Downfall

Downfall is a 2016 horror title that stresses GPUs heavily, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 show a clear progression of performance scaling. The data indicates that this combination is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p, but the curve to 4K reveals a steep cost for resolution. The RX 9070, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and RDNA 4.0 architecture, is the dominant component in this pairing, while the six-core i5-9400 provides enough throughput to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions but becomes less relevant as pixel count climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by settings preset. At 1080p High, the system averages 196.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces that to 138.8 FPS, a drop of approximately 29%. Stepping up to 4K High further reduces the average to 88.1 FPS, which is another 37% decrease from the 1440p figure. This pattern suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, as the workload on the shaders and memory bandwidth scales directly with pixel output.

The Low preset shows the most extreme scaling, with 269.2 FPS at 1080p, 209.5 FPS at 1440p, and 130.3 FPS at 4K. The jump from 1080p to 4K Low represents a 52% performance loss, indicating that even with minimal visual load, the resolution demand is substantial. In contrast, the Ultra preset exhibits a more severe penalty, going from 122.5 FPS at 1080p to 86.1 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 53.7 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra frame rate, highlighting that the combination of high detail and 4K resolution can push the RX 9070 to its limits.

What this scaling tells a builder is that the RX 9070, which sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, has a performance ceiling that is hit hard by 4K Ultra. The system is clearly GPU-bound at 4K, as the CPU's role diminishes. However, at 1080p Low and Medium, the frame rates exceed 238 FPS, which implies that the i5-9400's six cores are sufficient to feed the GPU without creating a significant bottleneck. The data suggests that for competitive or high-refresh play at 1080p, this combo is well-balanced, but for 4K gaming, the user must accept lower settings to maintain playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Downfall?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1080p is the sweet spot, with High settings achieving 196.1 FPS and Low reaching 269.2 FPS. Even Ultra at 1080p holds 122.5 FPS, which is smooth for most displays.

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

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K High, the average FPS is 88.1, which is playable. However, 4K Ultra drops to 53.7 FPS, which may feel less fluid, so dropping to High or Medium is advised.

Q: How does the RX 9070's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, which is 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA A2 and 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro GV100. It also leads the AMD Radeon HD 7970 by 0.7% and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 0.8%.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RX 9070?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the data shows high frame rates (196 FPS at 1080p High, 138.8 FPS at 1440p High), indicating the CPU is not severely limiting performance. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, so the CPU is not the issue.

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

A: The difference is substantial. Low averages 209.5 FPS, while Ultra averages 86.1 FPS. That is a 143% performance gap, showing that the Ultra preset is much more demanding on the GPU.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested system configurations?

A: The combination ranks 602nd out of 1741 tested combos for Downfall, placing it in the top third of all systems.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the star of this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured performance. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This high bandwidth is critical for 4K rendering, where texture data and frame buffers require rapid access. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and game clock of 2070 MHz provide the raw compute power, with 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs driving pixel output. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 and a Passmark G3D score of 25381 confirm that this is a high-end part, sitting in the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

In Downfall, the GPU's role is evident from the scaling data. At 1080p Low, the 269.2 FPS result is likely near the CPU's limit, but the GPU still has headroom. As resolution increases, the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute units become the limiting factor. The 4K High result of 88.1 FPS is respectable for a horror title, but the 4K Ultra drop to 53.7 FPS indicates that the Ultra preset demands more than the GPU can comfortably deliver. The 56 ray accelerators on the RDNA 4.0 architecture may also come into play, but the measured data does not isolate ray tracing effects. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory size is unlikely to be a constraint, but the compute throughput is.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is tight, with a 0.2% delta versus the NVIDIA A2 and a 0.7% delta versus the AMD Radeon HD 7970. This shows that while the RX 9070 is powerful, the nearest competitors are close in synthetic benchmarks, yet the real-world game FPS here demonstrates its capability in a DirectX-heavy title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the High preset is the recommended choice across all resolutions. At 1080p, High yields 196.1 FPS, which is excellent for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, High still delivers 138.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains 88.1 FPS, making it the only preset that offers a consistently playable experience at that resolution without dipping below 60 FPS.

The Ultra preset, while visually superior, comes with a heavy cost. At 4K, it drops to 53.7 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in a horror game where frame pacing is critical. At 1440p, Ultra is playable at 86.1 FPS, but the drop from High is 38%, and the visual gain may not justify the loss in fluidity. For users with 1080p displays, Ultra is a viable option at 122.5 FPS, but the Medium preset at 238.7 FPS offers a much higher refresh rate for competitive play.

Given the data, a practical recommendation is to use High as the default setting. It provides a solid 60+ FPS experience at 4K and high refresh rates at lower resolutions. If the user prioritizes frame rate over fidelity, the Low preset at 4K (130.3 FPS) or 1440p (209.5 FPS) is the way to go, but the visual downgrade in a horror game might detract from the atmosphere. The Medium preset is a balanced middle ground, offering 110.2 FPS at 4K and 172.8 FPS at 1440p, which is a good compromise for those who want some quality without sacrificing performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset from the benchmark runs provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 269.2 FPS, Medium averages 238.7 FPS, High averages 196.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 122.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 146.7 FPS, showing that the settings have a massive impact at this resolution, but even the lowest setting is far above what most displays can show.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 209.5 FPS, Medium at 172.8 FPS, High at 138.8 FPS, and Ultra at 86.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with roughly a 30% reduction, which aligns with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls below 100 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the strain.

At 3840x2160, the performance cliff is evident: Low averages 130.3 FPS, Medium averages 110.2 FPS, High averages 88.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 53.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra number, and even High drops below the 100 FPS mark. The data shows that 4K is playable, but only with settings at High or below. The Medium preset at 4K (110.2 FPS) is a notable sweet spot for users with 4K displays who want a fluid experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, delta 0.2%) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, delta 0.4%).

In Downfall, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (269.2 FPS) suggests that the CPU is capable of high throughput, as the GPU is not the limiting factor at that low setting. However, the 1080p Medium result of 238.7 FPS and High result of 196.1 FPS show that the CPU still has headroom, as the frame rate scales with GPU load. The fact that the 1080p Low result is only 11% higher than Medium indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is doing most of the work.

At 4K, the CPU's influence wanes. The 4K High result of 88.1 FPS is 55% lower than the 1080p High result, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's workload. The i5-9400's six threads are sufficient for this game, as it does not appear to be a multi-threaded heavy hitter. The 65W TDP and 14nm process node are modest, but the performance is adequate. The data suggests that upgrading the CPU would yield little benefit in Downfall, as the GPU is the clear performance limiter at higher resolutions. However, at 1080p with the Low preset, a faster CPU might push the frame rate even higher, but the current 269.2 FPS is already beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.