Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a robust experience in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The measured frame rates show a configuration that is well-balanced across resolutions, though the gap between the CPU and GPU becomes more apparent as graphical loads increase. The data indicates that this combo is a strong performer for the game's era, capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p and solid 60 FPS experiences at higher settings, with clear limitations at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic transition from a CPU-bound scenario to a heavily GPU-bound one. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 193.9 FPS, a figure so high that it strongly suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor. This is supported by the Ryzen 5 5500's benchmark data, which shows a passmark single-thread score of 3058 and a 3dmark single-thread score of 836, indicating the processor can feed frames quickly enough to outpace the GPU at this resolution.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role. The measured average FPS at High settings drops from 128.4 at 1080p to 93.9 at 1440p, a 27% reduction. This trend continues at 4K, where the High setting yields just 60.1 FPS. The scaling pattern is linear and predictable, which is characteristic of a system where the GPU's rendering throughput is becoming the bottleneck. The most telling data point is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between 193.9 FPS (Low) and 77.5 FPS (Ultra) is a 60% drop. At 4K, the same settings gap shows a 55% drop from 82.4 FPS to 37.2 FPS. This consistency suggests that while the GPU is under heavy load, the CPU is still capable of keeping up with the instruction overhead, preventing a more dramatic performance collapse.

The 4K Ultra result of 37.2 FPS is the clearest indicator of the GPU's limits. This is a playable frame rate for a slower-paced horror game, but it falls short of the 60 FPS target that most users would prefer. The data suggests that the RX 6600 XT, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, is the component that ultimately defines the ceiling for this combo. The Ryzen 5 5500's 16 MB of L3 cache and 6 cores/12 threads are sufficient to avoid stalling the GPU at higher resolutions, but the GPU's compute throughput is simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maxed-out settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's standing in the benchmark database is modest, with a rank of 1209 out of 1741 tested combinations. This places it in the lower third of all possible pairings, which is a reflection of the individual components' mid-range status rather than a specific deficiency in their pairing. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 79, indicating it outperforms 79% of processors tested. The GPU's percentile is lower, at 71, suggesting it is a slightly weaker link in the chain.

When looking at the nearest rivals for each component, the picture becomes clearer. The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897, a delta of -0.1%. This effectively places the two processors on par. Similarly, the RX 6600 XT's average benchmark score of 27985 is a mere 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956). This suggests that the RX 6600 XT offers performance comparable to a previous-generation flagship, but it is not able to compete with the higher-tier cards in the current lineup.

The combo's low rank is likely due to the fact that many tested combinations feature higher-end CPUs or GPUs. The data shows that while the Ryzen 5 5500 has strong multi-threaded scores, such as a cinebench r23 multicore score of 16429, its single-thread performance is less impressive, with a cinebench r23 singlecore score of 2319. This is a typical trade-off for a budget-oriented 6-core processor. The RX 6600 XT, meanwhile, is a competent 1080p and 1440p card, but its passmark g3d score of 16461 is not exceptional. The combination is therefore a solid mainstream option, but it does not have the raw power to rank highly against enthusiast-tier setups.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear guide for optimal settings. The primary goal should be to maintain a minimum of 60 FPS, and ideally, to take advantage of higher refresh rate displays. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering a solid 77.5 FPS average. This is a 39% improvement over the High preset's 128.4 FPS, but the Ultra setting still provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. For users with 144Hz monitors, the High setting at 1080p is the recommended choice, as it exceeds that refresh rate target.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. The High preset provides an excellent 93.9 FPS average, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset is also viable at 111.6 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is not worth the extra 19% frame rate headroom. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 56.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and should be avoided for a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The High preset is the only viable option for a 60 FPS experience, hitting 60.1 FPS average. The Medium preset offers 71.1 FPS, which is a better margin for the occasional drop, but the visual fidelity loss is significant. The Low preset at 82.4 FPS is the best for pure frame rate, but it compromises the horror atmosphere that relies on detailed lighting and textures. The Ultra preset at 37.2 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as it falls below playable thresholds for most users. The data suggests that 4K High is the sweet spot for this combo, balancing visual quality with performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset reveals a consistent performance hierarchy across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from a low of 77.5 on Ultra to a high of 193.9 on Low. The Medium setting yields 155.9 FPS, and High produces 128.4 FPS. This shows a 2.5x difference between the lowest and highest settings, demonstrating the GPU's headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across the board. Low settings produce 136.1 FPS, Medium yields 111.6 FPS, High achieves 93.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 56.8 FPS. The scaling here is more aggressive, with a 2.4x difference between Low and Ultra. The High setting remains the best balance, offering a frame rate that is 65% higher than Ultra while providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low settings provide 82.4 FPS, Medium 71.1 FPS, High 60.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is now 2.2x, but the absolute numbers are much lower. The jump from Medium to High is a 15% reduction in FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 38% reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset introduces a significant computational load that the GPU cannot handle at 4K. The data clearly shows that the RX 6600 XT is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the CPU's performance is unlikely to change significantly across these settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU has a base clock of 1968 MHz and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, with a game clock of 2359 MHz. These are high clock speeds for the RDNA 2.0 architecture, which helps to explain the strong 1080p performance. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a bottleneck at 4K with high-resolution textures.

The GPU's pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are mid-range figures. These are the raw throughput numbers that determine how quickly the GPU can fill frames and apply textures. At 4K Ultra, the game demands more of these resources, and the GPU's 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is not enough to maintain 60 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is also a limiting factor at 4K, as the GPU must access the frame buffer more frequently at higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its performance class. Its passmark g3d score of 16461 places it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, which is a solid mid-range result. The 3dmark steel nomad dx12 score of 1804 and the geekbench vulkan score of 89263 suggest that the GPU is well-optimized for modern APIs, which is relevant for Downfall's DirectX 12 support. The closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, has an average benchmark score of 27956, which is a 0.1% delta from the RX 6600 XT's 27985. This puts the two cards on equal footing in synthetic tests, but the RX 6600 XT's newer architecture may provide better driver optimizations for newer titles. The data shows that the GPU's 8 GB memory pool is a key differentiator; it is enough for this game, but it is a constraint that will become more relevant in future titles with larger texture sets.