Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The data for Downfall with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 reveals a system that is consistently capable of delivering playable frame rates across most configurations, yet the scaling patterns expose a clear performance hierarchy between resolutions and settings. This pairing sits at rank 1432 out of 1741 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, though the measured FPS numbers tell a more nuanced story about where the bottleneck shifts between the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform across all settings, which reveals how the balance of workload shifts. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 171.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 75.6 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 56% reduction. This is the largest percentage drop among all settings, suggesting that at Low quality the GPU is heavily pushed by the sheer pixel count, and the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus become limiting factors. At High settings, the drop is from 116.9 FPS to 50.5 FPS, a 57% reduction, following a similar trajectory.

The Medium preset shows a slightly less severe scaling: from 140.7 FPS at 1080p down to 63.3 FPS at 4K, a 55% decline. Interestingly, the Ultra setting exhibits the smallest relative drop, going from 75.6 FPS at 1080p to 30.6 FPS at 4K, a 60% reduction when calculated across the full range, but the absolute numbers are already so low that the scaling pattern is less meaningful for playability.

What this data implies is that Downfall is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU still has headroom. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz are sufficient to keep feeding the GPU at 1080p, where the RTX 2060 can reach 171.9 FPS on Low. However, at 4K, the GPU's compute resources — 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs — are the clear constraint, as the frame rates compress into a narrow band between 30.6 and 75.6 FPS regardless of settings.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060's specifications directly explain the 4K results. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, the card has enough bandwidth for 1440p gaming but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and the boost clock of 1680 MHz are typical for this class, and the data confirms that at 4K Ultra, the card falls to 30.6 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the GPU shows its strengths. The High preset achieves 85.1 FPS, and Low reaches 123.3 FPS, indicating that the card is well-matched to this resolution for a horror title. The 4K Medium result of 63.3 FPS is playable, but the jump from Medium to Ultra at 4K costs 32.7 FPS (from 63.3 to 30.6), which is a dramatic penalty that suggests the Ultra preset includes effects that heavily tax the GPU's TMUs and ROPs.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 58 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074, places it in the mid-range. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996 with a delta of 0.5%, meaning the RTX 2060 is essentially on par with that mobile part. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 both score 16351, putting them 1.7% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 trails at 15786, 1.8% behind. This competitive positioning reinforces that the RTX 2060 is a solid mid-tier option, but the 4K results in Downfall show it is not a 4K-capable card for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-9400 and RTX 2060 ranks 1432 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the bottom 18% of the database. This low rank is somewhat surprising given the playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations achieve higher scores in this game, likely due to stronger GPUs or CPUs with more threads.

The CPU itself sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300 (0.2% ahead), the Intel Core i3-1125G4 at 2299 (0.2% ahead), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 at 2295 (0.4% ahead). On the other side, the Intel Core i7-8809G scores 2319, which is 0.6% higher. This tight cluster of scores suggests that the i5-9400 is squarely in the middle of the pack for CPU performance, and it is not a significant differentiator in this combo.

The GPU's percentile of 58 is slightly higher than the CPU's 50, but the combo rank of 1432 suggests that Downfall may be more sensitive to GPU performance than the raw percentiles indicate. The measured FPS data supports this, as the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. For a horror game like Downfall, which likely relies on atmospheric effects and lighting, the RTX 2060's Turing architecture with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores may not be fully utilized if the game does not leverage ray tracing, leaving the raw rasterization performance to carry the load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Downfall with this combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on High settings achieves 85.1 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, High reaches 116.9 FPS, but the higher pixel density of 1440p offers a better experience without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Can this system handle 4K in Downfall?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 75.6, and at Medium it drops to 63.3. At 4K High, it falls to 50.5, and Ultra is 30.6. The playable range is Low to Medium at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074. The AMD Radeon RX 7600S is 0.5% lower at 15996, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 are both 1.7% higher at 16351. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.8% lower at 15786.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests not, as the i5-9400's six cores and six threads can push the RTX 2060 to 171.9 FPS at 1080p Low and 116.9 FPS at High. The CPU's boost clock of 4.10 GHz is sufficient for this game at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 171.9 FPS, Medium 140.7 FPS, High 116.9 FPS, and Ultra 75.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 96.3 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the highest settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to the total number of tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1432 out of 1741 tested combinations in Downfall, which places it in the lower 18% of all tested systems.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, built on the 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz provide adequate single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125 and multi-core score of 7969. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are modest by modern standards, but they are sufficient for a game like Downfall that does not appear to be heavily multithreaded.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's role becomes clearer when examining the 1080p results. At Low settings, the system reaches 171.9 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many monitors. This indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at this resolution. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 30.6 FPS, and the CPU's contribution is minimal because the GPU is overwhelmed.

The CPU's percentile of 50 and its tight clustering with rivals — all within 0.6% of each other — suggest that the i5-9400 is a mid-pack processor that will not be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios. In Downfall specifically, the data implies that the CPU has enough headroom to support the RTX 2060 across all tested settings, and the frame rate drops are attributable to GPU load rather than CPU limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 116.9 FPS is the best choice for most players, as it balances visual quality with a frame rate that exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin. The Medium preset at 140.7 FPS is also viable for competitive play, but High offers a more immersive horror experience without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 85.1 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides a solid frame rate while benefiting from the higher resolution. The Medium preset at 104.6 FPS is also excellent for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, but the jump to High only costs 19.5 FPS and is worth it for a horror game that likely relies on atmospheric visuals.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 75.6 FPS is the only setting that delivers a consistently smooth experience, while Medium at 63.3 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional dips. The High preset at 50.5 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 30.6 FPS is not recommended for anything but cinematic viewing. The data clearly shows that 4K is not this combo's strength, and players should stick to 1440p for the best overall experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 171.9 on Low to 75.6 on Ultra. The Medium preset delivers 140.7 FPS, and High achieves 116.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 31.2 FPS, Medium to High costs 23.8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 41.3 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is disproportionately expensive.

At 2560x1440, the results are 123.3 FPS on Low, 104.6 FPS on Medium, 85.1 FPS on High, and 50.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from High to Ultra is 34.8 FPS, which is the largest single-step penalty at this resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 28% lower across all settings, consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 75.6 on Low, 63.3 on Medium, 50.5 on High, and 30.6 on Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is 12.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 19.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 30.6 FPS is exactly half the 1080p Ultra result of 75.6 FPS, highlighting the quadratic scaling of pixel workload. Overall, the data shows a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, but falls short of 4K Ultra expectations.