Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

This combo ranks 1543rd out of 1741 tested configurations in Downfall, placing it in the lower half of the database. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X sits at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER lands at the 55th percentile among GPUs. The pairing produces playable frame rates at most settings, but the data reveals a system that is clearly GPU-bound in this horror title, with the graphics card's 6 GB VRAM and Turing architecture defining the experience more than the CPU's Zen 3 cores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 1543rd of 1741 tested combinations indicates that Downfall is not a title where this hardware excels. The 5600X performs admirably in synthetic benchmarks — its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18578 and single-core score of 2622 demonstrate strong processing capability, and its PassMark single-thread score of 3364 confirms solid per-core performance. However, the GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score of 14286 places it just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and 0.2% behind the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, while sitting 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT.

This GPU-centric bottleneck is evident when examining the CPU's rival comparisons. The 5600X's average benchmark score of 20680 is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i7-10700, and within 0.5% of the Intel Core i5-12490F. The CPU is more than capable for this game, but the GPU's 55th percentile ranking means the overall combo suffers. The rank disparity between the two components — 78th percentile CPU versus 55th percentile GPU — suggests that upgrading the graphics card would yield far greater performance gains than any CPU change.

The data shows that Downfall's horror atmosphere demands more from the graphics subsystem than from the processor. With the 5600X's 6 cores and 12 threads, plus 32 MB of L3 cache, the CPU handles scene processing without becoming a limiting factor. The GPU's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs, however, constrain the visual output, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for Downfall at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 26.4 FPS indicates VRAM capacity or bandwidth limitations become critical at extreme resolutions. The GPU's base clock of 1530 MHz boosts to 1785 MHz, and its 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute provide the raw processing power for this horror title's lighting and shadow effects.

The card's Turing architecture, built on TSMC's 12 nm process with 6,600 million transistors, supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. These API capabilities align well with Downfall's engine requirements. The 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate and 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate suggest adequate fill rates for the game's environmental textures and particle effects, though the 4K Ultra frame rate tells the real story.

Memory bandwidth is particularly important for horror games that frequently load new areas and streaming textures. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantial for this class of GPU, but the 6 GB capacity creates a hard ceiling. At 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and complex shaders exceeds what the VRAM can efficiently handle, resulting in the dramatic frame rate drop from 56.3 FPS at Medium to 26.4 FPS at Ultra. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 12699 and DirectX 11 score of 104 provide context for its overall gaming capability, though these synthetic numbers don't capture the specific demands of Downfall's horror scenes.

Resolution Scaling

Frame rates scale predictably across resolutions, revealing the GPU as the primary constraint. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 101 FPS, which drops to 68.8 FPS at 1440p High, then falls to 46 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 31.9% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 33.1% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The pattern indicates that pixel throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The 1080p Ultra result of 59.7 FPS drops to 43.4 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 27.3% decrease), then plummets to 26.4 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 39.2% decrease). This steeper decline at the highest settings suggests that beyond resolution, the Ultra preset's additional effects taxes the GPU's shading units and TMUs more heavily.

Low settings show the least dramatic scaling: 149.4 FPS at 1080p, 103.6 FPS at 1440p, and 62.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still playable, indicating that even at this resolution, the GPU can maintain acceptable performance when effects are minimized. The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution is telling: 89.7 FPS at 1080p, 60.2 FPS at 1440p, and 36.1 FPS at 4K. This shrinking delta at higher resolutions confirms the GPU is the bottleneck — as resolution increases, the CPU's influence diminishes and the graphics card's raw throughput dominates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers solid performance across all settings. Low settings produce 149.4 FPS average, Medium achieves 123.2 FPS, High reaches 101 FPS, and Ultra drops to 59.7 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% performance, with the Ultra preset being the most demanding at just over half the Low setting's frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low settings yield 103.6 FPS, Medium maintains 83.4 FPS, High produces 68.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43.4 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that this combo can maintain playable frame rates at Medium and High settings, but Ultra becomes marginal for smooth gameplay. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 14.6 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 25.4 FPS — the Ultra preset's additional effects exact a heavy toll.

At 3840x2160, the limits of the GTX 1660 SUPER become apparent. Low settings manage 62.5 FPS, Medium drops to 56.3 FPS, High reaches 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26.4 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium settings provide acceptable frame rates for most players. The Ultra result at 4K is less than half the frame rate of the Medium setting, indicating that the GPU simply cannot handle the combination of high resolution and maximum effects. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings compromises, while 1080p offers the most flexibility across all quality levels.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, all settings achieve playable frame rates, from 149.4 FPS at Low to 59.7 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, High settings produce 68.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 43.4 FPS. For 4K, only Low (62.5 FPS) and Medium (56.3 FPS) provide acceptable performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 5600X ranks at the 78th percentile among CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER ranks at the 55th percentile. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K at every settings level confirm the GPU's pixel throughput is constraining performance.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 14286 is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 11, and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings, which produce 62.5 FPS and 56.3 FPS respectively. High settings drop to 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26.4 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when increasing from High to Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, High produces 101 FPS and Ultra produces 59.7 FPS, a 41.3 FPS drop. At 1440p, the difference is 25.4 FPS (68.8 to 43.4). At 4K, the difference is 19.6 FPS (46 to 26.4). The absolute loss decreases with resolution, but the percentage impact remains significant.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 1543 out of 1741 indicate about its overall performance?

A: This rank places the combination in the lower 11% of all tested configurations in Downfall. Given that the CPU is at the 78th percentile and the GPU at the 55th percentile, the low rank reflects the GPU's inability to fully utilize the CPU's capabilities in this graphics-intensive title.