Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a playable but not class-leading experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title. The combination ranks 1299th out of 1741 tested configurations, placing it in the lower third of all combos in this database. This rank reflects a pairing where the CPU is a top-tier performer while the GPU, an older Ampere-generation part, is the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p with adjusted settings, but one that struggles to maintain smooth 4K performance under maximum graphical loads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's overall rank of 1299 out of 1741 is modest, but context matters. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a formidable processor, sitting in the 97th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 79102 places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and Intel Core i9-14900KF, and 0.9% behind the Intel Core i9-14900K. This indicates that the processor is not the bottleneck in most gaming scenarios; it is a high-end 20-core, 20-thread Arrow Lake part with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The GPU, however, is a different story. The RTX 3060 Ti sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120. This places it roughly on par with the AMD Radeon RX 6700M and RX 6600, but the data clearly shows it is the limiting factor in this specific pairing.

The rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, as its nearest rivals are all flagship desktop processors. Instead, the rank is dragged down by the GPU's position. In a CPU-bound title, this combo would rank much higher. However, Downfall is a GPU-intensive horror game, and the measured FPS data confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti is the component that dictates the ceiling. Therefore, the 1299th rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing relative to the 1741 other combinations that include more powerful graphics cards.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combination capable of running Downfall at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?*

A: No. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 79.2, which is above 60. However, at 2560x1440 Ultra, the average drops to 57 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra, it falls to 38.4 FPS. The only resolutions and settings that consistently exceed 60 FPS are 1080p Medium and below, and 1440p Low.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its immediate rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K's average benchmark score is 79102, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (79240) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79245). It is 0.9% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900K (79824) and 1.2% lower than the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041). The differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120. This is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180) and 0.5% lower than both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235) and the AMD Radeon 890M (25246). It is 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (25287).

Q: At what resolution does the system hit a 144 Hz refresh rate target?

A: The only tested configuration that approaches 144 Hz is 1920x1080 Low, which achieves an average of 190 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 157.7 FPS, which is still above 144. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 135.1 FPS, which falls short of a 144 Hz target.

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

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average FPS is 125.5. At 2560x1440 High, it is 90.3. At 3840x2160 High, the average is 54.5. This represents a 56.6% reduction in average FPS from 1080p High to 4K High, indicating a strong GPU dependency.

Q: Is the CPU's memory bandwidth a potential bottleneck?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Given that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game based on the ranking analysis, this bandwidth is not a relevant constraint for the measured results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 125.5 to 90.3, a 28.0% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 High, the average drops from 90.3 to 54.5, a 39.6% decrease. This accelerating decline as resolution increases is the hallmark of a system where the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are being saturated.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the 1080p average of 190 FPS falls to 135.1 at 1440p (a 28.9% drop) and then to 82.5 at 4K (a 38.9% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops indicate that the RTX 3060 Ti is the scaling bottleneck. If the CPU were the limit, we would expect to see a plateau or a much smaller drop at lower resolutions where the CPU's single-threaded performance would cap the frame rate.

The fact that the 265K can deliver 190 FPS at 1080p Low shows it is not preventing the GPU from reaching high frame rates. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits as the pixel count rises. The 4K results, particularly at Ultra (38.4 FPS) and High (54.5 FPS), suggest that this combination is not suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming in Downfall.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following measured average FPS values were recorded for this exact configuration:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 82.5 FPS
• Medium: 68.8 FPS
• High: 54.5 FPS
• Ultra: 38.4 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 135.1 FPS
• Medium: 110.9 FPS
• High: 90.3 FPS
• Ultra: 57.0 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 190.0 FPS
• Medium: 157.7 FPS
• High: 125.5 FPS
• Ultra: 79.2 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the system is firmly in high-refresh-rate territory for Low and Medium settings, and remains above 60 FPS for High. Ultra at 1080p is playable at 79.2 FPS. At 1440p, the system can handle Low and Medium well above 100 FPS, but High drops to 90.3 FPS and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, only Low settings achieve an average above 60 FPS; Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below, with Ultra being nearly unplayable at 38.4 FPS. These numbers suggest a user must make a significant trade-off between resolution and visual fidelity, with 1440p High being the most balanced point for a 60 FPS experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card's boost clock is 1665 MHz, with a base clock of 1410 MHz. These specifications directly correlate with the performance drops observed as resolution increases. The 4K Ultra result of 38.4 FPS is a direct consequence of the memory capacity and bandwidth being insufficient for the high-resolution texture loads and pixel shading demands of Downfall.

The GPU's architecture is Ampere, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. It features 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is 16.20 TFLOPS. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 is a modest result, reflecting the card's mid-range positioning. The card's Passmark G3D score of 20349 confirms its standing relative to its rivals, all of which are within 0.7% of its score.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is to manage the rendering load. At 1080p, the CPU is fast enough to feed the GPU, allowing it to reach its maximum output. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a constraint at 4K Ultra, where high-resolution textures can exceed the memory capacity, leading to the dramatic FPS drop. The card's overall percentile rank of 69th among all GPUs confirms that it is a competent but not high-end part, and this is the primary reason the combo ranks 1299th out of 1741. The CPU is not the issue; the GPU's performance ceiling is what defines this system's capabilities in this horror title.