Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers exceptional performance in Downfall, a horror title that proves far more demanding than its genre peers. The measured data shows this pairing consistently exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold at every tested resolution and preset, with headroom that allows for maximum visual fidelity without compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces framerates that are effectively academic for most displays. The Low preset achieves an average of 444.8 FPS, while Medium reaches 363.2 FPS. High settings still deliver 296.7 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a robust 186.5 FPS average. This resolution is clearly CPU-bound territory, as the RTX 4090's raw throughput is never taxed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data shows a predictable scaling curve. Low settings produce 317.6 FPS, Medium drops to 257.1 FPS, and High settles at 211 FPS. The Ultra preset remains well above the playable threshold at 133.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 184.2 FPS, indicating that visual settings have a substantial impact on performance, though every configuration remains fluid.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 begins to flex its memory bandwidth and shader throughput. Low settings yield 200.1 FPS, Medium provides 162.7 FPS, and High delivers 134.7 FPS. The Ultra preset, which likely enables the full suite of volumetric effects and high-resolution textures, still averages 85.8 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset drops below triple digits, but it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K is a 48.9 FPS reduction, the steepest penalty in the entire dataset, suggesting that Ultra enables features that disproportionately impact the GPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 85.8 FPS, which is 25.8 FPS above the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 444.8 FPS while Ultra averages 186.5 FPS, a difference of 258.3 FPS. This indicates Ultra settings impose a 58% reduction in average framerate compared to Low.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1440p High compared to 4K Ultra?

A: 1440p High averages 211 FPS, while 4K Ultra averages 85.8 FPS. The resolution and settings jump results in a 125.2 FPS difference, showing that 4K Ultra is substantially more demanding.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700 a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the framerates scale significantly with resolution changes. At 1080p Low the combo reaches 444.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 85.8 FPS, indicating GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 85.8 FPS, making it the most demanding configuration tested that remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 4K?

A: 1440p Ultra averages 133.4 FPS, while 4K High averages 134.7 FPS. The two configurations deliver nearly identical framerates, differing by only 1.3 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 186.5 FPS. This leaves immense headroom, making the choice purely about visual preference rather than performance necessity.

For 2560x1440, Ultra is again the optimal choice, with an average of 133.4 FPS. The 73.4 FPS margin above the threshold ensures that even scenes with heavy particle effects or dynamic lighting will not cause noticeable stutter.

At 3840x2160, Ultra remains viable, averaging 85.8 FPS. This is the most conservative margin in the dataset, but the 25.8 FPS buffer is sufficient for a smooth experience. The data shows no need to drop to High settings at any resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Downfall, and it does so with exceptional authority. The verdict data confirms that all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at every resolution tested, from 1920x1080 through 3840x2160. The weakest configuration in the entire matrix is 4K Ultra at 85.8 FPS, which still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a significant margin.

The strongest performance comes at 1080p Low, where the combo hits 444.8 FPS, a figure that would be relevant only for extremely high-refresh-rate esports monitors. The practical takeaway is that users should select settings based on visual fidelity preferences rather than performance constraints. At 4K, Ultra is the recommended preset, as the 85.8 FPS average provides a smooth, immersive horror experience without sacrificing image quality.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 7 7700 and RTX 4090 becomes clear when examining the scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the framerates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the primary constraint. The jump from 1080p Ultra at 186.5 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 133.4 FPS represents a 53.1 FPS drop, which is a 28.5% reduction. This indicates the GPU is taking on more work as resolution increases.

The pattern continues when moving from 1440p to 4K. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 85.8 FPS, a 47.6 FPS decrease from 1440p Ultra. This 35.7% reduction is larger than the 1080p-to-1440p drop, confirming that the RTX 4090 becomes the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are clearly sufficient for 4K textures, as the framerates remain high.

The CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 444.8 FPS average suggests the Ryzen 7 7700's 16 threads and 5.30 GHz boost clock are providing sufficient instruction throughput. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows and the CPU's influence diminishes. The data shows this is a GPU-bound scenario at 4K, with the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance driving the results.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 91st out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the top 2.5% of all configurations, a remarkable achievement given the sheer number of possible pairings. The high rank is attributable to the RTX 4090's dominant performance, as the GPU sits in the 88th percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 87th percentile against all CPUs.

The combo rank of 91 indicates that there are 90 other combinations that perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 4090 is one of the fastest consumer GPUs available, those higher-ranked combos almost certainly pair it with even more powerful processors. However, the practical difference is minimal at this performance level, as the 4K Ultra result of 85.8 FPS demonstrates this pairing has no trouble with the game's demands.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearest rivals that would produce near-identical performance in this system. For the Ryzen 7 7700, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is essentially equivalent, with an average benchmark score of 40,048 versus the 7700's 40,081, a negligible 0.1% difference. The Intel Core 5 221E scores 40,144, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 9 270 scores 40,246, a 0.4% improvement. The Intel Core i9-13905H at 40,313 represents a 0.6% advantage. Any of these processors would deliver framerates within a few percent of the Ryzen 7 7700 in Downfall.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090's nearest rivals are surprisingly varied. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches its average score of 60,326 versus 60,347, a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140, which is 0.3% lower, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657, a 2.9% deficit. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M actually scores higher at 61,896, a 2.5% advantage. These alternative GPUs would yield similar frame rates, though the RTX 4090's 24 GB memory capacity may provide advantages in texture-heavy scenes that these rivals lack.