Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + AMD Radeon RX 9070

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers strong frame rates across all tested resolutions in Downfall, but the scaling pattern reveals a system that shifts from GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions. At 1080p High the combo produces 198 FPS average, rising to 295 FPS at Low settings, while 4K High still manages a playable 88 FPS. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of high-refresh gameplay at 1440p and 1080p, with 4K requiring some settings compromises to maintain smooth performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K follows an expected curve, but the magnitude varies significantly by settings preset. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 198 FPS at 1080p to 141 FPS at 1440p, then to 88 FPS at 4K — a cumulative reduction of roughly 55% from 1080p to 4K. This indicates that at High settings, the GPU is increasingly becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises, though the 4K result of 88 FPS remains comfortably playable.

Low settings tell a different story. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 295 FPS, dropping to 210 FPS at 1440p and 131 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is notably high, suggesting that even at demanding resolutions, the RX 9070 has substantial headroom when visual effects are minimized. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low (295 to 210 FPS) represents a 29% drop, while the 1440p to 4K transition (210 to 131 FPS) is a 38% drop — the steeper decline at higher resolutions points to GPU throughput becoming the primary constraint.

Medium settings show the most consistent scaling pattern. The frame rate moves from 241 FPS at 1080p to 172 FPS at 1440p, then to 107 FPS at 4K. This represents a 29% drop for the first resolution step and a 38% drop for the second — nearly identical percentages to Low settings. The Medium preset also includes min/max FPS data: at 1080p the range is 205-277 FPS, at 1440p it is 146-198 FPS, and at 4K it is 91-123 FPS. The narrowing of the spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU saturates.

Ultra settings produce the steepest scaling curve. From 123 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate falls to 88 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop) and then to 55 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, suggesting that this preset combination pushes the RX 9070 to its limits at 4K resolution. The pattern across all presets — with 1080p to 1440p drops consistently around 28-29% and 1440p to 4K drops around 37-38% — indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute throughput scale predictably with resolution, without any anomalous bottlenecks appearing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the Navi 48 chip with RDNA 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It packs 53,900 million transistors across a 357 mm² die, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), while the GPU has a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The card's 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units provide the raw throughput that drives Downfall's frame rates.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 56 ray tracing cores, with a pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s. These specifications explain the measured results: at 4K Ultra, the card produces 55 FPS, indicating that the combination of high-resolution shading and Ultra effects consumes nearly all of the available compute resources. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Downfall, a 2016 horror title, so memory capacity never becomes a limiting factor — the 4K High result of 88 FPS with headroom confirms this.

The RX 9070's benchmark profile reinforces its positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6,290, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores reach 131,539 and 58,705 respectively. Passmark G3D gives it 25,381, with a GPU compute score of 14,737. The card sits at the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,877. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (0.6% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile (1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.2% lower). These deltas are all within a couple of percentage points, suggesting the RX 9070 sits in a tightly contested performance tier.

In Downfall specifically, the GPU's 2520 MHz boost clock and 2070 MHz game clock provide the sustained throughput needed for the measured frame rates. The 4K Low result of 131 FPS is particularly telling — it shows that even at 4K, the card can deliver high refresh rates when the shading workload is reduced, making the Ultra preset's 55 FPS result clearly a function of shader complexity rather than raw resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination ranks 829th out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all pairings in the database. This is a solid result for a mid-range CPU paired with an upper-mid-range GPU, though it does not crack the top quartile of combinations. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing — neither component is so dominant that it single-handedly boosts the combo to elite status, but both contribute enough performance to place it well above the median.

The CPU itself sits at the 85th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 36,938. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F matches it exactly with a 0% delta, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% lower, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i9-12900T is 0.5% lower. This clustering indicates that the Ultra 5 225's compute performance is essentially identical to several established competitors, meaning the combo's Downfall ranking is driven more by the GPU than any CPU advantage.

The GPU's 69th percentile ranking is lower than the CPU's 85th percentile, which suggests that in this pairing, the RX 9070 is the component that holds the combo back from a higher overall rank. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation — at 4K Ultra, the 55 FPS result and the steep resolution scaling curve both indicate GPU saturation. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across resolutions at the same settings, but instead the data shows clear GPU-bound scaling.

The combo's 829th rank out of 2,928 means it outperforms roughly 72% of all tested combinations in Downfall. This is a strong showing for a system built around a $246 launch MSRP CPU and a $549 launch MSRP GPU, though it is important to note that the ranking includes many combinations of far more expensive components. The data suggests that this pairing hits a sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K performance being respectable but not class-leading.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 198 FPS at 1080p High, with Medium settings reaching 241 FPS and Low settings hitting 295 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p still deliver a strong 123 FPS average.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the average is 88 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 107 FPS. The 4K Low setting produces 131 FPS, but 4K Ultra drops to 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players prefer.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36,938, which is statistically tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (-0.5%). It sits at the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's performance position relative to other cards?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23,877, placing it at the 69th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (0.6% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile (1.1% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 6800S (0.8% lower).

Q: Which resolution offers the best experience for this combo?

A: The data shows 1440p High at 141 FPS and 1440p Medium at 172 FPS as excellent choices, offering high frame rates with good visual quality. At 1080p, even Ultra settings stay above 120 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh displays.

Q: Is the combo's ranking in Downfall competitive?

A: The combo ranks 829th out of 2,928 tested combinations, placing it in the 72nd percentile. This means it outperforms the majority of pairings in the database for this game, though it does not reach the top quartile.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Downfall. For players targeting 60 FPS at 4K, the Medium preset is the best choice — it delivers 107 FPS average with a minimum of 91 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold without the steep performance cost of Ultra. The High preset at 4K also works at 88 FPS, but the Medium preset's min FPS of 91 ensures smoother frame delivery during intense scenes.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset becomes viable at 88 FPS, but High settings at 141 FPS or Medium at 172 FPS offer substantially higher headroom for high-refresh monitors. The 1440p Medium result includes a min FPS of 146 and max of 198, which indicates consistent frame pacing throughout the measurement. For competitive or fast-paced play, 1440p Medium at 172 FPS is the strongest combination of visual quality and performance.

For 1080p, all presets exceed 120 FPS, with Ultra at 123 FPS, High at 198 FPS, Medium at 241 FPS, and Low at 295 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the best way to experience the game's full visual effects while maintaining high frame rates. The Medium preset's min FPS of 205 at 1080p makes it the safest choice for maintaining a locked 144 Hz refresh rate, while players with 240 Hz displays may prefer Low settings at 295 FPS to maximize smoothness.

The most balanced overall recommendation is the Medium preset at 1440p, which delivers 172 FPS average with a minimum of 146 FPS. This configuration offers a strong combination of resolution, visual fidelity, and performance headroom, making it suitable for a wide range of display capabilities. Players with 4K displays should use Medium settings to stay well above 60 FPS, while those with 1080p high-refresh monitors can comfortably enable Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache, for a total of 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ultra 5 225 demonstrates strong single-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,655 and a multi-core score of 25,891. Passmark single-thread performance is 4,412, while multithreaded performance reaches 30,459. These results place the CPU at the 85th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 36,938 — essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Core i9-12900T.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where GPU load decreases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 295 FPS, which likely approaches the CPU's frame delivery ceiling. The 4K Low result of 131 FPS shows that even at high resolution, the CPU has no trouble feeding the GPU, as the frame rate scales primarily with GPU workload. The consistent ~28-29% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all presets, and ~37-38% drop from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the CPU maintains sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck in any tested configuration.

The CPU's 10 threads are adequate for a 2016 horror title like Downfall, which does not heavily utilize many-core processors. The high single-thread score of 3,655 in Cinebench R23 and 4,412 in Passmark ensures that the game's primary thread has ample processing power. The 4.90 GHz boost clock provides the frequency headroom needed for the high frame rates observed at 1080p, while the 20 MB L3 cache helps maintain consistent performance during gameplay. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking relative to all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database, making it a solid foundation for this GPU pairing in Downfall.