Downfall

# Downfall with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

This pairing marries AMD's top-tier 16-core Zen 5 flagship with NVIDIA's mid-range Turing-era GPU, and benchmark results in Downfall reveal a system that is profoundly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but surprisingly capable at 1080p. The data shows a combo that ranks 1049th out of 1741 tested configurations, placing it near the 60th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for this horror title. The CPU's massive multi-threaded muscle is largely irrelevant to frame rates here, while the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory interface emerge as the decisive factors across the settings spectrum.

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

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz, with a 170 W TDP. The chip carries a substantial 128 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores exceptionally well: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 59712, Geekbench multi-core hits 22515, and 3DMark max-thread scores land at 17184. Its single-thread performance is equally strong, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 8430 and 3DMark single-thread at 1292.

Despite this computing firepower, the Downfall frame rate data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 212 FPS — the highest measured result in the entire dataset — which suggests that even at low settings, the game engine is not fully saturating the 9950X3D's capabilities. The processor's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 71660) places it far above the GPU's 65th percentile ranking, indicating a significant performance asymmetry. In fact, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (0.9% lower average score), the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (1.8% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (2.2% lower), all of which would likely produce identical frame rates in this GPU-bound scenario. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2549 and 4-thread score of 4963 confirm strong per-core performance, yet Downfall's frame rates remain dictated by the graphics card, not the processor.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture (TU104 chip) using a 12 nm process from TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus. The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Downfall's texture-heavy horror environments. The GPU's FP32 throughput is 9.062 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 113.3 GPixel/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 18169 in Passmark G3D and 7557 in Passmark GPU compute, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651. Its average benchmark score of 22206 places it at the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400 (0.5% lower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (0.9% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 5700 (2.5% higher). The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for Downfall's tested settings, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and quality presets. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 41.6 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being heavily taxed at maximum settings and highest resolution.

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

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 141.7 FPS, which drops to 100.7 FPS at 1440p (a 28.9% reduction) and further to 62.2 FPS at 4K (a 56.1% reduction from 1080p). This scaling curve is characteristic of a GPU-limited system, where the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames but the graphics card cannot keep pace as pixel count increases.

The Low preset shows similar behavior: 212 FPS at 1080p, 150.7 FPS at 1440p (a 28.9% drop), and 93.3 FPS at 4K (a 56.0% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings — roughly 29% from 1080p to 1440p and 56% from 1080p to 4K — strongly indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the bottleneck at every quality level. The CPU's role is effectively neutralized above 1080p, as even the Ultra preset at 4K (41.6 FPS) suggests the GPU is working near its limits rather than waiting on processor throughput.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results. Low settings yield 212 FPS, Medium delivers 169.4 FPS, High reaches 141.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 86.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 125.2 FPS (a 59.1% reduction), indicating that quality presets have a substantial impact on the GPU's workload at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but show clear degradation. Low settings produce 150.7 FPS, Medium hits 121.5 FPS, High achieves 100.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first configuration to dip below 70 FPS, suggesting that this resolution with maximum settings approaches the GPU's practical ceiling for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the results become marginal for demanding presets. Low settings maintain 93.3 FPS, Medium drops to 77.2 FPS, High reaches 62.2 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 41.6 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, which is notable for a game that may benefit from higher frame rates in tense horror sequences. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 51.7 FPS reduction (a 55.4% drop), mirroring the pattern seen at other resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo's rank of 1049 out of 1741 tested configurations places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested hardware pairings for Downfall. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the CPU's top-tier status, but the data makes clear that the GPU holds the combo back. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile GPU ranking contrasts sharply with the 9950X3D's 96th percentile CPU ranking, creating an imbalance where the system's overall gaming performance is capped by the graphics card.

Relative to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 2070 SUPER sits within 2.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 and within 0.9% of the GTX TITAN Z in average benchmark scores, suggesting that any of these GPUs paired with the 9950X3D would produce nearly identical Downfall frame rates. The combo's 1049th rank out of 1741 implies that roughly 60% of tested configurations outperform it, which is consistent with a mid-range GPU from 2019 being paired with a 2025 flagship CPU. The data does not include any CPU-bound scenarios in this game, so the 9950X3D's potential advantage never materializes in the measured results.

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

For 1080p gameplay, High settings at 141.7 FPS offer the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the jump to Ultra costs 54.9 FPS (a 38.7% reduction) for presumably marginal visual gains. Medium at 169.4 FPS is viable for players prioritizing smoothness, but High provides a more polished experience without sacrificing frame rate targets.

At 1440p, High settings at 100.7 FPS deliver excellent smoothness and represent the sweet spot for this resolution. Medium at 121.5 FPS is the safer choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, while Ultra at 65.7 FPS remains playable but may exhibit stutter in demanding scenes. Low at 150.7 FPS is recommended only for competitive play or extreme smoothness preferences.

For 4K, the data suggests that Medium settings at 77.2 FPS provide the best playable experience, as High at 62.2 FPS is borderline and Ultra at 41.6 FPS falls below acceptable frame rates for a horror game where responsiveness matters. Low at 93.3 FPS is viable if visual fidelity is less important than frame rate consistency. Overall, the High preset at 1080p or 1440p appears to be the optimal configuration, with Medium at 4K serving as a fallback for UHD displays.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D bottlenecking the RTX 2070 SUPER in Downfall?

A: No, the data shows the opposite. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and strong multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core at 59712) far exceed the GPU's 65th percentile ranking, and frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings in a pattern typical of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Downfall?

A: Based on measured frame rates, 1080p with High settings at 141.7 FPS offers the best experience. At 1440p, High at 100.7 FPS is also excellent. 4K is playable only at Medium (77.2 FPS) or Low (93.3 FPS) settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A400, 0.9% higher than the GTX TITAN Z, and 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5700. These differences are minimal and would likely produce similar Downfall frame rates.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset cause such a large FPS drop?

A: At 1080p, Ultra drops from High's 141.7 FPS to 86.8 FPS, a 38.7% reduction. At 4K, Ultra falls to 41.6 FPS from High's 62.2 FPS, a 33.1% reduction. The Ultra preset's additional rendering demands heavily tax the GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS compute throughput and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM sufficient for Downfall at 4K?

A: The measured results suggest yes, as the GPU achieves 77.2 FPS at 4K Medium and 62.2 FPS at 4K High. However, the 41.6 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates that the combination of VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) is strained at maximum settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1049th out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it below the median of tested systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range position rather than the CPU's flagship status, as the RTX 2070 SUPER is a 2019-era GPU paired with a 2025-era processor.