Downfall

Downfall pairs the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with the Intel Arc B390, a combination that produces a distinct performance profile in this 2016 horror title. The measured data shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with CPU headroom that goes largely unused as resolution and settings increase. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results across resolutions, settings, and component roles.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and revealing. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 106 FPS at 1920x1080 to 76 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 30 FPS, and then to 47 FPS at 3840x2160, a further drop of 29 FPS. This progression shows a nearly linear decline in performance as pixel count rises, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. The data suggests that the graphics processor is the limiting factor even at the lowest quality preset, as the frame rate scales almost directly with the number of pixels being rendered.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS moves from 71 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p and finally to 32 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at High is larger than the drop at Low, indicating that the combination of higher resolution and more demanding visual effects compounds the load on the GPU. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, with averages of 44 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and a barely playable 20 FPS at 4K. This pattern confirms that the Intel Arc B390 is the bottleneck; the Ryzen 7 5800X has ample compute resources, but the GPU cannot feed the display fast enough as resolution climbs.

The Medium preset data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. The frame time variance appears relatively consistent across resolutions, but the absolute values show that even the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is below 35, which will be noticeable in a horror game where smooth motion is critical for atmosphere.

How This Combo Ranks

The Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2589 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. This places the system in the bottom 12 percent of all tested configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's limited capabilities rather than the CPU's potential. The combo rank is a holistic measure, and the data indicates that this pairing is held back almost entirely by the graphics side of the equation.

The GPU itself sits at the 9th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 and is 1.3 percent slower, the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 and 1.5 percent slower, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 and 2.5 percent slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 and 2.7 percent slower. These are all entry-level or legacy mobile parts, which contextualizes the Arc B390's position. The GPU is not just weak in absolute terms; it is competing with hardware from a much older era. This explains why the combo ranks so poorly in a game that is not particularly demanding by modern standards.

The CPU, in contrast, performs at the 81st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 29123. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H at 29093 and 0.1 percent slower, the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 at 29245 and 0.4 percent faster, the Intel Core i5-13500HX at 29270 and 0.5 percent faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28940 and 0.6 percent slower. The delta between the Ryzen 7 5800X and its closest competitors is tiny, all within one percent. This shows that the CPU is a mid-pack performer relative to modern processors, but its strength is irrelevant in this pairing because the GPU cannot translate that compute power into higher frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 105 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB L3 cache. These specifications point to a capable gaming CPU, and the benchmark data supports that conclusion. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15476 and single-core score of 1574.5 indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, both of which are relevant for game physics, AI, and frame pacing.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is largely one of providing a stable foundation that is never stressed. The measured FPS figures show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 106 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could theoretically be limited by CPU draw call processing in some titles. However, the fact that the frame rate drops to 76 FPS at 1440p Low and 47 FPS at 4K Low proves that the GPU is the binding constraint. If the CPU were the limit, the frame rate would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU work per frame is roughly constant. Instead, the frame rate falls by more than half from 1080p to 4K, which is a pure GPU workload signature.

The Ryzen 7 5800X's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for a 2016 horror game. The 3DMark scores show a single-thread score of 943 and a 16-thread score of 7586, indicating that even moderate single-thread performance is enough to keep up with the GPU's output. The PassMark single-thread score of 3445 and multithread score of 27732 further confirm that the CPU has headroom. In this configuration, the CPU is effectively idle waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, which means any performance issues in Downfall should be attributed to the graphics card, not the processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 106 FPS at Low settings, 87 FPS at Medium, 71 FPS at High, and 44 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset includes a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, showing a 26 FPS spread between min and max. This is a playable experience at 1080p for all settings except Ultra, where the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS threshold that is generally considered smooth.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 76 FPS at Low, 62 FPS at Medium, 51 FPS at High, and 32 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Low preset losing 30 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 12 FPS. At this resolution, the Low and Medium presets remain playable, but High starts to show strain and Ultra becomes marginal. The minimum FPS values at Medium suggest that frame drops will be noticeable during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 47 FPS at Low, 39 FPS at Medium, 32 FPS at High, and 20 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS. None of the settings at 4K achieve a consistent 60 FPS, and even the Low preset struggles to maintain a smooth frame rate. The Ultra preset at 20 FPS is effectively unplayable for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution where the system can consistently hit high frame rates, and even then, only at lower settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive component in this pairing. It is based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process, and is classified as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 80 W TDP. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The boost clock is 2500 MHz with a base clock of 300 MHz. The memory is system shared, meaning it uses the host system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, which is a significant limitation for gaming performance.

The GPU's benchmark results are dire. Its only 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals, as noted earlier, are the GT 520MX and GT 710, which are both ancient parts. The Arc B390's FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, which sounds respectable on paper, but the system-shared memory and low ROP count of 24 severely limit its real-world output. The texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s are not sufficient for high-resolution gaming.

In Downfall, the GPU's limitations are exposed at every turn. The frame rate scaling with resolution is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to process pixels quickly enough. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only achieve 47 FPS shows that the GPU is overwhelmed by the raw pixel count. The system-shared memory means that the GPU and CPU are competing for the same memory bandwidth, which is listed as system dependent, and this likely contributes to the frame rate drops in demanding scenes. The GPU's 12 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for this game, which was released before ray tracing was common, but the overall architecture is simply too weak for modern gaming expectations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this system depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best choice. The average of 87 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum of 74 FPS ensures that frame drops will not be disruptive. The High preset at 71 FPS is also acceptable, but the drop to 44 FPS at Ultra is too severe to justify the visual improvements. For a horror game that requires smooth motion to maintain tension, Medium at 1080p provides the best balance of visual fidelity and playability.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only reliable option. The average of 76 FPS is smooth, and the Medium preset at 62 FPS is borderline. The minimum FPS at Medium is 53 FPS, which means the game will occasionally drop below 60 FPS during heavy scenes. For players who prioritize a consistent frame rate, Low at 1440p is the recommended setting. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 32 FPS are not recommended, as they introduce too much variability and can make the game feel sluggish.

At 3840x2160, no setting provides a truly playable experience. The Low preset at 47 FPS is the best of a bad situation, but the frame rate is still below 60 FPS and will be noticeable in a genre where reaction time matters. The Medium preset at 39 FPS and High at 32 FPS are progressively worse, and Ultra at 20 FPS is unplayable. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Downfall. Players should either lower the resolution to 1440p or accept the sub-60 FPS frame rates at 4K Low. The system's performance is entirely dictated by the GPU, and the settings recommendations reflect that constraint.