Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Downfall, with the measured data showing this combination ranks 631st out of 2,928 tested combos — placing it in the top 21.5% of all system configurations for this horror title. The 6-core/12-thread Zen 4 processor, with its 96 MB shared L3 cache, combines with the Ada Lovelace GPU to produce frame rates that remain playable even at 4K Ultra, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component's influence begins and ends. This is a system that prioritizes high-refresh 1440p gaming while still offering viable 4K performance at reduced settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across three resolutions tells a clear story about how this combo handles Downfall's rendering demands. At 1080p Low, the system produces 312 FPS average, dropping to 223 FPS at 1440p Low and 139 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 55.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed as pixel count rises. The RTX 4070's 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the load, but the scaling is not linear — moving from 1440p to 4K costs 37.7% of the 1440p performance at Low settings.

At Medium settings, the pattern intensifies: 256 FPS at 1080p, 182 FPS at 1440p, and 114 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop here is 55.5%, nearly identical to Low, which suggests the rendering pipeline is consistently GPU-bound across these settings. However, the High preset reveals a different dynamic: 210 FPS at 1080p, 150 FPS at 1440p, and 93 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p penalty is 28.6%, while 1440p-to-4K costs 38.0% — the gap widens at higher resolutions because the GPU's shading units (5,888) and texture units (184) are being fed progressively larger workloads.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 131 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction is 55.7%, similar to other presets, but the absolute numbers reveal that 4K Ultra pushes this combo to its limit. The 58 FPS average at 4K Ultra is just above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth, and the lack of min/max data for that configuration suggests the frame pacing may be less stable than at lower settings. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p Low, where 312 FPS approaches the practical ceiling for many displays — at this point, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 4.50 GHz boost clock and 6 cores are keeping up with the GPU's output, but the GPU is clearly the limiting factor for all but the most extreme frame rate scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Downfall?

A: The maximum measured average is 312 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration exceeding 300 FPS, with 1080p Medium reaching 256 FPS and 1080p High hitting 210 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this processor and GPU combination?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the system averages 93 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 114 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 58 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Low setting achieves 139 FPS, so users targeting 4K should stick to Medium or High presets.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7500X3D compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 44,573, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44,466), 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44,342), and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44,309). It trails the Intel Core i5-14600 (44,889) by 0.7%.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 182 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 210 FPS. This configuration offers a strong balance for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Does the RTX 4070's performance relative to its GPU rivals translate to Downfall?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 37,648, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628), 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507), and 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37,157). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135) by 1.3%. These relative positions are consistent with the GPU being a mid-to-upper tier performer in this game.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 312 FPS while Ultra averages 131 FPS — a difference of 181 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers 58.0% less performance than Low. The gap narrows slightly at higher resolutions: 1440p Low (223 FPS) versus Ultra (94 FPS) is a 57.8% reduction, and 4K Low (139 FPS) versus Ultra (58 FPS) is a 58.3% reduction.

Settings Recommendations

For users seeking the best experience per the measured rows, the 1440p Medium preset stands out as the optimal balance. At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system delivers 182 FPS average with a minimum of 155 FPS and maximum of 210 FPS — this configuration provides well over 144 FPS for high-refresh monitors while maintaining visual fidelity above Low. The 155 FPS minimum ensures that even demanding scenes stay smooth, and the 210 FPS maximum shows headroom for less intense moments.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 offers 114 FPS average with a 97 FPS minimum and 131 FPS maximum. This is the only 4K configuration with min/max data available, and the 97 FPS floor indicates acceptable stability for most displays. The 4K High preset at 93 FPS average is also viable, but the lack of min/max data makes it harder to recommend with confidence — the Medium preset's documented 97 FPS minimum provides more assurance.

At 1080p, the High preset at 210 FPS average is the sensible choice for competitive play, as the jump to Low (312 FPS) offers diminishing returns for most displays, while Ultra (131 FPS) sacrifices significant performance for marginal visual gains. The 1080p Medium preset at 256 FPS with a 217 FPS minimum and 294 FPS maximum is also excellent, but High's higher fidelity at still-very-high frame rates makes it the better all-rounder.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p it still achieves 131 FPS, but at 1440p it drops to 94 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 58 FPS — below the 60 FPS threshold. Given that Medium at 4K provides nearly double the frame rate (114 FPS) with presumably similar visual quality, Ultra's performance cost is disproportionate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 631st out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 78.5th percentile of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a last-generation GPU — the rank indicates that this system outperforms the majority of tested setups while not reaching the top tier reserved for flagship components.

The CPU's general benchmark percentile of 89 (vs all CPUs) is higher than the combo's in-game rank percentile, suggesting that the processor has more headroom than the GPU in this title. The GPU's percentile of 81 (vs all GPUs) is closer to the combo's overall rank, reinforcing that the RTX 4070 is the more limiting factor in Downfall. However, the gap between the CPU's 89th percentile and the combo's 78.5th percentile also reflects that Downfall's engine — a 2016 horror title — may not fully utilize the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 6 cores and 12 threads, whereas newer games might extract more from the processor.

The nearest rival comparisons for both components provide context. The CPU's 0.2% advantage over the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and 0.5% over the Core i9-13950HX in average benchmark scores suggests that the 7500X3D is competitive with high-end mobile and desktop parts despite its lower core count. The GPU's 0.1% edge over the Tesla P4 and 0.4% over the RX Vega 56 positions the RTX 4070 as a solid mid-range performer, with the 1.3% deficit to the RTX 4080 Mobile indicating that a laptop GPU can slightly outperform this desktop card in synthetic tests — though the 4070's 200 W TDP and desktop cooling likely sustain performance better in real gaming scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D's specifications — 6 cores, 12 threads, 4.00 GHz base clock, 4.50 GHz boost clock, and 96 MB shared L3 cache — play a specific role in Downfall's performance. The 96 MB L3 cache is the standout feature, as it is triple the typical L3 capacity for a 6-core processor in this class, and it helps mitigate the CPU's relatively modest core count in scenarios where cached data can be reused. The 5 nm process from TSMC, with 11,270 million transistors on a 71 mm² die, contributes to the 65 W TDP, which keeps thermal headroom ample for sustained boost clocks.

In Downfall, the CPU's influence is most visible at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 312 FPS — a figure that requires the CPU to feed the GPU quickly enough to maintain such high output. The 4.50 GHz boost clock is critical here, as is the 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth from DDR5 dual-channel support. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,494 and multithread score of 25,047 provide context: the single-thread performance is strong for a 6-core part, while the multithread score reflects the 12-thread capacity.

However, the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the 58 FPS average is almost certainly GPU-limited, as the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are taxed by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K resolution. The shift from 1080p Low (312 FPS) to 4K Low (139 FPS) — a 55.4% drop — is far larger than what a CPU bottleneck would produce, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint in most configurations. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 2,779 and find prime numbers score of 221 indicate modest compute capabilities that are sufficient for a 2016 horror game but would likely struggle in CPU-heavy modern titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 312 FPS average
• Medium: 256 FPS average, 217 FPS minimum, 294 FPS maximum
• High: 210 FPS average
• Ultra: 131 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 223 FPS average
• Medium: 182 FPS average, 155 FPS minimum, 210 FPS maximum
• High: 150 FPS average
• Ultra: 94 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 139 FPS average
• Medium: 114 FPS average, 97 FPS minimum, 131 FPS maximum
• High: 93 FPS average
• Ultra: 58 FPS average

The data shows consistent scaling across all four settings presets. At 1080p, the range from Low (312 FPS) to Ultra (131 FPS) spans 181 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 129 FPS (223 to 94), and at 4K it compresses to 81 FPS (139 to 58). This compression at higher resolutions is typical of GPU-bound scenarios — as pixel count increases, the relative cost of each setting level grows, reducing the absolute spread between presets.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all three resolutions, providing the most detailed picture of frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the 217 FPS minimum and 294 FPS maximum show a 77 FPS spread, indicating some variation but generally smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the 155-210 FPS range (55 FPS spread) is tighter, and at 4K Medium, the 97-131 FPS range (34 FPS spread) is tighter still. This trend suggests that higher resolutions naturally reduce frame-time variance because the GPU's consistent workload smooths out CPU-side hitches.

The absence of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra presets at most resolutions limits the analysis of frame stability, but the average FPS figures alone are sufficient to characterize the combo's capabilities. The 4K Ultra result of 58 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, making it the sole configuration where this system cannot maintain a smooth experience. Every other measured setting and resolution combination exceeds 93 FPS, with 14 of 12 configurations (all except 4K Ultra) achieving at least 93 FPS average.