Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 presents an unusual combination in Downfall, a horror title released in 2016. The CPU, launched in 2018, has a launch MSRP of $199, while the GPU, released in 2025, has a launch MSRP of 999 USD. The measured frame rates across four resolutions and four quality presets reveal how this pairing behaves under load, and the data shows a system that is clearly GPU‑heavy but constrained by an older CPU at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS at High settings illustrates the scaling pattern: 216.9 at 1920x1080, 196.4 at 2560x1440, and 125.3 at 3840x2160. The drop from 1440p to 4K is much larger than from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At Low settings, the numbers are 248.4, 223.4, and 191.1 for the same resolutions. The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low suggests that the CPU is holding back the frame rate at lower resolutions, because the RTX 5080 has ample headroom to push higher if the processor could keep up. At Ultra, the FPS is 178.5 at 1080p, 129.6 at 1440p, and 79.1 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows a steep decline from 1080p to 4K, with the 4K average falling to 79.1, which is still above 60 but far below the Low‑preset numbers.

The data across all settings shows a consistent pattern: the difference between 1080p and 1440p is modest, while the difference between 1440p and 4K is pronounced. For example, at Medium settings, the FPS is 232.8 at 1080p, 208.6 at 1440p, and 153.5 at 4K. The 4K value is 79.1 FPS lower than the 1080p value, but the 1440p value is only 24.2 FPS lower than 1080p. This suggests that the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately up to 1440p, but at 4K the GPU’s rendering load becomes the dominant factor. The RTX 5080’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are clearly sufficient for 4K, as evidenced by the 191.1 FPS at 4K Low, which is higher than the 1440p High result of 196.4? Actually 191.1 is slightly lower, but the point is that the GPU is not the bottleneck at Low settings even at 4K.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6‑core, 12‑thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. It has 16 MB of shared L3 cache and a dual‑channel DDR4 memory interface with 46.9 GB/s bandwidth. In Cinebench R23, it scores 11186 in multi‑core and 1579 in single‑core. Its average benchmark score is 19616, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5‑1345U (19691) and 0.6% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19508). These scores indicate a mid‑range processor that, while capable, is not in the same performance tier as the RTX 5080.

In Downfall, the CPU’s influence is most visible at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 248.4, which is the highest measured value in the dataset. However, the increase from 1440p Low (223.4) to 1080p Low is only 25 FPS, and the increase from 4K Low (191.1) to 1440p Low is 32.3 FPS. These relatively small gains suggest that the CPU is not able to push the frame rate much beyond 250 FPS, even when the GPU is underutilized. The single‑core score of 1579 in Cinebench R23 is modest, and Downfall—a 2016 title—likely relies on a few threads, making the CPU’s per‑core performance a limiting factor. The 6‑core, 12‑thread configuration provides enough parallelism for modern games, but the older Zen architecture and 12 nm process node place it well behind the GPU’s capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 79.1.

Q: How many cores and threads does the Ryzen 5 2600 have?

A: It has 6 cores and 12 threads.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory size and type?

A: The RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory.

*Q: What is the combo’s rank among tested combos in Downfall?*

A: It ranks 293rd out of 1741 tested combos.

Q: Which setting at 2560x1440 gives the highest average FPS?

A: Low settings, with an average of 223.4 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU’s single‑core Cinebench R23 score?

A: The single‑core score is 1579.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 293rd out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the upper portion of the field, but not at the top. The CPU is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 89th percentile. The rank suggests that the CPU is the weaker link, as the GPU is a high‑end part. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 79.1, which is above 60, but the rank indicates that many other combos achieve higher frame rates. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 59188, which is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M’s 58239, and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580’s 57756. The CPU’s average score of 19616 is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5‑1345U’s 19691, and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U’s 19508. These relative positions reinforce the idea that the CPU is the bottleneck in this pairing, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully utilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS values for each resolution and preset; minimum and maximum values are not reported. The following table lists all measured results:

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

|------------|----------|-------------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 125.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 191.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 153.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 79.1 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 196.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 223.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 208.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 129.6 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 216.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 248.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 232.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 178.5 |

At every resolution, Low settings produce the highest average FPS, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases: at 1080p the difference is 69.9 FPS (248.4 vs 178.5), at 1440p it is 93.8 FPS (223.4 vs 129.6), and at 4K it is 112.0 FPS (191.1 vs 79.1). This trend shows that the GPU’s rendering load grows disproportionately with resolution, and the CPU’s role diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, High settings at 2560x1440 provide 196.4 FPS, which is a strong balance between visual quality and frame rate. At 4K, High yields 125.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 79.1. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is substantial, so High is the recommended preset for 4K if a higher frame rate is desired. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 178.5 FPS, so all presets are viable at that resolution. For users with a 1440p display, Medium (208.6 FPS) or High (196.4 FPS) are both excellent choices, with Low (223.4 FPS) offering the highest headroom. The data shows that the RTX 5080 is capable of delivering high frame rates across the board, but the CPU’s limitations become apparent at lower resolutions and lower presets. Therefore, the best experience is achieved by selecting High settings at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU is more fully utilized and the CPU bottleneck is less pronounced.