Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a curious set of results in Downfall. This combination of a high-end 2026 processor with an end-of-life 2019 graphics card creates a system where the GPU is the primary constraint at nearly every setting. The data shows a horror game that is demanding at higher presets, but the CPU has enough headroom to push the GTX 1660 SUPER to its absolute limits at lower resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an average of 147 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 105 FPS, a 28.6% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 65 FPS, which is a 55.8% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the workload is scaling directly with pixel count, which points to the GTX 1660 SUPER being the limiting factor.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (99 FPS) to 1440p (71 FPS) represents a 28.3% drop, and then to 4K (44 FPS) a 55.6% drop from the 1080p figure. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High settings suggests a purely pixel-bound scenario. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth is being saturated as the resolution increases, regardless of the complexity of the scene.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system only manages 62 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, that drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to a nearly unplayable 27 FPS. The difference between 1080p High (99 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (62 FPS) is a 37.4% performance penalty for moving up one preset level. This is a much larger jump than the difference between Medium (120 FPS) and High (99 FPS), which is a 17.5% penalty. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces a significant increase in shading and texture complexity that the TU116 chip, with its 1408 shading units, cannot handle efficiently.

The data clearly shows that the limiting component in this combo is the GPU. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is not the bottleneck. The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and substantial L3 cache of 36 MB ensure that frames are being fed to the GPU as fast as the graphics card can process them. The FPS drops are entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to keep up with the increasing pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth demands of higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. The sweet spot for this combo is the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the system maintains an average of 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 102 FPS minimum ensures that there are no significant hitches during gameplay, which is crucial for a horror title where frame pacing is key to maintaining tension.

Moving up to High at 1080p yields 99 FPS on average. While still playable, this is a 17.5% reduction from Medium. At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS, which is still a very playable experience. High at 1440p drops to 71 FPS, which is acceptable but begins to show the GPU’s strain. At 4K, the Medium preset falls to 54 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS. This is borderline, as a 45 FPS minimum can lead to noticeable stutter in fast-moving scenes.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination. At 1080p, it averages 62 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. At 1440p, it drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K, it is a poor 27 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra is too high relative to the visual improvement it provides on this hardware. The data indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER lacks the raw compute power to handle the Ultra preset's increased effects and shadow quality.

For users with a 1080p display, Medium is the clear choice, offering a 120 FPS average that will make full use of high refresh rate monitors. For 1440p users, Medium is still the best option, with a 86 FPS average that remains fluid. At 4K, users should stick to Low (65 FPS) or be prepared to accept the 54 FPS average of Medium with its lower minimum frame rate. The Low preset at any resolution provides a significant frame rate boost but comes with the visual compromises of reduced texture detail and effects.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Downfall at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The data shows 65 FPS at 4K Low and 54 FPS at 4K Medium. The High preset drops to 44 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS, which is not a playable experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing?

A: The data indicates 1080p is the optimal resolution. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS. At 1440p, the best result is 105 FPS on Low, but the Medium preset still provides a solid 86 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus bottlenecking the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: No. The benchmark results show a steady decline in FPS as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU has 24 cores, 24 threads, and a 5.50 GHz boost clock, which is more than sufficient to feed the GTX 1660 SUPER.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 12986, placing it close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.4% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928, 0.4% faster). It is slightly behind the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (13075, -0.7% slower).

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

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings achieve 105 FPS, while Ultra settings only manage 44 FPS. This represents a 58.1% reduction in average frame rate, showing the heavy toll the Ultra preset takes on the GPU.

Q: Is the memory capacity of the GPU a concern for this game?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. The data suggests this is sufficient for Downfall at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results indicate the GPU's compute and bandwidth limits are reached before any potential memory capacity issues arise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 147 FPS. The Medium preset is significantly more demanding, dropping to 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. The High preset further reduces performance to 99 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 62 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down as expected. The Low preset averages 105 FPS. Medium settings provide a smooth 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS. High settings average 71 FPS. The Ultra preset is considerably slower, averaging 44 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset yields 65 FPS. The Medium preset averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS. High settings drop to 44 FPS. The Ultra preset brings the system to its knees, with an average of just 27 FPS.

The progression across resolutions shows a consistent pattern. The 1080p Medium score of 120 FPS is the best balance of performance and visual quality. The 1440p Medium result of 86 FPS is a 28.3% drop from the 1080p Medium score. The 4K Medium result of 54 FPS is a 55% drop from the 1080p Medium score. This linear scaling reinforces that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the performance ceiling for this combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking for this combination in Downfall is 2505 out of 2928 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is expected given the GPU's age and market segment. The GTX 1660 SUPER is in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. This disparity in percentile rankings highlights the mismatch between the two components.

The combo rank of 2505 suggests that many other systems will outperform this one in Downfall. The primary reason for this is the GPU. While the CPU is among the top 4% of all processors, the GPU is average, sitting at the 53rd percentile. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor in almost all scenarios, meaning that the high-performing CPU is often idle, waiting for the GPU to finish rendering frames.

The ranking data is consistent with the measured FPS. The system performs well at 1080p, where the GPU can keep up with the CPU's demands. However, at 4K, the system falls behind many other combinations that have more powerful GPUs, even if their CPUs are less capable. The 2505 rank reflects a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming but struggles to compete at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a high-end desktop processor with 24 cores and 24 threads. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This level of processing power is vastly overqualified for a game like Downfall, which is a horror title that likely relies more on GPU rendering than complex CPU simulation. The benchmark results confirm this, as the CPU does not appear to be a bottleneck at any resolution or setting.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core provide ample fast-access memory for game data. The 24 threads ensure that any background tasks or game logic threads are handled without impacting frame delivery. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has to work hardest to feed the GPU, the system achieves 147 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of preparing frames far faster than the GPU can render them.

The processor's 3 nm process node and TSMC foundry production contribute to its efficiency, but this is not directly reflected in the game's FPS. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's role in this combo is to provide a stable, high-frequency platform that does not interfere with the GPU's performance. The 5.50 GHz boost clock is particularly important for maintaining high minimum frame rates, as it ensures that the CPU can quickly process any spikes in game logic.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the definitive performance limiter in this system. With a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, it is a capable 1080p card from its era. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a constraint at 4K.

The GPU's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs are responsible for the pixel processing. At 4K, the sheer number of pixels overwhelms these resources, leading to the significant FPS drops seen in the data. The 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate are fixed limits that cannot be overcome by the powerful CPU. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales linearly with resolution, confirming that it is the primary bottleneck.

The GPU's 12 nm process node and 125 W TDP are indicative of its older architecture. Its position in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs places it squarely in the mid-range category. The nearest rivals include the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the RX 580, which have similar average scores. This means that users can expect similar performance in Downfall from those GPUs as well. The 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the theoretical peak, but the measured FPS shows that real-world performance is heavily influenced by memory bandwidth and fill rate, which are the GPU's limiting factors.