Downfall

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Downfall?

A: The highest recorded average is 310.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The same resolution with Medium settings reaches 256.3 FPS, while High settings produce 209.1 FPS and Ultra drops to 131.4 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 79,102, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (scores of 79,240 and 79,245, respectively). It trails the Intel Core i9-14900K by 0.9% and the AMD EPYC 7413 by 1.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's synthetic benchmark standing relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37,283, sitting 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507) and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008). It is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371).

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 4K in Downfall?

A: The data shows a consistent frame rate drop when moving from 1440p to 4K across all settings. For example, High settings fall from 149.3 FPS at 1440p to 94.2 FPS at 4K, a reduction of about 37%. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom is less exercised.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 472nd out of 1,741 tested combinations in Downfall. This places it in the upper quartile of all tested hardware pairings, though it is not near the top tier.

Q: What are the GPU's memory specifications relevant to Downfall?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Memory clocks run at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's boost clock is 2475 MHz with a base clock of 1920 MHz.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 192-bit memory bus to Downfall, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. For a horror title, this memory configuration proves adequate across the measured settings, as frame rates remain playable even at the most demanding preset. The GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, includes 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz directly influence how quickly the card can process the game's visual effects.

Benchmark results indicate the RTX 4070 holds an 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 37,283 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals: the RX Vega 56 trails by only 0.6%, while the MX570 A is 1.9% ahead. The 2.5% lead over the RX 5300M shows the performance margin is narrow in synthetic tests, but Downfall's measured frame rates reveal a different story under real gaming load.

In Downfall, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high—ranging from 131.4 FPS on Ultra to 310.9 FPS on Low—which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload intensifies, and the frame rates drop to between 55.7 FPS on Ultra and 139.6 FPS on Low. The RTX 4070's memory bandwidth and 12 GB capacity are sufficient for the game's texture and geometry demands, as no anomalies appear in the scaling pattern.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide the raw compute headroom for Downfall's horror visuals. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern rendering paths. With a TDP of 200 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W, the card operates within a standard power envelope, but those figures are not the focus of this analysis.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates across four settings presets provide clear guidance for the best experience. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 130 FPS, making any choice viable. High settings deliver 209.1 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and speed. Medium settings at 256.3 FPS offer a smoother experience but with reduced visual fidelity. Ultra at 131.4 FPS remains playable but introduces a notable drop from High.

For 2560x1440, High settings produce 149.3 FPS, which is the recommended choice for most users. Medium settings yield 183 FPS, while Ultra drops to 90.4 FPS. Low settings reach 221.2 FPS but compromise the horror atmosphere that relies on lighting and shadow detail. The data suggests High settings at 1440p provide the optimal combination of immersion and responsiveness.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes significantly. High settings deliver 94.2 FPS, which remains smooth for most displays. Medium settings reach 111.3 FPS, while Low settings hit 139.6 FPS. Ultra drops to 55.7 FPS, which may be too low for fluid gameplay in a horror title where quick reactions matter. The recommended preset at 4K is High, as it maintains a comfortable frame rate while preserving visual quality.

Across all resolutions, Ultra settings consistently show the largest performance penalty. The gap between High and Ultra is substantial: at 1080p, the drop is from 209.1 to 131.4 FPS (a reduction of about 37%); at 1440p, from 149.3 to 90.4 FPS (about 39%); and at 4K, from 94.2 to 55.7 FPS (about 41%). This consistent pattern indicates that Ultra settings impose a disproportionately heavy load, likely due to advanced effects that the RTX 4070 handles with difficulty.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 472nd out of 1,741 tested combos in Downfall. This placement in the upper quartile indicates that while the pairing is capable, many other configurations achieve higher frame rates. The CPU's percentile ranking of 97 among all processors shows it is a top-tier part, while the GPU's 81st percentile places it slightly lower in relative standing.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 79,102 places it just below several high-end rivals. The Core Ultra 7 265KF and Core i9-14900KF both score about 0.2% higher, while the Core i9-14900K is 0.9% ahead. These narrow deltas suggest that the 265K is not the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios. The GPU's score of 37,283, on the other hand, shows a broader performance spread among its rivals, with the MX570 A leading by 1.9%.

Given these benchmark positions, the combo's 472nd rank in Downfall likely reflects the GPU's mid-pack standing rather than the CPU's strength. The CPU's high percentile and strong multi-threaded scores—such as 50,009 in Cinebench R23 multi-core—provide ample headroom, but the GPU's 81st percentile caps the overall gaming potential. Users seeking higher rankings would benefit from a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is already performing near the top of its class.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the workload shifts between components. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 310.9 FPS, which drops to 221.2 FPS at 1440p (a 29% reduction) and then to 139.6 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). This pattern shows that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

For High settings, the scaling is similar: 209.1 FPS at 1080p falls to 149.3 FPS at 1440p (29% drop) and then to 94.2 FPS at 4K (55% drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the limiting component remains the same throughout. The CPU's strong performance—evidenced by its 97th percentile ranking—means it does not bottleneck even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 300 FPS.

The data indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary constraint as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU can push frame rates high enough to approach the CPU's limits, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload dominates. The 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, as no memory-related stutters are indicated by the average FPS figures. For users targeting 4K, the GPU will be the deciding factor, while at 1080p, the CPU's headroom ensures consistent high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: Low settings deliver 310.9 FPS average. Medium settings produce 256.3 FPS. High settings reach 209.1 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 131.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 179.5 FPS, showing a wide performance range at this resolution.

2560x1440: Low settings average 221.2 FPS. Medium settings achieve 183 FPS. High settings hit 149.3 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 90.4 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 130.8 FPS, with each preset step costing roughly 30-40 FPS.

3840x2160: Low settings reach 139.6 FPS. Medium settings produce 111.3 FPS. High settings deliver 94.2 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 55.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 83.9 FPS, and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only preset that struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K.

The progression across resolutions shows a consistent pattern: each setting tier costs a similar percentage of performance regardless of resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is 58% of Low's frame rate (131.4 divided by 310.9). At 1440p, Ultra is 41% of Low (90.4 divided by 221.2). At 4K, Ultra is 40% of Low (55.7 divided by 139.6). This indicates that the Ultra preset's additional effects scale uniformly with resolution, while the GPU's raw throughput determines the absolute frame rates.