Downfall

The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 5 7500X3D with Intel's Arc B390 produces a genuinely lopsided build for Downfall: the processor sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs in the database, while the graphics solution lands in just the 9th percentile among GPUs. Benchmark results indicate the CPU is far stronger than this game will ever need, and the GPU is the component that dictates every frame rate recorded. The verdict up front: yes, this PC can run Downfall, comfortably at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K is out of reach at every preset tested.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Anyone shopping around this performance envelope is really shopping around the GPU, because that is where the ceiling sits. The Arc B390's recorded average benchmark score is 1482, and its nearest rivals cluster tightly around it. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX averages 1463, just 1.3 percent behind; the NVIDIA GeForce 800M averages 1460, 1.5 percent behind; the GeForce GT 625 OEM sits 2.5 percent back at 1446; and the GeForce GT 710 rounds out the group at 1443, 2.7 percent behind. All four would deliver effectively identical Downfall performance to the B390, since the spread across the entire group is under three percent. That tightness means the GPU choice in this bracket barely matters: any of these alternatives produces the same gameplay experience at the same settings.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's average benchmark score of 44573 places it in an equally tight cluster, but a vastly higher one. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H averages 44466, only 0.2 percent behind. The Intel Core i9-13950HX averages 44342, 0.5 percent behind. The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 averages 44309, 0.6 percent behind. The Intel Core i5-14600 is marginally ahead at 44889, 0.7 percent above. Any of these processors paired with a comparable GPU would behave essentially the same in Downfall, because the game's frame rates here are constrained by rendering, not compute. A builder considering an alternative CPU from this group can decide purely on other factors; the Downfall numbers will not move.

Notably, the strongest rival, the Core i5-14600, is only 0.7 percent ahead, which confirms the 7500X3D is at the top of its local cluster rather than the bottom. Single-thread performance reinforces this: a PassMark single-thread score of 3494 alongside a multithread score of 25047 shows a chip that is quick per core, which matters for an older title like Downfall, released in February 2016, from an era when games rarely saturated many threads.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data makes the division of labor unambiguous: the Arc B390 is the limiting component at every resolution tested. The scaling evidence is in the numbers. At 1080p the combo averages 106 FPS on Low, 87 on Medium, 71 on High, and 44 on Ultra. Move to 1440p and the same presets drop to 76, 62, 51, and 32 FPS respectively. At 4K they fall further to 47, 39, 32, and 20 FPS.

That progressive collapse as pixel count rises is the classic signature of GPU limitation. If the Ryzen 5 7500X3D were the bottleneck, frame rates would plateau as resolution increased, because the CPU's workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, frame rates fall steeply at each step, which means the six-core, twelve-thread processor with its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is feeding the renderer far more quickly than the B390 can digest frames. With a 65 W TDP, a 4.00 base and 4.50 boost clock, and DDR5 memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s over a dual-channel bus, the CPU has substantial headroom that Downfall simply cannot use.

The preset scaling tells the same story within each resolution. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to High lifts the average from 44 to 71 FPS, a jump of over 60 percent from a single settings tier. That sensitivity to visual settings, rather than to simulation load, confirms the GPU is the gatekeeper. The Medium runs recorded minimum and maximum figures of 74 to 100 FPS at 1080p and 53 to 71 FPS at 1440p, and even those minimums at 1080p sit comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold, indicating stable, consistent delivery once settings are matched to the hardware.

For a horror game, consistency matters as much as averages. Downfall's tension depends on uninterrupted presentation, and the recorded ranges show that at the right settings this combo delivers exactly that.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database's Downfall rankings, this pairing sits at rank 3303 out of 3716 tested combinations. That places it in the bottom portion of the field, and the reason is not difficult to find: the Arc B390's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs drags the pairing down despite the CPU's 89th percentile standing among all processors. The rank reflects the weaker link.

Interpreted practically, this is a combination that trades away graphical horsepower while keeping compute strength. Roughly 413 combinations rank below it, which means it is not the slowest way to play Downfall, but thousands of pairings outperform it. A builder whose priorities include only this game and other similarly light titles may find the ranking acceptable, since the playable-settings data shows the combo clears 60 FPS in most tested configurations at 1080p and 1440p. Anyone hoping to rank higher in Downfall specifically would need to address the GPU, because replacing the CPU would change nothing: the processor already outclasses what this game demands.

The Steel Nomad DirectX 12 score of 1482 for the B390 is the quantitative anchor for that judgment. It is a modest rendering score, and the on-screen results in Downfall track it faithfully.

The Verdict

The recorded data supports a clear, split verdict by resolution.

At 1920x1080, this PC runs Downfall well. Low, Medium, and High presets all clear the 60 FPS playability threshold, with averages of 106, 87, and 71 FPS respectively. Only Ultra falls short, at 44 FPS. The best playable setting at 1080p is High at 71 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the PC still runs Downfall, but the margin narrows. Low averages 76 FPS and Medium averages 62 FPS, both above the threshold. High drops to 51 FPS and Ultra to 32 FPS, both below. The best playable setting at 1440p is Medium at 62 FPS average, a slim two-frame margin over the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the answer is no. No preset tested reaches 60 FPS. Low manages 47 FPS, Medium 39, High 32, and Ultra just 20. FourK is not a viable target for this configuration in Downfall, and no amount of CPU headroom changes that.

So: playable at 1080p across three presets, playable at 1440p across two, and not playable at 4K at all. For a 2016 horror title, that 1080p High result of 71 FPS represents a genuinely good experience; the limitation only becomes visible as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: Can the Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Arc B390 run Downfall at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at two of the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, Low (106 FPS), Medium (87 FPS), and High (71 FPS) all exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, Low (76 FPS) and Medium (62 FPS) clear the bar. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: Which component limits performance in this game?

A: The GPU. Frame rates drop sharply as resolution rises, from 106 FPS at 1080p Low to 47 FPS at 4K Low, which is the signature of a graphics limitation. The CPU sits in the 89th percentile of all processors and is never the constraint.

Q: What is the best-looking setting that stays playable at 1440p?

A: Medium, averaging 62 FPS, with a recorded range of 53 to 71 FPS. High at 1440p averages only 51 FPS and dips below the threshold.

Q: How does this pairing rank among tested Downfall combinations?

A: Rank 3303 of 3716. The Arc B390, in the 9th percentile of GPUs, pulls the pairing down despite the CPU's 89th percentile standing.

Q: Which GPUs would perform similarly to the Arc B390 in this game?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710 all sit within 2.7 percent of the B390's average benchmark score and would deliver near-identical results.

Q: Does the CPU have alternatives that behave the same here?

A: Yes. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, Core i9-13950HX, Ryzen AI Max 385, and Core i5-14600 are all within 0.7 percent of the 7500X3D's average score, so any of them paired with a similar GPU would produce the same Downfall performance.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that holds at or above 60 FPS is High, averaging 71 FPS. Medium and Low remain above the threshold at 87 and 106 FPS, but High is the best balance of fidelity and frame rate; only Ultra, at 44 FPS, should be avoided.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding playable preset is Medium, averaging 62 FPS. This is the ceiling at this resolution: High manages just 51 FPS on average, below the playability threshold, while Low remains a fallback at 76 FPS.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable preset. The best average recorded is 47 FPS on Low, followed by 39 on Medium, 32 on High, and 20 on Ultra, all short of the threshold. Players wanting 4K would need different graphics hardware; no settings adjustment within the tested presets gets this combo there.