Downfall

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers an average of 122 FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings. This is the lowest average among the four tested settings at this resolution, with Low producing 291 FPS, Medium 238 FPS, and High 195 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Downfall?

A: This specific combination ranks 855th out of 2928 tested combos in the game. This places it in the upper third of all configurations, indicating solid performance relative to the broader test pool.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 170, with minimum and maximum readings of 144 and 195 FPS. Dropping to 3840x2160 at Medium, the average falls to 106 FPS, with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 121 FPS. This represents a 64 FPS reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Which resolution yields the highest average FPS for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, producing 291 FPS. This is followed by Medium at 238 FPS, High at 195 FPS, and Ultra at 122 FPS. At 2560x1440, the peak average is 207 FPS on Low.

Q: What are the GPU's compute capabilities as measured in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU shows a Passmark G3D score of 24980 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 13245. Its Geekbench scores are 181337 for Metal, 171304 for OpenCL, and 136875 for Vulkan. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3689.

Q: Does the CPU's benchmark performance align with its game ranking?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 58386, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58323, a 0.1% difference. This strong synthetic showing is consistent with the 855th rank out of 2928 combos, though game-specific factors also matter.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1825 MHz, with a game clock of 2015 MHz and a boost clock of 2250 MHz; memory runs at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective speed. These specifications position the card with 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, plus 72 ray accelerators.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling of frame rates across settings. At 1920x1080, raising the preset from Low to Ultra drops the average from 291 to 122 FPS, a reduction of 169 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is particularly sharp—73 FPS—suggesting that Ultra settings impose a heavy load on the GPU's shading and memory subsystems. At 2560x1440, the same progression yields 207 FPS on Low down to 87 FPS on Ultra, and at 3840x2160, it ranges from 129 FPS on Low to 54 FPS on Ultra.

The 16 GB frame buffer is a notable asset for a horror title like Downfall, which may load large textures and shadow maps at higher presets. The synthetic data supports this: the GPU scores 24980 in Passmark G3D and 13245 in GPU Compute, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3689. Its percentile rank is 85th among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms most cards in the database. In comparison, the nearest rival—the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile—scores 47743 in average benchmark, just 1.5% lower, while the Intel Arc A550M sits 2.5% higher at 49737. This indicates the RX 6800 XT is competitive with modern mid-range to high-end parts, though it trails the RTX 5070 Ti by 3%.

For Downfall specifically, the GPU's performance ceiling appears to be the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average is only 54 FPS. At lower resolutions and presets, the card handles the game easily, with all 1080p configurations exceeding 120 FPS and even 4K Low hitting 129 FPS. The data suggests that the RX 6800 XT is well-suited for high-refresh 1080p and 1440p play, but 4K Ultra is beyond its comfortable range.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience in Downfall depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all settings exceed 120 FPS, so the choice hinges on visual fidelity versus headroom. Ultra produces 122 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for dips; High offers 195 FPS, a 60% improvement over Ultra with presumably minor visual trade-offs. Medium hits 238 FPS, which would suit a 240 Hz display, while Low reaches 291 FPS, only useful for extreme refresh rates or competitive play.

At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 87 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High yields 139 FPS, a substantial 52 FPS gain over Ultra, making it the sweet spot for 144 Hz monitors. Medium provides 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS, ensuring consistent frame pacing, while Low reaches 207 FPS for those prioritizing speed over visuals. For most users, High at 1440p offers the best balance of image quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the situation tightens. Ultra averages just 54 FPS, which is likely too low for a smooth experience in a horror title where responsiveness matters. High improves to 87 FPS, which is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but not ideal for higher refresh rates. Medium delivers 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS, making it the recommended preset for 4K, as it maintains playability while retaining some visual quality. Low hits 129 FPS, but the graphical sacrifices may be too severe for a game like Downfall.

The data indicates that Medium is the most versatile preset across all resolutions, offering 238 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K. High is a strong alternative for 1080p and 1440p users with high-refresh monitors, while Ultra is only advisable at 1080p where 122 FPS is still achievable.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D plus AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination ranks 855th out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. This percentile position—roughly the 29th percentile from the top—places it in the upper third of all configurations tested. Given that the GPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all GPUs and the CPU in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, the combo's 855th rank is slightly lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest.

This discrepancy likely stems from the game's specific demands. Downfall is a horror title from 2016, and its engine may not fully utilize the CPU's 3D V-Cache or the GPU's compute capabilities. The combo's rank of 855 out of 2928 means there are 854 configurations that perform better, which could include newer GPUs with higher raw throughput or CPUs with better single-thread performance for this workload.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is 0.1% faster in average benchmark score, while the Intel Xeon w5-2545 is 0.2% faster. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 0.5% slower, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 is 0.7% slower. These differences are marginal in synthetic tests, but in a game like Downfall, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 96 MB L3 cache may behave differently under gaming loads.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a tighter cluster: the RTX A1000 Mobile is 1.5% slower, while the Arc A550M, RTX 5070 Ti, and RX Vega 64 are 2.5%, 3%, and 3% faster, respectively. The RX 6800 XT's 16 GB VRAM and 512 GB/s bandwidth are strong assets, but its 300 W TDP and older RDNA 2 architecture may limit performance in a game that favors newer features.

Overall, the 855th rank is respectable, but it suggests that while this combo is capable, there are many faster configurations. Users seeking maximum FPS in Downfall would need to look at higher-tier GPUs or newer CPU generations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU has a 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming, along with 80 KB of L1 and 1 MB of L2 per core. Its TDP is rated at 120 W, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus delivering 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 22807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2228 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 41318 and a single-thread score of 4704. Its average benchmark score is 58386, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58323, a 0.1% difference, while the Xeon w5-2545 is 0.2% faster. This indicates the Ryzen 7 is at the top of its class for general compute.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is apparent when examining FPS scaling at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average is 291 FPS, which is extremely high and suggests the GPU is not the bottleneck at this setting. The jump from Low to Medium (238 FPS) and then to High (195 FPS) shows a gradual increase in GPU load, but the CPU can keep up with these frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 122 FPS, which is likely GPU-limited given the sharp falloff from High.

The 96 MB L3 cache is a key feature for gaming, as it can hold larger portions of the game's working set, reducing memory latency. This is particularly beneficial in a horror title like Downfall, which may have complex AI routines and physics calculations. The 5.60 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and frame pacing.

When comparing to rivals, the CPU's 0.1% to 0.7% differences in average benchmark scores are negligible in synthetic tests. However, in a game like Downfall, the 8-core/16-thread configuration with high clocks should ensure that the CPU does not become a limiting factor at most settings. The data supports this: at 1440p High, the combo achieves 139 FPS, and at 1080p High, 195 FPS, both indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—each with four settings: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 291 on Low to 122 on Ultra. Medium produces 238 FPS with a minimum of 202 and maximum of 273 FPS, while High delivers 195 FPS without min/max readings. Ultra's 122 FPS is the only setting below 195 FPS, representing a significant drop.

Moving to 1440p, the averages are 207 FPS on Low, 170 FPS on Medium, 139 FPS on High, and 87 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting has the only recorded min/max values at 1440p, with a range of 144 to 195 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is 52 FPS, which is proportionally larger than the 73 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that Ultra becomes increasingly demanding as resolution rises.

At 4K, the averages are 129 FPS on Low, 106 FPS on Medium, 87 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. Medium shows a minimum of 90 FPS and maximum of 121 FPS, suggesting some frame time variance. The drop from High to Ultra is 33 FPS, which is the largest relative reduction across all resolutions—a 38% decrease. This suggests that Ultra at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits, as the average falls below the 60 FPS threshold often considered minimum for smooth gameplay.

Across all settings, the pattern is consistent: Low and Medium provide high frame rates, High is a middle ground, and Ultra incurs a substantial penalty. At 1080p, even Ultra exceeds 120 FPS, but at 1440p and 4K, Ultra dips below 90 FPS and 60 FPS, respectively. The 16 GB of VRAM and 512 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for all tested configurations, but the GPU's compute throughput (20.74 TFLOPS FP32) becomes a constraint at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, but the magnitude varies. At Low settings, the average falls from 291 FPS at 1080p to 207 FPS at 1440p and 129 FPS at 4K—a reduction of 84 FPS and 78 FPS, respectively. This represents a 55% decrease from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the progression is 238 FPS (1080p) to 170 FPS (1440p) to 106 FPS (4K). The drop from 1440p to 4K is 64 FPS, which is larger than the 68 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become more significant bottlenecks at higher resolutions.

High settings show a similar trend: 195 FPS at 1080p, 139 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The 52 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is proportionally smaller than the 52 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K, meaning the scaling is roughly linear in absolute terms but the percentage loss increases with resolution.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest decline: 122 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 33 FPS, which is a 38% reduction, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35 FPS, a 29% reduction. This indicates that at Ultra, the GPU is operating near its limit even at 1080p, and the additional pixel load at 4K pushes it below playable thresholds.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p Low and Medium, the high frame rates (291 and 238 FPS) suggest the CPU may be a factor, but the CPU's robust single-thread score (4704 in Passmark) and high boost clock (5.60 GHz) likely prevent it from bottlenecking. At 4K Ultra, the GPU's 300 W TDP and 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are clearly the constraint, as the average drops to 54 FPS. The data indicates that the RX 6800 XT is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings of Medium or lower to maintain acceptable frame rates.