Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional performance in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that proves surprisingly demanding at its highest settings. This combination secures the top rank among 2,928 tested combos, with benchmark results revealing a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p. The data indicates a powerful, well-matched pair capable of extreme frame rates, though the scaling patterns offer nuanced insights into where each component's influence begins and ends.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 324 FPS at 1080p to 231 FPS at 1440p, then further to 144 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load on the GPU is scaling significantly with pixel count.

The Low settings preset shows an even more dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p, the system achieves 482 FPS, which falls to 345 FPS at 1440p and 214 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K drop here is 55.6% as well, suggesting that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the primary bottleneck across all resolutions. However, the sheer magnitude of these numbers—482 FPS at 1080p Low—points toward potential CPU involvement, as frame rates this high approach the limits of what a processor can feed to the graphics card.

Medium settings provide the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 395 FPS with a minimum of 335 and maximum of 454. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 282 FPS (min 240, max 324), and at 4K it further declines to 175 FPS (min 149, max 202). The consistent ratio of minimum to average FPS across resolutions—roughly 85%—suggests stable frame pacing with no anomalous spikes or stutters.

Ultra settings present the steepest scaling penalty. The system manages 202 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 144 FPS at 1440p and 90 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K reduction here is 55.4%, nearly identical to the other presets, reinforcing that the game's resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality level. The 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS is the only figure below 100 FPS in the entire dataset, indicating that this is the first configuration point where the combination begins to feel constrained.

The scaling analysis suggests that at 1080p, particularly at Low settings, the CPU may be starting to limit performance. The 482 FPS result is extraordinarily high, and the fact that it does not scale linearly with resolution—the 1080p to 1440p drop of 28.4% is less than the 1440p to 4K drop of 38.0%—hints that the processor's frame generation capability is being approached. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component, as evidenced by the consistent 55% reduction across all presets.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Downfall with this hardware?*

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 at High settings provides an excellent balance, delivering 231 FPS average. This is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay while allowing for higher visual fidelity than 1080p, and it remains well above the 144 FPS threshold that many high-refresh-rate displays target.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D perform at 4K in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU delivers 144 FPS on High settings, 175 FPS on Medium, 214 FPS on Low, and 90 FPS on Ultra. The Ultra preset is the only setting that drops below 100 FPS, suggesting that 4K Ultra may require additional optimization or is intentionally demanding.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700X bottlenecking the RTX 5090 D?

A: The data suggests possible CPU limitation only at 1080p Low settings, where the system reaches 482 FPS. At 4K and with higher quality presets, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 5.50 GHz boost clock appear sufficient for this game's demands.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with this combination?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 345 on Low to 144 on Ultra, with High at 231 and Medium at 282. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 240 FPS, indicating that even the lowest frame rates remain highly playable.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to other settings?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 90 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, representing a 37.5% reduction from 4K High's 144 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce significant additional rendering demands beyond High.

Q: Does this combo rank well among other tested configurations?

A: Yes, this combination ranks first out of 2,928 tested combos for Downfall, placing it at the very top of the benchmark database for this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to High settings as the optimal choice for most users, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p, High delivers 231 FPS average, which is 60 FPS higher than the 144 FPS achieved at Ultra while maintaining substantially better visual quality than Medium's 282 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra—a 60.4% performance increase at 1440p—is significant enough that most players would prefer the smoother experience.

For 4K users, High settings at 144 FPS provides an ideal balance. This exactly matches common 144Hz monitor refresh rates, ensuring the display can take full advantage of the GPU's output. The Medium preset at 175 FPS offers additional headroom for users with higher refresh displays, though the visual sacrifice may not be worth the 21.5% performance gain. Ultra at 4K drops to 90 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 37.5% reduction from High.

At 1080p, the choice is less critical since even Ultra achieves 202 FPS. However, the data shows that High at 324 FPS provides a 60.4% improvement over Ultra while only modestly reducing visual fidelity. Given that 1080p displays typically offer 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rates, High settings would be the recommended choice to ensure the frame rate remains well above the display's capability.

The Medium preset deserves consideration for users who prioritize frame rate stability. It is the only preset with documented minimum FPS values, showing 335 FPS at 1080p, 240 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 4K. These minimums represent 84.8%, 85.1%, and 85.1% of their respective averages, indicating consistent performance without significant frame drops. For competitive play or high-refresh displays, Medium's stability may outweigh the visual benefits of High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. The Low preset achieves an average of 482 FPS, followed by Medium at 395 FPS (min 335, max 454), High at 324 FPS, and Ultra at 202 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58.1% reduction in performance, with each tier costing roughly 20-25% of the previous tier's frame rate.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern with reduced absolute numbers. Low leads at 345 FPS, Medium follows at 282 FPS (min 240, max 324), High delivers 231 FPS, and Ultra drops to 144 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction is 58.3%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling, confirming that the quality presets impose consistent relative costs regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance hierarchy remains intact but with lower absolute values. Low achieves 214 FPS, Medium averages 175 FPS (min 149, max 202), High reaches 144 FPS, and Ultra falls to 90 FPS. The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is 57.9%, maintaining the pattern established at lower resolutions.

Comparing across resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most complete picture. The 1080p average of 395 FPS drops by 28.6% at 1440p to 282 FPS, then by 38.0% at 4K to 175 FPS. This non-linear scaling—with a larger drop from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p—suggests that pixel count increases disproportionately affect the GPU's rendering pipeline.

The Ultra preset shows similar scaling behavior. At 1080p, 202 FPS drops to 144 FPS at 1440p (a 28.7% reduction), then to 90 FPS at 4K (a 37.5% reduction). This consistency across presets indicates that the game's resolution scaling is largely independent of quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination achieves the top rank in Downfall, placing first among 2,928 tested configurations. This ranking is supported by the measured FPS data, which shows no other combination in the database producing higher average frame rates across the tested resolutions and settings.

The GPU's benchmark performance is notable, with an average score of 77,712 and a percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database—the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605—actually score higher in raw benchmarks, yet this combination still outperforms them in Downfall. This suggests that the game's optimization favors the RTX 5090 D's architecture or that the CPU's performance contributes significantly to the final result.

The CPU's benchmark scores are equally competitive, with an average of 37,943 and an 86th percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals—the Intel Core i9-14901E at 37,911 and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 at 37,904—are nearly identical in raw performance, with delta percentages of just 0.1%. The fact that this combination still ranks first indicates that the pairing of these specific components yields particularly strong results in Downfall.

The rank of 1 out of 2,928 is a definitive statement of performance supremacy for this game. It implies that no other tested CPU-GPU combination can match the frame rates achieved by the 9700X and RTX 5090 D across the measured scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads to the system, built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1,280 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,211.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are demonstrated by the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20,485 and the Geekbench multicore result of 17,906. These scores indicate strong parallel processing ability, though Downfall appears to benefit more from raw clock speed than thread count, given the game's 2016 release date and likely single-threaded engine design.

The 32 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample fast memory for game data, while the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without bottleneck. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes provides high-bandwidth connectivity to the RTX 5090 D, though the game's requirements may not fully utilize this capability.

In the context of Downfall, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the 482 FPS result suggests the processor is approaching its frame generation limit. The fact that this is the only scenario where CPU limitation is evident indicates that the 9700X is more than adequate for typical gaming workloads at higher resolutions and quality settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores provide substantial raw compute power, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS.

The GPU's clock speeds of 2,017 MHz base and 2,407 MHz boost, combined with its 176 ROPs, enable a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. These specifications translate directly to the high frame rates observed in Downfall, particularly at 1080p where the GPU's fill rate capabilities are not fully taxed.

The 32 GB of VRAM is far more than Downfall requires, ensuring that memory capacity never becomes a limiting factor. The GDDR7 memory type provides the bandwidth necessary to feed the GPU's processing units at high resolutions, as evidenced by the still-impressive 90 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark performance shows a percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326. These results confirm the RTX 5090 D's position as one of the most powerful graphics cards available, though its raw scores are slightly lower than some rivals in the database. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 and OpenCL score of 310,674 further validate its compute capabilities.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is clearly dominant across all measured scenarios, with the exception of the 1080p Low case where CPU limitations may emerge. The consistent 55% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings presets indicates that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, making it the component most responsible for the frame rates achieved in this game.