Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions in Downfall, a 2016 horror title. Measured data shows the combo clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold at every resolution and preset combination, with the most demanding Ultra preset averaging 65 FPS at 3840x2160, 104 FPS at 2560x1440, and 146 FPS at 1920x1080. The following sections break down the measured FPS data, optimal settings, component roles, and how this combination ranks against other tested hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 SUPER maintains strong performance across all four presets. Low settings produce the highest average at 155 FPS, followed by Medium at 126 FPS (with a minimum of 107 FPS and maximum of 145 FPS), High at 104 FPS, and Ultra at 65 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial at 90 FPS, indicating that visual quality scaling carries a heavy performance cost at 4K. The Ultra result of 65 FPS sits just above the 60 FPS threshold, leaving limited headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, frame rates rise considerably across every preset. Low settings average 248 FPS, Medium averages 203 FPS (min 173, max 234), High averages 167 FPS, and Ultra averages 104 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent 60-70 FPS drop per preset step, with Ultra still delivering well over double the 60 FPS baseline. The Medium preset’s minimum of 173 FPS confirms that even worst-case frametimes remain far above playable levels.

At 1920x1080, performance becomes exceptionally high. Low settings reach 348 FPS, Medium averages 284 FPS (min 242, max 327), High averages 233 FPS, and Ultra averages 146 FPS. The 1080p Ultra result of 146 FPS is more than double the 4K Ultra figure, highlighting how resolution scaling affects the GPU workload. The minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium (242 FPS) exceeds the maximum FPS at 4K Medium (145 FPS), demonstrating the resolution’s dominant impact on frame delivery.

The data shows a clear pattern: average FPS decreases by roughly 40-50% when moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, and another 40-50% from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at the same preset. For example, High settings drop from 233 FPS at 1080p to 167 FPS at 1440p to 104 FPS at 4K. This scaling suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth handle higher resolutions without catastrophic drops, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra where only 65 FPS is achieved.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 65 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset comes close to the playability threshold, leaving just 5 FPS of margin. For users prioritizing visual fidelity at 4K, Ultra is technically playable, but the narrow headroom means Medium (126 FPS) or High (104 FPS) provide far more consistent performance.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best settings choice, averaging 104 FPS. This result provides 44 FPS of headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a comfortable option for high-refresh-rate displays. The gap between Ultra at 1440p and Ultra at 4K is 39 FPS, showing that 1440p Ultra delivers a significantly smoother experience without sacrificing the maximum preset quality.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 146 FPS, making it the clear best setting for this resolution. The 86 FPS margin above the playability threshold means even intensive scenes are unlikely to drop below 60 FPS. All four presets at 1080p exceed 140 FPS, so there is no reason to reduce settings for performance reasons alone — the choice between presets is purely about visual preference.

The verdict data confirms that every resolution and preset combination in the measured set is playable, which is rare for modern hardware reviews. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 7168 shading units and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance provide enough raw compute to run Downfall at maximum settings even at 4K, though the 65 FPS Ultra result suggests that future titles with higher demands may require lowering settings at this resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Ryzen 7 9700F, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, provides ample processing power for Downfall. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong per-core performance that avoids bottlenecking the GPU. The game’s 2016 release date means it was designed for older hardware, so the 9700F’s 5.50 GHz boost clock is more than sufficient for frame generation.

The GPU’s role becomes dominant at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 SUPER produces 348 FPS on Low settings, which suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU’s output — if the CPU were limiting, frame rates would plateau regardless of resolution. At 3840x2160, the same Low preset drops to 155 FPS, a 55% reduction that aligns with the GPU’s rendering load increasing by roughly 4x due to pixel count. This scaling indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K.

Preset scaling further clarifies the component roles. At 3840x2160, moving from Low (155 FPS) to Ultra (65 FPS) reduces performance by 58%, while at 1920x1080 the same preset change drops from 348 FPS to 146 FPS — a 58% reduction as well. The consistent percentage drop across resolutions suggests that preset changes affect the GPU workload proportionally, while the CPU maintains sufficient throughput at all settings.

The Ryzen 7 9700F’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support ensure that data transfer to the GPU is not a bottleneck. The CPU’s 32 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast access to game data, reducing stutter in horror environments where sudden asset loads occur. Benchmark results show the CPU excels at floating-point math (PassMark score of 77955) and integer math (120788), which are relevant for physics calculations and game logic.

At 2560x1440, the combination of CPU and GPU produces 248 FPS on Low and 104 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results sit roughly midway between 1080p and 4K, consistent with pixel count scaling. This linear relationship confirms that neither component is creating a disproportionate bottleneck at any resolution — the system scales predictably with workload.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Downfall. The measured data shows playable frame rates at every resolution and preset combination tested. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 65 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, while High averages 104 FPS and Medium averages 126 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 104 FPS, providing strong performance for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 146 FPS, making it the best resolution for maximum visual quality with abundant frame rate headroom.

The verdictByResolution data confirms all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at each resolution. The best settings are Ultra at every resolution, with average FPS of 65 at 4K, 104 at 1440p, and 146 at 1080p. For users who want the highest fidelity, 4K Ultra is viable but tight; for competitive or smooth gameplay, 1440p Ultra offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom.

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for Downfall’s horror environments, which typically feature detailed textures and lighting effects. The GPU’s Ada Lovelace architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, ensuring compatibility with modern rendering features. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s 65 W TDP and AM5 socket make it an efficient pairing, though the GPU’s 220 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU should be considered for system build planning.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 4K?*

A: Yes. Measured data shows Ultra settings at 3840x2160 averaging 65 FPS, which is 5 FPS above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Ultra is the best settings preset at 2560x1440, with an average of 104 FPS — 44 FPS above the playability threshold.

Q: How does the 1080p Ultra performance compare to 4K Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 146 FPS, which is 81 FPS higher than the 3840x2160 Ultra average of 65 FPS — a 124% improvement.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at high resolutions?

A: The GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 155 FPS compared to 348 FPS at 1920x1080, showing a 55% reduction from pixel count scaling. The CPU maintains sufficient performance across all settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 107 FPS, measured at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. All other recorded minimums are at or above 173 FPS.

*Q: Does this combo support ray tracing in Downfall?*

A: The GPU features 56 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, but measured FPS data does not include ray tracing benchmarks, so ray-traced performance cannot be confirmed from this dataset.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 631st out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This rank reflects the combo’s ability to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions and presets, with no sub-60 FPS results in the measured set.

The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 83rd percentile among all GPUs contribute to this strong overall position. The combination’s measured performance shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER, despite being an end-of-life product, delivers competitive results for this game. The rank of 631 out of 3716 indicates that while many faster combos exist, this pairing offers substantial performance headroom for Downfall.

The combo’s rank is supported by consistent scaling across resolutions. At 1080p, the Ultra preset’s 146 FPS places it in the top tier of results, while at 4K, the 65 FPS Ultra result remains playable. This balance between CPU and GPU capabilities makes the combo versatile for different display configurations.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which has an average score 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which is 0.2% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% higher. These deltas are all within 1% of the Ryzen 7 9700F’s average benchmark score of 69996, meaning users switching between these CPUs would see virtually identical performance in Downfall.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.1% lower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.1% lower), NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.2% lower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (1% lower). The RTX 5050 Mobile and RTX 4090 Mobile are laptop parts, so their similar average scores indicate that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER provides comparable performance to high-end mobile GPUs. The Quadro M6000 cards, despite being workstation-oriented, show nearly identical average scores, suggesting they would produce similar frame rates in Downfall.

For users considering alternatives, the Ryzen 9 7950X offers a 0.7% higher CPU score, while the Core i7-14700K provides a 0.9% increase. On the GPU side, the RTX 4090 Mobile is the closest performance match at 1% lower, though its mobile form factor limits desktop integration. The Quadro M6000 variants, while matching scores, lack the RTX 4070 SUPER’s modern features like DLSS support and newer shader models.