Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a wide spread of frame rates across Downfall's four presets and three resolutions, with the data revealing a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher settings but shows signs of CPU limitation at the lowest preset. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows, interprets what they mean for the limiting component, and places the combo in context against the 3,716 tested combinations in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how performance degrades as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, and the pattern reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 149 FPS at 1080p to 107 FPS at 1440p, then to 66 FPS at 4K. That is a 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 38% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which suggests the GPU is becoming progressively more saturated as pixel count rises.

At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic in absolute terms but proportionally similar: 223 FPS at 1080p falls to 159 FPS at 1440p (a 29% drop), then to 99 FPS at 4K (a 38% drop). The fact that Low settings at 1080p reaches 223 FPS — well above typical display refresh rates — indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU still takes over as the primary limiter when moving to 4K.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with a slightly different shape. At 1080p, Medium averages 182 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 130 FPS; at 4K, it falls to 81 FPS. The relative drops are 29% and 38%, nearly identical to the High and Low presets. This consistency across settings strongly implies that resolution scaling is governed by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than by CPU or preset-specific effects.

Ultra settings show the steepest scaling curve. At 1080p, Ultra averages 93 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 67 FPS; at 4K, it falls to 42 FPS. The 1440p-to-4K drop is 37%, similar to other presets, but the absolute values are much lower because Ultra places heavier demands on the GPU. The 42 FPS at 4K Ultra is the only measured result below 60 FPS, indicating that this combination cannot sustain smooth frame rates at the highest settings and resolution.

The limiting component analysis is clearest at the extremes. At 1080p Low, the 223 FPS result is high enough that the GPU is likely not the sole bottleneck; the CPU's single-thread performance and memory bandwidth become relevant. At 4K Ultra, the 42 FPS result is almost certainly GPU-bound, as the RTX 5070's 12 GB GDDR7 memory and 192-bit bus are being pushed hard by the pixel workload. The data indicates that users targeting 4K should expect the GPU to be the limiting factor across all settings, while 1080p users may encounter CPU limitations only at the lowest presets.

Settings Recommendations

Choosing the best preset requires balancing average frame rate against visual fidelity, and the measured rows provide clear guidance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 182 FPS average, which is 33 FPS higher than High (149 FPS) and 89 FPS higher than Ultra (93 FPS). The gap between Medium and High is significant, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 56 FPS. Given that Medium also shows a minimum FPS of 155 and a maximum of 210, this preset offers a stable experience with ample headroom above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, Medium again stands out as the sweet spot. The 130 FPS average is 23 FPS higher than High (107 FPS) and 63 FPS higher than Ultra (67 FPS). The minimum of 111 FPS at Medium means the frame time variance is low enough that even dips remain well above playable thresholds. High at 1440p is still smooth, but the 107 FPS average leaves less margin for demanding scenes.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts. Medium produces 81 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. High produces 66 FPS, which is borderline for 60 Hz displays. Ultra drops to 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and likely to feel stuttery in a horror game where smooth motion matters for immersion. Low at 4K produces 99 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may be too severe for a game that relies on atmosphere.

The best experience across all resolutions, based on the measured data, is the Medium preset. It provides the highest average FPS that remains visually acceptable, with minimums of 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, ensuring that even the worst-case frames stay fluid. High is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate, but the 15-20% FPS penalty compared to Medium is substantial. Ultra should be avoided at 4K and only considered at 1080p or 1440p if the user accepts frame rates in the 67-93 FPS range.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 brings a substantial set of specifications to Downfall. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective transfer rate. The core runs at a base clock of 2325 MHz and boosts to 2512 MHz. The GPU contains 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, which translates to a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s.

These specifications directly explain the measured FPS patterns. The 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 192-bit bus at 4K resolutions, but the 12 GB capacity may become a constraint in texture-heavy scenes. The 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate is what drives the resolution scaling: as pixel count increases from 2.07 million (1080p) to 8.29 million (4K), the GPU's fill rate becomes the limiting factor, which matches the observed 38% FPS drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide additional context. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5077, and the PassMark G3D score is 29137. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 172660 and Vulkan score of 178923 indicate strong compute performance. The GPU's percentile ranking of 82 places it above most tested GPUs, but its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are notably older cards: the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (1.2% lower), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% higher). This proximity to older professional cards suggests that the RTX 5070's raw compute is competitive but not exceptional, and its advantage in Downfall comes more from modern architecture features than raw throughput.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The 42 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear sign that the GPU's resources are exhausted, while the 223 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the GPU has plenty of headroom when the workload is light. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is adequate for Downfall's requirements, as no memory-related stuttering is evident in the minimum FPS data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 2058 out of 3716 tested combinations in Downfall. This places it in the 55th percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 45% of tested configurations perform better. The ranking is based on measured FPS data, not theoretical specifications, so it reflects real-world performance in this specific game.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 32697 places it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i5-14600T (0% delta), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (0.1% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 7400F (-0.2% delta), and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (-0.4% delta). The GPU's average benchmark score of 40377 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% delta), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% delta), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (-1.2% delta), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% delta).

The combo rank of 2058 indicates that while both components are individually above average, their combination in Downfall does not produce top-tier results. This is likely because Downfall is a horror game that may not be heavily optimized for the latest hardware, or because the CPU-GPU balance is not ideal for this specific workload. The 16-core, 22-thread CPU with a 24 MB shared L3 cache provides strong multi-threaded performance, but Downfall may not utilize all those threads effectively, leaving the GPU as the primary determinant of frame rates.

Compared to other tested combos, this pairing sits in the middle of the pack. The 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS is below the average for similar combos, while the 1080p Low result of 223 FPS is above average. This suggests that the combo excels at lower resolutions and settings but struggles at the highest demands. The rank of 2058 out of 3716 is a reasonable outcome given that the RTX 5070 is a mainstream enthusiast GPU paired with a mobile-oriented CPU, and Downfall's horror genre may favor GPUs with higher fill rates rather than balanced CPU-GPU performance.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 223, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is well above typical display refresh rates and indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution and preset.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes, but only at Low (99 FPS) and Medium (81 FPS) settings. High settings produce 66 FPS, which is above 60 but with less margin, while Ultra settings drop to 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 69, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This indicates that even at 4K, the combo does not drop below 60 FPS when using the Medium preset, providing a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has an average benchmark score of 32697, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.1% delta). It is slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F (32750, -0.2% delta) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812, -0.4% delta).

Q: What GPU memory configuration does the RTX 5070 use?

A: The RTX 5070 uses 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective transfer rate.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: The combo ranks 2058 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the distribution. This means about 45% of tested combos perform better than this pairing in Downfall.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 223 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 182 FPS with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 210 FPS. High settings average 149 FPS, and Ultra settings average 93 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 130 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at 1080p and that the preset choice has a large impact on performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected reduction from 1080p. Low settings average 159 FPS, Medium settings average 130 FPS with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS, High settings average 107 FPS, and Ultra settings average 67 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 92 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly, especially at higher settings. Low settings average 99 FPS, Medium settings average 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS, High settings average 66 FPS, and Ultra settings average 42 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 57 FPS, which is the smallest of the three resolutions, indicating that the GPU is heavily loaded at 4K and preset choices have less relative impact.

The Medium preset is the only one with reported minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum is 155 FPS and the maximum is 210 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum is 111 FPS and the maximum is 150 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 69 FPS and the maximum is 93 FPS. These ranges show that the combo maintains consistent frame pacing even at 4K, with the minimum never dropping below 69 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low, the CPU's performance becomes more relevant. The 223 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions, but the 16-core, 22-thread configuration may be more than Downfall requires. The game, released in 2016, likely uses fewer threads than modern titles, so the CPU's multi-threaded performance may be underutilized.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 15028, and the single-core score is 1743. The PassMark multi-thread score is 24873, and the single-thread score is 3468. These scores place the CPU in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32697. The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average score are all within 0.4% of its performance, indicating that it is well-matched to other mid-range processors.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is adequate for feeding the GPU, but it is lower than what desktop CPUs with higher-end memory support can achieve. In Downfall, this bandwidth limitation may become noticeable at 1080p Low, where the CPU is more active in feeding the GPU. However, the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the combo maintains 223 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS target, so the CPU is not a practical bottleneck in this game.

The CPU's integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG 128EU) are irrelevant when the discrete RTX 5070 is present, but their existence means the CPU can be used in systems without a discrete GPU. The CPU's 28 W TDP is low for a 16-core processor, suggesting it is designed for mobile use, which aligns with its Intel BGA 2049 socket and mobile market segment. The CPU's release date of December 2023 makes it a relatively recent addition to the Core Ultra lineup, but its performance in Downfall is consistent with its benchmark scores.