Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly favors high frame rates. The benchmark data, measured across three resolutions and four quality presets, reveals a system with substantial headroom even at the most demanding settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, component roles, and ranking to determine exactly what this pairing can achieve.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combination shows a wide performance spread across presets. The Low preset produces an average of 178 FPS, while Medium drops to 145 FPS with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 167 FPS. High settings yield 119 FPS on average, and the Ultra preset, the most demanding, still manages a solid 74 FPS average. These numbers indicate that even at 4K, the RTX 4080 and Ryzen 7 9850X3D never approach the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the lowest recorded average being 74 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance scales impressively. The Low preset averages 285 FPS, which is a 60% increase over the 4K Low result. Medium delivers 233 FPS with a minimum of 198 FPS and a maximum of 268 FPS. High settings produce 191 FPS, and Ultra again remains comfortably above 60 FPS at 120 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 165 FPS, showing that the settings menu has a strong influence on the frame rate.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the numbers become almost excessive for a horror game. The Low preset reaches 400 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across all tests. Medium follows at 327 FPS with a minimum of 278 FPS and a maximum of 376 FPS. High settings hit 268 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 168 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium, 278, is higher than the 4K Ultra average, highlighting how resolution scales performance in this title.

The data shows a clear pattern: every preset at every resolution stays above 60 FPS. The only settings with recorded minimums are Medium at each resolution, and those minimums are 123 FPS at 4K, 198 FPS at 1440p, and 278 FPS at 1080p. No other preset includes min/max values, but the averages alone suggest no dips below the playable threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is Ultra in all three cases. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS, which is the lowest average in the entire dataset but still 14 FPS above the playable threshold. This means a 4K display can run the game at maximum quality without compromising frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 120 FPS, exactly double the 4K Ultra result. This is a significant jump and indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination if the goal is high refresh rate gaming with all settings maxed. The 120 FPS average would pair well with a 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitor.

At 1920x1080, Ultra reaches 168 FPS. This is the highest Ultra preset average across all resolutions, and it provides ample headroom for competitive play or for users who want to cap the frame rate to match a 144 Hz or 165 Hz display. The data shows that the Ultra preset is not just playable but overwhelmingly so at 1080p.

For users who prefer even higher frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers 400 FPS, which is more than six times the playable threshold. However, the Ultra preset remains the best choice for visual fidelity, as the performance penalty from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 232 FPS, yet the resulting 168 FPS is still far above any practical need.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates in Downfall. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the Ultra average drops from 168 FPS to 120 FPS, a 28.6% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the Ultra average drops from 120 FPS to 74 FPS, a 38.3% reduction. This increasing percentage drop as resolution rises indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

At 1080p, the CPU's role is more pronounced. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, along with 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The 400 FPS Low preset result at 1080p suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach very high rates, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 232 FPS, which is larger than the 165 FPS gap at 1440p and the 104 FPS gap at 4K.

The Medium preset at each resolution includes min/max data, which shows frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 123 FPS is 84.8% of the average, indicating consistent frame delivery. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 198 FPS is 85% of the 233 average, and at 1080p Medium, the minimum of 278 FPS is 85% of the 327 average. This consistency suggests that neither the CPU nor the GPU is causing erratic frame pacing.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is more influential, as the GPU has spare capacity to render at 400 FPS on Low. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the Ultra preset drops to 74 FPS, which is likely near the GPU's maximum throughput for this title. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D, with its high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228), is unlikely to bottleneck at any resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 230 out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the top 6.2% of all systems benchmarked. This high percentile aligns with the measured FPS data, which shows no preset falling below 74 FPS. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 86, and the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 92, indicating that both components are well above average in their respective categories.

The ranking suggests that while this pairing is not the absolute fastest available, it sits in the upper echelon. The 3716 combinations include systems with newer or more powerful hardware, but the 230 rank means that only 229 other tested combos outperform this one in Downfall. For a horror game released in 2016, this level of performance is far beyond what the game's engine likely requires.

The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567, supports its 86th percentile ranking. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's average benchmark score of 58386, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807, supports its 92nd percentile ranking. These synthetic benchmarks correlate with the in-game results, where the combination consistently exceeds 60 FPS at all settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K with the highest settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 74 FPS, which is 14 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets at 4K are playable, with Low at 178 FPS, Medium at 145 FPS, and High at 119 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rates?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset achieves 400 FPS, which is the highest average in the dataset. For a balance of quality and speed, the 2560x1440 Ultra preset at 120 FPS is the most demanding setting that still doubles the playable threshold.

Q: How consistent are the frame times at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 4K, the range is 123 to 167 FPS; at 1440p, it is 198 to 268 FPS; and at 1080p, it is 278 to 376 FPS. The minimums are roughly 85% of the averages, indicating stable frame delivery.

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

A: At 1080p, the CPU plays a larger role, as the GPU has headroom to render up to 400 FPS on Low. At 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, with the Ultra preset dropping to 74 FPS. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's high single-core score of 2228 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is not limiting at any resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested systems?

A: It ranks 230 out of 3716 combinations, placing it in the top 6.2% of all tested systems for Downfall. The CPU's 92nd percentile and GPU's 86th percentile among all hardware confirm that both components are well above average.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tests?

A: The lowest average is 74 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is the only result below 100 FPS, and it still exceeds the playable threshold by 14 FPS.

The Verdict

This PC can run Downfall at every resolution and preset combination tested, with all results clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the best settings being Ultra at 74 FPS. This means a 4K display can run the game at maximum quality without any frame rate concerns.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 120 FPS. This is the recommended resolution for users who want high refresh rates, as the 120 FPS average provides a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors. The 1440p Ultra result is 46 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result, showing that this resolution offers a substantial performance boost.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 168 FPS on Ultra and 400 FPS on Low. This is overkill for most displays, but it ensures that even the most demanding scenarios in the horror game will never drop below the playable threshold. The verdict is clear: this combination is fully capable of running Downfall at maximum quality on any resolution up to 4K, with significant headroom at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D provide comparable CPU performance. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M has an average score of 58323, which is 0.1% lower than the Ryzen's 58386. The Intel Xeon w5-2545 scores 58504, which is 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, which is 0.5% lower. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826, which is 0.7% higher. These CPUs would behave similarly in Downfall, as the game's performance at 1080p depends on single-thread speed, which all of these chips deliver.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, with an average score of 54209, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.6% higher. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 2.7% higher. These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, meaning users with any of these graphics cards can expect the same 74 FPS at 4K Ultra or 168 FPS at 1080p Ultra, within a margin of a few frames.

The combination of a CPU with a 58300-class score and a GPU with a 54200-class score places this system in a specific performance tier. Users with the Intel Core i9-14900 or the RTX 4080 SUPER would see essentially the same results, making the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and RTX 4080 a well-matched pair for Downfall, with neither component significantly outperforming the other in this title.