Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a formidable performance profile in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The measured data shows a system that is heavily overqualified for the game’s demands, with frame rates that remain exceptionally high even at 4K Ultra settings. Analysis of the resolution scaling, component roles, and final ranking reveals a pairing where the GPU is the primary performance driver, but the CPU’s high-frequency Zen 5 architecture ensures no bottlenecking occurs.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates the GPU becoming the limiting component as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 268 at 1920x1080 to 191 at 2560x1440, and finally to 119 at 3840x2160. This represents a 55.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling penalty indicative of a GPU-bound scenario at the higher resolution.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system achieves 400 FPS at 1080p, 285 FPS at 1440p, and 178 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.5%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 4080’s rendering workload is expanding significantly with each pixel count increase, and the CPU is not impeding this progression.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling curve. The average FPS at 1080p is 168, dropping to 120 at 1440p and 74 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, at 74 FPS, which is 56% lower than the 1080p Ultra score. This indicates that at maximum visual fidelity, the GPU is being pushed to its limits, and the game’s graphical effects are heavily taxing the RTX 4080’s resources.

The Medium preset, which is the only one with min and max FPS data, shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the average is 327 FPS with a range of 278 to 376 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 233 FPS with a range of 198 to 268 FPS. At 4K, the average is 145 FPS with a range of 123 to 167 FPS. The consistent ratio between min and max FPS across resolutions, roughly 74%, suggests that the frame pacing remains stable regardless of resolution, and the performance degradation is uniform.

What this scaling data reveals is that the system is CPU-limited at 1080p, particularly at Low and Medium settings where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. The CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads, combined with a 5.60 GHz boost clock, have ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload becomes the dominant factor, and the frame rates scale down accordingly.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear performance anchor for this combination in Downfall. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the GPU provides 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is particularly relevant for a horror game where high-resolution textures and detailed environments can consume significant VRAM. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra settings, the system maintains 74 FPS, indicating that the 16 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the game’s demands.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also a factor in the results. The base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. These high frequencies contribute to the GPU’s raw compute throughput, which is rated at 48.74 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In a game like Downfall, which is from 2016, modern GPU architectures like Ada Lovelace can process the older shader workloads with exceptional efficiency.

The RTX 4080’s nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% higher, which is virtually identical in performance. Other competitors such as the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB have scores that are 1.1% and 2.6% lower, respectively. These small deltas in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the RTX 4080 is well-positioned among its peers, and the measured FPS in Downfall reflects this strong standing.

The GPU’s performance in the game is further highlighted by the High and Ultra settings results. At 4K High, the average FPS is 119, which is a very playable frame rate for a horror title. The jump to 4K Ultra reduces performance to 74 FPS, a 37.8% drop. This substantial penalty for Ultra settings indicates that the game’s highest preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU, likely including advanced lighting or shadow techniques that stress the RT and tensor cores.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D plays a supporting role in Downfall, but it is a crucial one for maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This high-frequency Zen 5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, provides exceptional single-thread performance, which is often the limiting factor in older games like Downfall.

The CPU’s benchmark results support its capability to keep up with the RTX 4080. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 22807 points in multi-core and 2228 points in single-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for gaming, as many titles from 2016 do not scale well across multiple cores. The PassMark single-thread score of 4704 further confirms the CPU’s strength in lightly-threaded workloads.

The CPU’s cache configuration is also noteworthy. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a massive amount of fast memory that can store frequently accessed game data. This helps reduce memory latency and ensures that the CPU can quickly deliver data to the GPU. The L1 cache is 80 KB per core, and the L2 cache is 1 MB per core, providing a robust cache hierarchy.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the CPU has an average benchmark score of 58386, which places it in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, with a score 0.1% higher, and the Intel Xeon w5-2545, with a score 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 0.5% higher, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 is 0.7% lower. These tight deltas indicate that the 9850X3D is at the top of the CPU performance hierarchy.

The data from the measured FPS suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 400 FPS. At this frame rate, the CPU must process a new frame every 2.5 milliseconds, which requires high single-thread performance. The 5.60 GHz boost clock and the large L3 cache are likely the key attributes that prevent a CPU bottleneck from occurring.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 230 out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall. This places the pairing in the top 6.2% of all systems tested, which is a strong result given the game’s age and the high-end nature of the components.

The rank of 230 is notable because it is not higher, despite the individual components being among the fastest available. This can be attributed to the game’s release date of 2016. Downfall was designed for hardware from that era, and it may not utilize the full capabilities of modern components. For example, the game may not scale well with multiple CPU cores, or it may have a frame rate cap that limits the maximum achievable FPS.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs and the CPU’s percentile rank of 92 among all CPUs are both high, but the combined system rank is lower than these individual percentiles would suggest. This discrepancy highlights the fact that the game’s performance is not a simple sum of component capabilities. The game’s engine and its optimization level play a significant role in determining the final ranking.

Compared to other combos, this system is in the top tier. The 3716 total combinations include many with less powerful CPUs and GPUs, so a rank of 230 indicates that this pairing outperforms the vast majority of systems. The data shows that the system is capable of delivering high frame rates at all resolutions and settings, which reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU.

The rank also reflects the fact that the RTX 4080 is an end-of-life product, but its performance in Downfall remains competitive. The GPU’s successor, the GeForce 50 series, may offer better performance, but the 4080 still delivers excellent results in this title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 400 at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 74, which is the lowest measured result in the dataset.

Q: What is the rank of this CPU+GPU combination among all tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 230 out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the top 6.2%.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: No, the data shows the CPU can sustain up to 400 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating no CPU bottleneck with its 5.60 GHz boost clock and 8 cores.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4080 compared to its nearest rival?

A: According to benchmark scores, the RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% faster than the RTX 4080, while the RTX 4080 is 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 4080?

A: The RTX 4080 has a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, provided by 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination in Downfall is as follows:

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: 400 average FPS
• Medium settings: 327 average FPS, with a minimum of 278 and maximum of 376 FPS
• High settings: 268 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 168 average FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: 285 average FPS
• Medium settings: 233 average FPS, with a minimum of 198 and maximum of 268 FPS
• High settings: 191 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 120 average FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: 178 average FPS
• Medium settings: 145 average FPS, with a minimum of 123 and maximum of 167 FPS
• High settings: 119 average FPS
• Ultra settings: 74 average FPS

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, providing a clear picture of frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the FPS range is 278 to 376, a spread of 98 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 198 to 268, a spread of 70 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 123 to 167, a spread of 44 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU’s workload is becoming more consistent, and the frame times are more stable.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is stark. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 232 FPS, from 400 to 168. At 1440p, the drop is 165 FPS, from 285 to 120. At 4K, the drop is 104 FPS, from 178 to 74. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra increases with resolution: 58% at 1080p, 57.9% at 1440p, and 58.4% at 4K. This consistency suggests that the Ultra preset adds a relatively fixed percentage of GPU workload regardless of resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in Downfall, the High settings preset at 2560x1440 offers an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance. At this configuration, the system achieves 191 average FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The High preset provides better visuals than Medium while maintaining a frame rate that is more than double the 4K Ultra result.

At 4K resolution, the High preset is the recommended choice for a smooth experience. The 119 average FPS at 3840x2160 High is a solid result for a horror game, where immersion is often more important than ultra-high frame rates. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 74 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but could feel less smooth, especially during fast-paced scenes.

For players with a 1080p monitor, the Medium preset delivers 327 average FPS, which is extremely high. This allows for maximum performance headroom, and the Medium preset is a good choice if the goal is to maximize frame rate. However, the High preset at 268 FPS still provides an exceptional experience and better visual quality. The Ultra preset at 168 FPS is also viable for 1080p, as it remains above the 144 Hz threshold.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is best reserved for 1080p or 1440p displays. At 1440p Ultra, the system achieves 120 FPS, which is a good target for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 4K Ultra setting at 74 FPS is the most demanding configuration and is only recommended for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K, with 145 FPS, offers an alternative for those who want higher frame rates at 4K but are willing to compromise on some visual effects.

Overall, the High preset is the sweet spot for this combination across all resolutions. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining frame rates that are more than sufficient for a smooth gaming experience. The Ultra preset should only be selected when the user has a display capable of showing the lower frame rates without noticeable judder, particularly at 4K.