Downfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 605 out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 16.3% of all combinations evaluated. This is a strong result, though not a top-tier one, reflecting a pairing where a high-end GPU is matched with a mid-range CPU from an earlier generation. The rank suggests that while the RTX 4090 can push very high frame rates, the Ryzen 5 2600 holds the combination back from the absolute top of the leaderboard. The data shows that other CPU pairings with the same GPU likely rank higher, but among all combos, this one still lands comfortably in the upper quintile of performance.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the benchmark results reflect its capabilities. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to massive fill rates: 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate, with FP32 compute at 82.58 TFLOPS. In Downfall, a horror game that likely uses demanding visual effects, the RTX 4090's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide headroom for ray tracing and DLSS, though the game's 2016 release date suggests these features may not be heavily utilized.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM is far more than Downfall requires, even at 4K Ultra settings, where the measured average FPS is 82. At 4K High, the average jumps to 132 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 191 FPS. The VRAM capacity is never a limiting factor in these results; the bottleneck appears elsewhere. The GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is 88, and its average benchmark score is 60,347, placing it near the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, 0.3% delta) in overall compute, though those comparisons are from synthetic benchmarks, not gaming performance. The RTX 4090's 88th percentile shows it is a top-tier card, but the measured FPS in Downfall indicates that the CPU is preventing it from reaching its full potential at lower resolutions.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 233 FPS average with a minimum of 198 FPS and a maximum of 268 FPS, which is smooth and well above any refresh-rate threshold. At 1440p Medium, the average drops slightly to 208 FPS, with a minimum of 177 FPS and a maximum of 239 FPS, still excellent for high-refresh monitors. At 4K Medium, the average is 161 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS, which is playable on most displays.

The High preset also performs well, with 217 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 132 FPS at 4K, but the step from Medium to High yields a smaller visual improvement relative to the FPS cost. The Ultra preset, while visually richest, shows a significant drop: 181 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and only 82 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that dips below 100 FPS, and it suggests that the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU enough frames at this setting. For the best experience, Medium is recommended—it provides consistent frame times and avoids the steep performance cliff seen at Ultra.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 yields the highest averages. At Low settings, the combo reaches 250 FPS, at Medium 233 FPS, at High 217 FPS, and at Ultra 181 FPS. The 1440p results are close behind, with 223 FPS at Low, but 4K shows a more substantial drop.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM necessary for Downfall?

A: No, the measured data does not indicate any VRAM limitation. Even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 82, the bottleneck is more likely the CPU, given the Ryzen 5 2600's performance profile. The 24 GB VRAM provides massive headroom, but Downfall's requirements are well below this capacity.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to nearby CPUs in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21,484, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21,440) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900H (21,367). It trails the Intel Xeon D-1746TER by 0.7% (21,635) and the AMD EPYC 9454 by 1.2% (21,223), showing it sits in a tight cluster of mid-range performers.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 223 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 132 FPS. This is a 91 FPS difference, or roughly 41% lower performance at Ultra compared to Low, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the system.

Q: Does the combo maintain a playable frame rate at 4K across all settings?

A: Yes, all measured 4K settings produce averages above 60 FPS. The lowest is Ultra at 82 FPS, followed by High at 132 FPS, Medium at 161 FPS, and Low at 191 FPS. Even the most demanding preset remains fluid, though the margin to 60 FPS shrinks considerably.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's GPU benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 scores 60,347 on average, which is virtually identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta) and 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140). It is 2.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896) and 2.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657), though these synthetic scores do not directly translate to Downfall performance.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K, with the CPU becoming an increasingly significant limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 233 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it drops to 208 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it falls to 161 FPS. This represents a 31% decrease from 1080p to 4K, which is less severe than expected if the GPU were fully saturated. The RTX 4090 is capable of far higher frame rates than the CPU can deliver at 1080p, as evidenced by the 250 FPS at Low settings—a result that is likely constrained by the Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is modest: at High settings, the drop is from 217 FPS to 194 FPS (a 10.6% decrease), while at Ultra, it goes from 181 FPS to 132 FPS (a 27.1% decrease). The larger percentage drop at Ultra suggests that the GPU is becoming more stressed at higher settings, but the absolute frame rates remain high. From 1440p to 4K, the drops are more pronounced: High falls from 194 FPS to 132 FPS (a 32% decrease), and Ultra falls from 132 FPS to 82 FPS (a 37.9% decrease). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is finally becoming the primary bottleneck, as the resolution scales the rendering load significantly.

The data shows that the limiting component shifts depending on resolution. At 1080p, the Ryzen 5 2600 is the bottleneck—the GPU is waiting for the CPU to feed it frames. At 4K, the RTX 4090's rendering load takes over, and the GPU becomes the constraint. This is a typical pattern for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU, and the measured FPS numbers quantify the transition point.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen architecture (Zen+ Pinnacle Ridge) and built on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s, and the CPU uses AMD Socket AM4 with PCIe Gen 3 (16 lanes). Its TDP is 65 W, and it launched at a price of $199.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is evident from the FPS results, particularly at 1080p where frame rates cap out at 250 FPS even on Low settings. The Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance, as measured by benchmarks like Cinebench R15 single-core (157.3) and Geekbench single-core (1154), suggests it can handle the game's logic, but its multicore scores (Cinebench R15 multicore: 1248, Geekbench multicore: 5648) indicate that the game may not fully utilize all 12 threads. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21,484, places it close to the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21,440, 0.2% delta) and Intel Core i9-11900H (21,367, 0.5% delta), showing it is competitive with newer mid-range parts.

The data suggests that the Ryzen 5 2600 is the limiting factor at 1080p, where the RTX 4090's potential is untapped. At 4K, the CPU is less of a constraint, but it still prevents the combo from reaching the highest possible frame rates at Ultra settings. The boost clock of 3.90 GHz is modest by modern standards, and the Zen architecture's IPC is lower than newer designs, which may explain why the combo's rank is 605 rather than higher. For a game like Downfall, which likely has moderate CPU demands, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient, but the aging architecture caps performance at high refresh rates.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of the combo's performance.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 250 FPS average
• Medium: 233 FPS average, 198 FPS minimum, 268 FPS maximum
• High: 217 FPS average
• Ultra: 181 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo is clearly CPU-limited. Even at Low settings, the average FPS is 250, which is close to the practical limit for many displays. The step from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS, and from Medium to High costs another 16 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra is 36 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant computational load.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 223 FPS average
• Medium: 208 FPS average, 177 FPS minimum, 239 FPS maximum
• High: 194 FPS average
• Ultra: 132 FPS average

At 1440p, the FPS values begin to scale with resolution. Low is 27 FPS below the 1080p result, Medium is 25 FPS lower, and High is 23 FPS lower. The Ultra setting shows a more substantial drop of 49 FPS from 1080p, suggesting that the GPU's rendering load is increasing at this resolution with the highest preset.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 191 FPS average
• Medium: 161 FPS average, 136 FPS minimum, 185 FPS maximum
• High: 132 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. Low drops by 32 FPS from 1440p, Medium by 47 FPS, High by 62 FPS, and Ultra by 50 FPS. The Ultra setting at 82 FPS is the only measured result below 100 FPS, and it shows the steepest relative decline from the 1440p result (from 132 to 82, a 37.9% drop). This indicates that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, but the combo still maintains a playable frame rate.

The Medium preset at each resolution offers the most consistent performance, with minimum FPS values above 136 at 4K, above 177 at 1440p, and above 198 at 1080p. This consistency is valuable for a horror game, where frame time spikes can detract from the experience. Overall, the measured data shows a capable combo that excels at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K performance that remains solid but requires lowering settings to achieve higher frame rates.