Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 lands at rank 116 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 6.7% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a processor from the 3000 series, though the ranking reflects the massive performance ceiling of the RTX 5090 rather than the CPU’s modern standing. The combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but the data suggests the Ryzen 7 3700X is holding back the GPU in many scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates soar past 250 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 116 out of 1741, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper echelon of tested configurations for Downfall. The RTX 5090 is the primary driver of this placement, as its 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs and average benchmark score of 84,306 far outpaces the Ryzen 7 3700X’s 85th percentile and 28,631 average score. The GPU’s dominance is clear: it sits within 0.1% of the RTX 5090 D in average score, while the CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600 (0.1% lower) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (0.1% higher), showing the processor is mid-pack among its direct competitors.

The rank of 116 becomes more impressive when considering the full database of 1,741 combos. This system outranks 1,625 other configurations, which reflects the RTX 5090’s raw power. However, the gap between the CPU and GPU in percentile terms is notable—94 versus 85—suggesting an imbalance. In a horror game like Downfall, which relies on atmospheric rendering and lighting effects, the GPU typically carries the load, but the CPU’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration from the Zen 2 architecture may struggle to feed the GPU at high frame rates. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 298.6 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this title, while the GPU could theoretically push much higher.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in Downfall?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 116th out of 1,741 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.7% of all configurations.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84,306, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D (84,241) and 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (83,209). It trails the NVIDIA CMP 40HX by 1.6%.

Q: What is the Ryzen 7 3700X’s standing relative to similar CPUs?

A: The CPU’s average score of 28,631 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12600 (28,654, -0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28,591, +0.1% delta), indicating it is competitive with those mid-range parts.

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

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 298.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 82.9 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck the system in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 298.6 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 82.9 FPS. The scaling pattern indicates the RTX 5090 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s 3.60 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clocks may cap performance at lower resolutions where FPS exceeds 250.

Q: What are the key specifications of the RTX 5090?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, 21,760 shading units, and a boost clock of 2,407 MHz. Its launch MSRP is 1,999 USD.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern: Downfall scales heavily with resolution, and the RTX 5090 dominates at 4K while the CPU becomes a factor at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 138.5 FPS on High, 168.7 on Medium, and 201.2 on Low, showing only a 45% increase from High to Low. This suggests the GPU is still the primary bottleneck at 4K, as even the most demanding settings produce playable frame rates. The jump from High to Medium at 4K is 21.8%, while Low adds another 19.3% over Medium, indicating the GPU has headroom even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture shifts. High settings produce 221.8 FPS, Medium hits 249.2, and Low reaches 264.7. The scaling from 4K High to 1440p High is a 60.2% increase, which is substantial but not proportional to the pixel count reduction (about 56% fewer pixels). This suggests the CPU begins to limit performance around the 220-250 FPS range. At 1920x1080, the scaling nearly flattens: High yields 254.4 FPS, Medium 274.5, and Low 298.6. The difference between 1440p Low (264.7) and 1080p Low (298.6) is only 12.8%, despite a 44% reduction in pixels. This is the clearest evidence of a CPU bottleneck—the Ryzen 7 3700X cannot push frame rates much beyond 300 FPS in this title.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 82.9 FPS, a 40.1% reduction from 4K High. At 1440p Ultra, it hits 139.6 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it reaches 191.8 FPS. Ultra settings clearly tax the GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and the scaling from 4K to 1080p is a 131.4% increase, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor under these conditions. The data shows a dual-bottleneck scenario: the RTX 5090 is constrained at 4K and Ultra, while the CPU caps performance at lower resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 298.6 FPS, Medium drops to 274.5, High settles at 254.4, and Ultra falls to 191.8. The delta between Low and Ultra is 106.8 FPS, a 35.8% reduction, which is modest compared to higher resolutions. This indicates the CPU is near its limit even at Low, as the 44.1 FPS gap between Low and Medium (298.6 vs 274.5) is larger than the 19.9 FPS gap between Medium and High (274.5 vs 254.4). The Ultra preset imposes a heavier GPU load, allowing the CPU to stretch slightly.

At 2560x1440, the pattern remains similar but with a wider spread. Low averages 264.7 FPS, Medium hits 249.2, High reaches 221.8, and Ultra drops to 139.6. The difference between Low and High is 42.9 FPS, while High to Ultra is a massive 82.2 FPS drop. This suggests that Ultra settings at 1440p begin to stress the RTX 5090’s 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 680 TMUs, while lower settings remain CPU-bound. The 1440p Medium result of 249.2 FPS is only 8.3% lower than 1080p Medium (274.5), reinforcing the CPU limitation.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5090 takes over as the dominant component. High settings average 138.5 FPS, Medium reaches 168.7, Low hits 201.2, and Ultra falls to 82.9. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High is 45.6% (254.4 to 138.5), which is close to the pixel count difference, indicating a GPU-bound scenario. At Ultra, the 4K result of 82.9 FPS is 56.8% lower than 1080p Ultra (191.8), showing the GPU is fully utilized. The 4K Low result of 201.2 FPS is notable—it exceeds the 1080p Ultra result of 191.8, proving the GPU has substantial headroom at lower settings even at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture (codenamed Matisse), manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 32 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19,087 and single-core score of 2,694 place it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28,631. These numbers are competitive with modern mid-range parts but fall short of high-end processors.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the RTX 5090 with draw calls and game logic. The data shows the 3700X becomes a bottleneck at frame rates above approximately 250 FPS. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 298.6 FPS, but the scaling from 1440p to 1080p at Low is only 12.8% (264.7 to 298.6), suggesting the CPU is nearing its maximum output. The PassMark single-thread score of 2,656 and multi-thread score of 22,458 indicate the processor can handle modern games, but its 3.60 GHz base clock limits peak performance in lightly-threaded scenarios.

The 3700X’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600, scores nearly identically (28,654 vs 28,631, -0.1% delta), yet the i5-12600 has a higher single-core boost. This suggests the 3700X’s 8-core configuration is sufficient for Downfall’s threading, but its older Zen 2 architecture lacks the per-core efficiency of newer designs. The 65W TDP and 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die show it is a power-efficient part, but efficiency does not translate to higher frame rates. The CPU’s dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth may also limit data transfer to the GPU, though the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory mitigates this by storing most assets on the GPU itself.

The benchmark results indicate the 3700X is a capable processor for this game, but its limitations are exposed by the RTX 5090’s extraordinary power. The 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate outpace the CPU’s ability to issue commands, creating a bottleneck at high frame rates. For players targeting 4K Ultra, the CPU is less of a concern—the 82.9 FPS result shows the GPU is fully engaged. However, for competitive or high-refresh-rate play at 1080p, the 3700X will cap performance near 300 FPS, leaving the RTX 5090’s potential untapped.