Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Arc B570 pairing delivers a surprisingly playable experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly favors strong rasterization performance over ray tracing or modern API features. With a combo rank of 2988 out of 3716 tested configurations, this system sits in the lower third of all possible pairings, yet the measured frame rates across resolutions tell a story of consistent headroom at 1080p and workable performance at 1440p, with 4K reserved for those willing to dial settings down. The data indicates that the Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game’s demands, while the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 5800X provides ample processing power that never appears to bottleneck the GPU in the measured scenarios.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Downfall?*

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 offers the most comfortable experience, with average frame rates ranging from 68 FPS at Ultra to 163 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the averages drop to between 49 FPS (Ultra) and 116 FPS (Low), while 3840x2160 only reaches 30 FPS at Ultra and 72 FPS at Low, making it the least viable option for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 2988 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the 20th percentile of all systems evaluated for Downfall. This indicates that while the hardware is capable of running the game, the majority of tested pairings outperform it, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs in the benchmark database.

Q: Which graphics settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS, making it the sweet spot. At 2560x1440, Medium yields 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS, which is still smooth, while High at 1080p (109 FPS) offers a reasonable alternative for those wanting better visuals without sacrificing too much speed.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint. The Ryzen 7 5800X has a strong multi-threaded score of 15,476 in Cinebench R23 and 7,578 in 3DMark Max Threads, while the Arc B570’s Passmark G3D score of 14,195 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra follows GPU-bound patterns, indicating the processor is not bottlenecking.

*Q: Does the Intel Arc B570 support the APIs required by Downfall?*

A: Yes, the Arc B570 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Since Downfall was released in 2016, it likely relies on DirectX 11 or 12, both of which are fully supported by this GPU, as evidenced by its Passmark DirectX 11 score of 118 and DirectX 12 score of 72.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates for the Medium preset at different resolutions?

A: The only preset with recorded minimum frame rates is Medium. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 113 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 81 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it drops to 50 FPS. These minimums show that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above playable thresholds at 1080p and 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

The position of 2988 out of 3716 tested combinations places the Ryzen 7 5800X and Arc B570 in the lower 20% of all systems benchmarked in Downfall. This rank is somewhat surprising given the hardware’s individual specifications, but it reflects the game’s age and its tendency to favor higher-end GPUs with larger memory buses and faster rasterization throughput.

The Arc B570’s average benchmark score of 20,556 places it just 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534) and 0.1% ahead of the Intel Arc A750 (20,582), indicating that this GPU performs in the mid-range tier of desktop and mobile graphics cards. The Ryzen 7 5800X, with an average benchmark score of 29,123, sits 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29,093) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28,940), showing the CPU is competitive with newer mobile processors despite being a 2020 desktop part.

In Downfall, the combination’s rank suggests that the game is more sensitive to GPU throughput than CPU strength. The measured FPS at 1080p Low hits 163 FPS, which aligns with the GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 14,195 (65th percentile of all GPUs), but the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 30 FPS, indicating the 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle with higher resolutions and settings. The rank against all combos is a reminder that even capable mid-range hardware can fall behind in older titles optimized for different architectures.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process, is the primary driver of Downfall’s performance. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for this horror title at 1080p and 1440p, but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra where the average FPS falls to 30.

The GPU’s base and boost clocks are both fixed at 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). This clock configuration yields a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, which translate directly to the frame rates observed. At 1080p Low, the GPU achieves 163 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 30 FPS — a 5.4x reduction in performance that tracks with the 4x increase in pixel count, suggesting the GPU is fill-rate limited at higher resolutions.

The 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs are sufficient for Downfall’s 2016-era graphics, which do not appear to leverage the GPU’s 18 ray tracing cores or DirectX 12 Ultimate features. The measured results show that the Arc B570’s performance in this game closely matches its nearest rivals: it is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% behind the Arc A750, making it a predictable mid-range performer that handles this horror title without any architectural surprises.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point. This setting delivers an average of 133 FPS with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during intense horror sequences. The 20 FPS gap between minimum and maximum indicates consistent performance without severe drops.

Players seeking higher visual fidelity can opt for the High preset at 1920x1080, which yields 109 FPS average — still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. At 2560x1440, Medium is the recommended setting, providing 95 FPS average with an 81 FPS minimum, making it viable for users with 1440p monitors who prioritize frame rate over maximum detail.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it drops to 68 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates (163 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, 72 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that relies on atmospheric horror. The data clearly shows that Medium at 1080p or 1440p offers the best compromise between the measured settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Arc B570 delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves 163 FPS average, followed by Medium at 133 FPS (113 min, 153 max), High at 109 FPS, and Ultra at 68 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, which is typical for a GPU with this memory bandwidth.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop predictably: Low hits 116 FPS, Medium yields 95 FPS (81 min, 110 max), High reaches 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The 1440p Medium preset remains playable, with the minimum of 81 FPS still above the 60 FPS threshold, while High at 78 FPS average is acceptable for less demanding players.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations become apparent. Low produces 72 FPS, Medium drops to 59 FPS (50 min, 68 max), High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. The 4K results show a 58% drop from Low to Ultra, but even the Low preset struggles to maintain 60 FPS in the most demanding scenes, making 4K gaming a compromise at best for this combination.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename) and manufactured on TSMC’s 7 nm process, provides the processing backbone for this combo. With 8 cores and 16 threads running at 3.80 GHz base and 4.70 GHz boost clocks, the CPU offers substantial multi-threaded performance that prevents it from becoming a bottleneck in Downfall.

The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,476 and single-core score of 1,574.5 indicate strong per-thread performance, which is relevant for a game that may rely on a few heavily utilized threads. The 3DMark scores reinforce this: 7,586 in 16-thread tests and 943 in single-thread tests, with the 4-thread score of 3,543 showing that even moderate thread counts are handled efficiently.

The 32 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure that the CPU can feed the Arc B570 without stalling. In the measured FPS data, there is no evidence of CPU-limited frame rates — the scaling between resolutions and settings follows GPU-bound patterns, and even at 1080p Low (163 FPS), the CPU keeps up with the GPU’s output. The Ryzen 7 5800X’s 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29,123, confirms it is more than capable for this title, and the 0.1% difference from the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and 0.5% from the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT shows it remains competitive with newer processors.