Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 to form a capable 1440p-oriented setup for Downfall, a horror title from 2016. The data shows this combination delivers smooth frame rates at High settings across 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. The following analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, the combo’s ranking against other tested configurations, and the measured performance at every resolution and settings tier.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a 125 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its L3 cache is 30 MB shared across the cores, with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core. The processor also includes an integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, though the discrete GPU handles the rendering in this benchmark.

In synthetic CPU benchmarks, the Ultra 7 265K scores 35,850 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,020 in single-core. Geekbench results show 23,085 multi-core and 2,713 single-core. PassMark multithread score is 58,594, with single-thread at 4,928. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 70,879, placing it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Xeon 6511P (average score 71,051, delta -0.2%), the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71,370, delta -0.7%), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, delta +1%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, delta +1.3%). The 265K is effectively tied with these processors, trailing the Xeon parts by less than a percent while edging out the Core i7 and Ryzen by about one percent.

For Downfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The game is a horror title from 2016, and the data indicates the 265K provides ample headroom at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 210 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at that setting. The 20 cores and 20 threads allow for smooth background processing, and the 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for older game engines. The 30 MB L3 cache helps with data locality, though the game’s age means it likely does not exploit the full multi-core potential. The processor’s 94th percentile ranking indicates it is far above average in general computation, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip with RDNA 4.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1700 MHz, with a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. Memory runs at 2250 MHz, or 18 Gbps effective. The chip contains 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, plus 28 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 performance is 21.43 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. The card has a 132 W TDP, uses a single 8-pin power connector, and requires a 300 W suggested PSU. It connects via PCIe 5.0 x16.

In GPU benchmarks, the RX 9060 scores 3,322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 88,183 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 39,476 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark G3D score is 17,631, with GPU compute at 9,919. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 16,014, placing it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (average score 16,129, delta -0.7%), the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15,862, delta +1%), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15,852, delta +1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15,679, delta +2.1%). The RX 9060 sits just below the RTX 3060 Ti by less than a percent and ahead of the R9 370X and RX 7700 by about one percent.

For Downfall, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests it becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 39. The 128-bit memory bus and 288 GB/s bandwidth are modest, yet the game’s age means it does not demand excessive memory throughput. The boost clock of 2990 MHz provides strong raw compute, and the 64 ROPs handle pixel output effectively at lower resolutions. The 59th percentile ranking shows this is a mid-range GPU, which aligns with the observed performance: excellent at 1080p, solid at 1440p, and struggling at 4K with maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 2,185 out of 3,716 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the 41st percentile of all configurations, meaning roughly 59% of tested combos perform better. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range standing, as the CPU is in the 94th percentile, indicating the graphics card is the primary limiter.

The combo’s position is consistent with the GPU’s 59th percentile ranking. The CPU is not holding back performance, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (210 FPS) and 1440p Low (150 FPS). The gap between the combo’s rank and the CPU’s percentile suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant gains, while a faster CPU would show diminishing returns. The data shows that the RX 9060’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 3060 Ti, would likely place this combo in a similar tier, with deltaPct values under 1% in average GPU score. The 2,185 rank out of 3,716 means this setup is better than many older or lower-end configurations but falls short of high-end builds with top-tier GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1080p, the combo delivers high frame rates across all settings. On Low, the average FPS is 210. Medium produces an average of 172 FPS, with a minimum of 146 and a maximum of 198. High settings yield 141 FPS on average. Ultra drops to 88 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a reduction of 122 FPS, or roughly 58% lower performance, which is a steep drop but still playable for a horror game.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain strong. Low averages 150 FPS. Medium averages 123 FPS, with a minimum of 104 and a maximum of 141. High settings produce 101 FPS on average. Ultra falls to 63 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is significant, losing 38 FPS, which indicates the GPU is beginning to struggle with the higher pixel count and settings.

At 4K, the performance drops considerably. Low averages 93 FPS. Medium averages 76 FPS, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88. High settings yield 63 FPS on average. Ultra is the worst case, averaging just 39 FPS. This is the only resolution where Ultra dips below 60 FPS, making it borderline for smooth gameplay. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that fails to maintain a consistent 60 FPS threshold.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, but the pattern reveals which component is the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 210 at 1080p to 150 at 1440p and 93 at 4K. That is a 56% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium, the drop is from 172 to 123 to 76, a 56% reduction as well. High settings go from 141 to 101 to 63, a 55% reduction. Ultra goes from 88 to 63 to 39, a 56% reduction.

The consistency of the percentage drop across settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not scale so predictably with resolution. The RX 9060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are the likely constraints, as the game’s rendering demands increase with pixel count. The 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS is particularly telling, as it is less than half of the 1080p Ultra score of 88 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated at 4K, while the CPU still has headroom. The 265K’s high single-core score of 2,020 in Cinebench R23 ensures that it can keep up at lower resolutions, but as resolution rises, the GPU becomes the sole determinant of performance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the average FPS for this combo in Downfall at 1080p High settings?*

A: The average FPS is 141 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF?

A: The 265K has an average benchmark score of 70,879, which is 1% higher than the Core i7-14700KF’s score of 70,163.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what resolution and settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 39, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Medium settings?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 4K Medium is 76, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,014.

*Q: How does the combo rank in Downfall compared to all tested combinations?*

A: The combo ranks 2,185 out of 3,716 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all configurations tested.