Downfall

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

The measured FPS rows for Downfall reveal a classic scaling pattern, but with some surprising inflection points that hint at where the bottleneck shifts. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 137.2 to 94.4 — a roughly 31% reduction. That is a substantial hit, but not a catastrophic one. The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High is more punishing: 94.4 falls to 57.4, a 39% decline. This accelerating drop as resolution climbs suggests the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at 4K, which is expected for a card of this class.

However, the Low settings row tells a different story. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo produces 197.8 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, it still manages 139.9 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, it holds 90.6 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 29% drop, and from 1440p to 4K is a 35% drop. Even at Low, the GPU is clearly feeling the pressure of 4K pixel counts. The fact that 4K Low (90.6 FPS) is still higher than 1080p Ultra (82.2 FPS) is notable — it indicates that the game's Ultra preset imposes a heavier shading load than simply doubling resolution, while the GPU still has headroom at lower settings to brute-force 4K.

What does this imply about the limiting component? At 1080p Ultra, the FPS of 82.2 is suspiciously close to the 4K Low result of 90.6. If the CPU were the primary constraint, we would expect 1080p Ultra to be much higher than 4K Low, since pixel count is far lower. The data instead suggests that at 1080p Ultra, the GPU is already saturated by the Ultra preset's demands, and the CPU is not the wall. The Ryzen 7 7700's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, are likely not the limiting factor in this horror title, which appears to be more GPU-bound across all tested configurations.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 brings 8 cores and 16 threads to the table, running on the Zen 4 architecture with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on dual-channel DDR5 provide a strong foundation for feeding a GPU. In broader synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 29,302 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,136 in single-core, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% higher), showing it is competitive with high-end mobile parts.

For Downfall specifically, the game's release date of 2016-02-28 suggests it was built for older multi-core CPUs, but the 7700's 16 threads are more than sufficient. The measured FPS data shows no sign of CPU starvation: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 197.8 FPS, which is likely near the engine's practical ceiling for this GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see the FPS cap out at a lower value regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, the steady decline from 197.8 FPS (1080p Low) to 90.6 FPS (4K Low) tracks with pixel count, indicating the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The 7700's single-thread score of 4,136 in Cinebench R23 suggests it can handle the game's main thread without issue, and the 8 physical cores prevent any multi-threaded stalls.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process from TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. Its 32 ray tracing cores and 2048 shading units provide a solid compute foundation, with FP32 performance rated at 10.79 TFLOPS.

In the context of Downfall, the 8 GB VRAM is likely sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra results suggest pressure. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 36.7 — the lowest score in the entire measured set. This is a 55% drop from 4K High (57.4 FPS), which is a much steeper penalty than the 21% drop seen when moving from 1080p High (137.2) to 1080p Ultra (82.2). The Ultra preset at 4K likely exceeds the 8 GB frame buffer, causing the GPU to spill into system memory or compress textures, which decimates frame times. The GPU's percentile rank of 72 among all GPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0% delta) and the Intel Arc A370M (-0.5% delta), places it in the mid-range tier. It is not a 4K ultra-class card, and the data confirms this.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1122 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. That places it in the lower third of all configurations — roughly the 36th percentile (1122 divided by 1741). This is a surprisingly low rank given that the individual components are not entry-level: the CPU is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. The rank suggests that many other combos in the database pair faster GPUs with similar or weaker CPUs, which makes sense for a game that appears GPU-bound. The 6650 XT, while competent, is outclassed by higher-tier GPUs that would push 4K Ultra from the unplayable 36.7 FPS to playable levels. The combo's rank of 1122 indicates that it is a mid-pack performer for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not a top-tier configuration for this title.

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

The full measured FPS table for Downfall with this combo is as follows:

At 1920x1080: Low averages 197.8 FPS, Medium averages 161.2 FPS, High averages 137.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 82.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 115.6 FPS, which is substantial. The step from Medium to High is a 14.9% drop, while the step from High to Ultra is a 40.1% drop. The Ultra preset is clearly the most demanding, costing more than half the FPS of Low.

At 2560x1440: Low averages 139.9 FPS, Medium averages 114.4 FPS, High averages 94.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 61.3 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings: Low drops 29.3%, Medium drops 29.0%, High drops 31.2%, and Ultra drops 25.4%. The Ultra drop is smaller in percentage terms, suggesting that at 1080p Ultra the GPU was already struggling, so the additional pixels at 1440p have a relatively smaller marginal impact.

At 3840x2160: Low averages 90.6 FPS, Medium averages 74.0 FPS, High averages 57.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 36.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one below 40 FPS, making it borderline unplayable for a smooth experience. The drop from 1440p Ultra (61.3) to 4K Ultra (36.7) is a 40.1% reduction, mirroring the percentage drop seen from High to Ultra at 1080p. This reinforces that the Ultra preset at 4K is simply too much for the 6650 XT.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The data points to a clear sweet spot for this combo: 1440p High offers 94.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and it delivers a visual quality upgrade over 1080p. If the user prefers 1080p, 1080p High at 137.2 FPS is the best balance of quality and performance — it is dramatically smoother than Ultra (82.2) while still looking good. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended: at 1080p it drops to 82.2 FPS, at 1440p it falls to 61.3, and at 4K it collapses to 36.7. For 4K users, 4K Low at 90.6 FPS is the only viable option, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it when 1440p High provides a better overall experience.

The Medium preset is a reasonable fallback: 161.2 FPS at 1080p and 114.4 FPS at 1440p, but it only marginally improves over High while sacrificing visual fidelity. Given that High at 1440p is 94.4 FPS and High at 1080p is 137.2 FPS, the recommendation is to prioritize High settings and choose resolution based on the display's native panel. The data shows no benefit to running 4K Low over 1440p High.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K Ultra smoothly?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 36.7, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The 8 GB VRAM on the RX 6650 XT is likely overwhelmed by the Ultra preset at 4K.

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 High at 94.4 FPS as the best balance of visual quality and performance. It is well above 60 FPS and provides more detail than 1080p. If you prefer 1080p, High at 137.2 FPS is also excellent.

Q: How much FPS does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra is 55.0 FPS lower than High (82.2 vs 137.2). At 1440p, the gap is 33.1 FPS (61.3 vs 94.4). At 4K, the gap is 20.7 FPS (36.7 vs 57.4). The percentage cost is highest at 1080p, where Ultra is 40.1% slower.

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

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter. The FPS scales consistently with resolution (197.8 at 1080p Low to 90.6 at 4K Low), which is a GPU-bound pattern. The Ryzen 7 7700's 8 cores and 16 threads are likely more than sufficient for this 2016 title.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested combos in Downfall?

A: It ranks 1122 out of 1741 combos, placing it in the lower third. This is largely due to the GPU's mid-range position (72nd percentile of all GPUs), while the CPU is in the 91st percentile.

Q: Does 4K Low provide a better experience than 1440p High?

A: In terms of FPS, 4K Low averages 90.6 compared to 1440p High's 94.4 — they are nearly identical. However, 1440p High will look significantly better due to higher settings, so the data suggests 1440p High is the superior choice.