Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + Intel Arc B570

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that clearly favors higher refresh rates at lower resolutions. The measured data reveals a system that handles the game's atmospheric tension without stutter at medium settings, though pushing to Ultra at 4K will test the Arc B570's limits. The combo ranks 2343rd out of 2928 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings, yet the actual frame rates tell a more nuanced story depending on resolution and quality preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience per the data. At 1920x1080, Low settings hit 163 FPS average, which is excellent for a horror title where smooth camera movement enhances immersion. However, Medium settings at 1080p still produce 133 FPS average with a minimum of 113 FPS and maximum of 153 FPS, offering a substantial visual upgrade while keeping frame pacing well above 100 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 30 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High at 1080p is 24 FPS (from 133 to 109), suggesting Medium is the sweet spot where visual fidelity gains outweigh the frame rate cost.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings deliver 95 FPS average with minimum 81 FPS and maximum 110 FPS, which remains playable for a horror game that relies on sudden jumpscares rather than twitch reflexes. High settings at 1440p drop to 78 FPS average, still acceptable but with less headroom for demanding scenes. The data suggests that for 1440p gaming, Medium is the recommended preset because it maintains a 95 FPS average, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, while High sacrifices 17 FPS for what might be marginal visual improvements in a game from 2016.

For 4K (3840x2160), the situation changes dramatically. Medium settings produce 59 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS, which is borderline playable but risks dipping below 60 FPS in intense moments. High settings at 4K drop to 49 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS, which is too low for a smooth horror experience. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires Medium settings at most, and even then, the 50 FPS minimum suggests occasional frame drops could break immersion during scripted scares.

The overall recommendation from the measured rows is to use Medium settings at 1440p for the best balance of visual quality and smoothness, or Medium at 1080p if prioritizing high refresh rates. Low settings at any resolution provide no benefit beyond raw FPS, and Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p where the 68 FPS average remains playable but not exceptional.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications position the Arc B570 at the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% faster), Intel Arc A750 (0.1% slower), NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (0.4% faster), and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% slower), indicating the B570 sits in a competitive mid-range tier.

In Downfall, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution rises. At 1080p, the Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient to push frame rates from 68 FPS at Ultra to 163 FPS at Low. The 10 GB VRAM is ample for this 2016 title, which likely does not demand more than a few gigabytes even at Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s, however, becomes a bottleneck at 4K, where the frame rates drop to 30 FPS at Ultra and only 72 FPS at Low, suggesting the GPU's memory subsystem struggles with the higher pixel throughput required at 3840x2160.

The Arc B570's 2304 shading units and 144 TMUs handle the game's texture work efficiently at lower resolutions, but the 80 ROPs limit pixel fill rate at 4K. The measured data shows a consistent pattern: the GPU scales well from 1080p to 1440p, with frame rates roughly doubling from Ultra to Low at both resolutions, but the 4K results reveal a sharp performance cliff. This indicates that the Arc B570 is a capable 1080p and 1440p card for Downfall, but 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1440p with Medium settings yields 95 FPS average, while 1080p with Medium yields 133 FPS average. For the smoothest experience, 1080p Medium is superior, but 1440p Medium remains playable with minimum 81 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings in Downfall?

A: At 1080p, Ultra produces 68 FPS average, which is playable. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 49 FPS, and at 4K, Ultra falls to 30 FPS. Ultra is only recommended at 1080p based on the measured rows.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is 0.1% faster than the Intel Arc A750, 0.1% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, 0.4% slower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, and 0.5% faster than the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 81 FPS, with a maximum of 110 FPS and an average of 95 FPS.

Q: Does the game run better at Low or Medium settings at 4K?

A: Low settings at 3840x2160 produce 72 FPS average, while Medium produces 59 FPS average with a 50 FPS minimum. Low offers a 13 FPS advantage but sacrifices visual quality.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2343rd out of 2928 total combinations, placing it in the 80th percentile of all tested pairings for Downfall.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2343 out of 2928 total combos places this pairing in the lower 20% of all tested configurations for Downfall. This rank might seem surprising given the respectable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it reflects the competitive landscape where many higher-end GPUs and CPUs achieve significantly better performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sits at the 89th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 46062, while the Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 20556. The combination of a strong CPU with a mid-range GPU explains why the combo rank is lower than the CPU's percentile — the GPU becomes the limiting factor in most scenarios.

In Downfall specifically, the measured data shows that the combo's performance is heavily dependent on resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates are competitive with what would be expected from a mid-range GPU, but at 4K, the combo falls behind many others that can maintain 60 FPS at higher settings. The rank of 2343 suggests that most tested combos achieve better 4K performance, likely due to more powerful GPUs. However, for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo delivers solid results that would satisfy most players of this horror title.

The deltaPct values from the nearest rivals provide context: the CPU is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% faster), Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% slower), AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7303 (0.2% faster). This means the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's ranking. Instead, the GPU's 65th percentile position drives the overall rank down, as many combos pair stronger GPUs with similar or weaker CPUs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the combo scales from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern indicates a GPU-bound system. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 133 at 1080p to 95 at 1440p (a 38 FPS or 28.6% decrease), then to 59 at 4K (a 36 FPS or 37.9% decrease from 1440p). This scaling is steeper than a purely CPU-bound scenario would show, confirming that the Arc B570 is the limiting component as resolution increases.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 163 FPS at 1080p drops to 116 FPS at 1440p (47 FPS decrease) and then to 72 FPS at 4K (44 FPS decrease). The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 55.8%, while at Medium it is 55.6%, and at High it is 55.0% (from 109 to 49 FPS). This consistent ~55% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the primary constraints, rather than CPU limitations.

The data also shows that the difference between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (163 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) is 95 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 67 FPS (116 vs 49), and at 4K, the gap is 42 FPS (72 vs 30). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly saturated, and settings adjustments have diminishing returns as resolution takes priority in the performance budget.

The implication is that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance (2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core) can keep up with the GPU's output. At 4K, the GPU's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient to maintain high frame rates, even at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 163, Medium 133 (with min 113, max 153), High 109, and Ultra 68. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the largest single-step drop occurring from High to Ultra (41 FPS decrease). The Medium settings provide the best balance, with a minimum of 113 FPS ensuring smooth gameplay even during intense scenes.

At 2560x1440, the measured average FPS values are: Low 116, Medium 95 (with min 81, max 110), High 78, and Ultra 49. The pattern mirrors 1080p but with lower absolute numbers. The drop from Low to Medium is 21 FPS, from Medium to High is 17 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 29 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (81) remains above 60, making this the recommended preset for 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the measured average FPS values are: Low 72, Medium 59 (with min 50, max 68), High 49, and Ultra 30. This is the only resolution where Low settings exceed 60 FPS average, and even then, the margin is just 12 FPS. The Medium settings' minimum of 50 FPS indicates that frame drops below 60 are common, which could be jarring in a horror game. High and Ultra settings at 4K are not recommended based on the data, as they fall below 50 FPS.

The FPS ranges provided for Medium settings show the variance: at 1080p, the range is 113-153 FPS (a 40 FPS spread); at 1440p, it is 81-110 FPS (a 29 FPS spread); and at 4K, it is 50-68 FPS (an 18 FPS spread). This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is more consistently saturated, reducing the frame time variance but also lowering the ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU's 24 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 cache per core provide ample data for game logic and AI calculations. The 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062, indicates strong performance, particularly in single-threaded workloads where the 5.00 GHz boost clock shines.

In Downfall, a horror game from 2016, the CPU's role is primarily in handling game logic, physics, and AI pathfinding. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (163 FPS) suggest the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the GPU is capable of pushing well beyond 60 FPS. The single-thread performance, measured at 2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core, is crucial for a game that likely relies on one or two primary threads for core gameplay systems.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 provides sufficient data throughput for the GPU, but the Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is 3.7 times higher, indicating the GPU has its own memory subsystem that is not dependent on the CPU's memory controller. The 14 threads, while not as high as some competing CPUs with simultaneous multithreading, are more than adequate for a game of this era.

The nearest rival comparison shows the CPU is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% faster), Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% slower), AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7303 (0.2% faster) in average benchmark scores. This means the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo's performance; the GPU is the limiting factor. The data supports this conclusion: at 1080p, the frame rates scale predictably with GPU settings, and at 4K, the GPU's limitations are clearly exposed regardless of CPU performance.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 3 nm process node (TSMC) suggest efficient power delivery, but the measured FPS data does not indicate any thermal throttling issues. The combination of a strong CPU with a mid-range GPU means that Downfall's performance is governed primarily by the Arc B570's capabilities, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate become critical.