Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER secures the 274th position out of 1,741 tested combinations for Downfall. This places the combo comfortably within the top 16% of all configurations in the database, a strong showing for a horror title that can be demanding at higher settings. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component acts as a severe bottleneck, allowing the system to leverage its combined strengths across the board.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 274 out of 1,741 indicates it outperforms roughly 84% of all tested systems in Downfall. This is a robust result, but the data suggests there is headroom above it, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU’s influence wanes. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 84 among all GPUs aligns closely with the combo’s in-game standing, suggesting the graphics card is the primary driver of this result. Conversely, the CPU’s percentile of 89 is slightly higher, hinting that the processor is capable of pushing even more frames if paired with a faster GPU. The gap between the CPU’s potential and the combo’s actual rank underscores that in Downfall, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting factor at most settings, a conclusion reinforced by the FPS scaling data analyzed below.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, provides substantial compute power. In Downfall, this translates to high frame rates, but the VRAM capacity and bandwidth become more critical as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 63, a figure that suggests the GPU is working near its limits, likely due to both pixel throughput and memory pressure. The 12 GB capacity appears sufficient for the game’s demands, but the 192-bit bus width limits bandwidth compared to wider-memory GPUs, which could explain the steep performance cliff at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 42,576 places it near the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which scores 42,653 with a delta of -0.2%, indicating near-identical rasterization performance in synthetic tests. This parity is notable given the A6000’s workstation pedigree, but in Downfall, the 4070 SUPER’s gaming-optimized drivers likely contribute to its measured FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend: performance scales inversely with resolution, but the rate of decline is not uniform across settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 347.1 at 1080p to 246.8 at 1440p and further to 156.3 at 4K. This represents a 29% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 55% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is more involved, as the GPU is not saturated, allowing the Ryzen 7 9700X’s 8 cores and 16 threads to push higher frame rates. However, at Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: from 147.2 at 1080p to 105.9 at 1440p (a 28% decrease) and then to 63 at 4K (a 57% decrease from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS is a significant outlier, suggesting that the GPU’s compute and memory subsystems are overwhelmed. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at all settings is relatively consistent, hovering around 27-29%, but the jump to 4K exposes the GPU’s limitations, particularly at Ultra where the frame rate nearly halves. This behavior points to the RTX 4070 SUPER as the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds up well.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings yield an average of 347.1 FPS, Medium produces 287.4 FPS, High reaches 231.3 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a smooth 147.2 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound at lower settings, as the frame rates far exceed what the GPU would typically cap in more demanding titles. The spread from Low to Ultra is 199.9 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has ample headroom to handle the increased graphical load without causing a stutter.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS values remain high but show a clear shift toward GPU limitation. Low settings produce 246.8 FPS, Medium drops to 203.1 FPS, High yields 168.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 105.9 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly 29% for Low, 29% for Medium, 27% for High, and 28% for Ultra, indicating a consistent resolution scaling that is typical of a well-balanced system. At 1440p Ultra, the 105.9 FPS average is still above the 100 FPS threshold, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings still deliver an impressive 156.3 FPS, and Medium achieves 129 FPS, both of which are playable. High settings drop to 106.1 FPS, which remains smooth, but Ultra falls to 63 FPS. This 4K Ultra result is the only measurement below 100 FPS in the entire dataset, and it represents a 40% drop from High at the same resolution. The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER can handle 4K at Medium and High settings comfortably, but Ultra pushes it beyond its optimal performance envelope. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K (43.1 FPS) is more than double the gap at 1080p (84.1 FPS), highlighting the exponential cost of Ultra settings at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, Ultra settings are the clear choice, as the 147.2 FPS average provides a fluid experience with maximum visual fidelity. The data shows no reason to compromise at this resolution, as even Ultra leaves significant headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Ultra is also recommended, with a 105.9 FPS average that remains above 100 FPS. However, for users prioritizing consistency over ultimate quality, High settings at 168.1 FPS offer a substantial 58.7% increase over Ultra, which could be preferable for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

At 4K, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. Ultra’s 63 FPS average is technically playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes, and the data suggests it may dip below 60 FPS in intensive moments. High settings at 106.1 FPS provide a far more stable experience, and Medium at 129 FPS is even smoother. For 4K, High settings represent the sweet spot, balancing visual quality with a comfortable performance buffer. Low settings at 4K still deliver 156.3 FPS, which is remarkable, but the visual compromise is likely unnecessary given the GPU’s capability. The measured data indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is most efficient at High settings across all resolutions, offering a consistent ~40-50% performance uplift over Ultra while maintaining high visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, based on the Zen 5 architecture, provides 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth help feed the GPU effectively. In Downfall, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 347.1 FPS result is a clear indication of CPU-bound performance, as the GPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU’s multi-threaded strength, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31,588, ensures that the game’s physics and AI threads are well-served.

However, as resolution increases, the CPU’s influence diminishes. The 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS is almost entirely GPU-limited, as the CPU would not struggle with the game’s logic at such a low frame rate. The CPU’s single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 3,353, is sufficient for Downfall’s primary game thread, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The processor’s average benchmark score of 36,029 places it within 0.4% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, which scores 36,165, and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 35,940. This tight grouping indicates that the 9700X is competitive with top mobile and desktop chips, though its 89th percentile ranking suggests there are faster options available. In this combo, the CPU never becomes a bottleneck at 4K, but at 1080p, it is the primary driver of performance, making it a well-matched partner for the RTX 4070 SUPER in Downfall.