Downfall

Downfall, a horror title from 2016, exhibits performance characteristics that are heavily dictated by resolution and graphics presets when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. The measured data provides a clear picture of a system that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution scales upward.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a clear shift in bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 226 FPS, but this falls to 101 FPS at 3840x2160 with the same preset—a reduction of 55.3%. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load at 4K far exceeds what the GPU can process at lower resolutions, making the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings tiers. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings drops the average from 152 FPS to 108 FPS, a 29% decrease. The subsequent jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings further reduces performance to 67 FPS, another 38% decline. This progressive degradation suggests that while the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus become saturated as pixel count quadruples.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between Low (226 FPS) and Ultra (95 FPS) is 131 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 94 FPS (162 FPS Low versus 68 FPS Ultra). At 4K, the spread is 59 FPS (101 FPS Low versus 42 FPS Ultra). This compression at 4K indicates that the GPU is nearing its throughput ceiling, as even the lighter Low preset cannot compensate for the massive pixel workload.

For a horror game relying on atmospheric tension, the frame time consistency matters. The only measured minimum and maximum values come from Medium settings: at 1080p the range is 157 to 213 FPS (average 185), at 1440p it is 112 to 152 FPS (average 132), and at 4K it is 70 to 95 FPS (average 82). These ranges show tighter variance at lower resolutions, suggesting smoother frame pacing when the GPU is less stressed.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 226 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields only 42 FPS average, while High settings produce 67 FPS. Low settings at 4K reach 101 FPS, suggesting playable performance is possible with reduced visual fidelity.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare between resolutions?

A: Medium settings show averages of 185 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K. These are the only settings with recorded minimum and maximum values, with the 4K range being 70 to 95 FPS.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 162 FPS while Ultra averages 68 FPS, representing a 94 FPS gap between the two extremes.

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

A: The data suggests the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has 16 cores and 22 threads with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, which appears sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. The steep FPS drops at 4K point to GPU limitations.

Q: Does the RTX 4070's VRAM capacity affect performance?

A: The 12 GB GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth should be adequate for Downfall's 2016-era graphics demands. The performance scaling pattern aligns more with raw compute throughput than memory capacity constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination holds rank 2035 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations. This percentile position reflects a system that is competent but not top-tier for this specific title, likely because the game's age favors older, higher-clock parts.

The CPU's overall benchmark percentile sits at 85, with an average benchmark score of 35670. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719—a delta of only -0.1%, meaning the Intel part is effectively matched by that competitor. The Intel Core 7 250H trails by -0.2% at 35728, while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X are -0.4% and -0.7% behind respectively. These minuscule deltas indicate that the Core Ultra 9 185H is not a standout in raw compute but rather sits within a tightly clustered group of processors.

The GPU tells a similar story. The RTX 4070 has a percentile of 81 and an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, is only 0.1% ahead at 37628. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 trails by 0.4% at 37507, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile leads by 1.3% at 38135. This close grouping suggests that the 4070's performance in Downfall is representative of its mid-range positioning rather than an outlier for better or worse.

The combo rank of 2035 out of 3716 means roughly 45% of tested configurations perform better in this game. Given that the CPU and GPU each sit near the 80th percentile individually, the combination's mid-pack ranking in Downfall indicates that the game's specific demands do not favor this pairing as much as their synthetic benchmarks might suggest.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, Medium settings at 1440p emerge as the optimal choice from the measured data. At 2560x1440, Medium produces an average of 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 152 FPS. This frame rate comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining a higher detail level than Low.

At 4K, the choice becomes more constrained. High settings yield 67 FPS average, which is playable but may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. Medium at 4K offers 82 FPS average with a minimum of 70 FPS, providing a safer margin above the 60 FPS mark. For players prioritizing frame rate stability over visual fidelity, Low at 4K achieves 101 FPS but sacrifices significant graphical detail.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend at any resolution. At 1080p it averages 95 FPS, which is still playable, but at 1440p it drops to 68 FPS and at 4K it falls to 42 FPS—below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Given that Downfall is a horror title where atmosphere and lighting are crucial, the visual downgrade from Ultra to High may be noticeable, but the performance gains justify the compromise.

For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p with Low settings at 226 FPS is the clear choice. However, for a horror experience where immersion matters more than raw speed, 1440p Medium at 132 FPS provides an excellent middle ground that balances detail and smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings hierarchy is as follows: Low averages 226 FPS, Medium averages 185 FPS (minimum 157, maximum 213), High averages 152 FPS, and Ultra averages 95 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra at 57 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 162 FPS, Medium averages 132 FPS (minimum 112, maximum 152), High averages 108 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 40 FPS, while the gap between Low and Medium is 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 101 FPS, Medium averages 82 FPS (minimum 70, maximum 95), High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. This is the only resolution where Low fails to reach 200 FPS and where Ultra drops below 60 FPS. The margin between Medium and High shrinks to 15 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p the variation is 56 FPS (157 to 213), at 1440p it is 40 FPS (112 to 152), and at 4K it is 25 FPS (70 to 95). The narrowing variation at higher resolutions suggests that while average FPS drops, the frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU operates closer to its sustained load capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 17984.5, and single-core reaches 1810.5. Geekbench scores are 11657 multi-core and 1794 single-core.

In Downfall, the CPU's role appears supportive rather than limiting. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 226 FPS, which is well beyond what most displays can refresh. This high frame rate suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions. The PassMark single-thread score of 3697 and multi-thread score of 29376 indicate robust processing capability that should handle the game's logic and AI without bottlenecking.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and tight clustering with rivals (all within -0.7% delta) means there is little differentiation between this and similar processors in gaming workloads. The L3 cache of 24 MB is shared across all cores, which helps with data-intensive tasks but is unlikely to be a decisive factor in a 2016 horror game that does not demand extreme computational resources.

The 45 W TDP suggests this is a power-efficient mobile part, which may influence sustained performance in laptops. However, the measured FPS data shows no signs of thermal throttling or clock instability, as the 1080p results are consistently high across all settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm TSMC process. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, with a base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz. Memory consists of 12 GB GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s bandwidth.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26927 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, is only 0.1% ahead, while the RTX 4080 Mobile leads by 1.3%. This close competition means the 4070's performance in Downfall is representative of its class positioning.

Downfall's performance scaling directly implicates the GPU as the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS is below playable thresholds, while 4K Low reaches 101 FPS—a 59 FPS difference that highlights how sensitive the GPU is to rendering load. The 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but strained by 4K workloads.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is generous for a 2016 title, and the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth should prevent memory bandwidth from being a limiting factor. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s contribute to its ability to handle the game's visual effects, but the data indicates that raw throughput, not memory, is what constrains 4K performance.

The RTX 4070's end-of-life production status and 200 W TDP suggest it is a mature product with well-established drivers. In Downfall, it delivers playable performance up to 1440p across all settings, with 4K requiring reduced presets to maintain acceptable frame rates.