Downfall

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 229 FPS at 1080p to 164 FPS at 1440p, then further to 102 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial performance cost driven primarily by the increasing pixel count and the corresponding load placed on the GPU.

The scaling behavior across resolutions becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the averages are 154 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 44 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 42 FPS, showing a remarkably consistent scaling pattern. This consistency suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary limiting component in this configuration, as the frame rate reduction tracks closely with the pixel count increase.

At Medium settings, the measured averages are 187 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the steepest scaling curve, with 96 FPS at 1080p dropping to 69 FPS at 1440p and finally 43 FPS at 4K. The Ultra results at 4K dip below 60 FPS, indicating that this preset exceeds what the GPU can comfortably deliver at the highest resolution.

The data indicates that the RX 6700 XT becomes the bottleneck well before the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K reaches its limits. The consistent frame rate deltas between resolutions—roughly 40-50% per step—are classic signs of GPU-bound performance. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, is unlikely to be the constraining factor in a horror title like Downfall, which typically relies more heavily on graphical rendering than on complex CPU-side simulation.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, providing substantial single-thread performance that is critical for game logic and frame pacing. The processor's L3 cache totals 30 MB shared across all cores, with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Core Ultra 7 265K scores 35,850 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,020 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 23,085 multi-core and 2,713 single-core. The PassMark multithread score of 58,594 and single-thread score of 4,928 further establish this CPU as a high-end desktop part. The processor ranks in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 265K holds its own. It trails the Intel Xeon 6511P by a negligible 0.2% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 0.7%, while leading the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 1% and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F by 1.3% in average benchmark scores. These small deltas suggest that the CPU is operating at a performance level very close to several other high-end desktop and server processors.

For Downfall specifically, the CPU's role appears secondary given the measured frame rates. The fact that 1080p Low yields 229 FPS while 4K Low yields 102 FPS points to GPU-bound performance across all tested configurations. Even at 1080p High, the 154 FPS average is well below what the CPU could theoretically support, given its strong single-thread performance. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures that any CPU-side bottlenecks in Downfall are minimized, allowing the RX 6700 XT to be the decisive factor in frame rate outcomes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, along with 40 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2,321 MHz and a boost clock of 2,581 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2,424 MHz. Memory is 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 26.43 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. Its pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s and texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6700 XT scores 19,786 in PassMark G3D and 9,336 in PassMark GPU compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2,435, while Geekbench results include 93,500 in Vulkan and 44,152 in OpenCL. The GPU ranks in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs.

The nearest rivals to the RX 6700 XT in average benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with a delta of 0%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at -0.5%, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell at 1.1%, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 at -1.5%. These comparisons show that the RX 6700 XT performs remarkably close to the RTX 3090 in aggregate benchmarks, despite the significant difference in memory configuration and launch positioning.

For Downfall, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for the tested settings, as evidenced by the frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS suggests the GPU is heavily stressed at the highest settings, while the 1080p Low result of 229 FPS shows headroom when graphical load is reduced. The GPU's 64 ROPS and 413.0 GTexel/s texture rate are likely determining factors in how the game renders at each resolution and preset combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 6700 XT delivers the following average frame rates across presets: Low produces 229 FPS, Medium produces 187 FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS and maximum of 215 FPS, High produces 154 FPS, and Ultra produces 96 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 133 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset nearly halves the performance of the Low preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 164 FPS at Low, 134 FPS at Medium with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS, 110 FPS at High, and 69 FPS at Ultra. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, ranging from 50 FPS at Low to 27 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, while Ultra dips below 70 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 102 FPS at Low, 83 FPS at Medium with a minimum of 71 FPS and maximum of 96 FPS, 68 FPS at High, and 43 FPS at Ultra. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium presets maintain averages above 60 FPS, while High is close at 68 FPS and Ultra falls significantly behind at 43 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 71 FPS indicates acceptable frame pacing even at 4K.

The data reveals that the Medium preset offers the most consistent performance across all resolutions, with minimum frame rates that stay within 13-28 FPS of the averages. The High and Ultra presets lack reported minimum frame rates, making it difficult to assess their frame pacing consistency, but the averages suggest they are more demanding than Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS on Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average is 96 FPS, and at 2560x1440 Ultra it is 69 FPS. Both resolutions maintain averages above 60 FPS, while 3840x2160 Ultra drops to 43 FPS, so 1440p is the highest resolution that retains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

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

A: The performance loss varies by preset: at Low settings the average drops from 229 FPS to 102 FPS, at Medium from 187 FPS to 83 FPS, at High from 154 FPS to 68 FPS, and at Ultra from 96 FPS to 43 FPS. The percentage reduction ranges from roughly 55% at Low to 55% at Ultra, showing consistent scaling.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Downfall?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting component. The Core Ultra 7 265K ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs and scores 2,020 in Cinebench R23 single-core, while the RX 6700 XT ranks in the 72nd percentile among GPUs. The frame rate drops with increasing resolution follow GPU-bound scaling patterns.

Q: Which preset provides the highest minimum frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has a reported minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS. This is the only preset at 1440p with reported minimum frame rate data, and it maintains a minimum well above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to the RTX 3090 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27,425, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 has an average score of 27,565. The delta is -0.5%, meaning the RX 6700 XT scores essentially the same as the RTX 3090 in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low produces 229 FPS while Ultra produces 96 FPS. The difference is 133 FPS, meaning the Ultra preset delivers approximately 58% lower performance than Low at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 187 FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay in a horror title. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, providing excellent headroom above typical display refresh rates. Even at 3840x2160, Medium achieves 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, making it the only preset that keeps the minimum above 60 FPS at 4K.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rates. At 1080p High, the average is 154 FPS, which remains high, and at 1440p High, the average is 110 FPS. However, at 4K High, the average drops to 68 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS threshold and may result in occasional dips below that mark. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it delivers 96 FPS, as the 1440p average of 69 FPS and 4K average of 43 FPS are below ideal thresholds for smooth gameplay.

For users with high refresh rate displays at 1080p, the Low preset's 229 FPS average provides maximum frame rates, but the Medium preset at 187 FPS offers a better visual experience with only an 18% performance penalty. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended choice, as it keeps the minimum above 114 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. At 4K, Medium is the only preset that guarantees a minimum above 60 FPS, making it the clear recommendation for that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1,949 out of 3,716 tested combos for Downfall. This places the configuration in the upper half of all tested systems, specifically in the 52.5th percentile of the 3,716 total combinations. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where the high-end CPU complements a mid-to-high-end GPU.

The CPU alone ranks in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs. The discrepancy between these two percentile positions suggests that the GPU is the weaker component in this pairing, which aligns with the measured frame rate data showing GPU-bound performance. If the goal is to improve this combo's standing in Downfall, upgrading the GPU would yield larger gains than upgrading the CPU.

The rank of 1,949 out of 3,716 means there are 1,948 better-performing combos and 1,767 worse-performing combos in this game. Given that the GPU's average benchmark score of 27,425 is nearly identical to the RTX 3090's 27,565, this combo likely performs competitively with systems featuring much more expensive graphics cards. The Core Ultra 7 265K's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 2,020 Cinebench R23 single-core score, ensures that the CPU does not hold back the GPU in Downfall's rendering pipeline.