Downfall

Downfall pairs the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F with the Intel Arc B390, a combination that produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data shows a system that can deliver playable performance at 1080p with lowered settings, but which becomes heavily constrained as resolution climbs toward 4K. This analysis examines the benchmark results for this specific pairing, interpreting what the numbers reveal about the balance between the CPU and GPU in this horror title.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 2589 out of 2928 tested combinations in this game. This places it in the lower portion of the database, indicating that most other pairings tested for Downfall deliver higher average frame rates.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in general benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005. This is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24964), 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935), and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H (24911). It trails the AMD EPYC 9474F by 0.4%, which scores 25103.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 1482, which is just 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 1.5% above the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460).

Q: What is the maximum measured average FPS for this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 106 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next best result is 87 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics that could be used as a fallback?

A: No. The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has no integrated graphics (N/A). All display output must come from the discrete GPU, which in this case is the Intel Arc B390.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F?

A: The launch MSRP is $170. This figure is provided for reference only; the benchmark data does not assess cost effectiveness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2589 out of 2928 tested pairs places this system firmly in the lower quartile of results for Downfall. That rank alone tells a clear story: among the combinations tested by the database, only 339 performed worse. The data suggests that this pairing is not well suited to pushing the game to high frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions.

What makes this ranking particularly interesting is the stark contrast between the two components. The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in general compute benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 25005 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964, a difference of just 0.2%. The GPU, however, tells a different story. The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482. That score is only 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710.

This imbalance is the defining characteristic of the combo. The CPU is clearly capable of feeding a much more powerful graphics card, but the Arc B390 becomes the limiting factor early. In Downfall, the result is a ranking that reflects the GPU's weakness rather than the CPU's strength. The data implies that pairing this CPU with a stronger GPU would yield substantially better results, while the current configuration leaves performance on the table.

The rank also suggests that for a game like Downfall, which is a horror title from 2016, the demands on the GPU are not trivial at higher settings. The measured FPS values show that even the best results are modest, which aligns with the low GPU percentile. The combo rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, but rather the entire system's ability to render the game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 106 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 76 FPS, a reduction of 30 FPS or roughly 28%. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 47 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result.

This scaling behavior indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any of these settings. The Arc B390's limited compute resources, characterized by its 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs, struggle to fill the additional pixels demanded by 1440p and 4K.

Looking at the High preset, the pattern holds. At 1080p, the average is 71 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 51 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 32 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 55% for High settings. For the Low preset, the drop from 106 FPS to 47 FPS represents a 56% reduction. This consistency across presets suggests that the scaling is primarily driven by resolution, not by the complexity of the graphics settings.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 87 FPS at 1080p, 62 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The only preset that shows a more dramatic decline is Ultra, which starts at 44 FPS at 1080p, drops to 32 FPS at 1440p, and collapses to 20 FPS at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the system is essentially unplayable, with an average frame rate that would likely cause noticeable stuttering in a horror game.

The data implies that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, suggest it has ample headroom. Even the most demanding preset at 1080p, Ultra, produces 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth. This indicates that the GPU is maxed out well before the CPU reaches its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo spans three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a complete picture of its capabilities. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 106 FPS, Medium delivers 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100, High yields 71 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44 FPS. These numbers show that 1080p is the only resolution where the system approaches playable frame rates across multiple presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings drop to 76 FPS, Medium averages 62 FPS with a range of 53 to 71, High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant for every preset, with the largest absolute decline seen in Low settings, which loses 30 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 32 FPS, is already below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The 3840x2160 results are the most telling. Low settings manage 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 44, High produces 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to just 20 FPS. At this resolution, even the lowest settings fail to reach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces frame rates that are likely to feel choppy in a game that relies on atmosphere and tension.

The Medium preset is the only one that includes minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 74 to 100 FPS, indicating a relatively stable experience. At 1440p, the range narrows to 53 to 71, and at 4K, it is 33 to 44. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving little variance in performance.

These numbers paint a clear picture: the combo is viable at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, marginal at 1440p with Low, and unsuitable for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves 44 FPS at 1080p and falls below 20 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant factor in this combo's performance, and its specifications explain why. The GPU is built on Intel's Xe3-LPG architecture, using a 3 nm process node from Intel. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units. The boost clock is 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz. These specifications result in a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, with an FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

The memory configuration is notable: the Arc B390 uses system shared memory, with a bus width and bandwidth that are system dependent. This means the GPU relies on the system's DDR5 memory, which for the Ryzen 5 8400F is limited to a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. This shared memory setup can be a bottleneck in memory-intensive scenes, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU needs to access larger textures and buffers.

The GPU's benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% slower), the GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% slower), and the GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% slower). This comparison shows that the Arc B390 is competitive with a range of low-end GPUs, but it is far from a performance powerhouse.

In Downfall, the GPU's limitations are evident in the resolution scaling. The fact that 1080p Low yields 106 FPS but 4K Ultra yields only 20 FPS suggests that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count at higher resolutions. The 24 ROPs are particularly constrained, as they handle the final pixel output. At 4K, the GPU must process four times as many pixels as at 1080p, and the ROP count simply cannot keep up.

The shared memory setup also plays a role. Since the GPU has no dedicated VRAM, it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth. In a game like Downfall, which is a horror title that may load large textures, this could cause stuttering or frame drops. However, the measured data shows relatively stable frame times for the Medium preset, suggesting that the memory system is adequate at lower settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 106 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers 87 FPS, which is also smooth, and the High preset at 71 FPS remains playable. The Ultra preset drops to 44 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the ideal range.

For players who prioritize frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot. It provides a 19 FPS improvement over High (87 vs 71) while likely offering better visual quality than Low. The minimum FPS of 74 for Medium is also solid, indicating that the frame rate does not dip below playable levels. The Low preset at 106 FPS is the best option for maximum smoothness, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it for a game like Downfall, where atmosphere matters.

At 2560x1440, the options are more limited. The Low preset at 76 FPS is the only setting that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 62 FPS is playable, but the minimum of 53 FPS suggests it can dip below the threshold. High at 51 FPS and Ultra at 32 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. For 1440p gaming, Low or Medium settings are the most viable choices.

At 3840x2160, the results are poor across the board. The Low preset at 47 FPS is the best option, but it is still below 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 39 FPS and High at 32 FPS are marginal, while Ultra at 20 FPS is unplayable. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not a realistic option for this combo, and players should either lower the resolution or accept a compromised experience.

The Medium preset stands out as the most balanced choice in the measured data. It is the only preset that includes minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a range of 74 to 100 at 1080p, 53 to 71 at 1440p, and 33 to 44 at 4K. This consistency suggests that Medium is the most stable preset, likely because it balances GPU load without overburdening the system. For most players, Medium at 1080p or 1440p offers the best combination of visual quality and performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Phoenix. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a TDP of 65 watts. The CPU is built on a 4 nm process node from TSMC, with 25,000 million transistors on a 178 mm² die. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache.

In terms of benchmark performance, the Ryzen 5 8400F scores 20851 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2943 in single-core. Its 3DMark scores range from 951 in single-thread to 6165 in max-threads. The PassMark multithread score is 24389, with a single-thread score of 3685. These results place the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25005.

The CPU's performance is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24964, just 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H score 24935 and 24911, respectively, representing 0.3% and 0.4% lower scores. The AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, which is 0.4% higher. This tight grouping suggests that the Ryzen 5 8400F is a solid mid-range processor that performs as expected for its class.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that performance scales with resolution in a way that points to GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the CPU is likely not the bottleneck, as the 106 FPS result is well within the CPU's capability. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1874 and single-thread score of 951 indicate strong single-core performance, which is important for games that rely on a few threads.

The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is also relevant for a modern horror game. While Downfall was released in 2016, it may still benefit from multiple threads for physics, AI, or streaming. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used data, which can help maintain consistent frame times. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support, with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, is sufficient for the GPU's shared memory needs, although it may limit performance in memory-heavy scenes.

The data implies that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. If the GPU were replaced with a more powerful model, the Ryzen 5 8400F would likely be able to support higher frame rates. The CPU's percentile rank of 77% contrasts sharply with the GPU's 9th percentile, highlighting the mismatch. For players considering upgrades, the CPU has headroom, but the GPU will need to be addressed first to improve Downfall performance.