Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers overwhelming performance in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that is far from demanding by modern standards. Across every resolution tested, this combination not only exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold but does so with massive headroom, allowing the Ultra preset to be used at 4K, 1440p, and 1080p without dropping below playable frame rates. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions and still remarkably capable at 4K Ultra, where it maintains an average of 82 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 and Ryzen 7 5800XT produce a wide spread of average frame rates depending on the graphics preset. The Low preset yields an average of 196 FPS, while Medium drops to 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS. High settings average 132 FPS, and the most demanding Ultra preset still holds an average of 82 FPS. The absence of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra at this resolution suggests the benchmark focused on average performance, but the Medium preset’s 136 FPS minimum confirms stability even during demanding scenes.

Stepping down to 2560x1440 reveals a substantial performance uplift. Low settings average 315 FPS, a 119 FPS gain over the 4K Low result. Medium settings average 258 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and a maximum of 297 FPS, representing a 60% improvement over the same preset at 4K. High settings reach 212 FPS average, while Ultra settings hit 132 FPS average — a figure that matches the 4K High average exactly, showing how resolution scaling interacts with preset demands.

At 1920x1080, the combination reaches its peak performance. Low settings produce an average of 395 FPS, Medium averages 361 FPS with a minimum of 307 FPS and a maximum of 416 FPS, High averages 296 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 185 FPS average. The 1080p Medium minimum of 307 FPS is higher than the 4K Ultra average, illustrating how resolution is the dominant factor in frame rate variation. The 1080p results show diminishing returns compared to 1440p; the gap between 1440p Low (315 FPS) and 1080p Low (395 FPS) is 80 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Ultra (132 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (185 FPS) is only 53 FPS, suggesting the CPU begins to cap performance at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU and GPU pairing ranks 144th out of 3,716 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the top 4% of all configs in the database. The percentile data supports this: the Ryzen 7 5800XT sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs, while the RTX 4090 ranks in the 88th percentile against all GPUs. The combo’s high rank is driven more by the GPU’s exceptional standing than the CPU’s, though both components are well above average.

The average benchmark score for the RTX 4090 is 60,347, with a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271,631. The Ryzen 7 5800XT contributes a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23,794 and a single-core score of 3,359, along with a 3DMark max-threads score of 7,680. These synthetic benchmarks align with the measured FPS results, confirming that the combination performs at a level consistent with its top-tier hardware status.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p. Moving from 4K Ultra (82 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (132 FPS) is a 50 FPS gain, and then to 1080p Ultra (185 FPS) is another 53 FPS gain. This consistent improvement with decreasing resolution indicates the RTX 4090 has headroom that the CPU can feed at lower resolutions, but the gap between 1440p and 1080p is smaller than the gap between 4K and 1440p, signaling the CPU starts to limit performance at 1080p.

The preset scaling at each resolution further clarifies the roles. At 4K, going from Low (196 FPS) to Ultra (82 FPS) reduces frame rate by 114 FPS, a 58% drop, demonstrating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the Ultra preset’s visual demands. At 1080p, the same preset transition goes from 395 FPS to 185 FPS, a 210 FPS drop, but the absolute frame rates remain so high that the CPU’s single-thread performance (3,359 in Cinebench R23) is clearly sufficient to keep the GPU fed. The Ryzen 7 5800XT’s 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, provide ample processing power for a 2016 horror title that is unlikely to utilize more than a few threads.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Ryzen 7 5800XT in the database are all AMD mobile and desktop parts with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H matches the 5800XT with a deltaPct of 0, meaning a system using that CPU would behave essentially identically in Downfall. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS both trail by 0.3%, which is negligible in real-world frame rates — a difference of less than one FPS at 4K Ultra. The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X leads by 0.6%, a margin that would not produce a measurable FPS difference in this game.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090’s nearest rivals are less obvious choices. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches the RTX 4090’s average score with a deltaPct of 0, suggesting it would produce similar frame rates in Downfall, though this is likely a quirk of benchmark averaging rather than a true performance equivalence in gaming workloads. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M trails by 2.5%, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 leads by 2.9%. These deltas are small enough that all four alternatives would deliver playable performance, but the RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth give it a decisive advantage in other, more memory-intensive workloads.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is playable with an average of 82 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset available, so the recommendation is straightforward: use Ultra settings for the best visual quality. The Medium preset’s minimum of 136 FPS indicates that even in the most intense scenes, the system stays far above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings average 132 FPS, more than double the 60 FPS threshold. The same logic applies — there is no reason to reduce settings when the most demanding option maintains such high frame rates. The Medium preset’s minimum of 219 FPS further confirms that stutter-free performance is guaranteed.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 185 FPS, which is over three times the playable threshold. This resolution offers the highest frame rates, and the Ultra preset remains the clear choice. The data shows no scenario where this combination drops below 60 FPS at any resolution or preset, so the best settings are always the maximum available.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 82 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold by 22 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for this game?

A: The data indicates yes. Even at 4K Ultra, the system produces 82 FPS average, and at 1080p Low it reaches 395 FPS average. This is a 2016 horror title, and the RTX 4090’s 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs makes it far more powerful than needed.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5800XT compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800XT matches the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H exactly (deltaPct 0), trails the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS by 0.3%, and leads the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X by 0.6%. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average at 2560x1440 with High settings is 212 FPS. This is substantially above the 60 FPS threshold, so the experience will be exceptionally smooth.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The scaling data suggests a partial CPU limit at 1080p. The jump from 1440p Ultra (132 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (185 FPS) is 53 FPS, smaller than the 50 FPS jump from 4K Ultra (82 FPS) to 1440p Ultra. The Ryzen 7 5800XT’s 8-core, 16-thread design with a 4.80 GHz boost clock still delivers high frame rates, but the GPU’s full potential is not fully realized at 1080p.

Q: Is the Medium preset’s minimum frame rate stable at 4K?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 136, which is 76 FPS above the playable threshold. The maximum is 185 FPS, giving an average of 161 FPS.