Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a broad performance envelope in Downfall, a horror title from 2016. Across the twelve measured configurations—four settings levels at three resolutions—the average frame rates range from a demanding 50.9 FPS at 4K Ultra to a fluid 262.8 FPS at 1080p Low. This pairing ranks 743rd out of 1,741 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The data indicates a system that can handle the game comfortably at high refresh rates for 1080p and 1440p displays, while 4K requires careful settings selection to maintain smoothness. The GPU is clearly the dominant component for most of the tested scenarios, though the six-core CPU's capabilities become relevant at the lowest resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, but with notable nuances depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 262.8 at 1920x1080 to 186.8 at 2560x1440, then further to 116.2 at 3840x2160. This represents a 29% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 56% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which strongly indicates the Radeon RX 7700 XT is the limiting factor even at the lowest settings where CPU overhead would typically be highest.

Moving to Medium settings, the pattern shifts slightly: 216.3 FPS at 1080p, 152.7 FPS at 1440p, and 94.7 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 29% and 56% respectively, mirroring the Low settings scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck even as frame rates exceed 200 FPS at 1080p. At High settings, the values are 175.2 FPS (1080p), 126.1 FPS (1440p), and 75.5 FPS (4K), with drops of 28% and 57%. The pattern holds firm.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p, the average is 109.1 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 76 FPS (a 30% drop); at 4K, it reaches just 50.9 FPS (a 53% drop from 1080p). While the proportional scaling is similar, the absolute values are much lower, indicating that the GPU's raw throughput is substantially taxed by the Ultra settings' additional rendering demands. The 4K Ultra result of 50.9 FPS sits below the commonly accepted 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that this preset is only viable if the user accepts sub-60 frame rates or employs adaptive sync technology.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU across all resolutions and settings. Evidence for this comes from the fact that the i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, can push frame rates well above 250 FPS at 1080p Low without apparent constraint. The CPU's 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock provide sufficient single-threaded performance for this 2016 horror title, which is not known for heavily threaded workloads. The Radeon RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than adequate for the texture and geometry demands at 4K, yet the compute load from the 3,456 shading units still becomes the decisive factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo in Downfall?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 262.8, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the system can far exceed the refresh rate of most monitors at 1080p when visual quality is minimized.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Downfall?

A: At 4K, the combo averages 75.5 FPS on High settings and 94.7 FPS on Medium. However, at Ultra settings, the average drops to 50.9 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Users targeting 4K should select High or Medium settings for a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2,305, placing it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, scores 2,300 (a 0.2% difference), while the Intel Core i7-8809G scores 2,319 (0.6% higher). The i5-9400 sits effectively at parity with these alternatives.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 186.8 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 76 FPS. This represents a 59% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Is the GPU's benchmark performance competitive with other options?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT achieves an average benchmark score of 30,097, placing it at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, scores 30,109 (a 0% difference), while the AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 30,158 (0.2% higher). The RX 7700 XT is essentially tied with these competitors in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in this game?

A: The combo ranks 743rd out of 1,741 tested combinations in Downfall, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested systems. This suggests a mid-pack position, with many higher-end combos achieving better performance but a substantial number of systems falling below this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 743 out of 1,741 tested combinations in Downfall places it slightly above the median of all tested systems. This positioning is notable because the GPU alone sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 50th percentile. The discrepancy between the GPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-pack ranking indicates that the CPU's performance characteristics are limiting the overall result in this specific game context.

The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2,305 puts it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals: the Core i3-10305 (2,300, 0.2% higher), Core i3-1125G4 (2,299, 0.2% higher), Xeon E-2134 (2,295, 0.4% higher), and Core i7-8809G (2,319, 0.6% lower). This grouping shows that the CPU is well-matched with comparable six-core and four-core options from the same era. However, the game's engine likely benefits from higher single-threaded performance, which the 4.10 GHz boost clock provides but may not be sufficient to push the combo higher in the rankings.

For the GPU, the RX 7700 XT's average benchmark score of 30,097 places it in a dead heat with the RTX 5060 (30,109, 0% difference) and RX 570 (30,158, 0.2% higher). The Tesla M60 scores 29,969 (0.4% lower) and the RTX 5070 Mobile scores 29,928 (0.6% lower). This tight grouping around the 30,000 mark suggests that the RX 7700 XT delivers performance squarely in the mainstream-to-upper-midrange tier, which aligns with the measured frame rates in Downfall.

The 743rd rank out of 1,741 combos means that roughly 57% of all tested systems outperform this pairing in Downfall. This is a reasonable outcome given the CPU's age (released in 2018) and the GPU's relatively recent launch (2023). The data suggests that pairing the RX 7700 XT with a stronger CPU would likely improve the combo's ranking, particularly at 1080p where the CPU's influence on frame rates becomes more pronounced.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 175.2 FPS provides an excellent balance between visual quality and performance, comfortably exceeding the refresh rates of most gaming monitors. The Ultra preset at 109.1 FPS remains highly playable and offers the best visual fidelity, though the 60 FPS gap between High and Ultra may not justify the visual improvement for all users. The Medium preset at 216.3 FPS is excessive for most displays, and Low at 262.8 FPS offers no practical benefit unless the user has a 240 Hz or higher refresh rate monitor.

At 1440p, the High preset at 126.1 FPS is the recommended choice for users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, as it provides a comfortable margin above those refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 76 FPS is suitable for 60 Hz monitors and offers the best image quality, but users with higher refresh rate displays may prefer High for smoother motion. The Medium preset at 152.7 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz displays, though the visual difference between Medium and High is worth considering.

For 4K, the High preset at 75.5 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it exceeds 60 FPS while providing good visual quality. The Medium preset at 94.7 FPS is also excellent and offers a larger performance buffer, making it the better choice for users who prioritize frame rate stability over minor visual improvements. The Ultra preset at 50.9 FPS should be avoided unless the user has a 48-60 Hz display with VRR capability, as the sub-60 FPS average may result in noticeable stutter on fixed refresh rate monitors. The Low preset at 4K (116.2 FPS) is not recommended, as the visual degradation at this resolution is likely too severe to justify the frame rate increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 262.8 FPS, Medium produces 216.3 FPS, High produces 175.2 FPS, and Ultra produces 109.1 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 17.7% reduction, Medium to High is a 19.0% reduction, and High to Ultra is a 37.7% reduction. The Ultra preset's disproportionately large performance hit suggests that it enables particularly demanding effects that disproportionately tax the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 186.8 FPS (Low), 152.7 FPS (Medium), 126.1 FPS (High), and 76 FPS (Ultra). The percentage reductions between settings are 18.3% (Low to Medium), 17.4% (Medium to High), and 39.7% (High to Ultra). The Ultra penalty grows slightly at this resolution, reinforcing the notion that Ultra settings are the most demanding configuration.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 116.2 FPS (Low), 94.7 FPS (Medium), 75.5 FPS (High), and 50.9 FPS (Ultra). The reductions are 18.5% (Low to Medium), 20.3% (Medium to High), and 32.6% (High to Ultra). Interestingly, the Ultra penalty is smaller at 4K than at lower resolutions, possibly because the GPU is already so heavily loaded that the additional work from Ultra settings has diminishing proportional impact.

The data shows a consistent pattern across resolutions: the jump from High to Ultra carries the largest performance penalty, typically around 33-40%, while the transitions between Low, Medium, and High are more moderate at roughly 17-20% each. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes a specific feature or set of features that is disproportionately expensive to render.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a 2.90 GHz base clock and a 4.10 GHz boost clock, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU accesses 9 MB of shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth, which is adequate for feeding the Radeon RX 7700 XT's demands in this game.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU for most tested configurations. The fact that frame rates scale almost exactly with pixel count—even at 1080p Low where the average exceeds 260 FPS—indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at these settings. The 4.10 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-threaded performance for the game's logic and draw call processing. The CPU's benchmark scores support this interpretation: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7,969 and a single-core score of 1,125 indicate solid but not exceptional performance for a processor from its generation.

The CPU's 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its tight grouping against rivals like the Core i3-10305 (0.2% higher average score) and Core i7-8809G (0.6% lower), shows that the i5-9400 is a middle-of-the-pack processor. In the context of Downfall, this means the CPU can comfortably keep up with the GPU at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. At 1080p, the CPU's six threads may become more relevant, but the measured frame rates do not indicate a hard CPU limit—the system still delivers over 260 FPS at Low settings.

The 6-core, 6-thread configuration is noteworthy for a 2018 processor, as many contemporaries offered 4 cores with 8 threads. For a horror game from 2016, this core count is more than sufficient, as such titles typically rely heavily on 1-4 threads for gameplay logic. The 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is also adequate, as the game's data streaming demands are modest by modern standards. Overall, the data suggests that the i5-9400 plays a supporting role in this combo, providing enough performance to avoid constraining the RX 7700 XT except possibly at the very highest frame rates at 1080p.