Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 shows a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, with the GPU becoming the decisive constraint at higher pixel counts. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 92.7 FPS, which drops to 63.7 FPS at High settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the same Low preset yields 63.2 FPS, and the High preset falls to 45.7 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 43.9 FPS, while High settings plunge to 24.6 FPS.

The scaling pattern is revealing. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops by roughly 32%, and from 1440p Low to 4K Low, it falls another 30%. This near-linear relationship with pixel count indicates the GTX 1650 is the limiting component throughout the resolution range — the i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is not the bottleneck in any of these configurations. The GPU's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus width become increasingly stressed as resolution rises, and the drop from 63.2 FPS at 1440p Low to 43.9 FPS at 4K Low reflects that memory bandwidth constraint.

Across all settings, the pattern is consistent: doubling the pixel count from 1080p to 4K roughly halves the frame rate at each preset level. For example, at Medium settings, 1080p yields 73.8 FPS, 1440p yields 54.5 FPS, and 4K yields 33.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with 38.2 FPS at 1080p, 29.7 FPS at 1440p, and only 15.7 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the GTX 1650, which sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, simply does not have the raw throughput to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with anything but the lowest settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where every preset exceeds 38 FPS. At Low settings, the combo reaches 92.7 FPS, and even Ultra holds at 38.2 FPS, making 1080p the most viable target for consistent performance.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, which is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and AMD Radeon 550X, and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. It sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The i7-13700K scores at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile. The consistent frame rate drops across resolutions from 1080p to 4K align with GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings deliver 54.5 FPS, which is above the threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings drop to 45.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29.7 FPS, so Medium is the recommended ceiling at this resolution.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P. It also trails the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 by 0.5% and leads the Intel Core i9-12900F by 0.4%.

Q: Does the GTX 1650 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the GTX 1650 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, its benchmark scores in DirectX 12 workloads are relatively low, with a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 35, indicating limited headroom for API-heavy titles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for configuring Downfall with this hardware. The most balanced experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers 73.8 FPS. This represents a 20% improvement over High settings (63.7 FPS) while maintaining visual fidelity above Low. At 1080p, Low settings push the frame rate to 92.7 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual downgrade may not be necessary given the headroom.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings at 54.5 FPS offer the best compromise. High settings at 45.7 FPS are still playable but leave little margin for demanding scenes, while Ultra at 29.7 FPS falls below the generally accepted playability threshold. At 3840x2160, the data shows no preset achieves a comfortable frame rate: Low is the only option above 40 FPS (43.9 FPS), Medium drops to 33.4 FPS, High to 24.6 FPS, and Ultra to 15.7 FPS. For 4K, Low settings are the only viable choice, and even then, users should expect occasional dips in intense sequences.

The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer across all resolutions, with frame rates that are roughly 40-45% lower than High settings. Given the GTX 1650's modest specifications — 896 shading units and 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance — the Ultra preset's additional effects tax the GPU beyond its capabilities. The data suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for most users, as it provides a meaningful visual upgrade over Low while maintaining frame rates that are 35-60% higher than Ultra across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range produces the following average frame rates: Low settings deliver 92.7 FPS, Medium settings deliver 73.8 FPS, High settings deliver 63.7 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 38.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 18.9 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 25.5 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a disproportionately large performance penalty.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are as follows: Low settings average 63.2 FPS, Medium settings average 54.5 FPS, High settings average 45.7 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29.7 FPS. The relative scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 32% reduction at Low, a 26% reduction at Medium, a 28% reduction at High, and a 22% reduction at Ultra. The smaller percentage drop at Ultra suggests that the preset's heavy effects are already saturating the GPU at 1080p, so the additional pixel load has less relative impact.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low settings average 43.9 FPS, Medium settings average 33.4 FPS, High settings average 24.6 FPS, and Ultra settings average 15.7 FPS. From 1440p to 4K, the reductions are 31% at Low, 39% at Medium, 46% at High, and 47% at Ultra. The widening percentage drops at higher presets indicate that the combination of increased resolution and complex shading effects overwhelms the GTX 1650's 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus width.

The overall combo rank in this game is 1663 out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 5% of configurations. This rank reflects the GTX 1650's position at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, paired with a CPU that ranks at the 93rd percentile — a significant imbalance that the measured FPS data confirms.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the dominant factor in this combo's Downfall performance. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The GPU's base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are modest, and its 896 shading units produce 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications place it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713.

The memory configuration is particularly telling. At 4K resolution, the pixel count demands significantly more memory bandwidth, and the 128-bit bus width becomes a bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings only achieve 43.9 FPS, which is 53% lower than 1080p Low. This drop is more severe than what would be expected from compute limitations alone, pointing to memory bandwidth as the key differentiator.

The GPU's 12 nm process node and TU117 chip are from the Turing architecture, which supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, its Passmark DirectX 12 score of 35 and DirectX 11 score of 58 indicate limited API performance. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 39112 and Vulkan score of 35966 show moderate compute capability, but these do not translate into strong gaming performance in this title.

The GTX 1650's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, AMD Radeon 550X, NVIDIA Quadro P2200, and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 — all fall within 0.5% of its average score. This tight clustering indicates that the GTX 1650 is squarely in the mid-range of GPU performance, and its 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it a low-power solution. The suggested power supply of 250 W and dual-slot design are modest, but the card's end-of-life production status means it is no longer a current-generation option.

In the context of this game, the GTX 1650's 4 GB memory capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the combination of memory pressure and bandwidth limitations creates the sub-30 FPS results seen in the data. The GPU's pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are adequate for lower resolutions, but they cannot sustain the fill rate demands of 4K with complex horror-game lighting effects.