Downfall

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT pairing delivers a playable experience in Downfall, but the data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by graphics settings and resolution. The benchmark results indicate a configuration where the GPU is the primary driver of performance at lower resolutions, while the CPU begins to assert its influence as the workload shifts. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand the balance between the six-core processor and the RDNA 2.0 graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected trend: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the rate of degradation is not uniform across all settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 190.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 137 FPS, a reduction of approximately 28%. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls to 84.9, which is another 38% decrease from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern suggests that at lower settings, the GPU is the limiting component, as the frame rate is highly sensitive to the number of pixels being rendered.

However, the scaling story changes dramatically when looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 79.7. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 58.3 FPS, a drop of about 27%. Yet, the jump to 4K Ultra results in 38.2 FPS, which is a 34% reduction from 1440p. This steeper decline at 4K Ultra indicates that the RX 6600 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated, and the rendering load is becoming too heavy for the GPU to maintain the same scaling efficiency seen at lower settings. The data implies that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck across all resolutions, but the margin tightens at 4K Ultra where the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake generation, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. In the context of Downfall, a horror game, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary to the GPU, but not entirely negligible.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 190.5 FPS, which is likely near the upper limit of what this CPU can feed to the GPU in this title. The difference between 1080p Low (190.5 FPS) and 1440p Low (137 FPS) is substantial, indicating that the GPU is still the primary constraint even at lower resolutions. However, the fact that the 1080p Low score is significantly higher than the 4K Low score (84.9 FPS) suggests that the CPU is capable of delivering high frame rates when the GPU load is light. The processor’s performance is comparable to the Intel Core i3-10305, which has an average benchmark score 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i7-8809G, which is 0.6% higher. This positions the i5-9400 as a solid mid-range performer that does not appear to be a severe bottleneck in this specific game, as the GPU consistently limits performance across most settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 126.6, which is a smooth experience for a horror title.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to the GeForce GTX 980 Ti in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 27985, while the GTX 980 Ti scores 27956, placing the AMD card a marginal 0.1% ahead.

Q: Does the combination of the i5-9400 and RX 6600 XT maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 38.2, which falls below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best performance-to-image quality preset at 1440p?

A: The High preset yields 89.5 FPS, while Medium yields 112.6 FPS. The data suggests High offers a better balance of image quality and speed than the demanding Ultra preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates scale significantly with resolution changes.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RX 6600 XT?

A: The launch MSRP is 379 USD.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is ranked 1220 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places the pairing in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is surprising given the individual components' performance. The GPU, which sits in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, is clearly a capable part, but the CPU’s 50th percentile ranking appears to drag the overall combo score down.

The data suggests that while the RX 6600 XT is strong, the i5-9400’s six threads may not be enough to fully leverage the GPU’s potential in every scenario. The combo’s rank, despite the GPU’s high percentile, implies that the CPU is holding back the system in this particular title. This is a curious result, as the measured FPS at lower resolutions is very high, indicating that the CPU can handle the game, but the overall ranking suggests other combinations with more powerful processors achieve better consistency. The ranking reflects that this specific pairing is not optimal for maximizing the GPU’s capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user’s display resolution and performance target. For 1080p, the High preset is the most balanced choice, delivering 126.6 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a significant improvement in visual fidelity over Medium. While Low offers 190.5 FPS, the visual downgrade is likely not worth the extra performance. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 79.7 FPS, which is still playable but may not be worth the performance cost for marginal visual gains.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point, as it yields 112.6 FPS and should look considerably better than Low. The High preset is also viable at 89.5 FPS, offering better image quality at a still-smooth frame rate. For 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (84.9 FPS) and Medium preset (67.7 FPS) are able to maintain playable frame rates. The High preset at 59.7 FPS is on the edge of playability, while Ultra is not recommended due to its 38.2 FPS average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low 190.5 FPS, Medium 159 FPS, High 126.6 FPS, and Ultra 79.7 FPS. This shows a linear progression of performance loss as settings increase, with Ultra representing a significant 58% drop from the Low preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are: Low 137 FPS, Medium 112.6 FPS, High 89.5 FPS, and Ultra 58.3 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction across all settings, with the Ultra preset at 58.3 FPS being the only one to fall below the 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160, the data reveals: Low 84.9 FPS, Medium 67.7 FPS, High 59.7 FPS, and Ultra 38.2 FPS. This is where the GPU’s limitations become most apparent, as only the Low and Medium presets are able to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset's 38.2 FPS is a stark reminder of the demands of 4K rendering on this hardware.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, based on the Navi 23 chip and RDNA 2.0 architecture, is the clear performance driver in this configuration. With a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz, the GPU is capable of high raw throughput. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a key factor in the observed performance scaling. The GPU’s benchmark scores, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1804 and a Passmark G3D score of 16461, place it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs.

The data shows that the RX 6600 XT is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions. The significant frame rate drops when moving from 1080p to 4K, especially at higher settings, demonstrate that the GPU is struggling to fill the pixel pipeline. The difference between the High (59.7 FPS) and Medium (67.7 FPS) presets at 4K is only 8 FPS, suggesting that the card is hitting a memory bandwidth or compute limit. The GPU’s performance is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which has a synthetic benchmark score that is 0.1% lower. This indicates that the RX 6600 XT offers performance on par with a previous-generation high-end card, but it is not sufficient for the most demanding settings at 4K in Downfall without compromising on frame rate.