Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a consistently playable experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a clear pattern: this combo is far more capable at 1080p and 1440p than at 4K, where only the Low and Medium presets remain fluid. The RTX 3060 Ti, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the Ryzen 5 9600X’s strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at lower resolutions. Measured results show the combo ranking 1840th out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier, with the 1080p Low preset hitting 235 FPS average and the 4K Ultra preset dropping to 44 FPS average—a stark 81% performance gap that underscores the GPU’s ceiling.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Downfall?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 235, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is followed closely by 192 FPS at 1080p Medium and 168 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, showing the combo’s strength at lower resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 105 on Low to 44 on Ultra. The Medium preset delivers 86 FPS average with a minimum of 73, while High sits at 70 FPS average. Only Low and Medium maintain averages above 60 FPS, indicating the GPU struggles with higher presets at 4K.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1840th out of 3716 tested combinations, which places it in the 50th percentile overall. This suggests it outperforms roughly half of all tested setups while trailing the other half, reflecting a balanced but not top-tier pairing.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck in Downfall?*

A: The data points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 235 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 44 FPS—a 191 FPS drop. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s single-thread score of 2183.5 in Cinebench R23 and its 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it has ample headroom, whereas the RTX 3060 Ti’s 59th percentile GPU ranking and 8 GB VRAM cap its high-resolution performance.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129. It sits 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16014) and 1.4% below both the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (score 16351) and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (score 16361). It is also 1.7% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (score 15862).

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming based on the measured data?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 113 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 70 FPS average. Medium offers 137 FPS average with a minimum of 117. For a balance of visual quality and smoothness, High is the strongest choice, since it provides over 100 FPS average while maintaining higher settings than Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing for Downfall. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU’s 4864 shading units and 80 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s, figures that align with the frame rates observed at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the GPU’s capabilities shine. The Low preset reaches 235 FPS average, and even Ultra maintains 99 FPS average. This indicates that at 1080p, the RTX 3060 Ti is not the limiting factor; the Ryzen 5 9600X’s processing power is sufficient to feed the GPU. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz and its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 help maintain high frame rates in a horror title that likely relies on single-threaded game logic.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to show its limits. High preset drops to 113 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 70 FPS average. The 1440p Medium preset, with a minimum of 117 FPS and average of 137, suggests the GPU can still handle moderate settings comfortably. However, the gap between 1080p and 1440p at the same preset—from 158 to 113 FPS at High, a 45 FPS reduction—indicates that the GPU’s rendering load is scaling with resolution as expected.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The High preset averages only 70 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 44 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a contributing factor, as higher resolutions and settings demand more memory for textures and geometry. The GPU’s 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16129, places it in the mid-range, which aligns with these 4K struggles. The RTX 3060 Ti’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1410 MHz are modest by current standards, further limiting high-resolution performance.

The GPU’s memory clock of 1750 MHz, translating to 14 Gbps effective, provides adequate bandwidth for 1080p and 1440p but not enough to prevent frame rate drops at 4K Ultra. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 3060 Ti is a capable 1080p and 1440p card, but its 8 GB frame buffer and mid-range compute power cap its 4K potential. For this game, the GPU role is to deliver high refresh rates at lower resolutions while accepting reduced settings at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how resolution scaling impacts this combo in Downfall. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops by roughly 30% across most presets. For High settings, the drop is from 158 to 113 FPS—a 45 FPS decrease. Low settings fall from 235 to 168 FPS, a 67 FPS decrease. Medium goes from 192 to 137 FPS, a 55 FPS decrease, and Ultra from 99 to 70 FPS, a 29 FPS decrease. This consistent reduction indicates that the GPU is handling the additional pixel load, but the CPU remains capable of keeping up.

The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is more severe. High settings drop from 113 to 70 FPS—a 43 FPS reduction, or 38% lower. Low settings fall from 168 to 105 FPS, a 63 FPS drop. Medium goes from 137 to 86 FPS, a 51 FPS drop, and Ultra from 70 to 44 FPS, a 26 FPS drop. The percentage losses at 4K are larger than those at 1440p, suggesting the GPU is approaching its memory and compute limits.

At 1080p, the combo achieves 235 FPS on Low, which is an exceptionally high frame rate. This suggests the CPU is not limiting performance at this resolution; the Ryzen 5 9600X’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and PassMark single-thread score of 4570, provides enough headroom for the GPU to run at full tilt. The 1080p Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 164 further confirms that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at this resolution.

The 4K results tell a different story. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS of 44 is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and even High at 70 FPS is borderline. The Medium preset at 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 offers the best 4K experience, but the Low preset at 105 FPS is the only one that provides comfortable headroom. The fact that 4K Low (105 FPS) is still lower than 1440p Ultra (70 FPS) might seem counterintuitive, but it reflects the GPU’s VRAM and bandwidth constraints at higher resolutions.

The limiting component shifts clearly with resolution. At 1080p, the combo is balanced, with both CPU and GPU contributing to high frame rates. At 1440p, the GPU becomes more influential, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops from 1080p. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, with the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth unable to sustain high settings. The CPU’s performance, meanwhile, remains consistent across resolutions, as its 6 cores and 12 threads with a 32 MB L3 cache provide stable processing power.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combo ranks 1840th out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall. This position places it near the middle of the pack, at roughly the 50.5th percentile. The rank reflects a pairing where the CPU is above average but the GPU is mid-range. The Ryzen 5 9600X sits at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. This places it ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE by 0.2% (score 29656), behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H by 0.5% (score 29868), behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT by 0.6% (score 29879), and behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS by 0.8% (score 29955).

The RTX 3060 Ti, in contrast, sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16129. This is a significant gap from the CPU’s 81st percentile, indicating that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (0.7% higher, score 16014), AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (1.4% lower, score 16351), AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (1.4% lower, score 16361), and AMD Radeon R9 370X (1.7% higher, score 15862). These narrow deltas show that the RTX 3060 Ti is competitive with other mid-range GPUs, but none of them are top-tier performers.

The combo’s rank of 1840 out of 3716 suggests that in Downfall, this pairing delivers frame rates that are better than half of all tested systems. However, the rank does not tell the full story. At 1080p Low, the combo’s 235 FPS average would likely place it in the top quartile of performance, while at 4K Ultra, the 44 FPS average would rank much lower. The rank is an aggregate measure, and the resolution-specific data shows that this combo’s relative performance varies widely.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support its higher percentile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and single-core score of 2183.5 indicate strong processing power, while its PassMark multithread score of 30027 and single-thread score of 4570 confirm its capability. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 20349 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 are respectable but not exceptional, aligning with its 59th percentile.

In the context of Downfall, a horror game released in 2016, this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The game’s age means it is not as demanding as modern titles, which allows the RTX 3060 Ti to perform better than its percentile might suggest. The combo’s rank of 1840th out of 3716 reflects its balanced nature: it is not a top-tier setup, but it is far from inadequate, offering solid performance for most gaming scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Downfall covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low preset: 235 FPS average. This is the highest measured frame rate for the combo, indicating that the GPU and CPU are both operating efficiently at this resolution and setting.
• Medium preset: 192 FPS average, with a minimum of 164 FPS and maximum of 221 FPS. The tight minimum-to-average gap suggests consistent frame pacing.
• High preset: 158 FPS average. This is a solid result for high settings, showing that the combo can handle higher visual quality without dropping below 60 FPS.
• Ultra preset: 99 FPS average. Even at the highest settings, the combo remains above 60 FPS, making 1080p Ultra a viable option.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low preset: 168 FPS average. This is a 67 FPS drop from 1080p Low, reflecting the increased pixel count.
• Medium preset: 137 FPS average, with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 158 FPS. The 20 FPS gap between minimum and average indicates some frame variability but remains smooth.
• High preset: 113 FPS average. This is a 45 FPS drop from 1080p High, showing the GPU’s scaling limitations.
• Ultra preset: 70 FPS average. This is a 29 FPS drop from 1080p Ultra, and while it is above 60 FPS, it is the lowest 1440p result.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low preset: 105 FPS average. This is the only 4K preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, with a 63 FPS drop from 1440p Low.
• Medium preset: 86 FPS average, with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 98 FPS. The 13 FPS gap between minimum and average is the smallest across all 4K presets, indicating stable performance.
• High preset: 70 FPS average. This is a 43 FPS drop from 1440p High, and it sits right at the 60 FPS threshold, which may result in occasional dips during intense scenes.
• Ultra preset: 44 FPS average. This is a 26 FPS drop from 1440p Ultra and is the only preset below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution increase results in a roughly 30-40% drop in average FPS, with the largest absolute drops occurring between 1440p and 4K. The minimum FPS values, where available, are only recorded for Medium presets. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 164 FPS is close to the 192 FPS average, suggesting good frame consistency. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 117 FPS versus the 137 FPS average shows more variance, and at 4K Medium, the minimum of 73 FPS versus the 86 FPS average indicates the GPU is working harder.

The maximum FPS values, also only recorded for Medium presets, follow a similar trend. The 1080p Medium maximum of 221 FPS, 1440p Medium maximum of 158 FPS, and 4K Medium maximum of 98 FPS show diminishing returns as resolution increases. These numbers reinforce the GPU’s role as the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1080p gaming: The Ultra preset at 99 FPS average is the best choice for visual fidelity while maintaining a high frame rate. The High preset at 158 FPS offers significantly more headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the Medium preset at 192 FPS is ideal for competitive play or 144Hz displays. The Low preset at 235 FPS is excessive for most displays but demonstrates the combo’s headroom. Given that Ultra stays above 90 FPS, there is little reason to drop below High settings at 1080p.

For 1440p gaming: The High preset at 113 FPS average is the recommended choice. It provides a strong balance of visual quality and performance, staying well above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 137 FPS is better for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, and its minimum of 117 FPS ensures smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 70 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes; it is only recommended if visual quality is the top priority. The Low preset at 168 FPS is unnecessary for most users, as High already delivers over 100 FPS.

For 4K gaming: The Medium preset at 86 FPS average is the best option, as it is the only preset that combines solid visual quality with a comfortable frame rate. The minimum of 73 FPS keeps it above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience. The Low preset at 105 FPS offers higher frame rates but sacrifices visual quality, making it suitable for players who prioritize performance. The High preset at 70 FPS is borderline, as it may dip below 60 FPS in intense scenes, and the Ultra preset at 44 FPS is not recommended for playable frame rates.

The data suggests that the combo’s sweet spot is 1080p Ultra or 1440p High, where it delivers over 90 FPS average while maintaining high settings. At 4K, players must accept Medium settings or lower to achieve playable frame rates. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s strong single-thread performance ensures that the CPU does not bottleneck at any resolution, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of settings. For the best overall experience, 1440p High offers the ideal combination of visual quality and performance, with 113 FPS average providing ample headroom for smooth gameplay in this horror title.