Downfall

Downfall, a 2016 horror title, presents an interesting performance profile for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination. The measured data indicates that this pairing performs well at lower resolutions but is heavily constrained by the graphics card as resolution increases. The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy across settings and resolutions, with the Ultra preset proving particularly demanding, while the 1080p Low setting delivers the highest frame rates. The data positions this combo in the 2674th place out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of the database’s testing pool for this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K yields a significant drop in average frame rates across all settings. At the High preset, performance falls from 128 FPS at 1920x1080 to 91 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 29%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 57 FPS, which is a 55% decrease from the 1080p figure. This indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s performance headroom is less relevant. The data suggests a GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the graphics card's 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated.

The Low preset shows a similar trend, though with higher overall numbers. At 1440p, the average is 136 FPS, and at 4K it is 85 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is 55 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 51 FPS, showing a steady decline. The Medium preset at 4K yields an average of 69 FPS with minimums of 59 FPS and maximums of 80 FPS, indicating playable performance but with some variance. The Ultra preset, however, is the most punishing: it drops to only 57 FPS at 1440p and a mere 36 FPS at 4K, which is a 55% reduction from the 1440p score. This data confirms that resolution scaling is severe, and only the Low and Medium settings offer acceptable 4K performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 1080p with the High preset?

A: The average frame rate is 128 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT bottleneck the system at 4K?

A: Yes. The frame rate drops to 57 FPS at 4K High and 36 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: Which resolution provides the best experience for this game with this combo?

A: 1920x1080 provides the best performance, with an average of 191 FPS at Low settings and 128 FPS at High settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 36 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the combo more CPU-bound or GPU-bound in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is likely the main driver, given the high frame rates. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as shown by the performance scaling with settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: It ranks 2674th out of 3716 tested combos, putting it in the lower half of tested combinations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2589 MHz, with a game clock of 2359 MHz and a base clock of 1968 MHz. The card is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The memory clock runs at 2000 MHz, or 16 Gbps effective. For this game, the GPU’s VRAM capacity and bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB allocation appears sufficient for the game, but the 256-bit bus limits the data throughput.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 24442, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 24277 (a 0.7% difference), and the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 24647 (a -0.8% difference). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER are also close, with scores of 24236 and 24170, respectively. These scores suggest the RX 6600 XT is a mid-range graphics card, and its performance in Downfall is consistent with its position. The GPU’s compute score and DirectX 12 performance are not the limiting factors in this game; instead, the memory bandwidth is the key metric.

The card’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game at all resolutions tested, but the bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at 4K. With a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, the card is able to handle the texture and geometry data, but not without a noticeable frame rate drop. The boost clock of 2589 MHz provides adequate processing power, but the 2048 shading units are not enough to maintain high frame rates at the higher resolution. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, and the low frame rates at Ultra settings are a direct result of the GPU’s memory bandwidth and processing power.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the Ultra preset is not playable at any resolution for this combo. At 4K, Ultra averages 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, Ultra averages 57 FPS, which is borderline but still low for a horror game. The High preset is a better choice for 1440p, with an average of 91 FPS, providing a good balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, High is excellent, delivering 128 FPS, while Medium offers even more headroom at 156 FPS.

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the High preset at 1440p is recommended. This yields 91 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard, and the game will look better than the Medium preset. If the user prefers higher performance, the Medium preset at 1080p offers 156 FPS, which is a significant improvement over High. The Low preset is the only option for 4K gaming, but it still provides 85 FPS, which is acceptable for a less demanding visual profile. The Low preset at 1440p is also a solid choice for high refresh rate monitors, with 136 FPS. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings, so Medium and Low are the only presets that allow for frame rates above 100 at most resolutions.

The Ultra preset should be avoided for this combo, as it drops to 36 FPS at 4K and 57 FPS at 1440p. The High preset is the highest setting that remains playable at 1440p and above. For a smooth experience, the 1080p Medium or High presets are the best options, with 156 and 128 FPS respectively. The game’s horror genre benefits from high frame rates to maintain immersion, so the Medium preset is the recommended choice for most users.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination ranks 2674th out of 3716 tested combos for this game, placing it in the 28th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a lower-than-average performance for a combination with a strong CPU. The Ryzen 7 7700X is a high-end desktop processor, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19088 and a single-core score of 1987. The Geekbench multi-core score is 12451, and the single-core is 2289. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 35909, which places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802 (0.3% difference), and the Intel Core 7 250H, which scores 35728 (0.5% difference). These are all close in performance, but the CPU’s rank in this game is dragged down by the GPU. The GPU’s performance in this game is the limiting factor, as the CPU is likely not the bottleneck. The combo’s rank of 2674 suggests that the 7700X is not effectively utilized in this game, and the RX 6600 XT is the primary constraint. This is a common pattern in games that are graphically intensive, as the CPU’s potential is not fully realized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 191 FPS. The Medium preset averages 156 FPS, with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS. The High preset averages 128 FPS. The Ultra preset drops significantly to 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 136 FPS. The Medium preset averages 111 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS. The High preset averages 91 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 57 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 85 FPS. The Medium preset averages 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. The High preset averages 57 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 36 FPS.

The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, frame rates decrease, and as settings increase, frame rates also decrease. The largest drop from one setting to the next is from High to Ultra, which is a significant jump. The 1080p Low and Medium presets are the only configurations that exceed 150 FPS, and the 4K Ultra is the only one that falls below 40 FPS. The 1440p Medium preset is the best balance between resolution and performance, with an average of 111 FPS. The 4K Medium preset is the only 4K setting with a minimum FPS above 60, at 59 FPS, which is still low for a horror game. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit bus are the likely reasons for the performance drop at 4K.