Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing in Downfall demonstrates a classic case of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, but with enough CPU headroom to deliver exceptional frame rates at lower settings. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy: this combo is firmly ranked 1176 out of 1741 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all potential builds for this title. The performance profile is defined by a strong 8-core CPU that never appears to bottleneck, allowing the GPU to dictate the experience across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting component in this configuration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 191.1 FPS, but moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 138.5 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls further to 86 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a pattern that persists across all quality presets.

The scaling behavior reveals that the Ryzen 7 9700X provides ample processing power even at high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system pushes past 190 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can show, yet the CPU manages to feed the GPU effectively. The real story emerges at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS collapses to 37.4 — a figure that drops below playable thresholds for many users. This 4K Ultra result is only 19.6% of the 1080p Low score, showing that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are simply overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum detail settings.

Interestingly, the scaling between Medium and High settings is relatively small compared to the jump to Ultra. At 4K, Medium produces 70.4 FPS while High yields 57.6 FPS, a 22% difference. However, Ultra drops to 37.4 FPS, which is 35% lower than High. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs, making the step from High to Ultra far more costly than from Medium to High.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and smooth gameplay, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended target, delivering 92.5 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining substantial detail. At 1920x1080, High settings achieve 127.1 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, while Medium at 1080p offers 157.7 FPS for those prioritizing maximum smoothness.

The data indicates that Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the combo still manages 81.4 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 57.3 FPS, which is borderline for demanding players, and at 4K it becomes unplayable at 37.4 FPS. For 4K owners, Low settings at 86 FPS are the only reasonable choice, though this sacrifices significant visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 114.2 FPS, making it a strong alternative for users who want higher quality than Low but cannot tolerate the frame rate hit from Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 1176 out of 1741 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the 32nd percentile of all configurations — meaning roughly two-thirds of builds tested for Downfall perform better. The CPU component alone is a standout performer, with the Ryzen 7 9700X achieving an 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 36029. This places it nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940, 0.2% ahead) and slightly behind the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (36165, -0.4%).

The GPU, however, drags the overall combo down. The RTX 2060 SUPER holds a 63rd percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average score of 19774. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706, 0.3% ahead), the RTX 2070 (19680, 0.5% ahead), and the Quadro K5200 (19623, 0.8% ahead). This places it in a cluster of older and mid-range cards, explaining why the overall combo rank is so modest despite the strong CPU. The bottleneck is unambiguous: the GPU cannot keep pace with what the Ryzen 7 9700X can feed it.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset shows a clear progression across all twelve measured configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 191.1 FPS, Medium 157.7 FPS, High 127.1 FPS, and Ultra 81.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 109.7 FPS, demonstrating significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the same settings produce: Low 138.5 FPS, Medium 114.2 FPS, High 92.5 FPS, and Ultra 57.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 81.2 FPS, reflecting the GPU working harder at higher pixel counts. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 86 FPS, Medium 70.4 FPS, High 57.6 FPS, and Ultra 37.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 48.6 FPS, showing that the GPU is increasingly the constraint as resolution rises.

The relative performance drops between settings are consistent. At every resolution, Low to Medium costs roughly 17-18% of performance, Medium to High costs 18-19%, and High to Ultra costs 36-37%. This consistent pattern indicates that the Ultra preset applies a uniform additional load regardless of resolution, but the absolute impact is harsher at 4K because there is less headroom to absorb it.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Downfall?*

A: At 4K High, the average is 57.6 FPS, which is below 60. The Medium preset at 4K reaches 70.4 FPS, so players must drop to Medium or lower to maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 with High settings provides 92.5 FPS, offering a strong balance of detail and smoothness. Alternatively, 1080p Ultra at 81.4 FPS is viable for maximum quality at a lower resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K?

A: At High settings, 1080p produces 127.1 FPS versus 57.6 FPS at 4K, making 1080p 2.2 times faster. At Low settings, the ratio is 191.1 FPS versus 86 FPS, or 2.2 times faster as well.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiter. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile while the GPU sits in the 63rd percentile. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is the worst-performing configuration tested?

A: The 4K Ultra setting yields the lowest average at 37.4 FPS. This is the only measured configuration that falls below 40 FPS, making it the least playable option.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score is 19774, while the RTX 2070 scores 19680, making the 2060 SUPER 0.5% faster in synthetic tests. In actual Downfall gameplay, the difference would be negligible.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running on the AM5 socket. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz boosts up to 5.50 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 31588, while Geekbench multicore reaches 17002. Single-thread performance is equally robust, with Cinebench R23 singlecore at 4459 and Geekbench singlecore at 3353.

In Downfall, the CPU's 8 cores are more than sufficient for this title, even at the highest frame rates measured. At 1080p Low, the system hits 191.1 FPS, and the fact that scaling to higher resolutions consistently reduces FPS indicates the CPU is never the limiting factor. The processor's 16 threads allow it to handle any background tasks or game logic demands without impacting frame delivery. The 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36029, places it in the top tier of processors, and its nearest rivals — the i5-14500HX (35940) and Core Ultra 9 185H (36165) — are statistically tied in synthetic tests.

The CPU's 65W TDP suggests efficient operation, but the real story is that this processor has far more capability than the RTX 2060 SUPER can utilize. Even at the lowest resolution and settings where the CPU would be most stressed, the frame rate is limited by the GPU rather than the processor. This is a case where the CPU is effectively overqualified for the GPU pairing, leaving significant performance on the table that a more powerful graphics card could unlock.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the TU106 chip using a 12 nm process, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock runs at 1650 MHz, and it delivers 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute from 2176 shading units. The card also includes 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, though Downfall is a 2016 horror title that predates widespread ray tracing implementation.

The GPU's 63rd percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average score of 19774, places it in the mid-range of current hardware. Its nearest rival is the GTX TITAN (19706, 0.3% behind) and the RTX 2070 (19680, 0.5% behind), which shows that the 2060 SUPER performs essentially identically to cards that were positioned above it at launch. In Downfall, the GPU's performance is the determining factor for the entire combo's rank of 1176 out of 1741.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 37.4 FPS suggests the memory bandwidth and compute power are insufficient for maximum settings at high resolution. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the card's class, but the 7.181 TFLOPS compute is simply outpaced by the demands of 4K Ultra. The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 1440p High (92.5 FPS), beyond which users must sacrifice either resolution or quality to maintain smooth gameplay. The card's 175W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its mid-range positioning, and its end-of-life production status indicates it is aging out of the current GPU landscape.