Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 pairing delivers a compelling experience in Downfall, a horror title from 2016 that remains demanding at high resolutions. Benchmark data shows this combo ranks 768th out of 3,716 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all tested systems. The 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 processor with 96 MB of shared L3 cache pairs with a 12 GB GDDR7 GPU to produce frame rates ranging from 62 FPS at 4K Ultra to 334 FPS at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, settings recommendations, and measured performance across resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average is 334 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the opposite extreme, the lowest average is 62 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 768th out of 3,716 tested combos, which places it in the top 20.7% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the CPU's average benchmark score and how does it compare to rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 39,768 across all tests. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, scores 39,603, putting the 9800X3D just 0.4% ahead. The Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40,081, which is 0.8% higher than the 9800X3D.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and its closest competitor?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40,377. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 580 with 40,318, a difference of 0.1%. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile trails by 2% with a score of 39,568.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best balance of performance across all resolutions?

A: Medium settings deliver the most consistent experience, with average frame rates of 273 FPS at 1080p, 195 FPS at 1440p, and 121 FPS at 4K. This preset also provides measured minimum and maximum frame rates, indicating stable performance.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings achieve 238 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 100 FPS. That represents a 138% increase in average frame rate when switching from Ultra to Low.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is built on the Zen 5 architecture using TSMC's 4 nm process, with the Granite Ridge codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The processor includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache—a configuration that benefits games with large working sets. Memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel operation and 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, alongside ECC memory support.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 results show 2,080 points in single-core and 23,230 in multi-core. Geekbench scores reach 2,964 single-core and 18,696 multi-core. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1,212 points in single-thread to 8,252 in 8-thread and 10,067 in max-thread scenarios. PassMark results include 4430 in single-thread and 40,009 in multithread tests, with floating-point math scoring 79,456 and integer math at 116,709.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 87, meaning it outperforms 87% of all processors in the database. Its nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS is 0.4% behind, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is 0.7% ahead, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 is 0.7% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is 0.8% ahead. These small deltas indicate that the 9800X3D sits in a highly competitive performance band.

For Downfall, the CPU's high single-thread performance (2,080 in Cinebench R23 single-core) matters because horror games often rely on gameplay logic and AI calculations that favor strong per-core throughput. The 96 MB L3 cache helps maintain data locality during scene transitions, which are frequent in this genre. The 8-core/16-thread configuration provides ample headroom for background processes while gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 employs the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on TSMC's 5 nm process, using the GB205 chip with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). It features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute resources include 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines. Ray tracing is handled by 48 RT cores, while 192 tensor cores accelerate AI workloads. The pixel rate reaches 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate is 482.3 GTexel/s. Floating-point performance is rated at 30.87 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio). The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In benchmark tests, the RTX 5070 scores 5,077 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 172,660 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 178,923 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark results show 29,137 in G3D and 15,787 in GPU compute. The GPU's percentile ranking is 82, better than 82% of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% behind), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% behind), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (1.2% ahead), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% behind).

For Downfall, the 12 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient across all tested settings, even at 4K Ultra. The 672 GB/s memory bandwidth supports high texture throughput, which is critical in a horror game with detailed environments and lighting effects. The 48 RT cores provide hardware ray tracing capability, though the measured data does not indicate whether this feature was enabled in the tested scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 768 out of 3,716 tested combinations places it in the 79.3rd percentile of all configurations. This means it outperforms roughly 79% of all tested combos while being surpassed by about 21%. Given that both the CPU (87th percentile) and GPU (82nd percentile) individually rank highly, the combined performance aligns with expectations.

The CPU and GPU contributions are relatively balanced in this pairing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 39,768 is nearly identical to the GPU's 40,377, differing by only 1.5%. This equilibrium suggests neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other in general workloads. However, in Downfall specifically, the frame rates scale more dramatically with settings changes than with resolution changes, indicating the GPU is the primary performance limiter at higher quality presets.

At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 62 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Dropping to 4K High raises this to 99 FPS, a 60% improvement. At 1440p, the Ultra preset yields 100 FPS, while High delivers 160 FPS. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 140 FPS, showing the combo handles this resolution comfortably across all settings.

The rank of 768 indicates there are 2,948 tested combos that perform worse, while 767 perform better. This places the system in the upper-middle tier of all configurations tested for Downfall. The tight clustering of CPU rivals (all within 0.8% of the 9800X3D) suggests that processor choice has minimal impact on overall ranking when paired with this GPU class.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 140 FPS, making the choice purely about visual fidelity. Ultra at 1080p delivers 140 FPS, which is sufficient for most displays, while High achieves 224 FPS for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings provide 195 FPS with measured minimums of 166 and maximums of 224. This represents the best balance of visual quality and performance, as High delivers 160 FPS and Ultra drops to 100 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 166 FPS ensures consistent smoothness even during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, Medium settings deliver 121 FPS with minimums of 103 and maximums of 139. This is the only 4K preset with measured minimum and maximum values, indicating stable performance. High achieves 99 FPS, while Ultra falls to 62 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in a horror game where responsiveness matters.

For players prioritizing visual quality, High settings at 1440p (160 FPS) or 4K (99 FPS) offer strong experiences. For maximum smoothness, Low settings at 1440p (238 FPS) or 1080p (334 FPS) provide extremely high frame rates. Medium settings emerge as the recommended choice across all resolutions, offering the best combination of frame rate stability and visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest settings yield the highest average frame rate at 334 FPS. Medium settings produce 273 FPS with minimums of 232 and maximums of 314. High settings achieve 224 FPS, while Ultra drops to 140 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 194 FPS, representing a 58% performance reduction at the highest quality preset.

At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 238 FPS average. Medium settings reach 195 FPS with minimums of 166 and maximums of 224. High settings produce 160 FPS, and Ultra falls to 100 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 138 FPS, or 58% lower performance at Ultra compared to Low.

At 3840x2160, Low settings achieve 148 FPS average. Medium settings produce 121 FPS with minimums of 103 and maximums of 139. High settings deliver 99 FPS, while Ultra drops to 62 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 86 FPS, representing a 58% reduction.

The data reveals consistent scaling patterns across resolutions. The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is nearly identical at all three resolutions (approximately 58%), indicating that the performance penalty for Ultra settings is resolution-independent. The Medium preset consistently provides frame rates approximately 18-19% below Low settings, while High sits between Medium and Ultra in performance.

Minimum frame rates are only measured for Medium settings across all resolutions, showing 232 FPS at 1080p, 166 FPS at 1440p, and 103 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all above 100 FPS, suggesting that Medium settings maintain playable performance even in demanding scenes. The absence of minimum frame rate data for other presets limits direct comparisons, but the available data indicates Medium provides the most stable experience.