Downfall

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data for Downfall shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals exactly where the bottleneck lives. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers 141 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 High, that number falls to 101 FPS — a 28.4% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average drops to 63 FPS, which is 55.3% below the 1080p figure. This is a steep decline, and it points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component as resolution climbs.

The pattern is consistent across every settings tier. With Low settings, the frame rate falls from 210 FPS at 1080p to 150 FPS at 1440p (a 28.6% drop), then to 93 FPS at 4K (a 55.7% drop from 1080p). Medium settings show 172 FPS at 1080p, 123 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, starting at 88 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 63 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 39 FPS at 4K. In every case, the step from 1440p to 4K costs roughly twice as much performance as the step from 1080p to 1440p, which is the expected behavior when pixel count quadruples and the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU still has headroom to feed the GPU, but even there the frame rates are not unlimited. At Low settings, the 210 FPS average suggests the CPU can push well beyond typical display refresh rates. However, the 7900X's 12 cores and 24 threads, running at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost of 5.60 GHz, are not the limiting factor at any resolution tested. The evidence is the near-identical percentage drops across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K — if the CPU were the bottleneck, the drops would flatten out at higher resolutions as the GPU waited for the CPU. Instead, the consistent 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K across Low, Medium, and High settings proves the GPU is saturated at 4K.

Ultra settings at 4K produce only 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider playable for a horror game. The minimum frame rate recorded in the data is 65 FPS at 4K Medium, and 104 FPS at 1440p Medium, but those are the only min/max values provided. For a game that relies on atmosphere and tension, frame pacing matters, and the 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS would likely feel stuttery in fast-moving scenes. The scaling data tells a simple story: this combination is a 1080p and 1440p performer, with 4K reserved for lower presets.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1700 MHz, with a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. In Downfall, these specifications translate into a performance profile that sits just below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in synthetic benchmarks. The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, compared to the RTX 3060 Ti's 16129, a delta of -0.7%. This puts the RX 9060 in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms a majority of graphics cards but is not a high-end part.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth examining in the context of Downfall's resolution scaling. At 1080p, even Ultra settings deliver 88 FPS, which suggests the game is not VRAM-limited at that resolution. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 63 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, the card manages just 39 FPS. The steep decline at 4K could be attributed to both compute limits and memory bandwidth constraints. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest by modern standards, and at 4K with Ultra textures, the 8 GB frame buffer may be near capacity, forcing the GPU to rely on slower memory operations.

The GPU's architectural features — 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units — provide a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s. These numbers are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but are stretched thin at 4K. The ray tracing cores (28 in total) are present, but the measured data does not indicate whether Downfall uses ray tracing. Given the game's 2016 release date, it likely does not, so the RT cores are probably idle in this title.

The RX 9060's nearest rival comparison shows it is essentially tied with the RTX 3060 Ti, and the actual frame rate data in Downfall supports that parity. At 1080p High, the 141 FPS average is strong for a horror game, which often has darker scenes that are less GPU-intensive than bright, detailed environments. At 4K High, the 63 FPS average is technically playable but leaves no headroom for frame rate drops during intense moments. The GPU's 132 W TDP and suggested 300 W power supply indicate this is a mid-range part, and the performance reflects that positioning.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boosts to 5.60 GHz, with 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a multi-core score of 29300 in Cinebench R23 and 19267 in Geekbench multi-core, with a single-core score of 2016.5 in Cinebench R23 and 2617 in Geekbench. These numbers place the 7900X in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53288.

For Downfall, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 210 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 88 FPS average suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 7900X's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P (delta of 0.2%), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (delta of -0.3%), Intel Xeon 634 (delta of 0.6%), and Intel Core i7-14700F (delta of -0.6%). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the 7900X performs nearly identically to these processors in aggregate benchmarks.

The single-thread performance of the 7900X is strong, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4238 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1093. Downfall, being a 2016 horror title, likely relies more on single-thread performance than multi-thread scaling. The 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for this game, but they ensure that background tasks and streaming won't interfere with frame times. The 83.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provides ample data throughput for the CPU to feed the GPU without stalling.

The CPU's integrated Radeon Graphics are present but irrelevant for gaming performance when a discrete GPU is installed. The 7900X's 170 W TDP (the fact pack lists it as 170) and AM5 socket with PCIe Gen 5 support mean the platform has headroom for future upgrades, but for Downfall specifically, the CPU is never the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows consistent behavior across resolutions, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides four settings tiers — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — across three resolutions. The recommendation depends on the target display and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For a horror game like Downfall, maintaining a stable frame rate is critical to preserving atmosphere, and the data shows which presets achieve that.

At 1920x1080, all presets are playable. Low delivers 210 FPS, Medium delivers 172 FPS (with min/max of 146/198 FPS), High delivers 141 FPS, and Ultra delivers 88 FPS. For 1080p users with a 144 Hz display, High is the optimal choice — it provides 141 FPS, which is close to the refresh rate cap, while offering better visuals than Medium. Ultra at 88 FPS is still smooth but sacrifices 53 FPS compared to High for marginal visual gains. Medium at 172 FPS is excessive for most 1080p displays and doesn't look as good as High.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. High delivers 101 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p. Medium delivers 123 FPS (min/max of 104/141 FPS), and Low delivers 150 FPS. Ultra drops to 63 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth. For 1440p users, High is the sweet spot — it maintains over 100 FPS while providing the visual quality that makes the resolution worthwhile. Medium is a fallback if the user wants extra headroom, but High's 101 FPS average is already above 60 FPS, so there is no need to compromise.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. High delivers 63 FPS, Medium delivers 76 FPS (min/max of 65/88 FPS), Low delivers 93 FPS, and Ultra delivers just 39 FPS. For 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset — it provides 76 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS, which ensures a smooth experience without dipping below 60 FPS. High at 63 FPS is borderline, and the lack of min/max data for High means a single frame drop could push it below 60 FPS. Ultra at 39 FPS is not recommended for any serious playthrough.

The data supports a clear hierarchy: 1080p High, 1440p High, and 4K Medium are the best balance of visual quality and performance. Users with high refresh rate displays can drop to Medium at 1080p or 1440p for extra headroom, but the measured numbers show that High is the default choice for most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Downfall at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only with Medium settings. The measured data shows 76 FPS average at 3840x2160 Medium, with a minimum of 65 FPS. High settings at 4K produce 63 FPS average, which is borderline, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Downfall?

A: The GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 53288 (91st percentile), while the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014 (59th percentile). The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicate GPU saturation.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. It is also 1% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700, both scoring 15852 and 15862 respectively.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 deliver 101 FPS average, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. Medium settings provide 123 FPS (min/max of 104/141 FPS), while Ultra drops to 63 FPS.

Q: Does the RX 9060 have enough VRAM for Downfall at high resolutions?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all presets. At 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS result suggests the GPU is compute-limited, but the 8 GB frame buffer may also contribute to the steep performance drop.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X's multi-thread performance compare to its rivals?

A: The 7900X scores 29300 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 19267 in Geekbench multi-core. Its average benchmark score of 53288 is within 0.6% of the Intel Xeon 634 (52974) and 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206), indicating near-identical aggregate performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 210 FPS average
• Medium: 172 FPS average, 146 FPS minimum, 198 FPS maximum
• High: 141 FPS average
• Ultra: 88 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 150 FPS average
• Medium: 123 FPS average, 104 FPS minimum, 141 FPS maximum
• High: 101 FPS average
• Ultra: 63 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 93 FPS average
• Medium: 76 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• High: 63 FPS average
• Ultra: 39 FPS average

The data shows a total of 12 measured configurations. The only configurations with min/max data are Medium settings at each resolution. The highest recorded average is 210 FPS at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 39 FPS at 4K Ultra. The combination ranks 1667 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all hardware configurations for this game.