Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a playable experience in Downfall, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings. This pairing places the system in the 2061st position out of 2928 tested combos, indicating a mid-tier standing for this 2016 horror title. The data measured provides a clear picture of where the bottlenecks lie, particularly as resolution increases and the older GPU becomes the limiting factor. The following analysis breaks down the results, focusing on the GPU’s role, resolution scaling, CPU contribution, and the optimal settings for this specific hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combination achieves an average of 128 FPS. This is a substantial increase over the 4K High result, showing strong performance at standard HD resolutions.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS and provides consistent frame pacing data.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields an average of 136 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to an average of 57 FPS. This represents a significant performance cost of 79 FPS for the highest visual fidelity.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 compare to its closest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64,640, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P. It performs 0.3% better than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F and 0.7% better than the AMD EPYC 7343.

Q: What is the GPU’s standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 18,093 is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile and 1.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 460.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game’s settings?

A: The data shows playable results across all tested settings, including 4K Ultra. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for Downfall’s demands, as frame rates remain consistent with GPU compute limitations rather than memory capacity issues.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process node and ships with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective speed, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 256-bit bus. The GPU’s base clock is 1470 MHz, boosting to 1650 MHz, and it houses 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. These specifications place the card in a mid-range position, which is reflected in its 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs.

In Downfall, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales. At 1080p, the card produces high frame rates, with the Low preset reaching 191 FPS and High at 128 FPS. The compute throughput, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32, is sufficient to handle the horror title’s rendering demands at these lower resolutions. However, the 4K results show the card’s limits, as the Ultra preset drops to just 36 FPS, indicating the GPU is fully saturated. The pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s are the likely constraining factors at higher resolutions, where the fill rate requirements outpace the card’s capabilities.

The card’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure modern API features are available, though Downfall’s age suggests legacy paths may be used. The benchmark results align with the GPU’s position relative to its nearest rivals, with the RTX 2060 SUPER scoring 18,093 on average, just 0.4% behind the RTX 3060 Mobile and 1.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 460. This consistency in synthetic tests translates to predictable in-game performance, with the GPU handling 1080p and 1440p well but struggling to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is expected given the GPU’s mid-range positioning. At 1080p with High settings, the average is 128 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 92 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls further to 57 FPS, representing a 55% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting component, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at all resolutions.

The Low preset shows the most extreme scaling, with 191 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result still exceeds 60 FPS, suggesting that even at the highest resolution, the GPU can deliver acceptable performance when visual effects are minimized. The Medium preset provides the most consistent frame pacing data across all resolutions, with minimum and maximum values recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 156 FPS with a range of 133 to 180 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 112 FPS with a range of 95 to 128 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it settles at 69 FPS with a range of 59 to 80 FPS.

The Ultra preset demonstrates the steepest performance cliff, with 80 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 49 FPS, while at 1080p it is 111 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become critical at higher resolutions with maxed settings, making the 4K Ultra result largely unplayable. The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the frame rate drops are proportional to the pixel count increase, a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the RTX 2060 SUPER achieves a rank of 2061 out of 2928 tested combinations in Downfall. This places the system in the 71st percentile, meaning roughly 70% of tested combos perform better. This ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range standing, as the CPU is a high-end desktop part with a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. The CPU’s synthetic average score of 64,640 is competitive with its nearest rivals, trailing the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% and leading the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F by 0.3%.

The discrepancy between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s lower rank highlights that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the constraining factor. The GPU’s 62nd percentile standing drags the overall system down, as Downfall appears to be more GPU-intensive at higher settings. The combination’s rank suggests that while the CPU provides a solid foundation, the GPU limits the system’s ability to compete with combos featuring more recent graphics cards. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the RTX 3060 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro 5700, score within 0.5% of the RTX 2060 SUPER, indicating that this card is at the boundary of its performance class.

The benchmark data shows that the combo performs best at 1080p, where the CPU’s 20 cores and 30 MB of L3 cache can efficiently feed the GPU. At higher resolutions, the GPU’s limitations become more apparent, and the combo’s rank would likely improve with a more powerful graphics card. The 2061st position out of 2928 is a solid mid-pack result, but it underscores that this pairing is not optimized for maximum performance in Downfall.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this system is achieved at 1080p with High settings, which delivers an average of 128 FPS. This provides a smooth, responsive experience while maintaining reasonable visual quality. For those seeking higher frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers 191 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 1080p is a balanced choice, with 156 FPS and consistent frame pacing, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended option, yielding 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS. This maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while providing better image quality than Low. The High preset at 1440p drops to 92 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p is borderline, with 57 FPS, and should be avoided for competitive play.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the only viable option, with 69 FPS and a minimum of 59 FPS. This provides a playable experience, though the minimum frame rate dips close to 60 FPS. The High preset at 4K drops to 57 FPS, which may result in noticeable stuttering during intense moments. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 36 FPS average falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K offers 85 FPS, but the reduced visual fidelity undermines the benefits of the higher resolution.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data suggests using High settings at 1080p or Medium settings at 1440p. The measured frame times for Medium settings show the most stable performance, making it the safest choice for consistent gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers the lowest average at 36 FPS, followed by High at 57 FPS, Medium at 69 FPS, and Low at 85 FPS. The Medium preset is the only 4K configuration with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing a range of 59 to 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 136 FPS, while Medium reaches 112 FPS with a range of 95 to 128 FPS. The High preset averages 92 FPS, and Ultra drops to 57 FPS. This resolution shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 79 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset tops the charts at 191 FPS, with Medium at 156 FPS and a range of 133 to 180 FPS. The High preset averages 128 FPS, and Ultra falls to 80 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate the GPU’s capability at lower pixel counts, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a playable frame rate.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings provide the most stable frame pacing, as evidenced by the recorded minimums and maximums at each resolution. The High and Ultra presets lack this data, suggesting more variable performance. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates, likely sacrifices significant visual effects, which may impact the horror experience that Downfall aims to deliver.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 30 MB L3 cache. Its memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216 and single-core score of 5,960 demonstrate strong performance, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. This is reflected in the game’s performance, where even at 1080p Low with 191 FPS, the CPU maintains the frame rate without dropping below the GPU’s output.

The processor’s 20 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for Downfall, which is a 2016 title that likely does not utilize more than a few cores. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for game logic and physics. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 64,640 is competitive with its nearest rivals, trailing the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% and leading the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F by 0.3%.

The data suggests that the CPU provides ample headroom for the RTX 2060 SUPER. At 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 36 FPS, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to complete rendering tasks. This indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains in this title, while the CPU would not require replacement for several generations. The CPU’s 20 cores may be overkill for gaming, but they provide a solid foundation for the system’s overall performance.