Downfall

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers its strongest experience. The highest preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is High, with a measured average of 71 FPS. This leaves headroom above the playable threshold, making High the recommended setting for full HD gameplay. Medium runs at 87 FPS and Low at 106 FPS, but High offers the best visual quality while still clearing 60 FPS comfortably.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation tightens considerably. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 62 FPS. This is just barely above the 60 FPS threshold, so players should expect occasional dips into the high 50s range during intense scenes. Low runs at 76 FPS and is the safer choice for those who prioritize frame rate stability, but Medium is the ceiling for playable settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best available option is Low, which produces an average of 47 FPS. Medium drops to 39 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra to 20 FPS. None of these meet the playable threshold, so 4K is not viable for this hardware combination in Downfall. The data indicates that 1080p and 1440p are the realistic targets, with 1080p being the sweet spot for visual fidelity and smoothness.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a clear pattern in how the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 share the workload across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Arc B390, with its 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is the limiting factor when settings are raised. Evidence for this comes from the scaling between presets: Low produces 106 FPS, Medium 87 FPS, and High 71 FPS, a drop of about 33% from Low to High. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads boosting to 4.10 GHz, has enough headroom at this resolution to feed the GPU adequately.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The pixel count increases by 78% compared to 1080p, and the frame rates reflect that pressure. Low drops from 106 FPS to 76 FPS, a 28% reduction. Medium falls from 87 FPS to 62 FPS, a 29% reduction. High goes from 71 FPS to 51 FPS, a 28% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across all presets indicates that the resolution scaling is uniform, and the GPU is now the dominant constraint. The CPU still manages to keep up, as evidenced by the fact that Low at 1440p (76 FPS) still exceeds High at 1080p (71 FPS), meaning the CPU is not holding back even at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor. The frame rates collapse to 47 FPS on Low and 20 FPS on Ultra. The Arc B390 is simply not powerful enough to drive 4K in this title. The CPU's role becomes nearly irrelevant at this resolution, as the GPU saturates long before the processor reaches its limits. The data shows that the i5-9400 is capable of supporting frame rates well above what the Arc B390 can deliver at 4K, so any upgrade path would need to focus on the GPU first.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

Low settings produce an average of 106 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum values. Medium settings yield an average of 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High settings deliver an average of 71 FPS, again without min or max data. Ultra settings drop to an average of 44 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 16 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 27 FPS, suggesting that Ultra introduces a disproportionately heavy load.

2560x1440:

Low settings run at an average of 76 FPS. Medium settings produce 62 FPS average, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. High settings fall to 51 FPS average. Ultra settings are significantly lower at 32 FPS average. The Medium preset's minimum of 53 FPS shows that even the playable settings can dip below 60 FPS in demanding moments, so the 62 FPS average is not a guaranteed floor.

3840x2160:

Low settings average 47 FPS. Medium settings average 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. High settings average 32 FPS. Ultra settings average 20 FPS. The Medium preset's min and max values at 4K show a narrow band of 11 FPS, indicating that performance is consistently poor rather than spiky. None of these presets approach the 60 FPS threshold, and the best case scenario, Low at 47 FPS, still falls short by 13 FPS.

The overall combo rank in the database is 3303 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing this hardware in the lower percentile for Downfall performance. The GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 9, meaning it sits far below most discrete graphics solutions. The CPU's percentile is 47, which is near the middle of all CPUs tested.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400, the CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 places it within a tight cluster of processors. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. In practical terms, these four CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Downfall, as the differences are within measurement noise. A builder swapping between any of these processors would see no meaningful change in game performance.

For the Intel Arc B390 GPU, the nearest rivals are dramatically different in character. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower than the Arc's 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower. These are all older, low-end mobile or OEM parts, and their proximity in score indicates that the Arc B390, despite being a modern integrated solution, performs in the same class as decade-old entry-level GPUs. For Downfall specifically, any of these alternatives would produce similar frame rates, meaning none of them would unlock 4K playability. The 2.7% delta between the Arc and the GT 710 translates to roughly 1 to 2 FPS difference in game, which is imperceptible.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Downfall at 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 71, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. High is the highest preset that maintains playability at this resolution.

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

A: Medium is the best preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 62 FPS. However, the minimum recorded FPS is 53, so expect occasional drops below 60 during heavy scenes. Low runs at 76 FPS if you prefer a more stable experience.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 47 on Low settings, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. No preset is playable at 4K.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, while the GT 710 scores 1443, a difference of 2.7%. In practical terms, both GPUs perform at nearly the same level in Downfall, with the Arc being marginally faster.

Q: Which component is more important for this game at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p. Frame rates scale significantly with settings, dropping from 106 FPS on Low to 71 FPS on High, while the CPU maintains adequate headroom with its 6 cores and 4.10 GHz boost clock.

Q: What is the playable settings list for 1440p according to the database?

A: The recorded data lists Low and Medium as playable at 2560x1440. High and Ultra are not playable, as they produce average FPS of 51 and 32 respectively, both below the 60 FPS threshold.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 combination can run Downfall, but only at specific resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS on High, Low, and Medium settings, with High being the best visual option at 71 FPS average. At 2560x1440, Medium is the highest playable preset at 62 FPS average, though the 53 FPS minimum means the experience is not consistently smooth. At 3840x2160, no settings achieve 60 FPS, and the best case scenario is 47 FPS on Low.

The verdict from the database is clear: 1080p is the fully playable resolution with headroom, 1440p is playable only on lower presets with some risk of dips, and 4K is not viable. The CPU performs adequately, sitting near the 47th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals would behave almost identically. The GPU, however, is severely constrained, sitting at the 9th percentile and matching only decade-old entry-level parts.

For a builder considering this combination, the practical takeaway is straightforward. If the target is 1080p gaming, this system delivers a comfortable experience on High settings. If the target is 1440p, Medium settings will work but with occasional frame rate drops. If the target is 4K, this hardware is not sufficient, and the GPU would need to be replaced first, as the CPU has enough headroom to support a more powerful graphics solution. The data suggests that the Arc B390 is the limiting factor in every resolution tested, and any performance upgrade should prioritize the GPU over the processor.