Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience in Downfall at 1080p, but the data shows a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases. This combination ranks in the 21st percentile of tested configurations, indicating that while it can handle the game at lower settings, it is far from a high-end powerhouse for this horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 174 FPS on average. Moving to High settings at the same resolution drops that figure to 117 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 73 FPS. This progression shows that even at 1080p, the graphics card’s workload is significant, but the CPU has enough headroom to push high frame rates when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

At 1440p, the averages fall to 124 FPS on Low and 83 FPS on High. The gap between Low and High at this resolution narrows to about 33%, compared to a 33% gap at 1080p as well, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor. The most telling data point is the 4K results: Low settings average 77 FPS, Medium drops to 63 FPS, and High falls to 52 FPS. Ultra at 4K is a slideshow at 32 FPS.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a drop from 117 FPS to 52 FPS, a reduction of about 56%. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060’s rendering capabilities are stretched thin at higher pixel counts. The game’s horror atmosphere often relies on dark environments and dynamic lighting, which are computationally expensive, and the data clearly shows that this GPU struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K. At 1440p, the drop from 83 FPS to 52 FPS between High and Ultra is a 37% reduction, highlighting that Ultra settings place a disproportionate load on the graphics pipeline. The measured rows show no min/max FPS data for most settings, but the Medium preset at 1080p has a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS, indicating that frame pacing remains stable even when the average is 142 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the min/max spread is 86 to 117 FPS, which still suggests a consistent experience. The 4K Medium data shows a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, which means even the dips stay above the 30 FPS threshold, but the average of 63 FPS is just barely acceptable for a title that may rely on quick reactions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. This hardware configuration is the primary reason for the frame rate drops at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s memory subsystem is a critical factor. It has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In a game like Downfall, which may load large textures for its horror environments, 6 GB of VRAM can become a limiting factor at 4K. The data supports this, as the 4K Ultra preset averages only 32 FPS, likely due to both memory capacity and bandwidth constraints. The card’s pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, which are modest figures by modern standards.

The RTX 2060’s FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS, and its FP16 performance is 12.90 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio. These numbers explain why the card performs adequately at 1080p but falls behind at 1440p and 4K. The DirectX 12 benchmark score is 53, which is notably lower than its DirectX 11 score of 110, suggesting that the card may not be optimized for the latest API features in this title. The card’s average benchmark score is 15290, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon 680M with a delta of 0.1%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM with a delta of 0.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 with a delta of 0.8%. These rivals all have similar average scores, indicating that the RTX 2060 is positioned in a crowded mid-range segment.

The GPU’s memory clocks run at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective data rate. This memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is a bottleneck at 4K, where the pixel fill rate demands more data than the bus can deliver. The 4K Low preset achieves 77 FPS, which suggests that reducing texture quality and shadow details alleviates some memory pressure, but the card still cannot reach the 100+ FPS figures seen at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This CPU is not the limiting factor in Downfall, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low, which reach 174 FPS. The processor’s cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 14769 in multi-core and 2085 in single-core. These scores indicate strong threading capabilities, which are not heavily utilized by a horror game that typically relies on a few primary threads. The single-core performance is more relevant for gaming, and the 2085 score is respectable. The PassMark single-thread score is 4516, which further confirms that the CPU can handle game logic and physics without bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for feeding the GPU at 1080p and 1440p. The processor’s TDP is 65 W, which is modest, and it has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU. The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 24 execution units, but the discrete RTX 2060 handles all rendering.

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 46062, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 with a delta of 0.1%, the Intel Core i9-13900HX with a delta of -0.1%, the AMD EPYC 4364P with a delta of 0.2%, and the AMD EPYC 7303 with a delta of 0.2%. These rivals all score within a fraction of a percent of the Ultra 5 235, indicating that the CPU’s performance is well-balanced but not exceptional. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of supporting higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver at 1440p and 4K, as the FPS drops align with increased resolution rather than settings complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2306 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the bottom 21% of configurations, which is a poor showing for a system with a relatively modern CPU. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the game’s processing demands.

The combo’s position in the rankings suggests that many other pairings, likely with stronger GPUs, achieve higher frame rates. For context, the CPU itself is in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile. The disparity between these two percentiles explains why the combo underperforms: the CPU is a high-end part, but the GPU is only mid-range. This mismatch becomes apparent in the 4K results, where the FPS drops to 52 on High, whereas a more balanced pairing might maintain 60 FPS or higher.

The rank of 2306 out of 2928 means that 622 other combos perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems do better. This is a direct reflection of the RTX 2060’s age and its 6 GB VRAM capacity, which is insufficient for modern titles at high resolutions. The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it achieves an average of 117 FPS on High settings, which is a solid experience. At 1440p, the High preset averages 83 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced horror game. The 4K results are the weakest link, with even Low settings only reaching 77 FPS, and Ultra being unplayable at 32 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the average FPS is 117, and at Medium it is 142. The 1440p High preset drops to 83 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average score of 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, which is a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1% difference, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, a 0.6% difference.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060?

A: No, the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 174 FPS, indicating the CPU can push well beyond the GPU’s limits. The CPU’s single-core Cinebench R23 score is 2085, which is sufficient for gaming.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra?

A: The 1080p Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. This is a 56% reduction in performance, highlighting the GPU’s struggle with higher pixel counts.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Downfall?*

A: The combo ranks 2306 out of 2928 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 21% of all systems, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range position despite the CPU’s high-end status.

Q: Does the 6 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: Yes, the 6 GB GDDR6 memory is likely a factor. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 63, but the minimum drops to 54 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 32 FPS, suggesting that memory capacity and bandwidth constraints limit texture loading and rendering.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience based on the measured rows, the Medium preset is the optimal choice across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 142, with a minimum of 121 and a maximum of 164, providing a smooth and stable frame rate. This preset maintains high visual fidelity without the performance penalty of Ultra, which drops the average to 73 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 102 FPS with a min/max range of 86 to 117 FPS. This is a playable experience that balances visual quality and performance. The High preset at 1440p averages 83 FPS, which is acceptable but may feel less responsive in tense moments. Ultra at 1440p drops to 52 FPS, making it a poor choice for a game that requires quick reactions.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the only viable option, averaging 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS. The Low preset achieves 77 FPS, but sacrifices too much visual quality for a horror game where atmosphere is critical. The High preset at 4K averages 52 FPS, which is borderline playable but may suffer from stutter in busy scenes. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 32 FPS average makes the game nearly unplayable.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this hardware. It offers a consistent frame rate across all resolutions, with the 1080p and 1440p results exceeding 100 FPS, and the 4K result staying above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 174 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual downgrade is unnecessary given the Medium preset’s strong performance. For users with a 1440p monitor, Medium is the clear recommendation, as it provides a 102 FPS average, which is 19% higher than High and 49% higher than Ultra. The RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for Medium settings at all resolutions, as the data shows no catastrophic frame drops below the minimums recorded.