Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a highly playable experience in Downfall, though the data reveals a clear scaling pattern that shifts the bottleneck between the CPU and GPU depending on resolution and settings. Across the 12 measured configurations, average frame rates range from 38.4 FPS at 4K Ultra to 189.7 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this pairing is capable of both high-refresh 1080p gaming and playable 4K, provided settings are managed carefully. The benchmark results show that the RTX 2060 SUPER, which sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, is the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 5 3600’s 76th percentile CPU performance becomes more relevant at lower resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 125.9 FPS at 1080p to 94.1 FPS at 1440p, a 25.3% reduction, and then further to 55.8 FPS at 4K, representing a 55.7% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor; the GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases. The scaling is even more aggressive at Ultra settings, where the average FPS plummets from 81.1 at 1080p to 59.1 at 1440p and then to 38.4 at 4K, a 52.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Interestingly, the CPU’s role is more visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 189.7, which is close to what the CPU can feed; the Ryzen 5 3600’s 12 threads and 4.20 GHz boost clock are sufficient to drive high frame rates, but the data suggests that further increases beyond this point would be limited by the CPU. The 1440p Low result of 139 FPS shows a 26.7% drop from 1080p Low, which is a smaller relative decline than the High settings drop, implying that at Low settings the GPU is less taxed and the CPU has more headroom. The overall pattern confirms that Downfall is heavily GPU-bound at 4K regardless of settings, while the CPU becomes a co-limiting factor at 1080p with lighter settings, where the frame rates exceed 150 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this hardware?

A: The 1080p Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 189.7 FPS, which is the optimal choice for maximizing responsiveness. For a balance of visual quality and speed, 1080p High at 125.9 FPS is also strong, offering a 33.6% reduction in FPS compared to Low but with significantly better graphics.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Downfall?*

A: Yes, but only at reduced settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 85.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K High, the average drops to 55.8 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 38.4 FPS, which may not be smooth enough for all players.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER’s average benchmark score is 19,774, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070’s score of 19,680. In practical terms, this means the two GPUs perform nearly identically in this title, with the 2060 SUPER having a negligible 0.5% advantage.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data shows that at 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 113.4, and at 1440p High it is 94.1. These figures are well below the CPU’s potential, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component at this resolution. The CPU only becomes a potential bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 189.7.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 189.7 on Low to 81.1 on Ultra, a 57.2% reduction in performance. This shows that the Ultra preset imposes a significant rendering load, more than halving the frame rate compared to Low settings.

Q: How does this CPU compare to the Intel Core i5-11400?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18,129, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400’s score of 18,150. This effectively makes them equivalent in processing power, with the Ryzen being slightly behind by a margin that is imperceptible in real-world gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 2176 shading units at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the demands on memory bandwidth increase, contributing to the performance drops seen in the data. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz and base clock of 1470 MHz are relatively modest for the 20-series, yet they allow for consistent performance across the board.

The GPU’s benchmark results place it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 19,774. This score is notably close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which scores 19,706, and the RTX 2070 at 19,680. The deltaPct values show the 2060 SUPER is 0.3% ahead of the GTX TITAN and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070, confirming that it operates at the upper edge of its performance class. In Downfall, this translates to strong 1080p performance and acceptable 1440p performance, but the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the 38.4 FPS result indicates it is being pushed to its limits.

The GPU’s 175 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector are consistent with its performance class, and the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface does not appear to be a limiting factor in these results. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is adequate for this game, as the frame rates do not show signs of a hard memory capacity limit at any tested resolution. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its performance at 4K is constrained by its raw compute power rather than a lack of memory.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 189.7 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the dataset. Medium settings follow closely at 157.8 FPS, representing a 16.8% drop from Low. High settings produce 125.9 FPS, a 33.6% drop from Low, while the Ultra preset bottoms out at 81.1 FPS, a 57.2% reduction from Low. These numbers show a clear progression of increasing GPU load as settings are raised, with the gap between Low and Ultra being substantial.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings average 139 FPS, which is 26.7% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings yield 113.4 FPS, High settings produce 94.1 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 59.1 FPS. The scaling from Medium to Ultra is significant, with a 47.9% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1440p is particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low settings average 85.6 FPS, which is a 54.9% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings achieve 67.3 FPS, High settings drop to 55.8 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 38.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 55.2%, similar to the drop at 1080p, but the absolute values are much lower, making the Ultra preset nearly unplayable. The data shows that the GPU’s performance scales consistently with resolution, but the absolute frame rates at 4K are only suitable for slower-paced horror gameplay or with reduced settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the player’s target resolution and frame rate preference. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 125.9 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 81.1 FPS is also viable, but the 35.6% drop from High may not justify the visual gains for all players. For competitive or high-refresh play, the Low preset at 189.7 FPS is the clear choice, but it sacrifices most graphical detail.

At 1440p, the High preset at 94.1 FPS is the recommended setting, as it maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS while delivering good visuals. The Medium preset at 113.4 FPS is also excellent if the player prioritizes frame rate over detail, and it offers a 20.5% improvement over High. The Ultra preset at 59.1 FPS is borderline, hitting just below the 60 FPS mark, and may cause noticeable stuttering in a horror title where smoothness is crucial for atmosphere.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that only the Low preset at 85.6 FPS provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 67.3 FPS is playable but closer to the 60 FPS threshold, and the High preset at 55.8 FPS may be acceptable for players who prefer visual quality over frame rate. The Ultra preset at 38.4 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate is too low for a horror game that relies on immersion and responsive controls. In summary, the sweet spot for this hardware is 1440p High, which offers a strong balance of resolution and performance, while 1080p High remains the most broadly recommended configuration for its high frame rate.