Downfall

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers strong frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 174 FPS, while Medium averages 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 117 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a playable 73 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, with Ultra delivering roughly 58% of the Low setting's frame rate, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes significant rendering overhead.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower overall numbers. Low settings average 124 FPS, Medium averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS, and High averages 83 FPS. Ultra falls to an average of 52 FPS, which sits below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The scaling from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 shows a consistent reduction: Low drops by 50 FPS, Medium by 40 FPS, High by 34 FPS, and Ultra by 21 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is becoming a limiting factor as pixel count increases, though the CPU still has enough headroom to feed the graphics card adequately.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 77 FPS, Medium averages 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, and High averages 52 FPS. Ultra drops to an average of 32 FPS, which is well below the playability threshold. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium presets remain viable for smooth gameplay. The difference between 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 is steep: Low loses 47 FPS, Medium loses 39 FPS, High loses 31 FPS, and Ultra loses 20 FPS. This steep drop reinforces that the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin at 4K resolutions.

# CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear division of labor between the Ryzen 7 9700F and the RTX 2060 across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more prominent role in determining frame rates, particularly at lower presets. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, delivers a PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470. These figures place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it has ample processing power to drive high frame rates at 1080p. The fact that Low settings hit 174 FPS average suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution; the GPU is likely limiting performance even at Low, though the RTX 2060 still manages to produce very high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on a more dominant role. The frame rate drops from 174 FPS at 1080p Low to 124 FPS at 1440p Low, a 29% reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that pixel throughput is becoming the limiting factor. The RTX 2060's 1920 shading units and 120 TMUs are being tasked with rendering more pixels, and the 6 GB VRAM capacity starts to matter for texture storage. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases because the GPU cannot process frames fast enough to fully utilize the CPU's capabilities.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck. The RTX 2060's FP32 throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The fact that Ultra averages only 32 FPS at 4K compared to 73 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows a 56% performance loss. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9700F remains largely underutilized at 4K, as the GPU cannot deliver enough frames to stress the CPU. The recorded data shows that the CPU's PassMark average benchmark score of 69996 places it close to rivals like the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163, 0.2% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.2% behind), confirming that the processor is not a weak link in this pairing.

The settings scaling further illustrates this dynamic. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 174 to 73, a 58% decrease. At 1440p, the same preset change drops from 124 to 52, a 58% decrease. At 4K, Low to Ultra goes from 77 to 32, a 58% decrease. This consistent percentage decline across resolutions suggests that the RTX 2060's rendering pipeline is the limiting factor, and the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid becoming a secondary bottleneck even at lower presets.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for smooth gameplay at 1920x1080?

A: Ultra settings deliver an average of 73 FPS at 1920x1080, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. This makes Ultra the best playable preset at this resolution, offering the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth performance.

Q: Can this system handle 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: Yes, High settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 83 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The recorded data shows that High is the best playable preset at 1440p, as Ultra falls to 52 FPS average.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combination?

A: At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium presets are playable. Low averages 77 FPS and Medium averages 63 FPS, both above 60 FPS. High drops to 52 FPS and Ultra to 32 FPS, so those presets are not recommended for smooth gameplay at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060 has a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283 with a 0% delta, while the AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270 with a 0.1% delta. The RTX 3050 OEM and RX 7600 are 0.6% and 0.8% ahead, respectively.

Q: What is the CPU's ranking among all tested processors?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875).

Q: Does the 6 GB VRAM on the RTX 2060 cause issues at higher resolutions?

A: The recorded data shows significant frame rate drops when moving from 1440p to 4K, particularly at Ultra settings where the average falls from 52 FPS to 32 FPS. This suggests that the 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit memory bus are insufficient for the highest quality settings at 4K resolution.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2937 out of 3716 tested combinations in the Downfall benchmark database. This places it in the 21st percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 79% of tested systems perform better in this game. The ranking reflects the RTX 2060's age relative to modern GPUs; the card's PassMark percentile of 58 places it in the lower half of all GPUs, while the CPU's 94th percentile ranking shows the processor is not the limiting factor.

The large disparity between the CPU's high percentile (94) and the GPU's moderate percentile (58) indicates that this pairing is unbalanced for Downfall. The Ryzen 7 9700F is capable of far more than the RTX 2060 can deliver, particularly at higher resolutions. The data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the system manages 73 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 32 FPS. A stronger GPU would likely improve the ranking substantially, as the CPU has headroom to support higher frame rates.

Compared to other combinations in the database, this setup is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Downfall. The 2937th rank out of 3716 combinations suggests that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K or maximum visual settings would need to consider a more powerful graphics card. However, for a horror game like Downfall, where atmosphere and tension matter more than competitive frame rates, the recorded performance at 1080p and 1440p is more than adequate for an immersive experience.

# The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall, but the playable experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold: Low averages 174 FPS, Medium 142 FPS, High 117 FPS, and Ultra 73 FPS. This makes 1080p the most versatile resolution, offering smooth gameplay even at maximum visual quality.

At 2560x1440, three presets are playable: Low (124 FPS), Medium (102 FPS), and High (83 FPS). Ultra falls to 52 FPS, so players seeking maximum visual fidelity at 1440p will need to accept frame rates below the 60 FPS threshold. The best playable preset at 1440p is High, with an average of 83 FPS.

At 3840x2160, only Low (77 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS) are playable. High drops to 52 FPS and Ultra to 32 FPS. For 4K gaming, Medium is the best choice, providing an average of 63 FPS while maintaining reasonable visual quality. Players who prioritize frame rate over visuals can use Low for a 77 FPS average.

The verdict by resolution is clear: this combination is fully playable at 1080p with any preset, playable at 1440p up to High settings, and playable at 4K only on Low or Medium settings. The 60 FPS threshold is met in all these scenarios.

# Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the best playable preset is Medium, which delivers an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. This preset offers a balance between visual quality and performance, staying above the 60 FPS threshold on average. Players who prefer higher frame rates can choose Low for a 77 FPS average, but Medium provides noticeably better visual fidelity while still clearing the playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High, with an average of 83 FPS. This represents the highest visual quality that maintains smooth performance at this resolution. Medium offers 102 FPS and Low offers 124 FPS, but High provides the best combination of image quality and frame rate for players who want to maximize visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is Ultra, averaging 73 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for players with 1080p displays who want the best possible visual experience. Lower presets offer higher frame rates (High at 117 FPS, Medium at 142 FPS, Low at 174 FPS), but Ultra is the sweet spot for visual quality while maintaining playable performance.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution decreases, the system can handle more demanding presets while staying above 60 FPS. At 4K, Medium is the ceiling; at 1440p, High is the ceiling; at 1080p, Ultra is the ceiling. This makes the RTX 2060 a capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K possible only at reduced settings.