Downfall

The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER in Downfall presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics. The data shows a system where the GPU's raw power is frequently constrained by the older CPU's architectural limits, yet the measured frames per second remain exceptionally high across most configurations. This analysis breaks down exactly where the limits lie, how the components interact, and what the benchmark results suggest for optimal play.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in system limitation. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 248.1 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops performance to 221.4 FPS, a reduction of approximately 10.8%. The jump to 3840x2160 yields 152.6 FPS, which is a further 31.1% decline from the 1440p result. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

However, the scaling behavior changes dramatically when examining higher settings. At Ultra preset, the 1080p result is 148.7 FPS, while 1440p produces 104.4 FPS (a 29.8% drop), and 4K falls to 66.9 FPS (a 35.9% drop from 1440p). The steeper percentage declines at higher settings suggest the GPU begins to take over as the bottleneck. The 4K Ultra figure of 66.9 FPS is particularly telling—it's less than half of the 1080p Low result, showing that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering load at 4K with maximum effects is the dominant constraint.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is only 99.4 FPS (248.1 vs 148.7), whereas at 4K the gap is 85.7 FPS (152.6 vs 66.9). This compression at higher resolutions indicates that while the GPU is being stressed more, the CPU's six cores and twelve threads are still contributing to frame pacing. The data implies that for players targeting high refresh rates, 1440p Medium or High offers the best balance, as the 4K Ultra result of 66.9 FPS is the only figure that dips below the 100 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance versus visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 248.1 FPS, Medium achieves 234.9 FPS, High produces 218.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 148.7 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is the most punishing, costing 70 FPS, which represents a 32% performance loss. This suggests that the Ultra preset enables effects that disproportionately tax the system, likely related to the GPU's ray tracing capabilities or advanced shading.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset at 204.3 FPS is the standout choice. It provides a 37.4 FPS improvement over High (166.9 FPS) while remaining within 17.1 FPS of the Low preset's 221.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution falls to 104.4 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 48.9% reduction from Medium. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering high frame rates without the visual compromises of Low.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. High settings yield 103.9 FPS, which is the most balanced option for a smooth experience. Medium at 123.6 FPS is also viable, but the jump to Ultra at 66.9 FPS is too steep a sacrifice for most users. The Low preset at 152.6 FPS is technically the fastest, but the visual quality loss at this resolution would be noticeable. The recommendation based on the numbers is to use High at 4K, as it maintains a triple-digit frame rate while preserving the game's horror atmosphere through better lighting and texture detail.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor from the Zen architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosting to 3.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19616. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 indicate a processor that is competent but not exceptional by modern standards.

In Downfall, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. The fact that 1080p Low (248.1 FPS) is only 10.7% faster than 1440p Low (221.4 FPS) suggests that the CPU is saturating its capabilities around the 250 FPS mark. The processor's single-thread performance, as measured by the PassMark single-thread score of 2239, likely limits the game's main thread, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates at 1080p.

The nearest rivals for the Ryzen 5 2600 include the Intel Core i5-1345U with an average score of 19691 (-0.4% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U at 19508 (0.6% delta). These comparisons show that the 2600 is competitive with newer mobile parts, but its age is evident in the 12 nm process node and DDR4 memory support. The 46.9 GB/s memory bandwidth is a potential bottleneck for a game like Downfall that likely streams assets, though the 16 MB shared L3 cache helps mitigate some of this limitation.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1741 tested combinations in the database, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 395. This places it in the top 22.7% of all tested combos, which is a strong result given the CPU's age. The ranking suggests that while the processor is not ideal, the GPU's high-end performance compensates significantly.

The RTX 4070 SUPER itself sits in the 84th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 at 42653 (-0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE at 42723 (-0.3% delta). This indicates that the GPU is performing at a level comparable to professional-grade cards, which explains why the combo can achieve such high frame rates despite the CPU's limitations.

The rank of 395 out of 1741 implies that there are 394 combos that outperform this pairing, likely featuring newer CPUs with higher single-thread performance. The gap between the CPU's 77th percentile and the GPU's 84th percentile highlights the imbalance—the GPU is more capable than the CPU in relative terms, which is why the system shows CPU bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and 7168 shading units deliver 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications place it in the upper echelon of consumer graphics cards.

In Downfall, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 66.9 FPS is the clearest indicator of the GPU being the limiting factor—the CPU has less impact at this resolution because the rendering load is so heavy. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is crucial for 4K textures, and the 12 GB VRAM capacity allows for high-resolution assets without swapping.

The GPU's performance relative to rivals is impressive. The RTX A6000, which is a professional workstation card, scores only 0.2% higher on average, while the Radeon RX 7650 GRE is 0.3% higher. The Tesla M40, an older data center card, is 1.6% lower. This positioning suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER is an exceptional gaming GPU, and its 84th percentile ranking reflects its ability to handle modern titles like Downfall with ease.

The scaling from 1080p Low (248.1 FPS) to 4K Low (152.6 FPS) shows a 38.5% reduction, which is primarily GPU-driven. However, the fact that the 1080p Low result doesn't exceed 250 FPS suggests that even the GPU's immense power is being held back by the CPU at lower resolutions, reinforcing the notion that this combo is GPU-dominant only at higher settings.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 4K gaming in Downfall?*

A: The data shows that 1080p delivers the highest frame rates (up to 248.1 FPS at Low), but 4K High at 103.9 FPS is still smooth. The 4K Ultra result of 66.9 FPS is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset cause such a large performance drop?

A: At 1080p, the jump from High (218.7 FPS) to Ultra (148.7 FPS) costs 70 FPS, a 32% reduction. This suggests Ultra enables effects that heavily tax the GPU, likely related to advanced lighting or post-processing.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19616, which is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-1345U and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U. It is competitive but not leading.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium at 204.3 FPS provides the best balance, as it is only 17.1 FPS lower than Low (221.4 FPS) but offers better visuals. High at 166.9 FPS is also viable, but Ultra drops to 104.4 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU or vice versa?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, as shown by the small FPS gains from lowering settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, evidenced by the steep drop to 66.9 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 395th out of 1741 combos, placing it in the top 22.7%. This is a strong result given the CPU's age, driven by the GPU's high performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 248.1, Medium 234.9, High 218.7, and Ultra 148.7. The progression shows diminishing returns from Low to High, with a significant cliff from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 221.4, Medium 204.3, High 166.9, and Ultra 104.4. The Medium to High step costs 37.4 FPS, which is the largest relative drop at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the measurements are: Low 152.6, Medium 123.6, High 103.9, and Ultra 66.9. This resolution shows the most linear scaling, with each settings tier reducing performance by roughly 20-30 FPS, indicating a GPU-bound scenario across all presets.

The highest recorded frame rate is 248.1 FPS at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 66.9 FPS at 4K Ultra. The full range across all measurements is 181.2 FPS, demonstrating the wide performance envelope of this hardware combination. The data confirms that this system can handle Downfall at high refresh rates in most configurations, with only the most demanding 4K Ultra settings falling below 100 FPS.