Downfall

The data shows the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles at 4K, especially with Ultra settings. This pairing places in the 85th percentile of tested combos for this title, with a rank of 3177 out of 3716. The analysis below breaks down how resolution and settings impact performance, revealing where the CPU and GPU each become the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 99 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 71 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 44 FPS, which is a 56% drop from 1080p. This scaling is steeper than what would be expected from pixel count alone, indicating the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (147 FPS) and Ultra (62 FPS) is 85 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 61 FPS (105 vs 44). At 4K, the gap shrinks to 38 FPS (65 vs 27). This compression at 4K suggests that even Low settings are pushing the GPU to its limits, leaving little headroom for visual quality improvements.

For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the frame rates remain fluid across all settings. At 1080p, even Ultra maintains 62 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, Medium (86 FPS) and High (71 FPS) are both playable, while Ultra (44 FPS) dips below ideal smoothness. At 4K, only Low (65 FPS) and Medium (54 FPS) approach playable territory, with High (44 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) falling short.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319. The CPU’s relative performance places it at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19593.

In this game, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 147 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. However, the 1080p Ultra score of 62 FPS is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra score of 44 FPS, indicating that at Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, not the CPU.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is telling. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499 (0.5% lower). The Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723 (0.7% higher). These differences are minimal, suggesting that the Ryzen 5 5500 provides comparable CPU performance to these alternatives for this game. The CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s demands, as evidenced by the strong scaling from single-thread to multi-thread benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo in Downfall?

A: The data shows 1080p High (99 FPS) and 1440p High (71 FPS) are both excellent choices. For maximum visual fidelity, 1080p Ultra (62 FPS) is playable, but 1440p Ultra (44 FPS) drops below the 60 FPS ideal.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: At 4K, only Low (65 FPS) and Medium (54 FPS) settings are viable. High (44 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) are not smooth enough for comfortable play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at Ultra settings. At 1080p Low (147 FPS), the CPU shows it can handle high frame rates, but the GPU’s performance ceiling limits higher settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to other CPU-GPU pairings?

A: The combo ranks 3177 out of 3716 tested pairings for this game, placing it in the top 15% of all combinations. Its performance is competitive with systems using similar mid-range components.

Q: What frame rates can be expected with Medium settings?

A: Medium settings yield 120 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result has a minimum of 45 FPS, indicating occasional dips below playable levels.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, for 1080p and 1440p, the GPU provides good performance across most settings. The data shows it achieves 71 FPS at 1440p High, which is solid. Its 6 GB VRAM is adequate for the game’s demands at these resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 3177 out of 3716 tested combos for Downfall. This places it in the 85th percentile, meaning it outperforms 85% of all other CPU-GPU pairs tested in this game. The GPU itself ranks at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12986.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show a tight performance cluster. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 12940 (0.4% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 12928 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870 (0.9% lower). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scores 13075 (0.7% higher). This indicates the GTX 1660 SUPER is well-positioned among its peers, with performance differences of less than 1% in either direction.

The CPU’s rank of 3177 in the overall combo rankings is influenced by both components. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking is slightly lower than the GPU’s 53rd percentile, suggesting the GPU is the stronger half of this pairing. However, the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429) ensure it doesn’t hold back the GPU at typical gaming resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. It has a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its compute capabilities include 5.027 TFLOPS for FP32 operations and 10.05 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1 ratio).

The GPU’s measured performance in this game shows clear signs of the GPU being the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates across settings (65 FPS Low, 54 FPS Medium, 44 FPS High, 27 FPS Ultra) demonstrate that the GPU’s pixel throughput is insufficient for the 3840x2160 resolution, even at Low settings. The GPU’s pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but fall short at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s benchmark scores support this analysis. It scores 1278 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 52490 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 57102 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score is 12699, and G2D score is 805. The GPU’s DirectX performance varies by version: DirectX 10 scores 65, DirectX 11 scores 104, DirectX 12 scores 50, and DirectX 9 scores 189. These scores indicate the GPU is well-suited for DirectX 11 titles like Downfall, but its DirectX 12 performance is relatively weaker.

The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is a key factor in its performance. At higher resolutions, the memory bandwidth becomes more critical. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the game may require more than 6 GB for Ultra settings, which could explain the severe frame rate drop to 27 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1080p, the combo achieves 147 FPS at Low, 120 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 102 and maximum of 138), 99 FPS at High, and 62 FPS at Ultra. The 1080p results show that the GPU can handle the game at high frame rates, with only Ultra settings dropping below 100 FPS.

At 1440p, the performance scales predictably. Low settings produce 105 FPS, Medium produces 86 FPS (with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 99), High produces 71 FPS, and Ultra produces 44 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the GPU’s performance drops by approximately 30% compared to 1080p at each setting level, which is consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 4K, the performance falls significantly. Low settings achieve 65 FPS, Medium achieves 54 FPS (with a minimum of 45 and maximum of 62), High achieves 44 FPS, and Ultra achieves 27 FPS. The 4K results show that the GPU is severely strained, with even Low settings producing only 65 FPS. The Medium settings at 4K have a minimum FPS of 45, which drops below the 60 FPS threshold and indicates stuttering during intense scenes.

The frame rate data reveals that the gap between settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 85 FPS (147 vs 62). At 1440p, the difference is 61 FPS (105 vs 44). At 4K, the difference is 38 FPS (65 vs 27). This trend confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the settings have less impact on performance when the GPU is already saturated.