrifice too much visual detail for the marginal frame rate gain. Ultra settings at any resolution are not recommended given the significant performance cost — the 174 FPS at 1080p Ultra versus 278 FPS at 1080p High represents a 37% reduction for incremental graphical improvements.

The Medium preset consistently shows the most stable frame pacing with recorded minimum and maximum values across all resolutions, making it the safest choice for competitive play or streaming where frame consistency is paramount. The data indicates that the performance sweet spot for this combination is the High preset at either 1440p or 4K, depending on display capabilities and frame rate preferences.