Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-12400 + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a compelling 1080p horror experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a system that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. This combination ranks 1238th out of 1741 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The measured FPS across twelve resolution/settings pairs shows a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the CPU's six cores and twelve threads provide ample headroom at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down exactly what the numbers indicate about component balance, settings optimization, and where this combo excels or falls short.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about which component dominates Downfall's performance demands. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 191.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 85.5 FPS at 3840x2160 — a reduction of 106.3 FPS, or roughly 55% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline indicates that the RX 6600 XT's rendering capabilities, not the CPU, are the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The 1080p Ultra average of 78.9 FPS drops to 36.2 FPS at 4K Ultra — a 42.7 FPS loss that cuts performance by more than half. This suggests that the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the combined stress of 4K resolution and maximum quality presets. The pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s, while respectable for 1080p, simply cannot keep pace with the 8.3 million pixels of 3840x2160.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (191.8 FPS) and Ultra (78.9 FPS) is 112.9 FPS. At 4K, that gap shrinks to 49.3 FPS (85.5 vs 36.2). This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings provides diminishing returns — the memory bandwidth and shading throughput are the hard limits, not the quality preset overhead.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1238 out of 1741 in Downfall, this pairing sits in the 29th percentile of all tested combinations. This places it well below the median, which is surprising given the individual component scores. The RX 6600 XT holds a 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs, and the i5-12400 sits at the 77th percentile among CPUs — both above average individually, yet their combined performance in this specific horror title underperforms expectations.

The data suggests Downfall is particularly demanding on GPU resources, especially at higher resolutions. The RX 6600 XT's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (0.1% higher average score), AMD Radeon R9 M395X (0.4% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (0.9% lower). These tight deltas indicate the 6600 XT is competitive with older flagship GPUs but trails modern mid-range options. The i5-12400's nearest rivals show similar clustering: the Intel Core i7-9700 (0.1% higher), Intel Core i7-8700 (0.2% lower), and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (0.4% lower) all perform within a fraction of a percent.

The low combo rank despite solid individual scores hints that Downfall may favor different hardware combinations — possibly those with higher memory bandwidth or more VRAM. The 8 GB frame buffer on the RX 6600 XT could be a limiting factor at 4K, where texture-heavy horror environments demand more video memory than this card can efficiently provide.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide solid data locality for game logic. The 3DMark scores show strong scaling: 1692 with 2 threads, 3012 with 4 threads, 4745 with 8 threads, and 5873 with 16 threads. This near-linear scaling indicates the CPU can effectively utilize its threads, though the single-thread score of 910 suggests Downfall's primary game thread is well-served.

The Cinebench R23 results reinforce this picture: a multicore score of 15935 and single-core score of 2249. The multicore-to-single-core ratio of roughly 7.1:1 shows the CPU's ability to handle both lightly-threaded game logic and heavier background tasks. Passmark data shows 18747 in multithread, 3456 in single-thread, and 58366 in integer math — all indicating a capable processor for a horror game that likely uses physics and AI calculations.

At 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the i5-12400 enables 191.8 FPS — well above any display refresh rate. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 78.9 FPS average suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU's rendering pipeline is. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all processors means it outpaces the majority of CPUs in the database, giving this combo headroom that remains untapped until the GPU is upgraded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. Low settings average 191.8 FPS, Medium 158.2 FPS, High 127.6 FPS, and Ultra 78.9 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 48.7 FPS — the largest single-setting drop at 1080p — indicating that Ultra enables particularly demanding effects. The progression from Low to Medium (33.6 FPS drop) and Medium to High (30.6 FPS drop) is more gradual, suggesting a balanced quality curve until the Ultra preset introduces disproportionately heavy rendering loads.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 135.4 FPS (Low), 112.2 FPS (Medium), 93.8 FPS (High), and 56.3 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p results show a similar pattern but with compressed headroom. The 1080p-to-1440p drop at Low settings is 56.4 FPS (191.8 to 135.4), while at Ultra it's 22.6 FPS (78.9 to 56.3). This narrowing gap reinforces the GPU bottleneck theory — higher resolutions reduce the relative impact of settings changes because the GPU is already working near its limits.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal for smooth gameplay. Low averages 85.5 FPS, Medium 68.6 FPS, High 56.2 FPS, and Ultra 36.2 FPS. The Ultra result is below the 40 FPS threshold many players consider minimum for playable horror experiences, and even High sits at 56.2 FPS, which may cause noticeable judder on 60 Hz displays. The 4K Low result of 85.5 FPS is the only 4K configuration that maintains comfortable headroom above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured 1080p Ultra average is 78.9 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS target with 18.9 FPS of headroom. This is the highest quality preset at the lowest resolution, and it remains comfortably playable.

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

A: Only at lower settings. The 4K Low average of 85.5 FPS is playable, and 4K Medium at 68.6 FPS remains above 60. However, 4K High (56.2 FPS) and 4K Ultra (36.2 FPS) fall below smooth-play thresholds, making them unsuitable for most players.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6600 XT's average benchmark score of 27985 is 0.1% higher than the GTX 980 Ti, 0.4% higher than the R9 M395X, but 0.9% lower than the RTX 3070. These are minimal differences, placing the card in a tight competitive cluster.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread score?

A: The i5-12400 scores 2249 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 15935 in multicore, a ratio of roughly 1:7.1. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 versus 16-thread score of 5873 shows similar scaling, indicating balanced thread utilization.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination provides the best experience?

A: The 1440p High preset at 93.8 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. It maintains a high frame rate while benefiting from the resolution upgrade over 1080p, and it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the drop is 56.4 FPS (191.8 to 135.4). At Medium, it's 46.0 FPS (158.2 to 112.2). At High, it's 33.8 FPS (127.6 to 93.8). At Ultra, it's 22.6 FPS (78.9 to 56.3). The loss percentage increases at lower settings, showing the GPU becomes more stressed with higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 1440p High as the optimal configuration for this combo in Downfall. At 93.8 FPS, it provides a 33.8 FPS improvement over 4K High (56.2 FPS) while delivering a substantial resolution upgrade over 1080p. The 1440p Medium preset at 112.2 FPS offers additional headroom for players who prioritize frame rate stability, and the 1440p Low at 135.4 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

For players with 1080p displays, the High preset at 127.6 FPS is the recommended choice. It delivers near-Ultra visual quality without the 48.7 FPS penalty that Ultra imposes (dropping to 78.9 FPS). The 1080p Medium at 158.2 FPS is a strong alternative for maximizing frame rates while retaining acceptable visuals. The Ultra preset at any resolution is difficult to justify — at 4K it drops to 36.2 FPS, which is below playable thresholds, and even at 1080p it costs nearly 39% of the High preset's performance for marginal visual gains.

The data suggests avoiding 4K entirely unless the player accepts Low settings (85.5 FPS). The 4K Medium result of 68.6 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for frame drops during intense horror sequences. The 4K High and Ultra presets are not recommended for any use case, as they fall below 60 FPS and fail to provide a smooth experience in a genre where timing and atmosphere are critical.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the primary determinant of Downfall's performance ceiling, especially as resolution increases. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth — sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but insufficient for 4K Ultra where the 36.2 FPS result indicates memory constraints. The 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s, which translate to strong fill rates at lower resolutions but struggle with 4K's pixel count.

The GPU's clock speeds — 1968 MHz base, 2359 MHz game, and 2589 MHz boost — provide a solid foundation for the measured performance. The 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is competitive with the GTX 980 Ti (0.1% higher average score) but trails the RTX 3070 (0.9% lower). The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-efficient card that doesn't require excessive cooling, though the suggested 450 W PSU should be respected.

The 71st percentile GPU ranking shows the RX 6600 XT outperforms most GPUs in the database, yet the combo's 1238th rank in Downfall suggests this specific game is particularly demanding on GPU resources. The 4K results — dropping from 85.5 FPS at Low to 36.2 FPS at Ultra — demonstrate that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading capacity are the limiting factors at high resolutions, regardless of the CPU's capabilities. For players seeking higher 4K performance, the data implies that a GPU with more VRAM or wider memory bus would be necessary, as the RX 6600 XT's 128-bit interface and 8 GB frame buffer cap its 4K potential.