Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination occupies a position deep in the lower tier of tested hardware for Downfall, ranking 1540th out of 1741 combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, a stark indicator that this pairing is far from ideal for the horror title. The CPU itself is a powerhouse relative to its peers, but the GPU’s age and limitations become the dominant factor in this game, dragging the overall combo ranking down despite the processor’s strength. The data suggests a significant bottleneck, where the graphics card struggles to keep pace with the CPU’s capabilities, resulting in a system that underperforms relative to its potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 1540 out of 1741 tested configurations is a clear verdict: this is a low-performing setup for Downfall. The system is positioned in the bottom 11.5% of all tested combos, indicating that a vast majority of other pairings deliver better frame rates. This ranking is not a reflection of a weak CPU; the Ryzen 5 9600X performs exceptionally well in synthetic benchmarks, sitting in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 28246 puts it in a tight cluster with rivals like the Intel Core i5-13490F (28173, 0.3% faster) and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (28369, 0.4% slower). The CPU’s performance is effectively on par with its nearest competitors, showing no deficiency in processing power.

The bottleneck is unmistakably the GPU. The GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, while a capable card in its own right, ranks in the 55th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 14286. This places it in direct competition with integrated graphics solutions like the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352, 0.5% faster) and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315, 0.2% faster). The fact that a discrete GPU is trading blows with integrated graphics in synthetic tests highlights its age and limited compute resources for a modern title like Downfall. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range, older GPU creates a massive imbalance. The data implies that the system’s overall in-game ranking is almost entirely determined by the GPU’s performance ceiling, with the CPU’s power going largely unused in this specific workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary determinant of this combo’s performance in Downfall. Its specifications reveal a hardware profile that is ill-suited for high-fidelity gaming at modern resolutions. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. While this was respectable at its launch in late 2019, the 6 GB frame buffer is a significant limitation for a game that demands more memory for higher textures and detail levels. The card’s 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs are also modest figures that contribute to its rendering throughput limits.

Clock speeds see a base of 1530 MHz and a boost of 1785 MHz, which are the maximums the card can achieve under load. These clocks, combined with the memory bandwidth, directly correlate with the average FPS figures seen in the measured data. For instance, at 1080p Ultra, the card produces 60.8 average FPS, a number that reflects its raw compute power. When settings are lowered to Low, the frame rate jumps to 144.4 FPS, suggesting that the card is less constrained by pixel throughput and more by memory capacity and shader complexity at higher settings. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is a theoretical measure of its single-precision compute capability, which is the core metric for traditional rasterization. The data shows a clear pattern: the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting factor. The CPU could push far more frames, but the GPU’s architecture and memory subsystem cannot keep up, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X holding back the GTX 1660 SUPER in Downfall?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The CPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 55th percentile. The CPU’s performance is far superior, meaning it is not the bottleneck. The GPU’s lower relative performance is the constraint.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested configurations for Downfall?

A: It ranks 1540th out of 1741 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested for this game. This is a low ranking that reflects the GPU’s limitations.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in Downfall?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 144.4, achieved at 1080p resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory.

Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K with High settings, it averages 46.1 FPS. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 25.9, which is below the threshold for smooth, playable performance.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: Its average benchmark score is 14286, which is within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389). It is also 0.2% slower than the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315), showing it competes with integrated graphics.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 1440p, High settings yield an average of 70 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 45.2 FPS. This is a substantial 24.8 FPS difference, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy load on the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is at its widest. Low settings produce an average of 144.4 FPS, which is a very playable frame rate. This drops to 119.9 FPS on Medium and 101.1 FPS on High. The most demanding setting, Ultra, brings the average down to 60.8 FPS. This shows that the GPU can handle 1080p well, but the step from High to Ultra is a significant performance hit.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU starts to show signs of stress. The Low setting average is 107.8 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium yields 87.5 FPS, and High produces 70 FPS. The Ultra setting drops to an average of 45.2 FPS, which is on the edge of playability for a horror game where smooth motion is important. The pattern continues at 3840x2160, where the GPU is clearly overburdened. Low settings average 63.9 FPS, Medium drops to 52.4 FPS, and High falls to 46.1 FPS. Ultra is nearly unplayable at 25.9 FPS average. The data shows a clear trend: the performance cost of increasing settings is consistent across all resolutions, but the base performance at 4K is too low to accommodate high-quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals crucial information about the system’s bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 144.4 at 1080p to 107.8 at 1440p, a 25.3% decrease. Moving to 4K, it drops to 63.9 FPS, a 55.7% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively constant as resolution increases, since the CPU workload doesn’t change much with resolution. Instead, the sharp drop indicates that the GPU is working at its maximum capacity and cannot maintain the same output when pixel count increases.

This is further confirmed by the High settings results. At 1080p High, the average is 101.1 FPS. At 1440p, it’s 70 FPS, and at 4K, it’s 46.1 FPS. The consistent and significant drops at each resolution step are a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and 6 GB frame buffer are insufficient to handle the increased data load of higher resolutions, especially with more complex textures. The data strongly implies that the CPU has ample headroom, and the frame rate is entirely dictated by the GPU’s rendering capabilities. The system is not CPU-limited at any resolution, as the 9600X could likely push far higher frame rates if paired with a stronger GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance for this combo is the High preset at 1080p. This setting delivers an average of 101.1 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (119.9 FPS) while maintaining a high frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable at 60.8 FPS, but the performance drop of 40 FPS from High may not justify the visual gains for all users. For those who prioritize a smoother experience, Medium at 1080p is a strong choice, offering nearly 120 FPS.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the High preset is the highest playable option, averaging 70 FPS. The Medium preset is also acceptable at 87.5 FPS, providing more headroom. Ultra at 1440p should be avoided, as the 45.2 FPS average is below the ideal playable range. At 4K, only the Low preset is recommended, with an average of 63.9 FPS. The Medium and High presets are borderline, and Ultra is not playable. The data suggests that for the best experience, the user should stick to 1080p with High or Medium settings. This allows the system to maintain frame rates that are responsive and visually clear, avoiding the stutter and blur that come with sub-30 FPS performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a modern, high-performance processor that is vastly overqualified for this GPU pairing. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture on a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz can boost up to 5.40 GHz, which is a substantial frequency advantage for gaming workloads. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB of L3 cache. This large cache is beneficial for games that have repeated data access patterns.

In synthetic tests, the 9600X scores 25525 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3603 in single-core, showcasing its immense processing power. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4570, and its Geekbench single-core score is 3363. These numbers far exceed what is necessary for Downfall. The game’s performance, as seen in the measured FPS, is not limited by the CPU. The fact that the frame rate scales dramatically with resolution and settings points to a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is likely sitting idle, waiting for the GPU to finish rendering frames. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a much more powerful GPU would unlock significantly higher frame rates in Downfall, as the CPU would have no trouble feeding frames to a faster graphics card. The current combo is a classic example of a CPU that is generations ahead of its GPU partner, leading to an underutilization of the processor’s capabilities.