Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 580

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is a combination that sits near the bottom of the tested field for Downfall, ranking 1615th out of 1741 combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which is a critical context for interpreting the FPS numbers: this is not a high-refresh-rate horror experience, but rather a setup that demands careful settings management to stay playable. The CPU holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, while the GPU sits at the 53rd percentile, suggesting the graphics card is the more modest component in this pairing.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p Low it hits 104.8 FPS, Medium reaches 86.7 FPS, and High manages 67 FPS, while 1440p and 4K results drop significantly.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings in Downfall?

A: Ultra settings are problematic at every resolution. At 1080p Ultra the average is 44 FPS, at 1440p Ultra it falls to 29.1 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 18 FPS. None of these provide a smooth experience for a horror game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i3-12100F scores nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% behind), and is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U, 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10105, and 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K in average benchmark score.

Q: What is the GPU's performance tier relative to other cards?

A: The RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 with a 0% delta, while it is 0.1% ahead of the GTX 950 and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 455.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Downfall?

A: The 8 GB GDDR5 memory with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for the measured settings, as the FPS drops from High to Ultra at 4K (28.3 to 18 FPS) suggest compute limitations rather than VRAM capacity issues.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of these components?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has a launch MSRP of $97, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 has a launch MSRP of 229 USD.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the limiting factor in this pairing, and the benchmark data makes this clear. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for a 2016 horror title, but the raw compute power is the bottleneck.

The RX 580 delivers 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, with a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. These specifications place it at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 13559 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564, 0% delta). The GCN 4.0 architecture with 2304 shading units and 32 ROPs handles DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which covers Downfall's rendering requirements.

The FPS scaling across settings reveals the GPU's character. At 1080p, dropping from High to Low increases average FPS from 67 to 104.8, a 56% improvement. The gap between Medium (86.7 FPS) and High (67 FPS) is 29%, while the jump from High to Ultra (44 FPS) is a 34% loss. This nonlinear scaling indicates that the GPU's 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs become progressively saturated as settings increase, particularly with Ultra's additional effects.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1615th out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the bottom 7% of all configurations. This is a low position, but the context matters: the i3-12100F is a capable budget CPU (72nd percentile among all processors), while the RX 580 is a mid-pack GPU (53rd percentile). The combo's low rank reflects the GPU's age and the game's demands at higher settings.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong single-threaded performer. In Cinebench R23, it scores 1681 single-core and 11912 multi-core, while Geekbench shows 2224 single-core and 7413 multi-core. The 3DMark results are telling: 893 single-thread, 2859 for 4 threads, 4026 for 8 threads, and 4023 max threads. This indicates that the CPU's performance plateaus at 8 threads, which aligns with its 4-core/8-thread configuration.

However, in this game, the GPU holds the combo back. The nearest GPU rivals are all older or lower-tier cards: the GTX 570 (0% delta), GTX 950 (0.1% ahead), Radeon Pro 455 (1.1% ahead), and P106-090 (1.1% behind). The RX 580's average benchmark score of 13559 is only slightly above the GTX 950's 13549, confirming that this GPU is competing with cards from a lower performance tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce 104.8 FPS average, Medium drops to 86.7 FPS, High settles at 67 FPS, and Ultra falls to 44 FPS. The 1080p High result of 67 FPS is the key threshold—it clears 60 FPS, but only by 11.7%, leaving little headroom for demanding scenes in a horror game where sudden spikes in rendering load are common.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers drop substantially. Low settings average 71.5 FPS, Medium achieves 58.3 FPS, High reaches 50.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29.1 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 58.3 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, meaning users would need to accept sub-60 performance or drop to Low to maintain smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings produce 44.2 FPS, Medium drops to 38.1 FPS, High falls to 28.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. None of these 4K results are playable for a horror title that benefits from smooth motion and responsive camera control.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern reveals where the bottleneck lies. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, FPS drops from 67 to 50.9, a 24% decrease. From 1440p to 4K at High, it drops from 50.9 to 28.3, a 44% decrease. The total drop from 1080p High to 4K High is 57.8%, which is close to what you would expect from a GPU-bound scenario where pixel count scales nearly linearly with rendering load.

At Low settings, the scaling shows a different pattern. From 1080p (104.8 FPS) to 1440p (71.5 FPS) is a 31.8% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (44.2 FPS) is a 38.2% drop. The total 1080p-to-4K decrease at Low is 57.8%, nearly identical to High. This consistency across settings suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at all quality levels—if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the gap between 1080p and 1440p to shrink at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest scaling: 1080p Ultra (44 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (29.1 FPS) is a 33.9% drop, and 1440p to 4K Ultra (18 FPS) is a 38.1% drop. The total 1080p-to-4K Ultra decrease is 59.1%, the highest of any preset. This indicates that Ultra settings add GPU workload that scales poorly with resolution, likely due to effects that require additional memory bandwidth and fill rate.

Settings Recommendations

For this combo, the measured data points to 1080p as the only viable resolution for a smooth experience. At 1080p High, the 67 FPS average is the best balance of visual quality and performance—it clears the 60 FPS threshold while providing substantially better visuals than Low. If you prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 104.8 FPS gives you a 56% margin over High, which could be useful for avoiding any hitches during intense horror sequences.

At 1440p, the data suggests Medium (58.3 FPS) is borderline, while High (50.9 FPS) is playable but noticeably below 60. If you must use a 1440p display, Low settings (71.5 FPS) are the only option that maintains a comfortable frame rate. The 1440p Medium result of 58.3 FPS is within 3% of 60, so some users might accept it, but the data shows it is a compromise.

Avoid Ultra settings entirely at any resolution. The 1080p Ultra result of 44 FPS is 34% below the High preset, and the visual improvement is unlikely to justify that frame rate loss in a game where smooth camera movement matters for atmosphere. Similarly, 4K is not recommended with this combo—even Low settings (44.2 FPS) fail to reach 60, and the High preset at 28.3 FPS is below the threshold for comfortable play.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p High at 67 FPS. This gives a 60+ FPS experience with the second-highest visual quality tier, and it leaves a 24% buffer before dropping below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. If you want more headroom, 1080p Medium at 86.7 FPS provides a 44% buffer over 60 FPS while still looking substantially better than Low. The data does not support any 1440p or 4K configuration for this game with this hardware.