Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an extreme combination for Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The benchmark data shows this pairing producing very high frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets, with the GPU architecture and CPU's strong single-thread performance easily handling the game's demands. The data is measured, not estimated, and indicates that this system is far beyond what the game requires to maintain a smooth experience.

Best Settings per Resolution

The measured frame rates for this combo are exceptionally high, allowing for the maximum visual quality preset at every resolution tested. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is the same across all resolutions: Ultra.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 187 FPS. This is more than triple the 60 FPS playable threshold, providing a massive headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between Medium at 365.1 FPS and Ultra at 187 FPS shows that even at the highest settings, the system is not stressed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset still holds an average of 133.9 FPS. This is a significant drop from the 1080p result but still comfortably above 60 FPS. This resolution offers a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance, with the data showing that the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rate here.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset remains playable with an average of 81.5 FPS. While this is the lowest result of the three resolutions, it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a healthy margin. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 52.9 FPS drop (from 133.9 to 81.5), which is a substantial reduction but still leaves the system well within playable territory. For all three resolutions, the verdict data confirms that all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, but Ultra is the recommended choice for maximum quality without sacrificing a 60 FPS experience.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU across different resolutions, typical for a modern title. At 1920x1080, the system is heavily CPU-bound. The Ryzen 5 7600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is the limiting factor. Evidence for this comes from the frame rate scaling: moving from Low at 441.7 FPS to Ultra at 187 FPS shows a massive 254.7 FPS difference. This indicates that the GPU is capable of producing far more frames than the CPU can feed it at lower settings. The CPU's single-thread score of 1965 in Cinebench R23 and 4135 in Passmark single-thread tests is strong, but it still caps the absolute maximum frame rate. The GPU's utilization is likely not maxed out at this resolution, especially on Low settings.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts toward the GPU. The frame rates are lower across the board compared to 1080p, with the Ultra preset falling from 187 FPS to 133.9 FPS. This 53.1 FPS drop is more pronounced than the drop from Medium (365.1 to 260.4), suggesting the GPU is starting to become a more significant bottleneck as the pixel count increases. The CPU is still capable of providing high frame rates, but the GPU's workload is now substantial enough to bring the overall performance down.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the unequivocal dominant factor. The Ultra preset drops to 81.5 FPS, and the scaling between presets is compressed: Low at 196.1 FPS and Medium at 163.8 FPS are much closer together than at lower resolutions. This compression indicates that the GPU's rendering workload, not the CPU's instruction throughput, is the primary constraint. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, but at 4K, the GPU's fill rate and shading power are the determining factors for the final frame rate. The Ryzen 5 7600X's performance is sufficient to avoid becoming a limiting factor at this resolution, allowing the RTX 4090 to perform at its full potential.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The benchmark data for the CPU and GPU provides a list of hardware that would behave similarly in terms of average benchmark scores, which can translate to similar in-game performance.

For the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, the nearest rivals are remarkably close in average score. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and the Intel Core i5-12600K both have an average score of 27578, a mere 0.2% lower than the 7600X's average of 27636. This means that in Downfall, these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical frame rates, especially at 1080p where the CPU is more influential. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE is also close, with a score of 27712 (-0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 at 27535 (0.4% delta) rounds out the group. All four alternatives are within a fraction of a percent in performance, making them interchangeable for this game.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the nearest rivals are professional-grade cards with similar average scores. The Intel Arc Pro A60 has an average score of 60326, effectively identical to the RTX 4090's 60347 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% slower at 60140, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is -2.5% slower at 61896 (note the negative delta, meaning the W6600M is actually faster). The AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% slower at 58657. While these are workstation cards, their average benchmark scores suggest they would offer similar raw compute performance in Downfall, though driver optimizations for gaming could differ. For practical purposes, an RTX 4090 owner should expect performance in line with these professional cards, all of which are in the same performance tier.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Downfall, and it does so with an overwhelming amount of performance headroom. The verdict data is unambiguous: at every resolution tested, all settings presets are playable, and the best settings are always Ultra.

• At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset runs at an average of 187 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming.
• At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset maintains 133.9 FPS, still providing a very smooth and responsive experience.
• At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 81.5 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS mark comfortably. This makes 4K gaming with maximum settings a viable option.

The data confirms that the combination of the Ryzen 5 7600X and RTX 4090 is not just playable, but excessively powerful for this title. The frame rates are so high that the system is effectively bottlenecked by the CPU at lower resolutions and by the GPU at 4K, but in both cases, the results are well above the playable threshold. There is no scenario in the measured data where this combo fails to deliver a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 81.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data confirms that all presets, from Low to Ultra, are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the frame rate scale between 1080p and 1440p on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 187 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same preset averages 133.9 FPS. This represents a drop of 53.1 FPS when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the primary factor at 1920x1080. The frame rate difference between Low at 441.7 FPS and Ultra at 187 FPS is substantial, indicating the GPU can render frames much faster than the CPU can provide them, especially at lower settings.

Q: Which components are closest in performance to the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X?

A: The closest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K, both with an average benchmark score of 27578, which is just 0.2% below the 7600X's score of 27636. They would behave nearly identically in Downfall.

Q: What is the average frame rate for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 260.4 FPS. This is significantly higher than the Ultra preset's 133.9 FPS, showing how much headroom exists at lower settings.

Q: Does this system maintain 60 FPS at the highest settings in all resolutions?

A: Yes. The verdictByResolution data lists Ultra as the best playable setting for all three resolutions, with average FPS values of 187 at 1080p, 133.9 at 1440p, and 81.5 at 4K. All are above the 60 FPS threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Downfall, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 93rd out of 3716 tested combos. This places it in the top 2.5% of all tested systems, based on the rank and total count. The percentile fields for the individual components support this high placement: the CPU is in the 79th percentile versus all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 88th percentile versus all GPUs. The high rank is a direct result of the GPU's massive performance, which drives the 4K Ultra result of 81.5 FPS. While the CPU is a strong performer, the rank reflects the combined capability of both parts. For a game like Downfall, which is not particularly demanding by modern standards, this combination is overkill, but it results in one of the top-tier experiences possible, with maximum settings achievable at all tested resolutions.