Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a broad range of performance across Downfall's four settings presets and three resolutions, with measured average frame rates spanning from 58 FPS at 4K Ultra to 312 FPS at 1080p Low. This combination sits at rank 667 out of 2,928 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top quarter of all configurations while showing a clear performance hierarchy that favors lower settings and lower resolutions. The data reveals a system that can comfortably handle high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but which requires careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination shows a consistent pattern across all three resolutions: Low settings deliver the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra bringing up the rear. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, with Low hitting 312 FPS average while Ultra drops to 131 FPS — a difference of 181 FPS that represents a 138% performance penalty for maxing out graphical fidelity. Medium at 255 FPS and High at 209 FPS occupy the middle ground, with Medium offering a 46 FPS advantage over High while presumably retaining a similar visual quality level.

The 1440p results mirror this hierarchy with slightly compressed margins. Low reaches 223 FPS average, Medium sits at 182 FPS, High manages 150 FPS, and Ultra falls to 93 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra here is 130 FPS, which is less severe in absolute terms than at 1080p but still represents a 58% reduction. At 4K, the pattern continues: Low produces 139 FPS, Medium 113 FPS, High 93 FPS, and Ultra only 58 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra narrows to 81 FPS at this resolution, but the absolute values become more critical for maintaining playable frame rates.

For the best experience per the measured rows, Medium settings appear to offer the optimal balance. At every resolution, Medium maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS — 255 at 1080p, 182 at 1440p, and 113 at 4K — while likely providing substantially better visual quality than Low. The Medium preset also includes measured minimum and maximum FPS values (for example, 217 min and 294 max at 1080p, 155 min and 210 max at 1440p, and 96 min and 131 max at 4K), which indicates smoother frame pacing compared to presets where only averages were recorded. High settings remain viable for those prioritizing visuals, as even 4K High maintains a 93 FPS average, but Ultra should be reserved for users with lower refresh rate displays or a strong preference for maximum graphical detail.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT brings substantial resources to Downfall, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units provide the raw processing power needed for this horror title's demanding scenes, while 64 ray tracing cores suggest capability for advanced lighting effects. The boost clock reaches 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a base clock of 1660 MHz, allowing the GPU to dynamically scale its performance based on workload demands.

The VRAM capacity appears more than sufficient for all tested configurations, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset produced measurable results without indications of memory-related stuttering or texture thrashing. The 16 GB allocation provides a comfortable margin above what this game likely requires at any of the tested settings, meaning the GPU's compute capabilities rather than memory capacity are the limiting factor when pushing higher presets. The memory clock of 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) combined with the 256-bit bus creates the 644.6 GB/s bandwidth figure, which should prevent bandwidth bottlenecks even at 4K resolutions where pixel throughput demands are highest.

The GPU's 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 760.3 GTexel/s texture rate explain why the card can push 312 FPS at 1080p Low — the workload at that setting is well within the card's capabilities. However, the steep performance drop when moving to Ultra settings indicates that the more complex shader work and increased texture detail in Downfall's horror environments place significant stress on even this high-end GPU. The pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s helps contextualize the 4K results, where the card must fill over 8 million pixels per frame while maintaining advanced effects.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals how this combination scales with pixel count and how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 209 at 1080p to 150 at 1440p, then to 93 at 4K — representing a 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 38% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU plays a more substantial role in limiting performance.

The Low settings row shows the most dramatic scaling: 312 FPS at 1080p, 223 at 1440p, and 139 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 89 FPS (29%) is proportionally similar to the High settings reduction, but the 1440p to 4K drop of 84 FPS (38%) is also consistent. This consistency across settings at each resolution step indicates that resolution scaling is largely independent of the graphics preset, which points to a render resolution-driven bottleneck rather than a settings-dependent one.

Medium settings tell a similar story: 255 FPS at 1080p, 182 at 1440p, and 113 at 4K. The measured minimum and maximum values at Medium provide additional insight into frame consistency across resolutions. At 1080p, the range spans 217 to 294 FPS (a 77 FPS spread), while at 1440p it narrows to 155 to 210 FPS (a 55 FPS spread), and at 4K it tightens further to 96 to 131 FPS (a 35 FPS spread). This compression of frame time variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU's workload becomes more uniform as pixel count increases, whereas at 1080p the CPU may introduce occasional frame hitches when it cannot feed the GPU fast enough.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings achieve 312 FPS average, which represents the ceiling for this configuration and suggests that the CPU and GPU together can handle extremely high refresh rate gaming at this resolution when graphical demands are minimized. Medium settings deliver 255 FPS average with a measured range of 217 to 294 FPS, showing strong consistency. High settings produce 209 FPS average, still well above any common refresh rate threshold. Ultra settings drop to 131 FPS average, which remains smooth for most displays but represents a significant 58% reduction from Low.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains impressive but shows the expected impact of increased pixel count. Low settings maintain 223 FPS average, still sufficient for high refresh rate displays. Medium settings deliver 182 FPS average with a range of 155 to 210 FPS, indicating stable frame delivery. High settings reach 150 FPS average, which is excellent for 1440p gaming. Ultra settings fall to 93 FPS average, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where some users might prefer lower settings for competitive play or smoother motion.

At 3840x2160, the configuration starts to show its limits at higher presets. Low settings achieve 139 FPS average, which is respectable for 4K and indicates the GPU has substantial headroom when not burdened by advanced effects. Medium settings deliver 113 FPS average with a range of 96 to 131 FPS, keeping frame rates above 60 FPS consistently. High settings produce 93 FPS average, which remains smooth for most gaming scenarios. Ultra settings drop to 58 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for acceptable performance, suggesting that Ultra at 4K requires either a more powerful GPU or acceptance of sub-60 FPS gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 667 out of 2,928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 77th percentile of all configurations tested for this game. This ranking indicates that the pairing performs well above average, with roughly three-quarters of tested combinations delivering worse performance in this title. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of both components rather than either one in isolation, and the data suggests that the RX 9070 XT's strong raw performance compensates for any potential CPU limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark data provides context for its contribution to this ranking. The Core Ultra 5 245 achieves an average benchmark score of 48,995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (scoring 49,196, a 0.4% difference), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228, 0.5% difference), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698, 0.6% difference), and the Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618, 0.8% difference). This tight grouping around the 49,000 mark shows that the CPU is competitive with several strong alternatives, though it sits slightly below the top performers in its immediate comparison group.

The GPU's benchmark position is more nuanced. The RX 9070 XT achieves an average benchmark score of 13,543, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs — a more modest ranking than the CPU. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536, 0.1% difference), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,515, 0.2% difference), the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470, 0.5% difference), and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 (13,407, 1% difference). The extremely small deltas between these scores suggest that the GPU's benchmark average is very close to several other cards, though the RX 9070 XT's actual gaming performance in Downfall may diverge from these synthetic benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 312, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The lowest measured average is 58 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48,995 on average, which is 0.4% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, but 0.6% above the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% above the Intel Core i5-14600K.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: The RX 9070 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The measured 4K results, including 113 FPS at Medium and 93 FPS at High, indicate that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested setting.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 223 FPS average while Ultra produces 93 FPS average, representing a 130 FPS difference (58% reduction from Low to Ultra).

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

A: This combination ranks 667 out of 2,928 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the range is 217 to 294 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 155 to 210 FPS. At 4K Medium, it is 96 to 131 FPS. These are the only settings where min/max values were recorded.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to this configuration, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This 14-core, 14-thread layout (indicating no hyperthreading) provides substantial parallel processing capability for game logic, physics calculations, and background tasks while gaming. The CPU is built on a 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside per-core L2 cache of 3 MB and per-core L1 cache of 192 KB.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth, plus ECC support for increased reliability. This memory bandwidth is shared between the CPU's computing tasks and its communication with the GPU via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, which provides ample bandwidth for game data transfers. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is present but irrelevant for gaming performance when the discrete RX 9070 XT is installed.

Benchmark results show the CPU's strengths across various workloads. In Cinebench tests, it scores 32,924 in R23 multi-core and 4,648 in R23 single-core, along with 13,828 in R20 multi-core and 1,952 in R20 single-core, and 3,318 in R15 multi-core and 468 in R15 single-core. Passmark tests reveal strong performance in integer math (91,187), floating point math (120,548), and extended instructions (33,304), while multithread score reaches 38,706 and single-thread score reaches 4,394.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its 14 cores, suggests that it is unlikely to bottleneck the RX 9070 XT in Downfall, especially at higher resolutions where GPU load dominates. However, the 1080p Low result of 312 FPS average hints at potential CPU limitations at extremely high frame rates, as the CPU's single-thread performance (4,394 Passmark) may constrain how quickly it can submit draw calls and update game state. The measured frame rate drop from 312 FPS at 1080p Low to 223 FPS at 1440p Low (a 28% reduction) is consistent with the GPU becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU maintains its ability to feed frames.