Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a highly capable Downfall experience across all tested resolutions, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling: at 1080p the combo averages 240 FPS on Low settings, while at 4K Ultra it drops to just 45 FPS. This is a horror title where smoothness matters, and the measured results show the combo is best suited for high-refresh 1440p or balanced 4K play, with the GPU emerging as the primary bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the limiting component lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 240 FPS at 1920x1080 to 171 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 107 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial scaling penalty that points directly at the GPU being the constraining factor.

The pattern intensifies at higher settings. With Medium settings, the averages are 196 FPS at 1080p, 140 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K — a 56% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers are 161 FPS, 115 FPS, and 72 FPS respectively, which is a 55% reduction. The consistency of this ~55% scaling penalty across Low, Medium, and High settings strongly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7700's rendering throughput is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

Ultra settings show an even steeper cliff: 101 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. That is a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K as well, but the absolute numbers are much lower, suggesting that Ultra settings push the GPU into a territory where its 96 ROPS and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and demanding effects.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, is clearly not the limiting factor in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 240 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all rows. If the CPU were holding things back, we would expect to see diminishing returns at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the data shows that dropping resolution from 4K to 1080p more than doubles the frame rate at every settings level, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, and its memory configuration plays a significant role in Downfall's performance. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for this 2016 horror title. The game's release date suggests it was not designed to stress modern VRAM capacities, so the 16 GB allocation is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any tested resolution.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The measured FPS data indicates that the GPU is able to sustain high clocks under load, as evidenced by the 240 FPS average at 1080p Low. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 45 FPS, which suggests the GPU is hitting compute limits rather than memory bandwidth limits. The 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 393.4 GTexel/s texture rate are the specs that matter most here, and they clearly get saturated at higher settings.

The GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 15852, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (1% higher score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% higher score), which means the RX 7700 is competitive with those cards but not class-leading. In Downfall specifically, the measured FPS at 1440p Medium (140 FPS) and 4K High (72 FPS) show that this GPU can handle modern resolutions comfortably, but Ultra settings at 4K are clearly beyond its comfort zone.

The GPU's RT capabilities (40 RT cores) are not directly tested in this benchmark data, but the rasterization performance is what drives the measured results. The 96 ROPS and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS indicates the fill rate is a bottleneck when combined with heavy shading workloads.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS and a maximum of 226 FPS, which provides a smooth experience on any high-refresh monitor. At 1440p Medium, the average is 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. Even at 4K Medium, the average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS is playable, though it falls short of high-refresh territory.

High settings are also viable, but the trade-off is less favorable. At 1080p High, the average is 161 FPS, which is 35 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p High, the average drops to 115 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 72 FPS. The minimum FPS data is not provided for High settings, but the averages suggest that High is a reasonable choice for 60 Hz displays at 1440p and 4K.

Ultra settings should be avoided except for 1080p. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 101 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive or fast-paced horror gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 72 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 45 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth motion in a horror title where frame pacing matters.

Low settings are only recommended for maximum frame rate at 1080p, where the combo achieves 240 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average is 171 FPS, and at 4K Low, it is 107 FPS. These numbers show that Low settings can unlock high refresh rates at lower resolutions, but the visual fidelity loss is likely not worth it when Medium provides such strong results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 240 FPS, Medium produces 196 FPS (minimum 167, maximum 226), High produces 161 FPS, and Ultra produces 101 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 139 FPS, which is a 58% reduction, showing how much headroom the GPU has at 1080p when settings are reduced.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 171 FPS on Low, 140 FPS on Medium (minimum 119, maximum 161), 115 FPS on High, and 72 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with each preset losing roughly 30-35% of its frame rate. The Medium preset at 1440p is particularly notable because its minimum of 119 FPS ensures there are no major frame drops below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 107 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium (minimum 74, maximum 100), 72 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium result is the sweet spot for this resolution, as it stays above 60 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is the only measured average below 60 FPS, which would result in noticeable stuttering and a compromised horror experience.

The Medium settings are the only preset that provides minimum FPS data across all three resolutions, and those minimums are consistently strong: 167 at 1080p, 119 at 1440p, and 74 at 4K. This suggests that Medium is the most stable preset in terms of frame pacing, which is critical for a horror game where sudden drops can ruin immersion.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1308 out of 2928 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the 55th percentile of all combinations. This is a solid mid-pack ranking that reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning (58th percentile among all GPUs) rather than the CPU's strong showing (93rd percentile among all CPUs).

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 4464P (0.3% higher average score), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7343 (0.7% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9124 (0.7% higher). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class. The 20-core, 20-thread configuration with a 5.30 GHz boost clock and 30 MB of shared L3 cache is clearly not the bottleneck in this game.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon R9 370X (0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (1% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (1.1% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% higher). The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 is within 2% of all these rivals, which means the combo ranking is largely determined by the GPU's performance in this specific game.

Given that the combo ranks in the middle of the pack, the data suggests that while this pairing is capable, it is not optimized for Downfall specifically. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is the weakest link, and users seeking to push maximum settings at 4K would need a more powerful GPU. However, for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo provides excellent frame rates that should satisfy most players.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 240 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Downfall?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium, the combo averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, it averages 72 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 45 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is in the 58th percentile. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent ~55% reduction across settings, indicating GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: Medium settings provide the best balance, with averages of 196 FPS at 1080p, 140 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. It is the only preset that includes minimum FPS data, and those minimums are all above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combos in Downfall?

A: It ranks 1308 out of 2928 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the field. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range position rather than the CPU's strong benchmark scores.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 7700 matter for this game?

A: Given that Downfall was released in 2016, the 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stuttering, as minimum frame rates are strong at Medium settings across all resolutions.