Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti produces a severely GPU-bound experience in Downfall, with measured frame rates that place this pairing at rank 2888 out of 2928 tested combos — putting it in the bottom 1.4% of all configurations. The 24-core, 24-thread Arrow Lake Refresh processor is overwhelmingly more capable than the Pascal-based graphics card can utilize, and the data confirms that the GTX 1050 Ti is the limiting component at every resolution tested. The 4 GB GDDR5 frame buffer and 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth constrain performance to the point where even the fastest settings presets fail to reach playable frame rates at 4K, while 1080p results remain merely adequate for a horror title of this era.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Downfall?

A: This combo ranks 2888 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the bottom 1.4% of all configurations tested. The ranking reflects the severe imbalance between the high-end Core Ultra 9 290K Plus processor and the entry-level GTX 1050 Ti graphics card.

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 74 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. At Medium settings, the same resolution delivers 60 FPS average, while High settings produce 50 FPS and Ultra drops to 31 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4193, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M330 at 4170, 1% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M at 4151, and 1.1% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M at 4241. The GPU sits at the 25th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What are the CPU's performance characteristics relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K at 83807 and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX at 83090. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3% (85072 score) and ranks at the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded for this combo in Downfall?

A: The lowest measured average frame rate is 14 FPS at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. The minimum FPS recorded anywhere in the data is 23 FPS, observed at 4K Medium settings, while the same settings at 1440p show a minimum of 37 FPS and at 1080p a minimum of 51 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti's DirectX performance compare across versions?

A: The PassMark scores show DirectX 9 at 104, DirectX 11 at 45, DirectX 12 at 26, and DirectX 10 at 31. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but its DirectX 12 score is the lowest of the four tested versions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario where performance degrades sharply as pixel count increases. At 1080p Low settings, the combo delivers 74 FPS average, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 53 FPS — a 28.4% decline. Moving to 4K Low yields 33 FPS, which is 55.4% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1050 Ti's rendering throughput is the primary bottleneck, as the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with its 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock is nowhere near being challenged by this game's CPU demands.

The Medium settings preset shows a similar trajectory: 60 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p (a 28.3% drop), and 27 FPS at 4K (a 55% drop from 1080p). High settings follow the same pattern with 50 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (30% drop), and 22 FPS at 4K (56% drop). Ultra settings, which are the most demanding, produce 31 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p (29% drop), and 14 FPS at 4K (54.8% drop).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is telling. Regardless of whether the game runs at Low or Ultra, the resolution scaling penalty remains roughly 28-30% from 1080p to 1440p and 54-56% from 1080p to 4K. This uniformity strongly suggests that the limiting factor is the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than any specific rendering feature. The GTX 1050 Ti's pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s are simply insufficient for higher resolutions in Downfall.

At 4K Ultra, the 14 FPS average is essentially unplayable, and even 4K Low at 33 FPS falls below what most would consider acceptable for a horror game requiring responsive controls. The 1080p results are the only ones that approach playability across multiple settings presets, with Low, Medium, and High all exceeding 50 FPS. Ultra at 1080p drops to 31 FPS, which is borderline but still better than any 1440p or 4K result.

The data indicates that users of this combo should target 1080p with Medium or High settings for a reasonable experience. The 60 FPS at Medium and 50 FPS at High suggest that the GTX 1050 Ti can handle Downfall at this resolution with some headroom, but the 4 GB VRAM capacity and 112.1 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly problematic as resolution rises.

How This Combo Ranks

In Downfall specifically, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti achieves a rank of 2888 out of 2928 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 1.4% of all configurations, which is a remarkably poor result given the CPU's capabilities. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits at the 96th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003, while the GTX 1050 Ti languishes at the 25th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 4193.

The disparity between the two components is extreme. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% lower score), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% lower), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% lower), all of which are high-end server or desktop processors. Meanwhile, the GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R5 M330 (0.6% lower score), NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (1% lower), and AMD Radeon Vega 3 (1.8% lower) — all entry-level or mobile-class parts.

This combination ranks poorly in Downfall because the game's performance is almost entirely dependent on the GPU. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, despite its 24 cores, 24 threads, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache, cannot compensate for the GTX 1050 Ti's limitations. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and settings combination tested.

The rank of 2888 out of 2928 means that only 40 tested combinations perform worse than this pairing in Downfall. This is despite the CPU being in the top 4% of all processors. The implication is clear: pairing a flagship 2024-era CPU with a 2016-era entry-level GPU creates a system that is wholly GPU-bound, and in a game like Downfall, the GPU determines the outcome.

For context, the CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 and the GPU's average of 4193 represent a ratio of roughly 20:1, which is among the most unbalanced pairings one could construct. The combo rank in Downfall reflects this imbalance, as the game cannot take advantage of the CPU's multithreaded capabilities — its PassMark multithread score of 60860 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 are irrelevant when the GPU can only produce 14-74 FPS depending on settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the measured average frame rates across settings presets are as follows: Low delivers 74 FPS, Medium delivers 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS, High delivers 50 FPS, and Ultra delivers 31 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each higher settings tier reduces performance, with the gap between Medium and High being 10 FPS and the gap between High and Ultra being 19 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440 resolution, the average frame rates drop significantly across all presets. Low produces 53 FPS, Medium produces 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 50 FPS, High produces 35 FPS, and Ultra produces 22 FPS. The 1440p results show that only Low settings break the 50 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls to nearly half of the 1080p Ultra result.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the performance becomes marginal. Low settings yield 33 FPS average, Medium yields 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 FPS and maximum of 31 FPS, High yields 22 FPS, and Ultra yields just 14 FPS. None of the 4K results reach 60 FPS, and only Low settings exceed 30 FPS.

The delta between 1080p and 1440p for each settings preset is consistent: Low drops from 74 to 53 FPS, Medium from 60 to 43 FPS, High from 50 to 35 FPS, and Ultra from 31 to 22 FPS. The delta between 1440p and 4K is equally consistent: Low drops from 53 to 33 FPS, Medium from 43 to 27 FPS, High from 35 to 22 FPS, and Ultra from 22 to 14 FPS.

The Medium settings measurements are the only ones with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 51-69 FPS; at 1440p, the range is 37-50 FPS; at 4K, the range is 23-31 FPS. The spread narrows as resolution increases, suggesting that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated at higher pixel counts.

For a horror game, the 1080p Medium result of 60 FPS average is the most balanced option, providing smooth gameplay with a reasonable visual quality. The 1080p High result of 50 FPS is also acceptable, while 1080p Ultra at 31 FPS may be tolerable for slower-paced horror gameplay. At 1440p, only Low settings at 53 FPS are recommended, and at 4K, no settings preset provides a reliably playable experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the dominant factor in this combo's Downfall performance, and the data makes it clear that this GPU is the bottleneck. With a 14 nm Pascal architecture chip (GP107), 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, the GTX 1050 Ti offers 2.138 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its base clock of 1291 MHz and boost clock of 1392 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its entry-level positioning. Its PassMark G3D score is 6340, while its DirectX 12 score is 26, DirectX 11 is 45, DirectX 10 is 31, and DirectX 9 is 104. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 305, and Geekbench scores include 18129 for OpenCL, 10001 for Vulkan, and 7834 for Metal. These figures place the GTX 1050 Ti at the 25th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 4193.

In Downfall, the GPU's limitations manifest in the resolution scaling data. The consistent 54-56% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated. The 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is particularly constraining at 4K, where the 4 GB frame buffer must handle significantly larger textures and buffers.

The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors suggest it draws minimal power, but this efficiency comes at the cost of raw performance. The pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s are simply inadequate for 4K gaming, even in a 2016 title like Downfall. The GPU's DirectX 12 support (version 12_1) is present but its performance in that API is the weakest of the tested versions.

The GTX 1050 Ti's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the AMD Radeon R5 M330, NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, and NVIDIA Quadro K3000M — are all clearly lower-tier parts, and the 0.6% to 1.8% deltaPct values confirm that the GTX 1050 Ti is at the bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy. This is consistent with its 25th percentile ranking and explains why the combo rank in Downfall is so poor despite the powerful CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is an extremely powerful processor that plays almost no role in this combo's Downfall performance. With 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, this Arrow Lake Refresh chip is capable of massive multithreaded workloads. Its 125 W TDP, 36 MB of shared L3 cache, and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on a dual-channel DDR5 interface position it as a top-tier desktop processor.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its high-end status. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 are exceptional, while Cinebench R20 scores of 21727 (multi) and 3067 (single) and Cinebench R15 scores of 5214 (multi) and 736 (single) reinforce this. PassMark results include a multithread score of 60860, single-thread score of 4823, integer math of 166194, floating point math of 214760, and data compression of 698346.

These numbers place the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus at the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% lower), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% lower), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% lower), with the AMD EPYC 7F72 being 1.3% higher. All of these are high-end server or desktop processors, confirming the CPU's position at the top of the performance spectrum.

In Downfall, however, the CPU's capabilities are largely irrelevant. The game's frame rates are determined by the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the same CPU paired with a better GPU would produce dramatically different results. The 24 threads, 5.80 GHz boost clock, and 36 MB L3 cache cannot help the GTX 1050 Ti render frames faster. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 3315 and find prime numbers score of 503 are not meaningful for this game's workload.

The CPU's integrated graphics — Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU — are not used in this configuration, but their presence indicates the processor's modern design. The 3 nm process node from TSMC, 17,800 million transistors, and 243 mm² die size are all indicators of a modern part, but they do not translate to better Downfall performance when paired with a GTX 1050 Ti.

The data shows that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the 74 FPS average is likely at or near the GPU's maximum capability, and the CPU has ample headroom. The consistent frame rate drops with increasing resolution and settings are entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering limits. Users considering this pairing should understand that the CPU is dramatically overqualified for the GPU, and that upgrading the graphics card would yield far greater performance gains in Downfall than any CPU change.