Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional frame rates in Downfall, a horror title from 2016 that remains demanding at extreme settings. This combination ranks 129th out of 1,741 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 7.4% of all system configurations. The data shows a system capable of smooth 4K gameplay at high settings, with the RTX 4090's raw compute power driving the experience while the 3700X's eight cores and sixteen threads provide adequate support. The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the 3700X holds the 85th percentile among CPUs, indicating a well-balanced pairing where the GPU leads performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 129 out of 1,741 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems tested in Downfall. This positioning reflects the RTX 4090's dominance as the primary performance driver, as the GPU's average benchmark score of 66,473 places it in the 91st percentile versus all GPUs. The CPU, while not as dominant, still performs strongly with an average benchmark score of 28,631, placing it in the 85th percentile. The combination's rank suggests that the RTX 4090's capabilities are largely realized even with a previous-generation mid-range CPU like the 3700X.

Examining the nearest rivals for each component provides context for this ranking. The RTX 4090's nearest competitors in average benchmark score are the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733, just 0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67,097, 0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67,320, 1.3% higher). The Tesla P40 scores 66,127, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 4090. For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12600 scores 28,654, just 0.1% higher than the 3700X, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT scores 28,591, 0.1% lower. These tight margins indicate that the 3700X remains competitive with newer mid-range parts despite its 2019 release.

The combo's rank is particularly notable given that Downfall is a horror game from 2016, suggesting that modern high-end GPUs can push this title to very high frame rates. The system achieves over 130 FPS at 4K High settings, which places it well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate displays. The rank of 129 out of 1,741 indicates that only a small fraction of tested configurations outperform this pairing, and those that do likely feature newer, higher-end CPUs that can better feed the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4090 scores 66,473 on average benchmarks, placing it in the 91st percentile. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66,733 (0.4% higher), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 67,097 (0.9% higher). The NVIDIA Quadro P6000 leads this group at 67,320, which is 1.3% higher than the RTX 4090.

Q: What is the CPU's standing relative to similar processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28,631, placing it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600, scores 28,654, just 0.1% higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT scores 28,591, which is 0.1% lower, showing the 3700X remains highly competitive.

Q: What frame rates can this system achieve at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system achieves an average of 185.3 FPS. This is the lowest 1080p result across settings, but still well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate gaming.

Q: How does performance scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system delivers 259.1 FPS at 1080p, 214.7 FPS at 1440p, and 130.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a drop of 44.4 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 84.6 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K, showing GPU-bound scaling at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 32 MB of L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K across different quality settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the system averages 84.9 FPS on Ultra, 130.1 FPS on High, 163.4 FPS on Medium, and 198.1 FPS on Low. The spread of 113.2 FPS between Low and Ultra settings demonstrates the RTX 4090's ability to handle significant graphical loads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combination scales across resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 298.1 FPS, which represents the ceiling for this pairing in Downfall. Moving to 1440p Low drops performance to 262.5 FPS, a reduction of 35.6 FPS or approximately 11.9%. At 4K Low, the system still delivers 198.1 FPS, showing that even at the highest resolution, the RTX 4090 has substantial headroom at low quality settings.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 185.3 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 135.3 FPS, a reduction of 50 FPS or 27%. At 4K Ultra, performance falls to 84.9 FPS, which is a further drop of 50.4 FPS. This steeper decline at Ultra settings indicates that the graphical load increases non-linearly with resolution when quality is maximized.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the high frame rate of 298.1 FPS likely approaches the CPU's capability to feed the GPU, given the 3700X's single-thread performance. The CPU's single-core scores of 271 in Cinebench R15, 1,131 in Cinebench R20, and 2,694 in Cinebench R23 indicate moderate single-threaded throughput. At 4K Ultra, the 84.9 FPS result demonstrates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as the pixel fill rate and shading demands exceed what the RTX 4090 can process at this quality level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 298.1 FPS, Medium settings yield 276.9 FPS, High settings achieve 259.1 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 185.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 112.8 FPS, showing that quality settings have a substantial impact even at lower resolutions. The 1080p results remain above 185 FPS in all cases, ensuring smooth gameplay on any display.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings produce 262.5 FPS, Medium settings achieve 249.8 FPS, High settings deliver 214.7 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 135.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 127.2 FPS, slightly larger than at 1080p. The 1440p results indicate that this resolution is well within the system's capabilities, with even Ultra settings maintaining over 135 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 198.1 FPS, Medium settings achieve 163.4 FPS, High settings deliver 130.1 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 84.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 113.2 FPS, similar to the 1080p spread. The 4K Ultra result of 84.9 FPS is the only measurement below 100 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding configuration tested. Overall, the system maintains above 84 FPS in every tested scenario, demonstrating exceptional performance in Downfall.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X provides the computational foundation for this pairing, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture with the Matisse codename. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with 32 MB of L3 cache, deliver solid multi-threaded performance. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19,087 and single-core score of 2,694 indicate balanced capabilities for both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads.

In Downfall, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where frame rates exceed 250 FPS. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 298.1 FPS, and at 1440p Low it reaches 262.5 FPS. These high frame rates suggest that the CPU is processing game logic and draw calls at a rapid pace, with the 3700X's 16 threads allowing for efficient task distribution across its cores. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 22,458 and single-thread score of 2,656 further support its ability to handle demanding game workloads.

However, the CPU's age relative to the RTX 4090 is evident in the scaling patterns. The GPU's 91st percentile ranking versus the CPU's 85th percentile indicates a performance imbalance, with the GPU being the stronger component. This is reflected in the frame rate data: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 298.1 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 84.9 FPS. The CPU maintains sufficient performance to avoid becoming a severe bottleneck in most scenarios, but the GPU's dominance means that resolution and settings have a much larger impact on frame rates than CPU-bound factors.

The 3700X's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s and dual-channel DDR4 support provide adequate data throughput for feeding the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The CPU's PCIe Gen 4 support with 24 lanes ensures the GPU communicates at full bandwidth through its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. Overall, the data shows that while the 3700X is not the ideal match for the RTX 4090, it provides sufficient computational power to allow the GPU to perform at a high level in Downfall, with the combination ranking in the top 7.4% of all tested configurations.