Downfall

The data for Downfall with an Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 580 shows a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, but which manages to deliver playable frame rates at 1080p. The measured frame rates reveal a clear and predictable scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions, with the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a steep performance curve typical of a mid-range graphics card paired with a capable six-core processor. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 66.3 FPS at 1080p to 50.5 FPS at 1440p, then drops dramatically to 28.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 57% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that clearly indicates the graphics card is the limiting factor.

The Low settings preset shows the most aggressive scaling, with 102.9 FPS at 1080p dropping to 73.9 FPS at 1440p and further to 45.4 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result falls below 60 FPS reinforces that the RX 580 simply lacks the raw throughput for 4K gaming in this title. At Medium settings, the pattern continues: 82.8 FPS at 1080p, 58.3 FPS at 1440p, and 38.8 FPS at 4K.

Ultra settings produce the most severe drop-off, with 45.2 FPS at 1080p falling to 32.5 FPS at 1440p and finally to just 16.7 FPS at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is particularly telling, with Ultra delivering nearly half the frame rate of High. This suggests that Ultra preset applies settings that disproportionately stress the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading resources. The scaling data points to a configuration where the CPU has sufficient headroom; the frame rate drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s fill rate and pixel processing limits.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 1612 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 10% of all configurations tested, which is a poor showing for a game that is several years old. The low ranking is not surprising given that both the CPU and GPU are near the middle of their respective benchmark distributions, with the CPU at the 50th percentile and the GPU at the 53rd percentile.

The rank suggests that most other combinations tested in this database deliver higher average frame rates in Downfall. While the 1080p results are playable, the overall ranking is dragged down by the 4K performance, where the combo fails to reach 30 FPS on any preset except Low. The data indicates that this pairing is positioned well below the median tested configuration, and users seeking higher performance in Downfall would need to upgrade either component significantly.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries. The GPU contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a transistor density of 24.6M per mm². It operates with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, while its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 2000 MHz with an effective data rate of 8 Gbps across a 256 bit bus.

Memory bandwidth measures 256.0 GB/s, which is a substantial figure for a card of this class. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 193.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 6.175 TFLOPS due to the 1:1 ratio.

These specifications explain the measured frame rates in Downfall. At 1080p, the card can keep up with the CPU, delivering 66.3 FPS at High settings. But at 4K, the pixel rate and fill rate become insufficient, resulting in the sharp performance drop. The card’s 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559, places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (13549). The RX 580 is about 0.1% ahead of the GTX 950 and essentially tied with the GTX 570, indicating that its raw compute performance is comparable to those older cards, despite being newer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 580 delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings yield 102.9 FPS, Medium produces 82.8 FPS, High reaches 66.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 45.2 FPS. The 1080p results are consistent with a card that sits near the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, offering smooth gameplay on High and playable frame rates even on Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades by roughly 25-30% depending on the preset. Low settings produce 73.9 FPS, Medium gives 58.3 FPS, High delivers 50.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32.5 FPS. The 1440p results show that the card can still handle Medium and High presets comfortably, but Ultra becomes marginal.

At 3840x2160, the card struggles significantly. Low settings yield 45.4 FPS, which is technically above the 30 FPS threshold but not smooth. Medium drops to 38.8 FPS, High falls to 28.2 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 16.7 FPS. The 4K results clearly show that this GPU is not designed for 4K gaming in Downfall, even with reduced settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show a balanced performance profile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 7969, while single-core reaches 1125. In Cinebench R20, it scores 3346 multicore and 472 single-core. The average benchmark score across all tests is 2305, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% slower), Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, 0.2% slower), and Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, 0.4% slower), while the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, -0.6% faster) sits slightly ahead.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops align with GPU-bound expectations. At 1080p Low settings, the 102.9 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU’s limits become apparent as resolution increases. The 50th percentile CPU ranking indicates that this is a mid-pack processor, but for this game, its six cores and boost clock up to 4.10 GHz are sufficient to avoid limiting the RX 580.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 66.3 FPS, which is smooth for most gameplay. Ultra settings drop to 45.2 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid. For a balance of visual quality and frame rate, High is recommended.

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

A: The data shows that 4K performance is poor. At High settings, the average frame rate is 28.2 FPS, falling just short of the 30 FPS threshold. Even at Low settings, it only reaches 45.4 FPS. Ultra settings are nearly unplayable at 16.7 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to the GTX 950 in this game?

A: The RX 580 has a 0.1% higher average benchmark score than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (13559 vs 13549). In practice, the performance difference is negligible, and both cards will produce similar frame rates in Downfall.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RX 580?

A: The frame rate scaling suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 102.9 FPS, and the performance drops proportionally with resolution, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the CPU’s ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 sits at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. It is closely matched with the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299).

Q: What launch MSRP does the RX 580 have?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has a launch MSRP of 229 USD. The card was released on 2017-04-17 and is now end-of-life.