Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Downfall, with the data showing that the High preset at 1440p is the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity and frame rate. This combo ranks in the 55th percentile of tested configurations, indicating a solid, mid-to-high-tier performer that handles the horror title with ease at mainstream resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows show a clear hierarchy of presets. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 106.7 FPS average, which is playable, but the High preset jumps to 174.1 FPS—a 63% improvement that costs little in visual terms. Given that this is a horror game where smoothness matters for immersion, High at 1080p is the recommended starting point. At 1440p, the High preset averages 124.9 FPS, which is excellent for a 144Hz monitor, while Ultra drops to 75.1 FPS. Since the gap between High and Ultra is substantial (49.8 FPS at 1440p), High is the pragmatic choice unless you prioritize absolute visual fidelity over responsiveness. The Medium preset at 1440p (149.4 FPS) offers an alternative for those who want higher frame rates than High, but the visual downgrade is often not worth it when High already clears 120 FPS. At 4K, the story changes: High averages 77 FPS, which is playable, but Ultra falls to 47 FPS—below the 60 FPS threshold many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset (95.3 FPS) provides the best balance, as it maintains high detail while keeping frame rates well above the playability line. The Low preset, while hitting 259.2 FPS at 1080p, is only recommended for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays, as the visual quality loss is significant.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. The High preset at 3840x2160 averages 77 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS baseline. However, the Ultra preset drops to 47 FPS, so you should avoid Ultra at 4K. The Medium preset (95.3 FPS) is the safest choice for 4K.

Q: How much performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is 152.5 FPS. Low averages 259.2 FPS, while Ultra averages 106.7 FPS. This represents a 143% increase in frame rate when dropping from Ultra to Low, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 124.9 FPS, which is close to but slightly below 144Hz. If you have a 144Hz display, you may want to use the Medium preset (149.4 FPS) to ensure the frame rate stays near the refresh rate cap. The Low preset (182.5 FPS) also works if you prioritize maximum smoothness.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops by roughly half across all presets (e.g., High from 174.1 to 77 FPS). This scaling pattern is typical of GPU-bound scenarios, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant while the GPU struggles with more pixels.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: In the average benchmark score, the RTX 3070 (28238) sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985), which is 0.9% slower. It also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956), which is 1% slower. The data shows the RTX 3070 is positioned between these cards, with a 1.1% gap to the faster AMD FirePro S7150 (28409).

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25064. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (25057, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25099, -0.1% delta). It is 0.3% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24993), showing that these four CPUs are nearly identical in overall synthetic performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo averages 174.1 FPS. Dropping to 1440p High reduces this to 124.9 FPS, a 28% decrease. Moving to 4K High further reduces it to 77 FPS, a 56% decrease from 1440p and a 56% decrease from 1080p. This pattern is consistent across all presets: Low goes from 259.2 (1080p) to 182.5 (1440p) to 114.8 (4K); Medium goes from 212.2 to 149.4 to 95.3; Ultra goes from 106.7 to 75.1 to 47. The frame rate roughly halves when going from 1080p to 4K, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-bound workload. The fact that the relative drops are similar across presets (around 50-56% from 1080p to 4K) indicates that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p and 1440p results to be closer together, as the CPU would struggle to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. Instead, the consistent scaling suggests that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 5 8400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads have enough headroom to keep up.

How This Combo Ranks

In Downfall, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 780th out of 1741 tested combos. This places it in the 55th percentile, meaning it outperforms more than half of all configurations tested. While this is not a top-tier ranking, it is a strong mid-range result. To contextualize, the RTX 3070 itself ranks in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, and the Ryzen 5 8400F ranks in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. The combo ranking is slightly lower than either individual component’s percentile, which suggests that the pairing may not be perfectly balanced for this specific title—the GPU may be the limiting factor, as indicated by the resolution scaling analysis. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 25064 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X at 25057, AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 at 25099, and AMD Ryzen 5 7500F at 24993), all within 0.3% of each other. This means that swapping the CPU for a comparable model would likely yield negligible performance changes in Downfall. The GPU’s position among rivals (AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 27985, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 27956) similarly shows that the RTX 3070 is a solid mid-range performer, with the 0.9-1% differences unlikely to be noticeable in real-world gameplay.

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 65 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 951 in 3DMark single-thread and 6165 in 3DMark max threads. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 2943 single-core and 20851 multi-core. These numbers indicate a strong modern CPU that should not bottleneck a mid-range GPU like the RTX 3070 at typical gaming resolutions. In Downfall, the data supports this: the frame rates scale consistently with resolution, suggesting the CPU is not the limiting factor. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample memory bandwidth for gaming workloads. The CPU’s 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a capable performer, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.3% in average benchmark score, making the choice between them largely irrelevant for this game. The 12 threads are sufficient for modern game engines, and the 4 nm process node from TSMC ensures efficient power delivery. For Downfall, a horror game that is not typically CPU-intensive, the Ryzen 5 8400F provides more than enough processing power, allowing the RTX 3070 to be the primary determinant of frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers high frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 259.2 FPS, Medium averages 212.2 FPS, High averages 174.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 106.7 FPS. All presets are above 100 FPS, making 1080p an easy target for this hardware. At 2560x1440, the results remain strong but show more differentiation. Low averages 182.5 FPS, Medium averages 149.4 FPS, High averages 124.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 75.1 FPS. The Ultra preset drops below 100 FPS, but the other three presets are all comfortably above 120 FPS. At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low averages 114.8 FPS, Medium averages 95.3 FPS, High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. Only the Low preset remains above 100 FPS at 4K. The step-down from High to Ultra at 4K is particularly steep—a 30 FPS drop (from 77 to 47)—indicating that the Ultra preset includes settings that are disproportionately heavy on the GPU. The data shows that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB memory buffer is sufficient for this game at 4K High (77 FPS), but the Ultra preset likely pushes beyond what the memory bandwidth and compute units can handle efficiently. For players with a 144Hz 1080p monitor, the High preset (174.1 FPS) is ideal, as it exceeds the refresh rate. For 1440p 144Hz users, the Medium preset (149.4 FPS) is necessary to stay above the refresh cap, while High (124.9 FPS) is a good alternative if you can tolerate slight dips below 144. The measured FPS values are all above 60 at 1440p High, ensuring a smooth experience for the majority of players.