Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing in Downfall presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the overwhelming star at lower resolutions, but the CPU's capabilities become increasingly relevant as the workload shifts. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers imply about each component's role.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 444.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 317.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 200.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling penalty. The pattern is consistent across all settings: High settings drop from 296.7 FPS at 1080p to 211 FPS at 1440p, then to 134.7 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow suit, falling from 186.5 FPS to 133.4 FPS, then to 85.8 FPS.

These numbers indicate that Downfall is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions. The RTX 4090 is so powerful at 1080p that it pushes frame rates into the 300-400 FPS range, which suggests the CPU is likely the limiting factor there. As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's rendering workload multiplies, and the frame rates drop to levels where the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The fact that even at 4K Ultra the system still manages 85.8 FPS shows the RTX 4090 has enough headroom to handle this horror title at maximum settings with high refresh rates, but the scaling curve implies that players seeking the absolute highest FPS will need to prioritize resolution over settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance on the optimal preset for different priorities. For players targeting 4K, the High preset delivers 134.7 FPS, which is a 57% improvement over Ultra's 85.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers 162.7 FPS, a 21% boost over High. The data suggests that the jump from Ultra to High is the most efficient trade-off, as it yields a substantial frame rate increase while presumably retaining most visual quality. At 1440p, the High preset's 211 FPS is already excellent for high-refresh monitors, while Ultra's 133.4 FPS remains highly playable. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 317.6 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of most displays.

For 1080p, every preset is playable, with even Ultra hitting 186.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 363.2 FPS and Low at 444.8 FPS are overkill for standard 60Hz or 144Hz monitors. The best experience per the measured rows appears to be High settings at 1440p, which balances the 211 FPS average with presumably solid visual fidelity. For 4K users, High settings are the sweet spot, as they nearly double the frame rate of Ultra while likely offering a visually similar experience. The data implies that Ultra is a showcase preset that sacrifices too much performance for marginal visual gains.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 85.8 FPS.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low settings achieve 444.8 FPS, which is 258.3 FPS higher than Ultra's 186.5 FPS at 1920x1080.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: Yes, even the most demanding preset (Ultra) at 4K produces 85.8 FPS, while High and Medium presets reach 134.7 and 162.7 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings?

A: The 2560x1440 High preset produces 211 FPS, while 3840x2160 High produces 134.7 FPS, a difference of 76.3 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40468, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H's 40431 score.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4090 ranks in the 91st percentile among all GPUs based on its benchmark scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 17th out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the top 1% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result. The rank reflects the raw power of the RTX 4090, which is in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, combined with a CPU that sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The fact that this duo cracks the top 20 out of over 1700 combinations indicates that it is among the most capable pairings for this title.

The ranking also suggests that there is little room for improvement within the tested pool. The Ryzen 7 7700's average benchmark score of 40468 is virtually identical to its nearest rivals, with a 0.1% delta from the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H and just 0.5% from the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365. This means any CPU upgrade would yield minimal gains in Downfall, as the game appears to be GPU-limited at most settings. The 17th rank out of 1741 combos implies that the system is already near the top of the performance curve, and the data does not suggest that alternative component choices would meaningfully change the outcome.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 brings 8 cores and 16 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This Zen 4 architecture chip on the 5 nm process node delivers strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4136. The multi-threaded score of 29302 in the same benchmark shows the CPU can handle heavy workloads, but Downfall's results suggest the game is not intensely CPU-dependent. At 1080p Low settings, the 444.8 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls, but this is an extreme scenario that few players would use.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide a solid foundation for gaming. The data shows that as resolution increases, the FPS drops proportionally more than it does with settings changes, which implies the CPU is less of a factor at higher resolutions. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for a horror game like Downfall, which likely relies on consistent frame pacing for atmosphere. The 3.80 GHz base clock ensures stable performance, while the 5.30 GHz boost clock allows for bursts of speed when needed. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is a high-end part, but the measured FPS indicates that the RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 444.8 FPS on Low, 363.2 FPS on Medium, 296.7 FPS on High, and 186.5 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression where each settings tier reduces performance by roughly 20-30%. The 1080p results are exceptional, with even the most demanding preset clearing 180 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 317.6 FPS on Low, 257.1 FPS on Medium, 211 FPS on High, and 133.4 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results maintain high playability across all presets, with Ultra still exceeding 130 FPS. At 3840x2160, the numbers become 200.1 FPS on Low, 162.7 FPS on Medium, 134.7 FPS on High, and 85.8 FPS on Ultra.

The pattern across resolutions shows that Low settings at 4K (200.1 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1440p (133.4 FPS) and even Ultra at 1080p (186.5 FPS). This indicates that the GPU has massive headroom, and resolution has a larger impact on performance than settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 114.3 FPS, while at 1080p the same gap is 258.3 FPS. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, whereas at 1080p, the CPU can become a bottleneck, particularly at lower settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster of a graphics card, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its AD102 chip contains 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz allow it to push 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This hardware is clearly designed for maximum brute force, and the Downfall results reflect that.

The GPU's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs is validated by the measured FPS. At 4K Ultra, the card still manages 85.8 FPS, which is remarkable for a demanding setting. The 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Downfall, as even at 4K Ultra, there is no indication of memory limitations. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that the GPU can feed its massive compute units without starvation. The RTX 4090's performance in this game shows that it is the clear driver of the high frame rates, particularly at 1440p and 4K, where the CPU's role diminishes. The card's passmark G3D score of 38194 places it well above average, and its nearest rivals in the benchmark, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 with a score of 66733, show that the RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66473 is competitive within a 0.4% margin. This data confirms that the GPU is the star of this pairing, delivering playable frame rates even at the most demanding settings and resolutions.