Downfall

The pairing of AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600X with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 D in Downfall produces a dataset that is as much about bottleneck dynamics as it is about raw frame rates. The measured results, captured across three resolutions and four quality presets, show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher settings but reveals the CPU’s influence at the extremes of performance. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, contextualizes the combo’s standing among 2,928 tested configurations, and explains what the numbers say about the components’ respective roles.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas across resolutions are starkly non-linear, indicating a hard shift in the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 376 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 336 FPS, a reduction of 40 FPS, while 4K Low yields 214 FPS, a further 122 FPS decline. This 162 FPS total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is substantial, but it is not the steepest curve in the dataset.

The scaling pattern inverts as settings increase. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (324 FPS) to 1440p (231 FPS) is 93 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K (144 FPS) is another 87 FPS. At Ultra, the absolute numbers are lower, but the relative impact of resolution is even more pronounced: 202 FPS at 1080p falls to 144 FPS at 1440p (a 58 FPS loss) and then to 90 FPS at 4K (a 54 FPS loss). The trend shows that higher presets make the GPU the near-exclusive bottleneck, as the frame rate collapse from 1080p to 4K becomes proportionally larger.

The data suggests that at Low settings, particularly at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter. The 376 FPS figure at 1080p Low is the highest in the entire dataset, and the gap to 1440p Low (336 FPS) is relatively modest, indicating that the GPU still has headroom but is being constrained by the processor’s frame pacing. By contrast, at 4K Ultra, the 90 FPS average represents a 76% drop from the 1080p Ultra result, which is a classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 5090 D’s fillrate and shading capabilities are saturated.

The most telling data point is the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS figures. At 1080p Medium, the average is 350 FPS with a min of 298 and max of 403. At 1440p Medium, the average is 282 FPS (min 240, max 324). At 4K Medium, the average is 175 FPS (min 149, max 202). The variance between min and max remains consistent at roughly 100-110 FPS across all three resolutions, suggesting that the frame time spikes are not resolution-dependent but rather a trait of the engine or driver overhead. However, the average FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium (a 175 FPS drop) is less aggressive than at Ultra (112 FPS drop from 202 to 90), which indicates that the Medium preset still allows the CPU to contribute more to overall throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 376, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 90 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth for horror titles.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low result compared to the 4K Ultra result?

A: The 1080p Low average of 376 FPS is more than four times higher than the 4K Ultra average of 90 FPS, a difference of 286 FPS.

Q: What is the performance delta between the 1440p High and 4K High presets?

A: The 1440p High average is 231 FPS, while the 4K High average is 144 FPS, representing a 87 FPS drop when moving to 4K.

Q: Are there any settings where the CPU becomes the limiting factor?

A: At 1080p Low, the 376 FPS result suggests CPU limitation, as the GPU has more capacity than the processor can feed, evidenced by the relatively small FPS gain when moving from 1440p Low (336 FPS) to 1080p Low.

Q: What is the range of average FPS across all measured configurations?

A: The average FPS ranges from a low of 90 at 4K Ultra to a high of 376 at 1080p Low, a span of 286 FPS across the 12 measured data points.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 1440p is the most compelling option in the dataset. The 231 FPS average at 2560x1440 High provides a significant margin above high-refresh-rate displays, and the visual quality jump from Medium is typically substantial. The 4K High preset, at 144 FPS, is also viable for users with 4K 120Hz or 144Hz monitors, as it stays above the refresh threshold in average terms.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p displays. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average of 202 FPS is still exceptionally high, and the visual improvements over High are often subtle in horror titles where lighting and shadows matter. However, dropping to 1440p Ultra reduces the average to 144 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play but acceptable for single-player horror. The 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS is playable but sacrifices the high-refresh advantage that the RTX 5090 D is capable of delivering.

The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution, as the frame rate gains are disproportionate to the visual quality loss. At 1080p Low, the 376 FPS average is the only scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck, and the 40 FPS gain over 1440p Low (336 FPS) does not justify the graphical downgrade. For users seeking maximum frame rates, 1080p Medium (350 FPS) offers a better compromise, with the 26 FPS difference to Low being a minor trade-off for significantly better visuals.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear hierarchy: Low leads with 376 FPS average, followed by Medium at 350 FPS, High at 324 FPS, and Ultra at 202 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is significant at 122 FPS, suggesting that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 298 and max of 403 indicate a frame time variance of 105 FPS, which is the smallest absolute range among the 1080p presets that have min/max data, but proportionally similar to other resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the ordering remains the same but the margins compress. Low averages 336 FPS, Medium 282 FPS, High 231 FPS, and Ultra 144 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 87 FPS, which is less severe than at 1080p but still substantial. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a min of 240 and max of 324, a range of 84 FPS, which is tighter than the 1080p Medium range.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the dominant bottleneck. Low averages 214 FPS, Medium 175 FPS, High 144 FPS, and Ultra 90 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 124 FPS drop, which is the largest absolute difference between the lowest and highest presets at any resolution. The High preset at 4K (144 FPS) matches the Ultra preset at 1440p (144 FPS), indicating that the GPU workload at these two configurations is comparable. The 4K Medium preset’s min FPS of 149 and max of 202 show that even at lower settings, the GPU is struggling to maintain consistency, with a 53 FPS variance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination holds a rank of 50 out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the top 1.7% of all configurations, a position that is consistent with the measured FPS figures being among the highest in the database. The rank is determined by the overall performance across all resolutions and settings, and the data suggests that this combo excels particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU and GPU are better balanced.

The GPU’s individual percentile ranking is 92, meaning it outperforms 92% of all GPUs in the benchmark database. The CPU’s percentile ranking is 75, which is lower but still above the median. The discrepancy between the two percentiles explains why the combo’s rank (50th) is higher than the CPU’s percentile (75th) but lower than the GPU’s (92nd). The RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of the combo’s high rank, but the Ryzen 5 5600X is sufficient to avoid dragging the overall score down at most settings.

In terms of direct rivals, the RTX 5090 D’s nearest competitor in the GPU benchmark is the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, which has an average score 1.1% higher. However, this is a misleading comparison, as the RX 6650M XT is a mobile GPU, and the RTX 5090 D’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the more relevant metric. The CPU’s nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, which scores 0.1% higher on average, effectively a tie. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 5600X is performing exactly at the level expected of its class, with no significant overhead or deficiency.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor’s benchmark scores show a strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 917 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1541. Multi-threaded performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11838 and a Geekbench multicore score of 9173.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the 376 FPS average represents a ceiling that the GPU cannot exceed. The fact that the 1440p Low result (336 FPS) is only 40 FPS lower suggests that the GPU is not fully saturated at 1440p Low either, and the CPU is likely limiting frame generation. However, at higher presets and resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU’s influence diminishes.

The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5582 and max-thread score of 5588 indicate that the processor’s 12 threads are being fully utilized in synthetic tests, but the game’s engine may not scale perfectly to 12 threads. The Passmark single-thread score of 3364 is respectable, but the data from Downfall suggests that the game is more dependent on sustained single-core boost clocks than on raw multi-thread throughput. The 4.60 GHz boost clock is likely the key factor in achieving the high frame rates at 1080p, as the latency-sensitive horror genre benefits from low frame times.

The CPU’s 32 MB L3 cache is a notable asset for game workloads, as it reduces the need to access system memory. The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is standard for DDR4 dual-channel, and it does not appear to be a limiting factor in the measured results. The processor’s PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes is sufficient for the RTX 5090 D’s PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, though the GPU can operate at Gen 4 speeds without significant performance loss in most games. Overall, the Ryzen 5 5600X provides enough single-thread performance and cache capacity to feed the RTX 5090 D at all but the most CPU-intensive configurations, making it a capable partner for this high-end GPU in Downfall.