Downfall

Best Settings per Resolution

For 4K (3840x2160), the most demanding preset that holds at or above 60 FPS is High, delivering an average of 94 FPS. Ultra at this resolution drops to 59 FPS average, just below the playable threshold, so High is the ceiling for smooth play. Low and Medium also clear the bar with 140 and 114 FPS respectively, but High offers the best visual fidelity while remaining comfortably above 60.

At 1440p (2560x1440), the entire preset range is playable. Ultra runs at 94 FPS average, which is the same average the High preset produces at 4K. This means 1440p Ultra is the recommended target for maximum quality, with High at 150, Medium at 184, and Low at 224 FPS all available for higher refresh rate displays.

At 1080p (1920x1080), Ultra is the pick at 132 FPS average. Every preset exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin, with High at 211, Medium at 257, and Low at 314 FPS. For 1080p users, there is no reason to compromise below Ultra unless chasing very high refresh rates.

FAQ

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

A: No. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 59 FPS, which is 1 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable 4K preset is High at 94 FPS.

Q: What is the best 1440p setting for this hardware?

A: Ultra at 2560x1440 averages 94 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that still clears the playable threshold. All four presets at 1440p are playable.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Ultra compared to 4K Ultra?

A: 1080p Ultra averages 132 FPS, while 4K Ultra averages 59 FPS. That is a 73 FPS difference, or more than double the frame rate at the lower resolution.

Q: Does the Medium preset at 1080p maintain consistent frame times?

A: The recorded data shows a minimum of 218 FPS and a maximum of 295 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium, with an average of 257 FPS. The spread indicates stable performance well above the playable threshold.

Q: Which preset at 4K gives the highest average FPS?

A: Low at 3840x2160 produces 140 FPS average, the highest recorded at that resolution. Medium follows at 114, then High at 94, and Ultra at 59.

Q: Is there any resolution where the system fails to reach 60 FPS on all presets?

A: No. At every resolution tested, at least three presets clear 60 FPS. The only failing preset in the entire dataset is 4K Ultra at 59 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear progression across presets. Low averages 140 FPS. Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 131. High averages 94 FPS. Ultra averages 59 FPS, the only sub-60 result in the entire measurement set. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 35 FPS, which is the largest single-preset drop in the dataset.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 224 FPS. Medium averages 184 FPS with a minimum of 156 and a maximum of 211. High averages 150 FPS. Ultra averages 94 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs 34 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 56 FPS. Every preset at 1440p remains far above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, Low averages 314 FPS. Medium averages 257 FPS with a minimum of 218 and a maximum of 295. High averages 211 FPS. Ultra averages 132 FPS. The largest drop at 1080p occurs between High and Ultra, a loss of 79 FPS. Even the heaviest preset nearly doubles the 60 FPS target.

Comparing resolutions at the same preset, the scaling is steep. At Ultra, 1080p delivers 132 FPS, 1440p delivers 94 FPS, and 4K delivers 59 FPS. At High, 1080p delivers 211 FPS, 1440p delivers 150 FPS, and 4K delivers 94 FPS. At Medium, 1080p delivers 257 FPS, 1440p delivers 184 FPS, and 4K delivers 114 FPS. At Low, 1080p delivers 314 FPS, 1440p delivers 224 FPS, and 4K delivers 140 FPS.

The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 4K Medium, the range is 97 to 131 FPS around a 114 average. At 1440p Medium, the range is 156 to 211 around 184. At 1080p Medium, the range is 218 to 295 around 257. The relative consistency improves as resolution drops.

Similar Performance Alternatives

On the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX sits at the 95th percentile among all tested CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 76212 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which scores 76155, a delta of only 0.1 percent. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX both score slightly higher at 76492 and 76513 respectively, each 0.4 percent above. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75779, which is 0.6 percent lower. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver indistinguishable frame pacing in Downfall, since the game's performance at most settings is dominated by the GPU.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks at the 88th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 60347. The nearest rival is the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326, a delta of 0 percent, meaning effectively identical average compute performance. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, 0.3 percent lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, 2.5 percent higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, 2.9 percent lower. These deltas are small enough that users with any of these GPUs would see broadly similar frame rates in Downfall, though the RTX 4090's specific driver optimizations and feature set are not captured by these aggregate scores.

It is important to note that the nearest rivals for the GPU are professional workstation parts rather than gaming cards. The aggregate scores place them in the same performance band, but the gaming-oriented feature set of the RTX 4090 may influence real-world results in ways the synthetic benchmarks do not fully express.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded FPS data indicates that Downfall at this hardware level is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions and presets. Consider the 4K Ultra result: 59 FPS. The CPU, which ranks at the 95th percentile, is not the limiting factor; the GPU cannot push past the 60 FPS line at that combination. When the preset drops to 4K High, the average rises to 94 FPS, a 35 FPS improvement from reducing GPU load alone.

At 1440p, the pattern continues. Ultra averages 94 FPS, the same number as 4K High. This suggests that the GPU is the binding constraint in both cases, and the CPU has ample headroom. The 1080p results reinforce this: 1080p Ultra reaches 132 FPS, which is 73 FPS higher than 4K Ultra. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling between resolutions would be much flatter.

The resolution scaling data shows a consistent pattern. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra costs 38 FPS (132 to 94). Moving from 1440p to 4K at Ultra costs 35 FPS (94 to 59). These are similar absolute drops, consistent with GPU fill-rate and pixel-throughput limits rather than CPU thread saturation.

The CPU's role becomes more visible at low presets and low resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 314 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 224 FPS. At 4K Low, it reaches 140 FPS. The gap between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 90 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Low and 4K Low is 84 FPS. These large deltas at the Low preset indicate that even at lower graphical loads, the GPU still governs scaling. The CPU, with 16 cores and 32 threads, does not show signs of being the primary limiter anywhere in the dataset.

For users deciding where to invest, the data says this: the RTX 4090 defines the playable envelope. The Ryzen 9 8945HX provides enough throughput to avoid bottlenecking at every measured preset and resolution, but the GPU determines whether a given setting clears 60 FPS.

The Verdict

This system can run Downfall successfully across nearly the entire tested configuration space. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best choice at 94 FPS average. Ultra at 4K is the single failure point, averaging 59 FPS, just 1 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. Users with a 4K display should select High to stay safely above the line.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, and Ultra delivers 94 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for users who prioritize image quality. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra at 132 FPS. There is no scenario at 1080p where the system struggles.

The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS in the database. Against that standard, the system clears it at every resolution except 4K Ultra. The margin at 4K High is 34 FPS above the threshold, while the deficit at 4K Ultra is only 1 FPS. The practical takeaway is that this combination handles the game with substantial headroom at 1440p and 1080p, and only requires a single preset step down at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 826th out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the top 22 percent of all configurations in the database. Given that the GPU is an end-of-life product and the CPU is current-generation mobile silicon, the rank reflects a system that is well above average but not at the absolute top of the leaderboard.

The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's 88th percentile standing. The CPU's 95th percentile position does not translate into a higher combo rank because the game's frame rates are limited by the GPU at most settings. The 826th rank out of 3716 means there are many combinations with stronger GPUs that push ahead, particularly at 4K where the RTX 4090 falls just short of 60 FPS at Ultra.

The data shows this combo is a strong performer for Downfall, especially at 1440p and 1080p where it has enormous margin above the playable threshold. The only meaningful limitation is 4K Ultra, and that is a narrow miss of a single frame per second. For a horror title with atmospheric rendering demands, this system provides smooth gameplay across virtually all realistic settings.