Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers remarkably high frame rates across all tested resolutions in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly favors strong GPU throughput. The measured data shows this combination ranks 210th out of 2,928 tested combos, placing it in the top 7.2% of all configurations. With 6 cores, 12 threads, and a 96 MB shared L3 cache on the CPU side, paired with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute on the GPU, this system produces triple-digit average FPS even at 4K Ultra settings. The benchmark results reveal a configuration that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the RTX 4080 SUPER acting as the primary performance driver in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not catastrophic, indicating a well-balanced system where the GPU becomes increasingly dominant at higher resolutions. At Low settings, average FPS falls from 391 at 1920x1080 to 284 at 2560x1440, then to 177 at 3840x2160 — a cumulative reduction of 54.7% from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 816.0 GTexel/s texture rate are progressively taxed by the increasing pixel count.

The Medium settings row shows a similar trajectory: 325 FPS at 1080p, 232 FPS at 1440p, and 144 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.6%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.9%. This accelerating decline suggests that memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at 4K, though the 16 GB frame buffer prevents any capacity-related stutters. The High settings row follows the same pattern, with 267 FPS at 1080p, 190 FPS at 1440p, and 118 FPS at 4K — a 55.8% total reduction.

Ultra settings produce the steepest scaling curve: 167 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 28.7%, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 37.8%, nearly identical to the Medium settings percentages. This consistency across presets indicates that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU's raw throughput rather than any specific setting interaction. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores do not appear to create bottlenecks in this title, as the game's 2016 release predates widespread ray tracing adoption.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU's 4.50 GHz boost clock and 96 MB L3 cache are sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 391 FPS Low-settings result. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 391 to 167 FPS) is more pronounced than at 4K (from 177 to 74 FPS), indicating that the CPU can still influence performance at lower resolutions when the GPU is not fully saturated.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing smooth gameplay at 4K, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The measured data shows 144 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 123 FPS and maximum of 166 FPS. This frame time consistency, with only a 43 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, suggests a stable experience well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 4K drops to 118 FPS average, which remains playable but offers less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 190 FPS average, making this the recommended configuration for high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump to Ultra at this resolution yields 119 FPS, still above 60 FPS but representing a 37.4% performance penalty for the highest visual fidelity. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 284 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most displays and would only be useful for competitive play or when minimizing input latency.

For 1920x1080, even Ultra settings produce 167 FPS average, so players with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors can enable maximum quality without compromising smoothness. The Medium preset at 1080p reaches 325 FPS, which approaches the theoretical maximum for many displays. The measured minimum of 276 FPS at Medium settings indicates that frame pacing remains consistent even under load.

The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor, as even Ultra settings at 4K only reduce average FPS to 74 — a performance-bound, not capacity-bound, result. For the best experience per the measured rows, Medium at 4K or High at 1440p provides the optimal combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear performance driver in this configuration, with its 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2550 MHz are complemented by 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. These specifications translate directly to the measured FPS results, which show the GPU scaling almost linearly with resolution when settings remain constant.

Benchmark results place the RTX 4080 SUPER at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,209. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, scores 54,247 — a delta of just -0.1%, indicating that the SUPER variant offers essentially identical performance in synthetic tests. More distant competitors include the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54,828 (+1.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 55,698 (+2.7% delta), though these differences are within normal manufacturing variance.

The GPU's 320 W TDP and 1x 16-pin power connector requirement are consistent with its performance class. The 16 GB GDDR6X frame buffer proves ample for Downfall, as even the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K does not trigger any memory-related performance degradation. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores provide additional compute headroom, though this 2016 title does not appear to utilize them heavily based on the frame rate patterns.

The measured FPS at Low settings — 391 at 1080p, 284 at 1440p, and 177 at 4K — shows the GPU's raw rasterization capability. The transition from Low to Ultra at each resolution reveals the cost of advanced visual effects: at 1080p, the penalty is 224 FPS (57.3% reduction); at 1440p, it is 165 FPS (58.1%); and at 4K, it is 103 FPS (58.2%). This consistent percentage reduction across resolutions indicates that Ultra settings impose a uniform computational load regardless of pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings achieve 391 FPS average, representing the absolute ceiling for this combination. Medium settings produce 325 FPS average with a minimum of 276 and maximum of 374 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. High settings reach 267 FPS average, while Ultra settings still manage 167 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, does not bottleneck the GPU at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains high but shows the expected scaling. Low settings deliver 284 FPS average, a 27.4% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings achieve 232 FPS with a minimum of 197 and maximum of 267 FPS. High settings produce 190 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 119 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER remains the limiting factor, as the CPU's 4.50 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-thread performance.

At 3840x2160, the configuration still delivers playable frame rates at every preset. Low settings reach 177 FPS average, Medium settings achieve 144 FPS with a minimum of 123 and maximum of 166 FPS, High settings produce 118 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 74 FPS. The 4K results show that even the most demanding configuration remains above 60 FPS, making this combination suitable for 4K gaming.

The Medium settings row is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data across all resolutions: 276-374 FPS at 1080p, 197-267 FPS at 1440p, and 123-166 FPS at 4K. The frame time variance, measured as the difference between minimum and maximum, is 98 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. This decreasing variance with higher resolution suggests that GPU load becomes more consistent as pixel count increases, reducing CPU-induced frame time spikes.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this configuration in Downfall?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings provides 190 FPS average, making it the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate displays. At 4K, Medium settings deliver 144 FPS with a minimum of 123 FPS, which remains smooth and consistent.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209 in average benchmark score, while the RTX 4080 scores 54,247 — a difference of -0.1%. This places the SUPER variant statistically tied with its predecessor in raw performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low settings, the configuration reaches 391 FPS, indicating the CPU's 4.50 GHz boost clock and 96 MB L3 cache can feed the GPU effectively. The consistent percentage drop from Low to Ultra across all resolutions confirms GPU-bound scaling.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 74 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. While this is the lowest result in the dataset, it remains above 60 FPS and provides a playable experience for a horror title.

Q: How much VRAM does this game require at maximum settings?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB GDDR6X frame buffer is never stressed in the measured results. Even at 4K Ultra, the configuration maintains 74 FPS, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor for this 2016 title.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings achieve 284 FPS while Ultra settings produce 119 FPS — a difference of 165 FPS or roughly 58.1%. This shows that Ultra settings impose a significant computational load on the GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D serves as a capable partner to the RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 6 cores and 12 threads providing adequate processing power for Downfall. The CPU's 96 MB shared L3 cache (a hallmark of the X3D series) and 4.50 GHz boost clock contribute to the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. The 5 nm process node and 11,270 million transistors on a 71 mm² die indicate a modern, power-efficient design with a 65 W TDP.

Benchmark results place the CPU at the 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 44,573. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, scores 44,466 — a delta of 0.2%, while the Intel Core i9-13950HX scores 44,342 (0.5% delta). The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 scores 44,309 (0.6% delta), and the Intel Core i5-14600 scores 44,889 (-0.7% delta). These closely clustered scores indicate that the 7500X3D performs similarly to a range of high-end laptop and desktop processors.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration provides 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient to feed the GPU's 736.3 GB/s memory interface without creating a bottleneck. The PCIe Gen 5 support with 24 lanes ensures that the RTX 4080 SUPER's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface operates at full bandwidth. The integrated Radeon Graphics provide a fallback display output, though the discrete GPU handles all rendering duties in this configuration.

The measured FPS data reveals that the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is 224 FPS, suggesting the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU is not fully saturated. At 4K, this gap narrows to 103 FPS, confirming that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The CPU's 12 threads and 96 MB L3 cache are particularly effective for maintaining minimum frame rates, as evidenced by the Medium settings minimums: 276 FPS at 1080p, 197 FPS at 1440p, and 123 FPS at 4K — all well above playable thresholds.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 210th out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 7.2% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's 86th percentile performance among all GPUs and the CPU's 89th percentile among all CPUs, with the combination outperforming the vast majority of systems in this horror title.

The rank is particularly strong given the game's 2016 release date, which benefits from the GPU's raw rasterization power but does not utilize modern features like ray tracing or DLSS. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 816.0 GTexel/s texture rate are the primary drivers of the high frame rates, while the CPU's 96 MB L3 cache ensures consistent minimum FPS.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER's -0.1% delta from the RTX 4080 suggests that this combination would perform nearly identically to one using the non-SUPER variant. The CPU's closest competitor, the Intel Core i5-14600, scores 0.7% higher on average, indicating that alternative CPU choices would not meaningfully alter the game's performance. The combination's 210th rank out of 2,928 places it in the upper echelon of systems capable of running Downfall at high frame rates across all resolutions and settings, making it a top-tier choice for this title.