Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + Intel Arc B570

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but inconsistent experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The combo ranks 2343rd out of 2928 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, with performance that ranges from a smooth 163 FPS at 1080p Low to a barely playable 30 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data reveals a system that excels at lower resolutions and settings but struggles to maintain high frame rates when the GPU is pushed harder, suggesting a clear performance ceiling tied primarily to the graphics card rather than the processor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) using a 5 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, supporting DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. It uses the AMD Socket AM5 and has a launch MSRP of $179. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22799 and a single-core score of 3218, along with a Geekbench multicore score of 12362 and single-core score of 2374. Its 3DMark scores range from 974 in single-thread to 6379 in max-threads, while PassMark results show a multithread score of 26825 and a single-thread score of 3841.

In the context of Downfall, a horror game originally released in 2016, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The Ryzen 5 7500F's single-thread performance, as indicated by its 974 3DMark single-thread score and 3841 PassMark single-thread score, is more than adequate for a title from this era. The game does not appear to be CPU-bound at any tested setting, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, a pattern typical of GPU-limited scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 163 FPS, which is well beyond what a 2016 horror title would demand from the processor. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration with 32 MB of L3 cache provides ample headroom for the game's threading model, which likely does not exploit more than a few cores. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24964, places it in a competitive position relative to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i7-11850H (0.1% higher), AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (0.2% lower), Intel Core i7-13620H (0.2% higher), and Intel Core 5 210H (0.4% higher). These margins are negligible, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiating factor in the measured FPS results.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is a discrete graphics card based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically from the Battlemage (Arc 5) generation. It uses the BMG-G21 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU operates at a fixed clock speed of 2500 MHz for both base and boost, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It comes equipped with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units, along with 18 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), with a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The GPU has a 150 W TDP and uses a single 8-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 450 W. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and was released with a launch MSRP of 219 USD.

In synthetic tests, the Arc B570 achieves a PassMark G3D score of 14195 and a PassMark GPU compute score of 7281, with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scoring 2649. Its Geekbench scores are 83514 in OpenCL and 96844 in Vulkan. The GPU's percentile rank against all GPUs is 65, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% higher), Intel Arc A750 (0.1% lower), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (0.4% higher), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% lower). These close margins suggest the Arc B570 performs in a similar tier to these cards. For Downfall, the GPU's 10 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2016 title, even at 4K Ultra, as the game's texture requirements are modest by modern standards. The fixed 2500 MHz clock speed provides consistent performance across the board, though the card's overall throughput, indicated by its 11.52 TFLOPS FP32, appears to be the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS drops from 163 at 1080p Low to 30 at 4K Ultra, a pattern that strongly correlates with the GPU's rendering load rather than CPU limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system. At 1080p, the combo achieves 163 FPS on Low settings, 133 FPS on Medium, 109 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop to 116 FPS on Low, 95 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 49 FPS on Ultra. At 4K (3840x2160), the performance falls further to 72 FPS on Low, 59 FPS on Medium, 49 FPS on High, and 30 FPS on Ultra. This represents a reduction from 1080p Low to 4K Low of approximately 56%, and from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra of approximately 56% as well. The consistency of this drop across settings suggests that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

The pattern of performance degradation from 1080p to 4K reveals that the Arc B570's capabilities are stretched thin at higher pixel counts. At 1080p Low, the 163 FPS result indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution, and the CPU is not holding it back. However, at 4K Ultra, the 30 FPS average suggests the GPU is fully saturated. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases: at 1080p the difference between Low and Ultra is 95 FPS (163 vs 68), while at 4K the difference narrows to 42 FPS (72 vs 30). This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, the resolution itself becomes the dominant factor, and settings adjustments have diminishing returns. The Medium settings provide min and max FPS data at each resolution: 113-153 FPS at 1080p, 81-110 FPS at 1440p, and 50-68 FPS at 4K. These ranges show that the frame time consistency deteriorates with higher resolutions, with the 4K Medium range spanning 18 FPS, suggesting occasional dips that could be noticeable in a horror game where smoothness matters for atmosphere.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + Intel Arc B570 combination holds a rank of 2343 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 80th percentile of the tested database (lower rank means worse performance). This positioning indicates that the combo is in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems for this game, which is somewhat surprising given the relatively modern components. The rank suggests that a significant portion of tested combos, roughly 585, perform worse than this pairing, while over 2342 perform better. This places the system in a position where it can handle the game at moderate settings and resolutions, but it will not excel at high-end configurations.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 against all CPUs suggests it is a reasonably capable processor, but the GPU's percentile rank of 65 against all GPUs indicates that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing. The combination of a mid-to-high-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU results in a system that is balanced toward CPU capability, but the GPU's limitations become apparent at higher settings and resolutions. In Downfall, this manifests as a system that can achieve high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on lower settings, but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on anything above Medium settings. The rank of 2343 out of 2928 suggests that for this specific game, the combo is outclassed by many other configurations, likely those with more powerful GPUs that can handle higher resolutions and settings simultaneously. The close rival scores for both the CPU (within 0.4% of its nearest competitors) and GPU (within 0.5% of its nearest competitors) indicate that small hardware differences could shift this ranking significantly, but as tested, the combo sits in a crowded middle ground where incremental improvements in either component could yield better results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results: 163 FPS on Low, 133 FPS on Medium (with min 113 and max 153), 109 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is capable of smooth gameplay even on High settings, with only Ultra dropping below 100 FPS. The Medium settings' min-max range of 113-153 FPS shows a 40 FPS spread, which is acceptable for most gaming scenarios. At 1080p, the system is clearly playable across all settings, with even Ultra maintaining a respectable 68 FPS average.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings yield 116 FPS, Medium produces 95 FPS (min 81, max 110), High delivers 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. At this resolution, High settings remain playable with 78 FPS, but Ultra dips below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable in a horror game that relies on smooth motion for tension. The Medium settings' min-max range of 81-110 FPS shows a 29 FPS spread, tighter than at 1080p but still indicating some frame time variability. At 1440p, the system is best suited for Medium or High settings to maintain a consistent experience.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates on higher settings. Low settings produce 72 FPS, Medium drops to 59 FPS (min 50, max 68), High yields 49 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings achieve above 60 FPS, while Medium hovers near the threshold and High/Ultra fall below it. The Medium settings' min-max range of 50-68 FPS shows an 18 FPS spread, with the minimum dropping to 50 FPS, which could result in noticeable stutters during intense scenes. At 4K Ultra, the 30 FPS average is borderline unplayable for a horror game where responsiveness matters, and this setting is not recommended based on the data. The progression across resolutions shows a clear pattern: the combo delivers excellent results at 1080p, acceptable results at 1440p with settings compromises, and limited results at 4K where only Low settings provide a consistently smooth experience.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 on High settings delivers 109 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides good visual quality. At 1440p, Medium settings at 95 FPS is the highest quality option that maintains smooth performance. At 4K, only Low settings at 72 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

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

A: The data shows that 4K is only playable on Low settings, which achieves 72 FPS. Medium settings at 4K drops to 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 49 FPS and 30 FPS respectively. For consistent 60+ FPS at 4K, only Low settings are viable.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in terms of synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it within 0.5% of its nearest rivals: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% higher), Intel Arc A750 (20582, 0.1% lower), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 0.4% higher), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, 0.5% lower). This indicates the GPU performs in a similar tier to these cards.

Q: What is the CPU's performance ranking relative to other processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F has a percentile rank of 77 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24964. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935, 0.1% higher), AMD Ryzen 5 8400F (25005, 0.2% lower), Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.2% higher), and Intel Core 5 210H (24872, 0.4% higher).

Q: Does the system show signs of being CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Downfall?

A: The data strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, frame rates drop consistently across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU limitation. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (3841 PassMark single-thread score) is more than sufficient for a 2016 title, and the frame rate scaling pattern confirms the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How consistent are frame times across different settings?

A: The Medium settings provide min and max FPS data at each resolution. At 1080p, the range is 113-153 FPS (40 FPS spread), at 1440p it is 81-110 FPS (29 FPS spread), and at 4K it is 50-68 FPS (18 FPS spread). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame time consistency improves as the GPU becomes more saturated, but the lower minimums at 4K could lead to noticeable dips.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, High settings at 109 FPS provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while offering improved detail over Medium at 133 FPS. Ultra at 68 FPS is also playable but offers diminishing returns over High, and the 41 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual improvements in a dark, atmospheric horror game where lighting effects are more impactful than texture detail.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings at 95 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a solid frame rate while maintaining visual quality. High at 78 FPS is still playable and may be preferable for those prioritizing visual fidelity, but the drop to 49 FPS on Ultra makes that setting less viable for smooth gameplay. The Medium settings' min-max range of 81-110 FPS suggests acceptable frame time consistency, though the minimum of 81 FPS indicates occasional dips that are unlikely to be problematic in a slow-paced horror title.

At 3840x2160, Low settings at 72 FPS is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K play. Medium at 59 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 50 FPS that could cause noticeable stutters during intense sequences. High at 49 FPS and Ultra at 30 FPS are not recommended for a playable experience. The 4K Low setting still provides a 72 FPS average, which is acceptable for the genre, though the reduced visual quality may detract from the atmospheric horror experience. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, 1440p High at 78 FPS offers a better compromise than 4K Medium, as the resolution difference is less impactful in a horror game than in fast-paced action titles. Overall, the data suggests that 1080p High or 1440p Medium are the sweet spots for this combo, providing smooth performance without excessive visual compromises.