Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination delivers a playable experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling defined by the graphics card, particularly at higher resolutions. This pairing, ranking 1405th out of 1741 tested combos, places it in the lower-middle tier of systems tested for this title. The benchmark results show that while the CPU is more than capable of keeping up, the RX 6600’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface become the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to show exactly where this combo excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on frame rates is dramatic and tells a clear story about system balance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 116.5 FPS, but this drops to 83.8 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 53.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, but the severity of the drop intensifies with more demanding configurations. For instance, at Medium settings, the system achieves 146 FPS at 1080p, falls to 99.5 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 66.9 FPS at 4K. The scaling suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions but the graphics card cannot maintain its performance when pixel count increases dramatically.

The Low preset shows the least dramatic resolution scaling, going from 175.9 FPS at 1080p to 122.4 FPS at 1440p and 75.6 FPS at 4K. This indicates that even with minimal graphical load, the RX 6600’s bandwidth constraints become apparent at higher resolutions. The gap between 1080p and 1440p results is consistently around 30-40 FPS across all presets, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is smaller but still significant. This pattern points to the GPU’s 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth being insufficient for 4K workloads, as the card is forced to work much harder to move data across its 128-bit bus. The data shows that 1080p is clearly the sweet spot for this configuration, with 1440p being acceptable for most presets, but 4K should be reserved for the least demanding settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the dominant component in determining this combo’s performance in Downfall. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU’s boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz help it achieve respectable results at 1080p, where the measured FPS ranges from 175.9 on Low to 73.6 on Ultra. The card’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the horror game’s rendering demands well at lower resolutions, but the architecture’s RDNA 2.0 design shows its limitations when pixel throughput requirements increase.

The GPU’s performance relative to its peers is noteworthy. The RX 6600 sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 890M, scores nearly identically with a 0% delta, while the RX 580 2048SP trails by only 0.2%. More interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is only 0.5% ahead in average score, which suggests the RX 6600 punches above its weight in general compute tasks. However, in Downfall specifically, the 4K results tell a different story. The Ultra preset at 4K yields just 32.1 FPS, which is barely playable, while High at 4K only manages 53.5 FPS. This indicates that while the GPU has decent raw compute power, its memory subsystem is the bottleneck in this game’s more demanding scenarios. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 1750 MHz memory clock are simply not enough to sustain high frame rates when the game requires large texture loads at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides a solid foundation for this gaming system, though its role in Downfall is secondary to the GPU. With 6 cores and 12 threads, this Alder Lake processor boosts up to 4.40 GHz and features an 18 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its 910 score in 3dmark_single_thread and 2249 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. This matters for Downfall, a horror title that likely relies on single-threaded game logic. The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are also respectable, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 15935 and a passmark_multithread score of 18747.

The i5-12400’s benchmark results place it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores nearly identically with a 0.1% delta, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX, which is only 0.4% behind. This positions the i5-12400 as a very capable gaming CPU that is unlikely to bottleneck the RX 6600 in most scenarios. In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s headroom becomes evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 175.9 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond what the graphics card can render at higher settings. The 65W TDP and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 make this a flexible and efficient choice, though the locked multiplier prevents overclocking. The processor’s PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GPU’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-12400 and RX 6600 ranks 1405th out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in roughly the bottom 19% of systems tested for this game. This ranking might seem low given the individual component performance, but it reflects the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. The data shows that this combo is better suited to 1080p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates across most presets. At 1080p, the system achieves 116.5 FPS on High and 73.6 FPS on Ultra, both of which are playable, but the 4K results drag down the overall ranking.

The ranking also suggests that many other tested combinations offer better performance in this specific title, likely due to more powerful GPUs or better-balanced pairings. The i5-12400’s CPU performance is not the issue, as it sits in the 77th percentile, but the RX 6600’s 69th percentile GPU ranking limits the overall system capability. For a horror game like Downfall, which may have specific rendering demands, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are likely the determining factors in this lower ranking. Users looking to improve this combo’s standing would need to focus on GPU upgrades rather than CPU changes, as the processor has demonstrated it can handle higher frame rates than the graphics card can deliver.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering 116.5 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and leaves room for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable at 73.6 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra represents a 37% performance penalty for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a horror game’s dark environments. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Medium preset at 1080p provides 146 FPS, which is excellent for competitive or highly responsive gameplay, though the visual downgrade may affect the game’s atmospheric effects.

At 1440p, the High preset at 83.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains playable performance while preserving visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 99.5 FPS is also a strong option for those who prefer higher frame rates over visual details. The Ultra preset at 52.4 FPS is borderline playable but risks dips below 60 FPS in intense scenes, making it less ideal for a horror game where smooth motion is important for immersion. At 4K, the choices are more limited. The Low preset at 75.6 FPS is the only configuration that provides consistently smooth gameplay, while Medium at 66.9 FPS is acceptable for less demanding players. The High preset at 53.5 FPS will be playable for some, but the Ultra preset at 32.1 FPS should be avoided entirely as it falls well below playable frame rates. For the best overall experience, using High settings at 1080p or Medium at 1440p provides the strongest combination of visual quality and performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest performance: Low produces 175.9 FPS, Medium reaches 146 FPS, High delivers 116.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 102.3 FPS, showing the significant impact of graphical settings on performance. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally: Low yields 122.4 FPS, Medium hits 99.5 FPS, High delivers 83.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 52.4 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is most pronounced at Low settings, where the drop is 53.5 FPS, while at Ultra the drop is only 21.2 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is already saturated at Ultra settings even at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance degradation becomes severe. Low settings produce 75.6 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 66.9 FPS, High falls to 53.5 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 32.1 FPS. The 4K results show a 43.5 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the primary constraint at this resolution. Comparing the same settings across resolutions, the 1080p to 4K drop at High settings is 63 FPS, while at Low settings it is 100.3 FPS. This counterintuitive result suggests that at Low settings, the CPU has more headroom to push frames, but the GPU cannot keep up with the increased pixel count. The overall data shows that this combo is best utilized at 1080p, with 1440p being acceptable for most presets, and 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings if playable frame rates are required.