Downfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 2589 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. That places this pairing in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested, a result driven almost entirely by the graphics side of the equation. The Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482, while the Ryzen 5 3600 holds a much healthier 71st percentile among CPUs with an average score of 17035. When a CPU ranks in the top third of all processors but the GPU ranks in the bottom tenth, the bottleneck is unambiguous.

The data shows a combo that is playable at lower settings but struggles to deliver smooth frame rates at higher presets. At 1080p Low, the system manages 106 FPS average, which is comfortably above playable thresholds for a horror title where reaction time matters. However, cranking the settings to Ultra at the same resolution drops the average to 44 FPS, a 58% reduction that pushes the experience into stutter-prone territory. The gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's execution is the defining characteristic of this pairing.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the table, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This is a Zen 2 architecture part built on TSMC's 7 nm process, featuring 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The single-thread performance, measured by a 3dmark single-thread score of 696, is adequate for a 2016 horror game like Downfall, which was released before this CPU even hit the market in 2019.

Multi-threaded results show a processor with substantial headroom for gaming workloads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and Geekbench multicore score of 7372 indicate that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this pairing. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 4605 and max-thread score of 4603 confirm that scaling across cores is consistent. For a game from 2016, even a modest modern CPU would typically suffice, and the 3600 exceeds that bar decisively.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores illustrate how competitive this processor remains. The Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17007, just 0.2% below the 3600's 17035 average. The Intel Core i5-11400 sits at 17067, 0.2% higher. Both AMD EPYC 7573X at 17070 and AMD EPYC 7742 at 16998 are within 0.2% as well. This clustering shows the 3600 is squarely in the middle of a tight pack of capable processors, meaning any performance shortfall in Downfall cannot be attributed to CPU inadequacy.

The Passmark multithread score of 17700 and single-thread score of 2562 further reinforce that this CPU has ample compute for the game's physics, AI, and scene complexity. Memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s on dual-channel DDR4 is typical for the platform and not a constraint for this title. The 65 W TDP indicates a power-efficient part that won't thermal throttle in most chassis, though the data does not include thermals for this specific test scenario.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 holding back the Intel Arc B390 in Downfall?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 71st percentile among all processors with an average benchmark score of 17035, while the GPU ranks at only the 9th percentile with a score of 1482. The CPU is far more capable than the GPU in this pairing.

Q: What frame rate can this combo achieve at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 106 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, 71 FPS on High, and 44 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset also shows a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3dmark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M at 1460, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM at 1446, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 at 1443.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming?

A: The data shows playable averages at both resolutions on Low and Medium settings. At 2560x1440, Low delivers 76 FPS and Medium delivers 62 FPS, while at 1920x1080, Low delivers 106 FPS and Medium delivers 87 FPS. The 1080p results are consistently about 39-40% higher.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average is 44 FPS, which is marginal. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 32 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 20 FPS. The data suggests Ultra is only viable at 1080p, and even then, it is borderline.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded results?

A: The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 is roughly 7 times the single-core score of 2124, showing strong scaling across the 6 cores and 12 threads. The 3dmark results show 4605 for 16 threads versus 696 for single thread, a similar ratio.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results span from 44 FPS to 106 FPS depending on settings. The Low preset delivers 106 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium comes in at 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, showing reasonable consistency. High drops to 71 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 62 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU's limited fill rate and shading power become increasingly exposed as graphical demands rise.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low delivers 76 FPS average, Medium hits 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS, High manages 51 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a narrower band between minimum and maximum (18 FPS) compared to the 1080p Medium spread (26 FPS), suggesting the GPU is more consistently saturated at the higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal for most settings. Low produces 47 FPS average, Medium delivers 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 44 FPS, High falls to 32 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches a consistently playable frame rate, and even that sits below the 60 FPS target most gamers prefer.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic degradation across resolutions: 44 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is steeper than the drops seen in lower presets. The Low preset, by contrast, only falls from 106 FPS at 1080p to 47 FPS at 4K, a 56% reduction that is proportionally similar but starts from a much higher baseline.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck sits. At Low settings, the drop is from 106 FPS at 1080p to 76 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and then to 47 FPS at 4K (a 38% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where pixel count directly impacts throughput.

At Medium settings, the progression is 87 FPS at 1080p to 62 FPS at 1440p (a 29% drop) and then to 39 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium suggests the GPU is the primary constraint in both cases. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are not being saturated, as evidenced by the 3dmark 16-thread score of 4605 versus the single-thread score of 696.

High settings show a steeper relative decline: 71 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop) and then to 32 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). Ultra settings follow a similar trajectory: 44 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop) and then to 20 FPS at 4K (a 38% drop). The uniformity of these percentage drops across all four presets is telling, it indicates that the GPU's compute and memory limitations scale predictably with resolution, and the CPU is never the limiting factor.

If the Ryzen 5 3600 were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates that plateau or degrade less at higher resolutions, since the CPU workload per frame does not increase with pixel count. Instead, the consistent resolution scaling points directly at the Arc B390's 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs being overwhelmed as pixel counts rise. The GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for high-resolution rendering at demanding settings.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 87 FPS average is the sweet spot. It delivers a minimum of 74 FPS, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the maximum of 100 FPS shows there is headroom in less demanding scenes. The High preset at 71 FPS is also viable, though the lack of minimum frame rate data makes it harder to judge consistency. Ultra at 44 FPS should be avoided, a horror game relies on atmosphere and sudden movements, and frame pacing issues below 45 FPS can break immersion.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 76 FPS is the only option that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 62 FPS is playable but sits closer to the edge, with a minimum of 53 FPS that could cause noticeable stutter during intense scenes. High at 51 FPS and Ultra at 32 FPS are not recommended for this resolution if you want a consistently smooth experience.

At 4K, only the Low preset at 47 FPS approaches playability, and even that is below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 39 FPS and High at 32 FPS are marginal at best, while Ultra at 20 FPS is effectively a slideshow. For 4K gaming, this combo requires significant settings compromises that undermine the visual quality benefits of the resolution.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is 1080p Medium, which balances visual fidelity with performance headroom. The minimum of 74 FPS ensures that even the most demanding sequences in Downfall stay smooth, while the 87 FPS average leaves room for occasional frame time spikes without dropping below acceptable levels. If you prefer higher resolutions, 1440p Low at 76 FPS is the next best option, though you sacrifice visual quality for the higher pixel count.

Given the GPU's 9th percentile ranking and the CPU's 71st percentile, future upgrades should focus on the graphics card first. The Ryzen 5 3600 has substantial headroom for a more powerful GPU, as evidenced by its competitive benchmark scores against rivals like the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core i5-11400. Swapping the Arc B390 for a more capable GPU would yield immediate frame rate improvements across all resolutions and settings, while the CPU would continue to keep pace.