Downfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a dominant performance in Downfall, securing the 631st rank out of 3,716 tested combos. This places the pairing in the top 17% of all configurations, a strong showing for a horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU. The 7900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4070 SUPER holds the 83rd percentile among GPUs. Together, they produce frame rates that are consistently playable even at 4K Ultra, though the scaling curves reveal distinct bottlenecks depending on resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 631 out of 3,716 tested configurations indicates that it outperforms roughly 83% of all system pairings in Downfall. This is a high placement, driven by the synergy between the Ryzen 9 7900X’s multi-threaded capacity and the RTX 4070 SUPER’s rasterization throughput. In the CPU benchmark hierarchy, the 7900X’s average score of 53,288 places it within 0.6% of the Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620) and 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 7313P (53,206), showing that it is competitively matched against other high-end processors. On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER’s average score of 43,223 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268), confirming its position as a solid upper-midrange card.

What the rank does not reveal is how the combo behaves under load. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 348 FPS, which is a massive frame rate that indicates the CPU is feeding the GPU well. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 65 FPS, a figure that still clears the 60 FPS threshold but suggests the GPU is nearing its limit. The rank of 631 is therefore a snapshot of overall capability, not a guarantee of consistent performance across all settings. The measured FPS rows show that the combo excels at 1440p and 1080p, where it can push high refresh rates, while 4K requires careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 348 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 284 FPS at Medium and 233 FPS at High, with Ultra hitting 146 FPS.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K across all settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 65 FPS, which is above 60. However, High averages 104 FPS, Medium averages 126 FPS, and Low averages 155 FPS, so all settings clear 60 FPS, but Ultra is the only one close to the threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X compare to its nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The 7900X scores 53,288, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 7313P (53,206) and 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon 634 (52,974). It trails the Intel Core i7-14700F by 0.6% (53,620) and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 0.3% (53,469).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER sits at the 83rd percentile. Its average benchmark score of 43,223 is within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667), which is the closest higher-scoring rival.

Q: What is the frame time variance at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At Medium, the minimum and maximum FPS are recorded. At 1080p, it ranges from 242 to 327 FPS (average 284). At 1440p, it ranges from 173 to 234 FPS (average 203). At 4K, it ranges from 107 to 145 FPS (average 126).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the 348 FPS average suggests the GPU has headroom, but the CPU’s 3DMark scores (12,536 max threads and 1,093 single-thread) indicate it can handle high frame rates. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU as settings increase, since the FPS drops from 348 to 146 at Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound trend at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 348 FPS; at 1440p Low, it falls to 248 FPS (a 29% reduction); and at 4K Low, it drops to 155 FPS (a 55% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU that has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 192-bit bus, as the pixel throughput demand increases disproportionately at 4K. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a more significant constraint.

At Ultra settings, the pattern is even more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 146, at 1440p Ultra it is 104 (a 29% drop), and at 4K Ultra it is 65 (a 55% drop from 1080p). The consistent 29% and 55% reductions across both Low and Ultra settings indicate that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p, as evidenced by the 348 FPS Low result. However, the fact that Ultra at 4K only achieves 65 FPS suggests that the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 224 TMUs are being saturated, rather than any CPU bottleneck.

The data also shows that the step from High to Ultra is the most punishing. At 4K, High averages 104 FPS, but Ultra drops to 65 FPS—a 37% reduction. This is a steeper decline than the resolution scaling, indicating that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU’s compute resources. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are likely engaged at Ultra, which explains the significant frame rate penalty.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the optimal choice across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 284 FPS with a minimum of 242 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in the most demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the average is 203 FPS with a minimum of 173 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K Medium, the average is 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS, which comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS standard for a horror game where frame consistency matters.

High settings are also viable, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p High, the average is 167 FPS, and at 4K High, it is 104 FPS. However, the jump from High to Ultra at 4K is severe, with the average dropping from 104 to 65 FPS. This 39 FPS loss is not justified by the visual improvements in a horror title where motion clarity is less critical than in fast-paced shooters. Ultra should only be considered at 1080p, where the 146 FPS average remains playable, but even then, the 138 FPS drop from Low to Ultra suggests that the setting is not optimized for this hardware.

Low settings are unnecessary for this combo, as even Medium provides frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p and 1440p. The only scenario where Low makes sense is if the user prioritizes maximum refresh rate at 1080p, where 348 FPS is achieved. In practice, the data suggests that Medium or High offers the best experience, with Medium being the safest recommendation for users who want to avoid any risk of frame drops below 60 FPS at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 348 FPS, Medium produces 284 FPS (min 242, max 327), High produces 233 FPS, and Ultra produces 146 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 202 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not fully utilized at Low, but the CPU’s 4.70 GHz base and 5.60 GHz boost clocks are sufficient to feed the GPU at these high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 248 FPS for Low, 203 FPS for Medium (min 173, max 234), 167 FPS for High, and 104 FPS for Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 144 FPS, which is less steep than at 1080p, showing that the GPU is becoming more of a factor. The Medium preset’s minimum of 173 FPS ensures no drops below 144 Hz, making it a strong choice for high-refresh-rate 1440p displays.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 155 FPS for Low, 126 FPS for Medium (min 107, max 145), 104 FPS for High, and 65 FPS for Ultra. The Ultra setting is the only one that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, and its average of 65 FPS leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset, with a minimum of 107 FPS, is the safest option for 4K, as it provides a 42 FPS buffer above the minimum requirement for smooth play.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm TSMC process. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are high for a desktop part, and its 64 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample data for game workloads. In Downfall, a horror title that may spawn multiple threads for AI, physics, and rendering tasks, the CPU’s multi-threading capability is well-suited.

The benchmark data shows the 7900X’s 3DMark scores: 12,536 with max threads, 7,798 with 8 threads, and 1,093 with single thread. These figures indicate that the CPU scales effectively with thread count, which is useful for a game that may not be perfectly optimized for multi-core. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29,300 and single-core score of 2,016.5 further confirm its strength. In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the combo hits 348 FPS—a frame rate that requires a strong single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the 7900X’s average benchmark score of 53,288 is within 0.6% of the Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620), suggesting that the two are nearly interchangeable in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the 7900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads give it an advantage in heavily threaded workloads, which is reflected in its PassMark multithread score of 51,406. For Downfall, the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the FPS drops are more closely tied to resolution and settings than to CPU load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 7,168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is substantial but not top-tier. The GPU’s base clock is 1,980 MHz, with a boost clock of 2,475 MHz, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, making it fully compatible with modern game engines.

In Downfall, the GPU’s performance is clearly the dominant factor at 4K. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Low settings causes a 37% drop in FPS (from 248 to 155), which is directly attributable to the increased pixel count. The GPU’s 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is enough to handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, as evidenced by the 233 FPS at 1080p High and 167 FPS at 1440p High. However, at 4K Ultra, the average of 65 FPS shows that the GPU is near its limits, particularly when ray tracing or other advanced effects are enabled.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its PassMark G3D score of 29,995 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,627 are consistent with its 83rd percentile ranking. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, scores 43,262, a 0.1% difference, while the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 43,667, a 1% difference. This indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a capable card for 1440p gaming and can handle 4K at medium settings, but it is not designed for maximum fidelity at 4K. For Downfall, the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the 65 FPS average is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset.