Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a fundamentally unbalanced experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title. Benchmark results show the combo ranks 2688th out of 2928 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems. This pairing combines a high-end 8-core desktop CPU with an integrated-class GPU, and the measured frame rates confirm that the graphics component is the dominant constraint across every resolution and settings level tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this combo in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 2688th out of 2928 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom percentile of systems for this game. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe limitation relative to the CPU's capability.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its closest rival is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186, a 0.2% difference. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower). The GPU ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the best achievable average frame rate with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 96 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 68 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 43 FPS. No settings combination reaches 100 FPS average.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 7700X has an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs with a multi-threaded PassMark score of 35686, while the Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile. The GPU's System Shared memory architecture and 25 W TDP further reinforce this conclusion.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700X compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 35909. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 at 35802 (0.3% lower), followed by the Intel Core 7 250H at 35728 (0.5% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 at 35719 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H at 35670 (0.7% lower).

Q: What settings provide a playable experience at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 96 FPS average, Medium delivers 78 FPS (with min 67 and max 90), and High delivers 64 FPS. Ultra drops to 40 FPS. For a smooth experience, Medium or High are viable, while Low offers headroom for demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2688 out of 2928 tested combinations places it in the 91.8th percentile from the bottom, meaning only 240 combinations perform worse. This is a remarkably low ranking for a system built around a top-tier desktop processor. The Ryzen 7 7700X alone commands an 85th percentile position among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35909. In contrast, the Intel Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of just 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

This disparity creates an extreme bottleneck scenario. The CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver, and the measured frame rates reflect this. The GPU's nearest rivals—ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000—are all legacy or low-end parts from previous generations, underscoring the Arc B370's position as an integrated-class solution. The combo rank of 2688 suggests that in Downfall, this hardware pairing is closer to decade-old integrated graphics systems than to any modern discrete GPU configuration.

The practical implication is that this combo cannot leverage the CPU's strengths in gaming. The Ryzen 7 7700X's 16 threads and high boost clock are wasted when the GPU cannot sustain even 100 FPS at the lowest settings. The 3DMark results for the CPU show strong multi-threaded performance (8859 in the 16-thread test, 19088 in Cinebench R23 multi-core), but these capabilities have no bearing on the game's frame output when the GPU is the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with a TDP of just 25 W.

Critically, the memory configuration is "System Shared" for size, type, bus width, and bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the host system's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The Ryzen 7 7700X supports dual-channel DDR5 with a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, but the shared memory architecture introduces latency and bandwidth contention that a dedicated GPU would avoid.

In Downfall, a horror game from 2016, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute at 6.144 TFLOPS. These specifications place the Arc B370 far below any modern discrete GPU. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 is within 1.4% of the AMD FirePro M2000 and within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, both of which are over a decade old.

The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms only a small fraction of tested graphics hardware. In the context of Downfall, this translates to the measured FPS figures: the GPU cannot exceed 96 FPS even at 1080p Low, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 18 FPS average. The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm this is an integrated solution, not a discrete card, and the "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs suggest this is intended for mobile or compact systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 96 FPS on Low, 78 FPS on Medium (with min 67 and max 90), 64 FPS on High, and 40 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is steep: each step up in settings costs roughly 16-18% of the previous tier's performance.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 68 FPS on Low, 56 FPS on Medium (with min 48 and max 64), 46 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a tighter min-max range at this resolution, suggesting more consistent frame pacing than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 43 FPS on Low, 35 FPS on Medium (with min 30 and max 40), 29 FPS on High, and 18 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium preset is the only one with recorded min/max values, showing a 10 FPS spread.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low settings provide roughly 1.5x the frame rate of High settings, and Ultra is approximately half of High. This indicates that the game's settings are scaling primarily with GPU load, and the Arc B370's limited compute resources are the bottleneck. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 supports this, as it places the GPU in a performance class where even modest settings increases cause significant FPS drops.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and frame rate priority. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide 78 FPS average with a min of 67 and max of 90. This is the sweet spot for playable performance, as High drops to 64 FPS and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 75 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best balance is Low settings at 68 FPS, since Medium drops to 56 FPS. The 1440p High preset at 46 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 29 FPS is only suitable for screenshot purposes. For a horror game where smooth movement and quick reactions matter, the 1440p Low preset is recommended.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a truly smooth experience. Low at 43 FPS is the only option above 40 FPS, while Medium at 35 FPS and High at 29 FPS are both below the standard playability threshold. The 4K Ultra preset at 18 FPS is effectively unplayable.

The data shows that the Arc B370's performance ceiling is around 96 FPS, achieved only at 1080p Low. Users prioritizing frame rate should choose 1080p Medium for the best quality-to-performance ratio, while those at 1440p should accept Low settings. The 4K resolution is not viable for this GPU in Downfall, as even the lowest settings produce sub-45 FPS averages.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a desktop processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) and fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The TDP is 105 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark results are strong: it scores 8859 in 3DMark's 16-thread test, 7057 in the 8-thread test, and 1090 in single-thread. Cinebench R23 results show 19088 multi-core and 1987 single-core. Geekbench scores are 12451 multi-core and 2289 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 35686, with a single-thread score of 4190. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its high-end positioning.

The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3. The CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and includes integrated Radeon Graphics. The launch MSRP was $399, and it was released on 2022-09-26.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is minimal due to the GPU bottleneck. The game's frame rates are constrained by the Arc B370, not the Ryzen 7 7700X. The CPU's 16 threads and high clock speeds easily handle the game's processing demands, but the GPU cannot translate this into higher FPS. The CPU's nearest rivals—AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, Intel Core 7 250H, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H—are all within 0.7% of its average score, indicating the 7700X is among the top processors in its class.

However, the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (35686 PassMark multi-thread) is irrelevant to the game's output, as the GPU's 1184 3DMark score and 5th percentile ranking are the determining factors. The CPU's 32 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 support are also untapped, as the GPU's shared memory architecture cannot fully utilize the available bandwidth.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, confirming the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 96 at 1080p to 68 at 1440p (a 29% drop) and then to 43 at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K is 55%.

At Medium settings, the averages are 78 at 1080p, 56 at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 35 at 4K (a 38% drop from 1440p). The cumulative drop is 55%. At High settings, the averages are 64 at 1080p, 46 at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 29 at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The cumulative drop is 55%.

At Ultra settings, the averages are 40 at 1080p, 29 at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 18 at 4K (a 38% drop from 1440p). The cumulative drop is 55%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is striking. Every preset loses approximately 28-29% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 37-38% when moving from 1440p to 4K. This uniform scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is rasterizing pixels at a rate proportional to resolution, with no other component (CPU, memory bandwidth) creating additional bottlenecks.

The 55% total drop from 1080p to 4K is less than the theoretical 75% reduction in pixel count (1920x1080 = 2.07M pixels, 3840x2160 = 8.29M pixels), suggesting that the GPU is not purely pixel-bound. The shared memory architecture and system-dependent bandwidth likely introduce overhead that limits scaling efficiency. The GPU's 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p at low settings but become inadequate as resolution increases.

This resolution scaling behavior reinforces the conclusion that the Arc B370 is the sole bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 7700X's 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 5.4 GHz boost clock are more than sufficient for Downfall at any resolution, but the GPU's integrated-class performance cannot keep pace. The data suggests that users should stay at 1080p or 1440p with lower settings to achieve acceptable frame rates, as 4K is only playable at Low settings (43 FPS) and even then, the experience is marginal for a horror game requiring responsive controls.