Downfall

Downfall is a 2016 horror title, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 show a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings. The data indicates that this mobile combo is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p, but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K Ultra, making it a flexible but resolution-sensitive pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear and predictable drop as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 202 FPS. Moving up to 1440p Low drops that to 144 FPS, a 28.7% reduction. At 4K Low, the average further falls to 90 FPS, which is a 55.4% drop from the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 4060 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate than the gap between 1440p and 4K. For example, on High settings, the system delivers 135 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. This shows that while the step from 1080p to 1440p costs about 28% performance, the step to 4K costs an additional 38% on top of that. The 4K High result of 60 FPS is exactly at the threshold for smooth play, but it leaves no room for frame drops.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 85 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 60 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 38 FPS. This steep decline from 60 FPS at 1440p to 38 FPS at 4K indicates that the Ultra preset at 4K is simply too demanding for this GPU. The 38 FPS average is not smooth for a horror game where quick reactions matter. The scaling from Medium to Ultra at 4K reinforces this: Medium yields 73 FPS, while Ultra yields 38 FPS, a 47.9% performance hit for the higher preset.

The data also shows that the 1% lows (min FPS) are only available for the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 140, which is close to the 165 average, indicating a stable frame time. At 1440p Medium, the min FPS is 100 against a 118 average, showing a slightly wider but acceptable variance. At 4K Medium, the min FPS is 62 against a 73 average, which is a more significant drop and suggests occasional stutter. This indicates that even at Medium settings, 4K is pushing the system to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and RTX 4060 combo ranks 1744 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the 40.4th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that about 60% of the tested combos perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 4060 is a mobile part with an 8 GB memory buffer, this mid-pack ranking is consistent with the resolution scaling data.

Looking at the GPU's individual standing, the RTX 4060 has a percentile of 61 versus all GPUs, which is respectable. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% slower), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% faster), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% faster). This clustering suggests that the RTX 4060's raw compute performance is closely matched by these other cards, though the 4060 has modern features like ray tracing cores that the older cards lack.

The CPU, on the other hand, is a top-tier performer. The Ryzen 9 8945HX sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% slower), AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P (0.4% slower), and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (0.4% slower). This shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this system; it is the GPU that determines the combo's rank.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile (95) and the combo's mid-pack ranking (40.4th percentile) strongly suggests that Downfall is not heavily CPU-dependent at the tested settings. If the game were CPU-bound, the combo would rank much higher given the 8945HX's computational power. The data instead points to the RTX 4060 being the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear path for the best experience depending on the display resolution. For 1080p users, the High preset at 135 FPS is an excellent choice, offering a smooth and responsive experience. The Low preset hits 202 FPS, which is useful for competitive play, but the visual quality loss is likely not worth it for a horror game. The Medium preset at 165 FPS is a solid middle ground, but High provides a better balance of visuals and performance.

At 1440p, the High preset at 97 FPS is the recommended starting point. It is smooth and looks good. The Medium preset at 118 FPS is also viable if you prefer higher frame rates, but the jump to High is not that costly. The Ultra preset at 60 FPS is playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes; given that the Medium preset has a 100 FPS 1% low, the High preset likely has a similar floor, making it the safer choice.

For 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 90 FPS is the only way to get a high refresh rate experience, but it will look noticeably worse. The Medium preset at 73 FPS with a 62 FPS 1% low is the best balance for visual fidelity and smoothness, provided you can tolerate occasional dips. The High preset at 60 FPS is right at the edge, and the Ultra preset at 38 FPS is not recommended for any serious play. The data suggests that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this combo.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The data shows 4K Medium averages 73 FPS with a 62 FPS 1% low, which is playable. 4K High averages 60 FPS, but 4K Ultra drops to 38 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a horror title.

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

A: The High preset at 97 FPS is the best balance. It offers a smooth frame rate while maintaining visual quality. The Ultra preset at 60 FPS is playable but does not provide enough headroom above the refresh rate to avoid stutter.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 8945HX ranks in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, while the combo ranks in the 40.4th percentile. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has a percentile of 61 versus all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% slower), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% faster), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% faster), indicating very similar raw performance.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The maximum average frame rate in the measured data is 202 FPS, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. At the highest settings (4K Ultra), the average drops to 38 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at any resolution?

A: Only at 1080p, where it averages 85 FPS. At 1440p Ultra averages 60 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 38 FPS, making it impractical at those higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is a mobile GPU based on the AD107 chip and Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process. It has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is clearly dominant. The data shows that the frame rate is highly sensitive to resolution and settings changes, which are primarily GPU-driven. The 8 GB memory buffer is a potential limitation at 4K Ultra, where the 38 FPS average suggests the GPU is running out of both memory bandwidth and capacity. The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results indicate it is not enough for the highest settings.

The RTX 4060's percentile of 61 versus all GPUs places it in the upper half of all tested cards, but its nearest rivals are older or integrated parts, showing that it is not a high-end performer. The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but do not appear to provide a benefit in this game, as the frame rate scaling is consistent with a traditional rasterization workload. The GPU's 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is a notable constraint; the step from 1440p to 4K causes a larger performance drop than the step from 1080p to 1440p, which aligns with the bandwidth requirements of higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor from the 8000 series, based on the Zen 4 architecture and codenamed Dragon Range. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU features 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

The CPU's role in Downfall is secondary to the GPU. The 8945HX ranks in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% slower) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (0.6% faster), showing that this is a flagship-level mobile processor. In the Cinebench R23 multi-core test, it scores 42713, while the single-core score is 6030.

Despite this tremendous computational power, the combo's rank in Downfall is only 1744 out of 2928, which is directly attributable to the GPU limitation. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 202 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. However, the fact that the frame rate scales down consistently with resolution indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at 1080p. The 16 cores and 32 threads are overkill for a 2016 horror title, but they ensure that there is no CPU-side stutter. The high single-thread performance of 6030 in Cinebench R23 is more relevant, as games typically rely on fewer threads, and this score ensures the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.