Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks at position 2797 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall. This places the combo in the bottom 5% of all configurations tested, indicating that this pairing is not well suited for achieving high frame rates in this horror title. The data shows a significant performance deficit compared to the majority of tested hardware combinations, suggesting that both the GPU and CPU are contributing to the overall bottleneck, though the GPU is clearly the primary constraint at most settings.

The low rank is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show the combo struggling to maintain playable performance at higher resolutions and quality presets. The benchmark results indicate that this hardware pairing is positioned for older or less demanding titles, and Downfall's requirements exceed what this configuration can comfortably deliver in most scenarios. The combination of a modern 14-core processor with an aging graphics card creates a substantial imbalance that is reflected in the overall ranking.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The card is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries, and is now end-of-life.

The RX 570's 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical limiting factor when running Downfall at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops to 27 FPS on High settings, which is below playable thresholds. The 4 GB memory buffer likely becomes saturated at this resolution, causing the GPU to spend additional time managing data transfers. The 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth provides some mitigation, but the capacity constraint is unavoidable.

Benchmark results show the RX 570 achieves an average score of 28766, placing it at the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 28874, representing a 0.4% difference. This puts the RX 570 in a performance class that is competitive with mobile GPUs and older desktop cards. The GPU's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are modest by modern standards, which is reflected in the Downfall results.

The measured frame rates across all resolutions show a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting component as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the card achieves 92 FPS, but this drops to 27 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This represents a 70% performance reduction, indicating that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being overwhelmed at higher resolutions. The 32 ROPs and 128 TMUs are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The processor is built on Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process node from TSMC, containing 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong performance relative to its peers. In Cinebench R23, it scores 14769 in multi-core and 2085 in single-core tests. The PassMark multithread score is 37816, with a single-thread score of 4516. The processor averages 46062 across all benchmarks, placing it at the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i9-13900HX with an average score of 46098, representing a 0.1% difference.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at most settings. The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the frame rate drops to 39 FPS, while at Low settings it reaches 92 FPS. This 53 FPS difference is primarily driven by GPU load, but the CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate data access for this workload.

The CPU's performance in Downfall is more than sufficient for the GPU's capabilities. The measured frame rates show that the CPU can feed the RX 570 adequately at 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU's limitations become the dominant factor. The processor's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is not a weak link in this configuration. However, the pairing with an older GPU means the CPU's potential is largely unrealized in this title, as the GPU cannot keep pace with the processor's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combo in Downfall?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 2797 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations tested.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28766, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800M's score of 28874. The RX 570 also scores 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M295X and 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 470.

Q: What are the best frame rates achievable with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 92 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Medium settings, the combo achieves 75 FPS, while High settings yield 62 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375's score of 46030 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX's score of 46098.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The 4 GB capacity is likely a limiting factor at 4K resolutions, where frame rates drop to 27 FPS on High settings.

Q: What is the CPU's core configuration and clock speed?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has 14 cores and 14 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It scores 14769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2085 in single-core tests.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 92 FPS on Low settings, 75 FPS on Medium, 62 FPS on High, and 39 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 66 FPS on Low, 54 FPS on Medium, 44 FPS on High, and 28 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the performance falls to 41 FPS on Low, 33 FPS on Medium, 27 FPS on High, and 17 FPS on Ultra.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of approximately 28% across all settings, while the transition from 1440p to 4K results in an average reduction of about 38%. This non-linear decline suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are being increasingly strained at higher resolutions. The RX 570's 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in Downfall.

The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at all resolutions above 1080p. The CPU's performance remains relatively constant regardless of resolution, but the GPU's workload increases significantly. At 1080p, the combo can achieve playable frame rates on Medium and High settings, but at 1440p, only Low settings provide a comfortable experience above 60 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings produce only 41 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The frame rate drops between settings are also informative. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 53 FPS, while at 1440p it is 38 FPS, and at 4K it is 24 FPS. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as the quality settings have less impact when the rendering resolution already exceeds the GPU's capabilities. The combination of resolution and quality scaling shows that this hardware is best suited for 1080p gaming with moderate settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired performance level. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the best balance with an average of 75 FPS, minimum of 64 FPS, and maximum of 86 FPS. This configuration offers smooth gameplay while maintaining visual quality above the Low preset.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that achieves an average above 60 FPS, with a measured 66 FPS. The Medium settings at this resolution produce 54 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users but falls below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra settings at 1440p produce 44 FPS and 28 FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, none of the settings presets provide playable frame rates. The Low preset achieves 41 FPS, Medium achieves 33 FPS, High achieves 27 FPS, and Ultra achieves 17 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not viable with this hardware combination in Downfall, and users should consider reducing resolution to 1440p or lower for a playable experience.

The Medium preset at 1080p offers the best overall experience, providing a 75 FPS average with a minimum of 64 FPS. This ensures that frame rates remain above 60 FPS during most gameplay scenarios, which is important for a horror title where smooth motion contributes to the atmosphere. The High preset at 1080p yields 62 FPS, which is also playable but offers less headroom for demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for this combo in Downfall is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 92 FPS average
• Medium: 75 FPS average, 64 FPS minimum, 86 FPS maximum
• High: 62 FPS average
• Ultra: 39 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 66 FPS average
• Medium: 54 FPS average, 46 FPS minimum, 62 FPS maximum
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 28 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 41 FPS average
• Medium: 33 FPS average, 28 FPS minimum, 38 FPS maximum
• High: 27 FPS average
• Ultra: 17 FPS average

The data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p provides the most consistent performance, with a 64 FPS minimum that stays above playable thresholds. At 1440p, the Low preset at 66 FPS is the only option that maintains an average above 60 FPS, though the Medium preset at 54 FPS may still be acceptable. At 4K, all presets fall below 45 FPS, making the resolution unsuitable for this hardware combination.

The frame rate deltas between settings are largest at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 53 FPS. This gap narrows to 38 FPS at 1440p and 24 FPS at 4K, indicating that the GPU's rendering capacity is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The minimum frame rates recorded for Medium settings show that the combo can maintain relatively stable performance, with the 1080p Medium preset remaining above 60 FPS throughout the measurement period.