Downfall

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D brings an 8-core, 16-thread configuration based on the Zen 3 architecture, code-named Vermeer. This desktop-class processor runs on the AM4 socket with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The 7 nm chip, built by TSMC, houses 8,850 million transistors across a 74 mm² die. Its defining feature is the large 96 MB shared L3 cache, alongside 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core. The processor supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s and provides 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes from the CPU.

In the context of Downfall, a horror title from 2016, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU across most measured scenarios. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 96 FPS, while at 1440p Low it drops to 68 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls further to 43 FPS. This scaling pattern suggests that even at the lowest settings, where CPU overhead would typically be most exposed, the frame rate is heavily influenced by resolution-driven GPU load rather than processor limits. The 5800X3D's strong multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,317 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11,765, are not the bottleneck in this pairing.

The CPU's single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,452 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 884. For a horror game that likely involves physics, AI, and scripting, these numbers indicate ample headroom. The processor's percentile ranking of 80 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27,896, places it in the upper quintile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U at 27,887 (0% delta), the Intel Core i9-10900K at 27,872 (0.1% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 at 27,932 (-0.1% delta). This clustering shows the 5800X3D sits in a tight performance band, trading blows with those chips.

The 105 W TDP and end-of-life production status indicate this is a mature platform component. The processor's performance in the game suggests that downscaling resolution or lowering settings does not unlock dramatically higher frame rates because the GPU becomes the limiting factor first. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 40 FPS, while at 1080p Low it hits 96 FPS — a 56 FPS spread. This 2.4x difference across settings at the same resolution is far larger than any CPU-induced variance would be, reinforcing that the graphics card dominates the performance profile.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU features 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities include 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (at 2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s.

Crucially, the Arc B370 uses System Shared memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which ties the GPU's memory performance to the host system's DDR4 memory. This is a significant factor in Downfall's results. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 18 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 96 FPS. The memory bandwidth constraint from shared system memory likely becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions and quality settings, where texture and geometry data demands increase.

The GPU's benchmark presence is minimal, with only a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,184. Its percentile ranking among all GPUs is 5, which places it in the bottom tier of tested graphics solutions. The nearest rivals illustrate this positioning: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1,186 (-0.2% delta), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1,190 (-0.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1,192 (-0.7% delta). These are all older, low-power parts, confirming the Arc B370's modest standing.

The GPU's 25 W TDP and IGP slot width, with no power connectors, indicate its integrated nature. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are modern API standards. In Downfall, the GPU's limitations become clear when examining the frame rate deltas. Moving from 1080p Low (96 FPS) to 1440p Low (68 FPS) is a 28 FPS drop, and then to 4K Low (43 FPS) is another 25 FPS drop. These substantial reductions at the same settings level demonstrate that the GPU is the primary driver of performance changes across resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate decline as resolution increases, which points strongly to GPU-bound performance. At Low settings, the progression is 96 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. This represents a 29.2% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 36.8% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 55.2%, which is a significant scaling loss.

At Medium settings, the frame rates are 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 28.2% and 37.5% respectively, with a total 55.1% reduction. The High settings show 64 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K, with drops of 28.1% and 37.0%, totaling 54.7%. Ultra settings yield 40 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, with drops of 27.5% and 37.9%, totaling 55.0%.

The consistency of these scaling patterns — roughly a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings — indicates a uniform limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the scaling to flatten out at lower resolutions or higher settings, where the CPU has more work relative to the GPU. Instead, the linear and proportional declines suggest the GPU's rendering throughput is the constraint. The Arc B370's shared memory architecture likely exacerbates this, as higher resolutions require more memory bandwidth, which is dependent on the system's DDR4 configuration.

The data also shows that the minimum FPS values, where available, follow a similar trend. At Medium settings, the min FPS is 67 at 1080p, 48 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K. The max FPS values are 90, 64, and 40 respectively. These ranges indicate that the frame time consistency degrades with resolution, but the overall pattern remains GPU-dominated.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 96 FPS. Medium settings average 78 FPS, with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 90. High settings average 64 FPS. Ultra settings average 40 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 56 FPS, with Ultra delivering 41.7% of the Low performance.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 68 FPS. Medium settings average 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 64. High settings average 46 FPS. Ultra settings average 29 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 39 FPS, with Ultra delivering 42.6% of the Low performance.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings average 43 FPS. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. High settings average 29 FPS. Ultra settings average 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 25 FPS, with Ultra delivering 41.9% of the Low performance.

The ratio of Ultra to Low performance is remarkably consistent across all three resolutions: 41.7%, 42.6%, and 41.9%. This uniformity suggests that the settings presets impose a consistent computational load multiplier on the GPU, regardless of resolution. It also implies that the CPU is not introducing variable overhead as settings change, since the relative performance drop between presets remains stable.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS. At Low settings it hits 96 FPS, at Medium it averages 78 FPS, and at High it averages 64 FPS. Both 1440p and 4K fall below 70 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low across resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset delivers roughly 42% of the Low preset's frame rate at every resolution. Specifically, at 1080p it is 40 FPS versus 96 FPS, at 1440p it is 29 FPS versus 68 FPS, and at 4K it is 18 FPS versus 43 FPS.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. Resolution scaling shows consistent frame rate drops of approximately 28% from 1080p to 1440p and 37% from 1440p to 4K across all settings. The CPU's high multi-threaded scores, such as 14,317 in Cinebench R23, provide ample headroom that is not being utilized.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 78 FPS with a range of 67 to 90. At 1440p Medium, the average is 56 FPS with a range of 48 to 64. At 4K Medium, the average is 35 FPS with a range of 30 to 40.

Q: How does the Arc B370 rank among all GPUs?

A: The Arc B370 ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, and AMD Radeon HD 7650M, all within a 0.7% performance delta.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested combinations?

A: No, the combo ranks 2,688 out of 2,928 tested combinations in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 8.2% of all combos, which is consistent with the GPU's low percentile ranking and the modest frame rates observed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target frame rate and resolution. For a smooth 60+ FPS experience, 1080p Low is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds this threshold, averaging 96 FPS. 1080p Medium also averages 78 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, making it a viable option with better visual quality. 1080p High averages 64 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for frame drops.

At 1440p, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 68 FPS, which is the only 1440p setting above 60 FPS, but it comes with the lowest visual quality. Medium averages 56 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players, but the minimum of 48 FPS could cause noticeable stutter in a horror game. High averages 46 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29 FPS, both of which are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, all settings fall below 45 FPS. Low averages 43 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. These frame rates are generally not suitable for a responsive horror experience, and the minimum FPS of 30 at Medium settings indicates significant dips. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo is not viable for most players.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which balances an average of 78 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. If visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate, 1080p High at 64 FPS is the next best option. For players who must use higher resolutions, 1440p Low at 68 FPS is the least compromised choice, though it sacrifices detail.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2,688 out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall. This places the pairing in the bottom 8.2% of all configurations, which is a poor showing. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile among all graphics cards. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 80th percentile among all processors, creating a significant imbalance in the pairing.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, and AMD Radeon HD 7650M — are all legacy parts from an earlier era. This contextualizes the Arc B370's performance level as being comparable to those older discrete GPUs, despite its modern architecture and API support. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, are much more capable in relative terms, further highlighting the mismatch.

The measured frame rates confirm this ranking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 96 FPS, which is acceptable, but this is the only setting and resolution combination that delivers high performance. Every other configuration falls below 80 FPS, and most fall below 60 FPS. The low combo rank is therefore consistent with the observed data, which shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited with no configuration able to leverage the CPU's substantial multi-threading capabilities. The 5800X3D's strong benchmark scores, such as 14,317 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 11,765 in Geekbench multi-core, remain largely untapped in this title, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck at all tested resolutions and settings.