Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

Downfall, the 2016 horror title, presents an interesting stress test for this mobile flagship pairing. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers a broad spread of frame rates across resolutions and settings, with measured data revealing where the GPU begins to strain and where the CPU's headroom keeps performance flowing. The combo ranks 736th out of 2,928 tested combinations, placing it in the top quartile of all systems tested for this game, which suggests a well-balanced platform for a title that can be demanding at its highest presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component dominates in Downfall. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 308 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 220 FPS — a 28.6% decline — and 4K Low lands at 137 FPS, another 37.7% drop. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary limiter as pixel count rises, since the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions where the frame rates are extremely high.

However, the scaling behavior shifts dramatically with settings. At Ultra, the 1080p result is 129 FPS, which falls to 92 FPS at 1440p (a 28.7% reduction) and then to 57 FPS at 4K (a 38% further drop). The consistency of these percentage declines across Low and Ultra presets suggests that Downfall's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, regardless of how much graphical detail is enabled. What's more telling is the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution: at 1080p, the difference is 179 FPS (308 vs 129), but at 4K, that gap narrows to 80 FPS (137 vs 57). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel throughput required.

The Medium preset data, which includes min and max FPS figures, provides additional insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 252 FPS with a minimum of 214 and maximum of 289, suggesting only mild variance. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 180 FPS with a min of 153 and max of 207, showing a similar relative spread. At 4K Medium, the average is 112 FPS with a min of 95 and max of 129, and the variance remains proportionally tight. This consistency across resolutions points to a stable rendering pipeline in Downfall, with no sudden frame time spikes that would indicate CPU bottlenecks or asset streaming issues.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 5 235HX and RTX 5080 achieves a combo rank of 736 out of 2,928 tested configurations for Downfall. This places it in the 74.9th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly three-quarters of tested systems perform worse in this game. The ranking suggests that while this is a strong pairing, it is not at the very top tier for Downfall specifically, which may reflect the game's age and its tendency to favor certain architectures.

Looking at the individual components, the CPU's average benchmark score of 52,073 puts it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD EPYC 8124P (avg score 52,121, delta -0.1%), AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (avg score 51,947, delta +0.2%), Intel Core i7-14700 (avg score 52,301, delta -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-13900F (avg score 51,730, delta +0.7%). These deltas are all within 0.7% of the Ultra 5 235HX, indicating that this mobile chip trades blows with desktop-class processors from previous generations in general compute tasks.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 56,083 places it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon 8060S (avg score 55,757, delta +0.6%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (avg score 55,698, delta +0.7%), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (avg score 54,828, delta +2.3%), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (avg score 57,367, delta -2.2%). The RTX 5080 sits slightly below the RX 9070 GRE in raw benchmark terms but outperforms the other three rivals by small margins, suggesting that its positioning in the broader GPU landscape is competitive but not dominant.

The discrepancy between the component percentiles (91st for CPU, 87th for GPU) and the combo rank (74.9th percentile) for Downfall implies that this specific game does not fully utilize the strengths of either component. The measured FPS data supports this: at 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 57 FPS, which is playable but not exceptionally high for a flagship GPU in a 2016 title.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080 brings substantial hardware to Downfall: 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are relatively high, and the memory runs at 1875 MHz with 30 Gbps effective speed. These specifications suggest that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor for a horror game of Downfall's era, which likely uses textures and effects that would fit comfortably within the 16 GB frame buffer even at 4K.

The measured frame rates reveal how the GPU's capabilities translate to real performance. At 4K Ultra, the GPU produces 57 FPS, which is the lowest measured result across all configurations. This suggests that Downfall's Ultra preset includes effects or post-processing that are particularly taxing on the GPU's compute units. The FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s are impressive on paper, but the 4K Ultra result indicates that the game's renderer may not be efficiently utilizing these resources, possibly due to its age and lack of modern API features.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean it can handle any rendering path the game might use, but Downfall's 2016 release date likely predates some of the advanced features these APIs enable. The benchmark scores for the GPU — including 36,565 in Passmark G3D and 21,789 in Passmark GPU Compute — show strong raw performance, but the game's actual workload may be more dependent on specific shader operations that don't scale perfectly with the RTX 5080's architecture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low preset yields 308 FPS average, Medium produces 252 FPS with a minimum of 214 and maximum of 289, High reaches 206 FPS, and Ultra drops to 129 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 58.1% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but expected given the increasing graphical complexity. The gap between Medium and High (252 vs 206 FPS) is 18.3%, while the gap between High and Ultra (206 vs 129 FPS) is 37.4%, indicating that the Ultra preset adds significantly more rendering overhead than the step from Medium to High.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low produces 220 FPS, Medium averages 180 FPS with a minimum of 153 and maximum of 207, High reaches 147 FPS, and Ultra drops to 92 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is consistent: Low falls by 28.6%, Medium by 28.6%, High by 28.6%, and Ultra by 28.7%. This uniform scaling confirms that resolution is the dominant factor in performance, with settings adding a relatively constant overhead on top.

At 3840x2160, the strain becomes evident. Low manages 137 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 and maximum of 129, High reaches 92 FPS, and Ultra falls to 57 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is the only measured configuration that drops below 60 FPS, which is notable for a game of this era. The step from High to Ultra at 4K (92 to 57 FPS) represents a 38% performance hit, the largest percentage drop of any resolution-to-settings transition in the data, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are particularly heavy at high pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that falls short, averaging 57 FPS. This makes 4K High the viable choice for 4K displays, delivering 92 FPS with sufficient headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium preset at 112 FPS provides even more comfort, and its minimum of 95 FPS in the measured data suggests excellent frame time stability for a horror game where sudden dips could be jarring.

At 1440p, all settings exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra at 92 FPS being the lowest. Players with 144 Hz displays would find the Medium preset at 180 FPS (min 153, max 207) to be the sweet spot, as it stays well above typical refresh rates while still offering improved visuals over Low. The High preset at 147 FPS also comfortably exceeds 144 Hz, making both viable depending on whether visual fidelity or frame rate consistency is prioritized.

For 1080p displays, the High preset at 206 FPS offers an excellent balance, but the Medium preset at 252 FPS (min 214, max 289) is the better choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 129 FPS remains highly playable and would be recommended for players who prioritize visual quality over maximum frame rates. The Low preset at 308 FPS is only relevant for competitive play or extreme refresh rate displays, as the visual downgrade is likely not worth the frame rate increase for a horror title where atmosphere matters.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K with maximum settings?

A: The data shows 4K Ultra averages 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. While technically playable, it may experience occasional dips below 60 FPS. Dropping to High at 4K yields 92 FPS, providing a more comfortable margin.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in Downfall?

A: The highest measured frame rate is 308 FPS at 1080p with Low settings. The minimum FPS recorded across all configurations is 95 FPS at 4K Medium, indicating the combo rarely drops below 95 FPS in any tested scenario.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757), 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698), and 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57,367) by 2.2%.

Q: What resolution provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: At 1440p, the High preset delivers 147 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS and close to the 144 Hz refresh rate sweet spot. The Medium preset at 180 FPS (min 153, max 207) offers even more headroom and is the recommended choice for high-refresh displays.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this GPU in Downfall?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. The Core Ultra 5 235HX has a 91st percentile CPU benchmark ranking, and frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average score, showing strong compute capability.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the drop is from 308 FPS to 137 FPS, a 55.5% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 252 FPS to 112 FPS, a 55.6% reduction. At High, the drop is from 206 FPS to 92 FPS, a 55.3% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 129 FPS to 57 FPS, a 55.8% reduction.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 55 W TDP. The chip includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 192 KB of L1 cache per core and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. This configuration provides substantial compute power for a mobile processor, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 34,731 multi-core and 4,903 single-core.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears to be supporting the GPU without becoming a limiting factor. The consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions — where each resolution step reduces performance by similar percentages regardless of settings — indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even at 1080p Low where the frame rate reaches 308 FPS. If the CPU were struggling, we would expect to see the 1080p results plateau or show irregular scaling, but the data shows a smooth progression.

The processor's benchmark performance places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 52,073. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 8124P, scores 52,121 (-0.1% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X scores 51,947 (+0.2% delta), the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52,301 (-0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51,730 (+0.7% delta). These tight margins suggest that the Ultra 5 235HX performs at a level comparable to desktop processors from a generation or two ago, which explains why it can sustain such high frame rates in Downfall without bottlenecking the RTX 5080.

The Passmark multi-thread score of 40,849 and single-thread score of 4,683 further illustrate the chip's balanced capabilities. For a horror game like Downfall, which likely has modest CPU demands due to its 2016 release date, the Ultra 5 235HX provides far more headroom than necessary. The 14 threads (matching 14 cores, with no hyper-threading) are more than sufficient for the game's threading model, and the high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures snappy single-threaded performance for any game logic that relies on a primary thread. The data strongly suggests that in this pairing, the RTX 5080 is the performance limiter, and the CPU's job is simply to stay out of the way — which it does admirably.