Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 5 7400F + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a surprisingly competent experience in Downfall, a horror title from 2016 that clearly favors higher resolutions than typical esports fare. The data reveals a system that can push well past 100 FPS at 1440p on medium settings, yet struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K ultra — a pattern that points directly at the aging GPU as the primary constraint. With the CPU sitting in the 83rd percentile among all processors and the GPU in the 58th percentile, this combination ranks 1603rd out of 2928 tested combos in this specific game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of systems.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives in this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 145 at 1920x1080 to 103 at 2560x1440, then plummets to 64 at 3840x2160. That represents a 29% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 38% reduction from 1440p to 4K — a pattern that shows the GTX 1080 Ti struggling more as pixel count increases, which is classic GPU-bound behavior.

The Low settings row reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the system hits 216 FPS average, which drops to 154 at 1440p (a 29% decline) and then to 96 at 4K (a 38% decline). The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings presets suggests that the resolution scaling penalty is relatively uniform regardless of graphical load — the GPU is simply running out of pixel-pushing capability at higher resolutions, independent of how much detail is being rendered.

Comparing the Medium preset across resolutions provides additional insight into the scaling curve. At 1080p Medium, the average is 176 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 126; and at 4K, it reaches 78. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 50 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 48 FPS — nearly identical drops, indicating that the scaling is roughly linear as resolution increases. This linearity suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate are being taxed proportionally with each pixel count increase, rather than hitting a sudden cliff.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. From 90 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p, then down to 40 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 25 FPS, but the 1440p-to-4K drop is also 25 FPS, again maintaining that linear pattern. However, the fact that 4K Ultra falls to 40 FPS — well below the 60 FPS threshold many consider playable — indicates that the Ultra preset at 4K is simply too demanding for this hardware combination.

What does this scaling imply about the limiting component? If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at lower resolutions, with 1080p and 1440p results being much closer together. Instead, the consistent ~30% drop from 1080p to 1440p and another ~38% from 1440p to 4K across all settings points to the GPU as the sole limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 7400F, with its Zen 4 architecture and 6 cores / 12 threads, has ample headroom to feed frames at 1080p — the 216 FPS Low result suggests the CPU is not breaking a sweat.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data offers a clear hierarchy of playable experiences across the three resolutions. For users targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the choices are straightforward. At 1920x1080, every preset — from Low at 216 FPS to Ultra at 90 FPS — exceeds that threshold comfortably, giving players the freedom to prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 176 FPS average (with a minimum of 150 FPS) represents a particularly strong balance, offering a significant jump over Low while maintaining a wide margin above 60.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation becomes more nuanced. Ultra drops to 65 FPS average, which barely clears the 60 FPS line but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High sits at 103 FPS, Medium at 126 FPS (with a minimum of 107), and Low at 154 FPS. For most players, Medium at 1440p appears to be the sweet spot: it provides a framerate nearly double the 60 FPS target while retaining enough graphical detail to be visually pleasing. The minimum of 107 FPS on Medium is particularly reassuring, indicating that even in heavy moments, the frame rate won't dip below playable territory.

At 3840x2160, the options narrow considerably. Ultra averages just 40 FPS — below the 60 FPS threshold and likely to feel stuttery for many. High manages 64 FPS, which is right at the edge of playability but could dip lower in intense scenes. Medium reaches 78 FPS with a minimum of 67, making it the only 4K preset that consistently stays above 60. Low hits 96 FPS, which is the most comfortable 4K experience but sacrifices significant visual quality. For 4K owners, Medium appears to be the best compromise, delivering 78 FPS average with a minimum of 67 — enough to keep the horror atmosphere tense without technical hitches breaking immersion.

The data suggests that this combo's ideal usage profile is 1440p Medium or 1080p Ultra. At 1440p Medium, the system delivers 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107, providing a smooth experience that takes advantage of the CPU's strength. At 1080p Ultra, the 90 FPS average allows players to max out the game's visuals while still enjoying framerates well above 60. For 4K enthusiasts, the Medium preset at 78 FPS is the only sensible choice, as High and Ultra both hover dangerously close to or below the 60 FPS line.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, built on the Pascal architecture with a 16 nm process, is the clear performance driver in this pairing. Its 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that becomes crucial at higher resolutions where texture data demands grow exponentially. The card's 3584 shading units and 88 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s, which aligns with the observed resolution scaling behavior.

The GTX 1080 Ti's boost clock of 1582 MHz (base 1481 MHz) is modest by modern standards, but the card's raw compute throughput — 11.34 TFLOPS FP32 — remains substantial. In Downfall, the game's 2016 release date means it was designed for hardware of this era, and the GTX 1080 Ti was a top-tier card at that time. The benchmark data shows the GPU holding its own even at 4K, where it delivers 64 FPS at High settings — a respectable result for a card that launched in 2017.

The 11 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for Downfall. Horror games often feature large, detailed environments with heavy texture loads, and 11 GB provides ample headroom even at 4K with High settings. The fact that the 4K Ultra preset drops to 40 FPS suggests that the limiting factor at that setting is not memory capacity but rather the GPU's compute and fill rate capabilities. The card's 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate and 139.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are being saturated by the Ultra preset's demands.

Comparing the GTX 1080 Ti to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the data shows it sits remarkably close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, with the 1080 Ti scoring 1.7% higher in average benchmark score. This confirms the 1080 Ti's enduring power — a card from 2017 matching a 2019 mid-range offering. It also trails the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 by 0.8% and leads the AMD Radeon R9 M380 by 0.2%, placing it in a tight cluster of similarly-performing GPUs. The GTX 1080 Ti's 58th percentile among all GPUs indicates it remains a solid mid-pack performer, though clearly not a top-tier option in 2025.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset reveals consistent performance across the tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 216 FPS average on Low, 176 FPS on Medium (minimum 150, maximum 203), 145 FPS on High, and 90 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 150 FPS is notably high, suggesting that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate never dips below what would be considered extremely smooth.

At 2560x1440, the results show 154 FPS on Low, 126 FPS on Medium (minimum 107, maximum 145), 103 FPS on High, and 65 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 107 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p Medium the most reliable high-resolution option. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS average has no recorded minimum, which makes it difficult to assess its consistency, but the average itself is close enough to 60 that dips below are plausible.

The 3840x2160 results demonstrate the GPU's limits. Low settings produce 96 FPS average, Medium delivers 78 FPS (minimum 67, maximum 90), High reaches 64 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only option with a recorded minimum that stays above 60, providing a playable experience with a 67 FPS floor. High at 64 FPS average lacks a minimum measurement, so its consistency is unknown — it could dip below 60 in heavy scenes. Ultra at 40 FPS is clearly below playable standards for most users.

The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 14 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 24 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds a significant computational burden over High, likely through increased shadow quality, post-processing effects, or draw distances that disproportionately tax the GTX 1080 Ti. Conversely, the Low-to-Medium gap at 4K is 18 FPS, indicating that Medium adds meaningful visual improvements without an unreasonable performance penalty.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Downfall at 60 FPS in 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which average 78 FPS with a minimum of 67. High settings average 64 FPS but have no recorded minimum, making it risky. Ultra settings drop to 40 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium at 2560x1440 provides 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107 FPS, offering a strong balance of visual quality and performance. Ultra drops to 65 FPS average, which is closer to the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to the RTX 2060 in this system?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti scores 1.7% higher than the RTX 2060 in average benchmark score, according to the nearest rivals data. This indicates the 1080 Ti remains competitive with newer mid-range options.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F a bottleneck for the GTX 1080 Ti in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p Low, the system hits 216 FPS, which is far beyond what the GPU can sustain at higher resolutions. The consistent frame rate drops with increasing resolution indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest maximum FPS recorded is 40 at 4K Ultra settings. The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 67 at 4K Medium settings, though many configurations lack minimum FPS data.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Downfall?*

A: This combination ranks 1603rd out of 2928 tested combos, placing it in the 55th percentile of systems tested for this game. This is above average but not exceptional.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F, part of the 7000 series built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael), provides the computational foundation for this system. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz, this CPU delivers strong single-threaded performance that is essential for gaming. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 5 nm process node (fabricated by TSMC) contribute to its efficiency.

The CPU's benchmark results paint a picture of solid mid-range performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 3072 in single-core and 21765 in multi-core — numbers that place it comfortably above many competitors. Its PassMark single-thread score of 3689 and multithread score of 25645 further confirm its capabilities. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all processors indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database, making it a more than adequate partner for the GTX 1080 Ti.

Comparing the Ryzen 5 7400F to its nearest rivals, the data shows remarkably tight competition. It scores 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600T and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H by 0.2% and leading the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 by 0.3%. These sub-percent differences indicate that the 7400F sits at the very heart of a performance cluster, where any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical gaming experiences.

In Downfall specifically, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows no sign of CPU limitation — even at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 216 FPS, there's no plateau that would indicate the CPU struggling to keep up. The Ryzen 5 7400F's 12 threads and 4.70 GHz boost clock provide ample single-thread performance for a horror game that likely doesn't heavily utilize multiple cores. The 65 W TDP and DDR5 memory support (with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth) ensure the CPU doesn't starve the GPU for data.

How This Combo Ranks

In Downfall, this combination of AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 1603rd out of 2928 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested for this game. This ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing — the CPU is strong (83rd percentile), the GPU is competent but aging (58th percentile), and together they land in the 55th percentile of all combos.

The ranking suggests that this system outperforms roughly 55% of all tested configurations in Downfall, which is a respectable position for a combination featuring a GPU that launched in 2017. The GTX 1080 Ti's end-of-life production status means it's no longer competitive with modern top-tier GPUs, but its performance in this 2016 horror title remains solid. The game's age works in this system's favor — Downfall was released in February 2016, before the GTX 1080 Ti even launched, meaning the game's graphical demands are well within the GPU's capabilities.

The combo's rank is likely held back primarily by the GPU's limitations at 4K Ultra settings, where it drops to 40 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the system performs admirably, but the 4K Ultra result drags down its overall standing. For comparison, a system with a more modern GPU would likely achieve higher 4K performance, pushing this combo further down the rankings. However, for a system aimed at 1440p gaming, this rank is more than adequate.

The data implies that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming or maxed-out 1080p gaming, where it delivers framerates well above 100 FPS. Its 4K capabilities are limited to Medium settings, which still provide a playable experience. The 1603rd rank out of 2928 combos reflects this balanced but not exceptional performance profile, making it a reasonable mid-range choice for gamers who prioritize smooth 1440p play over 4K fidelity.