Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall shows a steep drop as resolution increases, which is typical for a system where the GPU is the primary constraint. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average frame rate is 59.5 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 45.8 FPS, a reduction of about 23%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields only 26.2 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1650's rendering throughput is quickly exhausted as pixel count rises.

The trend is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 37 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 30.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it collapses to 15 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution. At 1080p, Low produces 88.4 FPS while Ultra produces 37 FPS — a difference of 51.4 FPS. At 4K, Low produces 38.9 FPS while Ultra produces 15 FPS — a difference of only 23.9 FPS. This narrowing delta suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel load.

The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 5700 with 8 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be the bottleneck in this scenario. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and a single-core score of 2916, place it in the 84th percentile among all CPUs. The data shows that the frame rate differences between resolutions are far larger than any CPU-related variance would suggest. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the GTX 1650's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth become strained at 1440p and especially at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU117 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory clocked at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its memory configuration is 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. The pixel rate is 53.28 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 93.24 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 2.984 TFLOPS.

In Downfall, the VRAM capacity and bandwidth play a critical role. The 4 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p across all settings, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at that resolution. However, at 1440p and 4K, the combination of higher resolution textures and increased pixel fill requirements likely exceeds the effective memory bandwidth, causing the steep FPS declines observed. The GPU's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713, places it near rivals like the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (deltaPct 0.5) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (deltaPct -0.5). These rivals show nearly identical performance, confirming that the GTX 1650 is a mid-range part from an earlier generation.

The GTX 1650's DirectX 12 support is rated at 12_1, and its PassMark DirectX 12 score is 35, which is low compared to its DirectX 11 score of 58. This suggests that Downfall, which may rely on older DirectX paths, could be leaving some performance on the table. The GPU's compute score of 3048 in PassMark further indicates limited compute headroom, which is consistent with the frame rate drops seen at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings is 59.5 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra setting compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 15 FPS, while 1080p Low achieves 88.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is about 83% lower than the 1080p Low result.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 5700 scores in the 84th percentile among CPUs with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655, while the GTX 1650 sits in the 43rd percentile. Frame rates drop sharply with resolution, which is characteristic of GPU limitation.

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings except Ultra produce average FPS above 59 FPS. The Low setting reaches 88.4 FPS, Medium reaches 77.9 FPS, and High reaches 59.5 FPS. This makes 1080p the only resolution where High settings remain above 60 FPS on average.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score is 8713. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, scores 8671, which is a 0.5% difference. All four nearest rivals are within 0.5% to 0.8% of the GTX 1650's score.

Q: Does the 4 GB VRAM limit performance at 4K?

A: The data shows a severe drop at 3840x2160. At Ultra settings, the average FPS is 15, and even at Low settings, it only reaches 38.9 FPS. This pattern is consistent with the 4 GB frame buffer and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient for 4K workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest preset delivers the highest average at 88.4 FPS. Medium settings produce 77.9 FPS, High settings produce 59.5 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent performance penalty, with Ultra being 58% slower than Low.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 65.7 FPS for Low, 52.6 FPS for Medium, 45.8 FPS for High, and 30.2 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 35.5 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p but still substantial. High settings at 1440p remain above 45 FPS, making it marginally playable, while Ultra dips below 31 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 38.9 FPS for Low, 34.7 FPS for Medium, 26.2 FPS for High, and 15 FPS for Ultra. None of these results reach 60 FPS, and only Low settings approach 40 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, indicating that this combination is not suitable for 4K gaming.

The delta between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings is consistent: High drops from 59.5 to 45.8 FPS, Low drops from 88.4 to 65.7 FPS, Medium drops from 77.9 to 52.6 FPS, and Ultra drops from 37 to 30.2 FPS. The delta between 1440p and 4K is even larger for most settings, with High dropping from 45.8 to 26.2 FPS, Low dropping from 65.7 to 38.9 FPS, and Medium dropping from 52.6 to 34.7 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1686 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 3% of all combinations, which is expected given the GPU's age and tier. The CPU itself is capable, ranking in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU's 43rd percentile ranking drags the overall combo down significantly.

The combo's rank suggests that while the CPU has headroom, the GPU cannot translate that into playable frame rates at higher resolutions. The nearest rival GPUs, such as the Quadro P2200 and Radeon Pro WX 5100, show similar average scores, which means swapping the GTX 1650 for any of these would yield nearly identical results in Downfall. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-9900K (deltaPct 0.7) and the Intel Core i7-12700H (deltaPct 0.8), are so close in average score that CPU choice is not a differentiating factor for this game.

Given that the combo ranks in the bottom percentile, the data suggests that users with this hardware should target 1080p for any semblance of smooth performance. Even at 1080p, Ultra settings are borderline, and 4K is not a viable option.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which produces an average of 77.9 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while still offering improved visual quality over Low settings. High settings at 1080p yield 59.5 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

For players prioritizing frame rate, Low settings at 1080p deliver 88.4 FPS, which is the highest measured average in the entire dataset. This preset is recommended for competitive or fast-paced segments where responsiveness is key. Medium settings offer the best balance, as they are 38% faster than High settings while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, only Low settings (65.7 FPS) and Medium settings (52.6 FPS) are viable. High settings at 45.8 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay, but the data shows a clear step down in smoothness. At 4K, no preset achieves even 40 FPS, so this resolution is not recommended. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it drops below 31 FPS at 1440p and below 16 FPS at 4K. For this hardware, the data consistently points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot, with 1080p Low as the fallback for maximum fluidity.