Downfall

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers 136.8 FPS average on High settings. Dropping to Low raises the average to 190.7 FPS, while Medium sits between at 168.2 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still holds 84.1 FPS average, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial: 106.6 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy rendering load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same combination produces 196.1 FPS average on High, 225.2 FPS on Low, 207.7 FPS on Medium, and 136.3 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is clear: every preset gains significant headroom. The Low preset at 1440p is 34.5 FPS faster than Low at 4K, and Ultra improves by 52.2 FPS. Even at the heaviest settings, this combo never approaches the 60 FPS floor.

At 1920x1080, the results are the highest of the three resolutions. High averages 214.9 FPS, Low reaches 250.5 FPS, Medium delivers 232.2 FPS, and Ultra still produces 179.9 FPS. The spread from Ultra to Low is 70.6 FPS, smaller than at 4K, which suggests that at 1080p the CPU begins to exert more influence on the upper bounds of performance. All recorded FPS values are averages; the data does not include separate minimum or maximum frame time measurements for any resolution or preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows a clear pattern of GPU dominance at higher resolutions and a growing CPU influence as resolution drops. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra is 106.6 FPS, a 55.8% reduction in average frame rate when moving to the most demanding preset. This large scaling indicates that the RTX 5090 is the primary driver: the GPU is doing most of the work, and its load scales heavily with settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low-to-Ultra delta narrows to 88.9 FPS, which is still a substantial drop but proportionally smaller than at 4K. The Ultra preset at 1440p (136.3 FPS) is actually faster than High at 4K (136.8 FPS), which reinforces that resolution is a bigger factor than preset level for this GPU. The RTX 5090 has enough raw throughput to push high frame rates at 1440p regardless of quality settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low-to-Ultra gap shrinks to 70.6 FPS. More importantly, the absolute FPS values are high across all presets, with the lowest being 179.9 FPS on Ultra. When a GPU is this fast relative to the workload, the CPU becomes a limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen architecture, has a PassMark single-thread score of 2239 and an avg benchmark score of 21484, which places it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. Still, at 1080p Low (250.5 FPS), the CPU is likely near its practical ceiling for frame generation in this title. The data does not provide separate CPU or GPU utilization metrics, but the diminishing returns between 1440p and 1080p, especially on Low and Medium, point to CPU-bound behavior at the lowest resolution.

The CPU's role is also visible in its benchmark profile. The Ryzen 5 2600 scores 1248 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 157.3 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 5648 and single-core of 1154. These are modest figures by 2025 standards, and they explain why the combo cannot reach the very high frame rates that a newer, stronger CPU might allow at 1080p. The RTX 5090, by contrast, has a PassMark G3D score of 39650 and ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79842. The imbalance is clear: the GPU is far more capable than the CPU, and at 1080p the CPU holds back what the GPU could otherwise deliver.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V scores 21440, a delta of 0.2% higher, meaning it would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i9-11900H scores 21367, 0.5% higher, again a negligible difference. On the other side, the Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635, which is 0.7% lower than the Ryzen 5 2600, and the AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21223, 1.2% lower. In practical terms, all four of these processors would produce very similar frame rates when paired with the RTX 5090, especially in a game like Downfall where the GPU dominates at higher resolutions. The differences among them are within a couple of percent, so swapping the Ryzen 5 2600 for any of these would not meaningfully change the measured FPS in this title.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79842. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605, which is 0.3% higher, while the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396, 0.6% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, 1.1% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, which is 1.4% lower than the RTX 5090. These deltas are all tiny, so any of these GPUs would deliver essentially the same frame rates in Downfall when paired with the Ryzen 5 2600. The practical takeaway is that the RTX 5090 sits in a performance cluster where several other high-end cards and workstation parts are within 1.5% of its average score.

When considering a full alternative combo, pairing the Ryzen 5 2600 with any of the rival GPUs listed would produce nearly identical results to the RTX 5090 setup, because the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions and the rival GPUs are all within a small margin of the RTX 5090's average score. Conversely, pairing the RTX 5090 with any of the rival CPUs would also yield similar results, since those CPUs are within 1.2% of the Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 597th out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the top 16.1% of all configurations recorded in the database. The rank reflects the fact that the RTX 5090 is a top-tier GPU, but the Ryzen 5 2600 is an older, mid-range processor from 2018. In a game like Downfall, which is a horror title from 2016, the GPU matters more at 4K and 1440p, which helps this combo rank well overall.

The CPU's 75th percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 92nd percentile standing among all GPUs combine to produce a solid but not elite overall position. The 597th rank out of 3716 means that many combos with newer, faster CPUs and similarly fast GPUs would outperform this pairing, particularly at 1080p where the CPU bottleneck is most pronounced. Still, for a game released in 2016, the recorded FPS values across all resolutions and presets are far above the 60 FPS playability threshold, so the rank is more a reflection of the CPU's age than any practical deficiency in playability.

The database shows that every preset at every resolution is playable, with the lowest recorded average being 84.1 FPS at 4K Ultra. The combo never dips below the 60 FPS threshold in any measured configuration. This is a strong result for a 2018 CPU paired with a 2025 GPU, and it underscores that Downfall is not a demanding title by modern standards.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 84.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the fastest preset at 1080p?

A: Low settings produce the highest average at 1920x1080 with 250.5 FPS. Medium is next at 232.2 FPS, followed by High at 214.9 FPS and Ultra at 179.9 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 2560x1440?

A: The GPU dominates at 1440p. The difference between Low and Ultra is 88.9 FPS, and even Ultra stays at 136.3 FPS, so the RTX 5090 is doing most of the heavy lifting.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V is 0.2% higher, the Intel Core i9-11900H is 0.5% higher, the Intel Xeon D-1746TER is 0.7% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9454 is 1.2% lower. All are effectively equivalent in this game.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 84.1 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. No configuration drops below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested combinations?

A: It ranks 597th out of 3716 combos, which places it in the top 16.1% of all recorded configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers 84.1 FPS average. High runs at 136.8 FPS, Medium at 168.2 FPS, and Low at 190.7 FPS, but since Ultra already clears the threshold with a comfortable margin, there is no reason to drop below it.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, averaging 136.3 FPS. This is 52.2 FPS higher than Ultra at 4K, so the extra headroom is substantial. High runs at 196.1 FPS, Medium at 207.7 FPS, and Low at 225.2 FPS, but Ultra offers the best visual quality while still staying far above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra with an average of 179.9 FPS. All lower presets are faster, with Low reaching 250.5 FPS, but the Ultra preset still provides nearly three times the playability threshold. Given that the game is a horror title where visual fidelity can enhance atmosphere, running Ultra at 1080p is the recommended choice.

In summary, this pairing can run Downfall at maximum settings across all three tested resolutions, with the lowest recorded average being 84.1 FPS at 4K Ultra. The RTX 5090 provides enough raw performance that the CPU's age does not prevent a fully playable experience at the highest quality settings.