Downfall

Downfall, a horror title from 2016, presents an interesting test for a modern high-end pairing. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets, suggesting the game is far from demanding by contemporary standards. The data shows that this system does not merely meet the 60 FPS threshold; it obliterates it, with the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire dataset being 74 FPS at 4K Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide a clear picture of performance scaling across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system produces staggering numbers. The Low preset yields an average of 400 FPS, while Medium drops to 327 FPS with a minimum of 278 and a maximum of 376 FPS. High settings still deliver 268 FPS on average, and even the Ultra preset maintains a robust 168 FPS. This indicates a substantial headroom above the playable threshold, making even the most demanding settings at 1080p a trivial task for this hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high, though the scaling shows the expected impact of increased resolution. The Low preset averages 285 FPS, and Medium follows with 233 FPS, alongside a minimum of 198 and a maximum of 268 FPS. High settings produce an average of 191 FPS. At the Ultra preset, the system still achieves an average of 120 FPS, which is exactly double the 60 FPS playable threshold. The frame rates at this resolution suggest that the RTX 4080 is still operating well within its comfort zone, with no risk of dropping below playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the demands of 4K resolution become more apparent, but the system continues to excel. The Low preset averages 178 FPS, and Medium drops to 145 FPS with a minimum of 123 and a maximum of 167 FPS. High settings yield an average of 119 FPS. The most demanding configuration, Ultra at 4K, still produces an average of 74 FPS. This is the only data point where the system approaches any sort of constraint, yet it remains 14 FPS above the 60 FPS target. The minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings, but at 4K Medium the minimum of 123 FPS shows a comfortable margin even in the most demanding frame scenarios.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor, but the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck at any tested setting. The performance delta between the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution is significant, which points to the graphics card being the main driver of frame rate changes. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 232 FPS, a massive gap that highlights the GPU's workload scaling with visual fidelity.

However, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the resolution scaling. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, ensures that the frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p is moderate. For example, at High settings, the average FPS falls from 268 at 1080p to 191 at 1440p, a reduction of 77 FPS. The subsequent drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is 72 FPS, bringing the average to 119. This consistent scaling suggests a balanced system where neither component is severely limiting the other.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 168, which drops to 120 at 1440p and further to 74 at 4K. The incremental performance loss per resolution step is not uniform, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread capabilities, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 5960 and 42216 respectively, ensure that it can feed the RTX 4080 with enough data to maintain these high frame rates. In this older horror title, the Core Ultra 7 265 is more than sufficient, and the RTX 4080 is the component that defines the performance ceiling at each resolution.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 74 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is above the 60 FPS playable threshold, confirming that the most demanding configuration is fully playable.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 233 FPS, while High settings average 191 FPS. This represents a 42 FPS difference, showing that the High preset still offers a significant performance advantage over the most demanding Ultra setting.

Q: How much headroom is there at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: The system achieves 168 FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings. This is 108 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating that there is substantial performance headroom for future, more demanding titles or for enabling additional graphics features.

Q: Is the performance consistent, or are there frame rate drops?

A: The minimum FPS data is only provided for Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 123 FPS, and at 1440p Medium, it is 198 FPS. These minimums are well above the playable threshold, suggesting stable frame delivery without significant stuttering.

Q: Which component is more important for this game?

A: The GPU is the primary factor in performance scaling, as evidenced by the large FPS differences between presets. The CPU, while powerful, does not appear to be a bottleneck at any resolution, as the system maintains high frame rates even at 1080p where CPU load is typically highest.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at every resolution and preset tested?

A: Yes, according to the verdictByResolution data, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra) are listed as playable at all three tested resolutions. The lowest average FPS recorded is 74 at 4K Ultra, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both components provides context for what other hardware might deliver similar frame rates. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its closest competitors include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64823 and is 0.3% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, which scores 64438 and is 0.3% slower. The AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202 (0.7% slower), and the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104 (0.7% faster). These deltas are minimal, meaning systems built with these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Downfall.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247 and sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209 and is a negligible 0.1% slower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% faster, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (2.6% faster) and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757 (2.7% faster). These differences are small enough that any of these GPUs would provide a comparable experience in this game, with frame rates likely staying within a few percentage points of the RTX 4080's performance.

The Verdict

This PC configuration is unequivocally capable of running Downfall at maximum settings across all tested resolutions. The verdictByResolution data confirms that the Ultra preset is the best playable setting at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 168 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 120 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. In every case, the system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a substantial margin, with the 4K Ultra result being the only point where the margin shrinks to 14 FPS. The data indicates that this hardware combination is overkill for a 2016 horror title, providing a flawless experience with maximum settings and high refresh rate capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 230th out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall. This places it in the top 6.2% of all systems tested for this game. The high ranking is consistent with the measured performance, which shows the system delivering over double the required frame rate at most settings. The rank reflects that while this is a high-end configuration, there are 229 other combos that achieve even higher performance in this title, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs that push frame rates even higher.

Best Settings per Resolution

For players seeking the highest visual fidelity while maintaining at least 60 FPS, the data provides a clear recommendation for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 168 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also stands as the optimal setting, with an average of 120 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset remains the most demanding option that still clears the threshold, achieving an average of 74 FPS. In all cases, the system has enough performance headroom to run the game at its highest quality settings without any risk of dropping below the 60 FPS playable threshold.