Downfall

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Downfall shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 226 FPS at 1080p to 162 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 64 FPS, and then to 101 FPS at 4K, another 61 FPS drop. This progression indicates that the rendering load scales substantially with pixel count, which is typical for a horror title that relies heavily on atmospheric lighting and shadow effects.

The Medium preset exhibits a similar trajectory, starting at 185 FPS at 1080p, falling to 132 FPS at 1440p, and reaching 82 FPS at 4K. The High preset follows the same pattern with 152 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which represents the most demanding configuration, delivers 95 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K.

The percentage drops between resolutions are relatively consistent across presets. For Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by approximately 28%, and from 1440p to 4K by another 38%. The High preset shows a 29% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 38% drop from 1440p to 4K. This consistency suggests that the scaling behavior is primarily driven by resolution-dependent shading and post-processing effects rather than by preset-specific features that might alter the rendering pipeline differently.

What the data reveals about the limiting component is instructive. At 1080p Low, the system produces 226 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that suggests the GPU is not fully saturated at this configuration. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads running at a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, has ample headroom to feed the graphics pipeline. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes progressively more stressed, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The fact that the 4K Ultra result falls to 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, indicates that at this extreme configuration, the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

The scaling also highlights an interesting characteristic of Downfall's engine. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 131 FPS (226 vs 95), while at 4K the gap narrows to 59 FPS (101 vs 42). This compression of the performance envelope at higher resolutions is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios, where the additional pixel workload dominates over the preset-specific effects. In contrast, at 1080p, the preset differences have a more pronounced impact because the GPU has spare capacity to render the extra visual features.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with the AD104 chip containing 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. These specifications place the RTX 4070 in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

In Downfall, the GPU's memory configuration plays a significant role in the measured results. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's texture and geometry demands at all tested resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the absence of any anomalous frame rate collapses that would indicate memory swapping or overflow. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample throughput for the 4K resolution workloads, where the data transfer requirements are highest.

The clock behavior of the RTX 4070 is directly relevant to the observed frame rates. With a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the GPU can sustain high utilization across all presets, but the Ada Lovelace architecture's power management means that sustained loads at 4K Ultra may cause the clocks to settle lower than at 1080p Low, contributing to the 42 FPS result at the most demanding configuration. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are the relevant throughput metrics for a game like Downfall, which renders dense atmospheric effects and detailed environmental textures.

The GPU's benchmark profile further contextualizes its performance. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 4070 scores 3854, while PassMark G3D yields 26927 and Geekbench Vulkan produces 174152. These scores place the GPU in the 81st percentile, and the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at a 0.1% delta, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 0.4%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at -1.3%. The RTX 4070's position relative to these competitors indicates that its compute and rasterization capabilities are well-matched for the demands of Downfall.

The 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and the 184 tensor cores, while not directly benchmarked in Downfall, contribute to the GPU's overall capability to handle the game's shader complexity. The DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API support ensures compatibility with modern rendering features, and the 46 RT cores are available for any ray-traced effects that the game may employ, though the measured data does not isolate their specific contribution.

# FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Downfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 226, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. At the same resolution, Medium delivers 185 FPS, High delivers 152 FPS, and Ultra delivers 95 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Downfall?

A: Yes, at 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 82, and with High settings it is 67. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 42 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4, 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, and 1.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the GPU and does it affect Downfall performance?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS data shows no signs of memory capacity limitations across the tested resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the processor's single-core performance relative to its multi-core performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX achieves a Geekbench single-core score of 2458 and a multi-core score of 20795. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2204 single-core and 35589 multi-core, indicating strong single-threaded performance that supports high frame rates.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Downfall?

A: This combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 2035 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the middle of the distribution.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Downfall provides a clear basis for recommending settings based on the target resolution and desired frame rate experience. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low at 226 FPS, Medium at 185 FPS, High at 152 FPS, and Ultra at 95 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p provides a 95 FPS average, which is smooth for most displays, but the jump from High to Ultra reduces performance by 57 FPS, a significant cost for the additional visual fidelity. For players with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the Medium preset at 185 FPS or High at 152 FPS are the better choices, as they exceed the refresh rate while maintaining higher visual quality than Low.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 108 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 132 FPS offers a higher frame rate for competitive play, while the Ultra preset at 68 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold but with a substantial visual quality improvement. The Low preset at 162 FPS is the fastest option but sacrifices the atmospheric effects that are central to the horror genre. For the best overall experience at 1440p, the High preset is recommended, as it provides a 108 FPS average that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS while preserving the game's intended visual presentation.

At 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The Medium preset at 82 FPS is the best choice for a smooth 4K experience, as it maintains an average above 60 FPS while offering moderate visual quality. The High preset at 67 FPS is also viable, though it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is not recommended for general play, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stuttering in a horror game where smooth motion is important for immersion. The Low preset at 101 FPS is an option for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but the Medium preset provides a better balance.

The measured minimum FPS data, available for the Medium preset, shows 157 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate that the Medium preset maintains consistent frame pacing without severe drops, which is critical in a horror game where sudden frame hitches can break tension. The corresponding maximum FPS values of 213, 152, and 95 demonstrate that the system has headroom above the averages.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 226 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset delivers 185 FPS, with a minimum of 157 FPS and a maximum of 213 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with a 28 FPS spread between minimum and maximum. The High preset produces 152 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 95 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a consistent reduction in performance as visual fidelity increases, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra at 57 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 162 FPS, which is 64 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 132 FPS, with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS, showing a 40 FPS spread. The High preset delivers 108 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 68 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 40 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p gap when considered as a percentage of the High preset's performance.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 101 FPS, the Medium preset averages 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 95 FPS, the High preset averages 67 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 70 FPS at 4K is noteworthy because it remains above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains playable performance. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, and the 12 FPS difference between High (67 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) represents a steep cost for the highest settings.

The complete dataset reveals that the Medium preset is the only configuration with measured minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. This consistency in data collection allows for a more detailed analysis of the Medium preset's behavior. At 1080p, the minimum of 157 FPS and maximum of 213 FPS yield an average of 185 FPS, with the minimum representing 85% of the average. At 1440p, the minimum of 112 FPS is also 85% of the 132 FPS average. At 4K, the minimum of 70 FPS represents 85% of the 82 FPS average. This consistent ratio suggests that the Medium preset scales uniformly across resolutions without introducing additional frame time variance.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth.

In Downfall, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The measured data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 226 FPS, which demands that the CPU deliver frames at a rate of approximately one frame every 4.4 milliseconds. The processor's single-core performance, as measured by Geekbench at 2458 and Cinebench R23 at 2204, is sufficient to handle the game's main thread and physics computations at these frame rates. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the necessary single-threaded throughput for a game that likely has a primary rendering thread.

The multi-core performance of the Ultra 9 275HX, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35589 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20795, ensures that background tasks and secondary game threads do not become bottlenecks. The 24 threads allow the processor to manage the game's AI, audio, and streaming systems concurrently with the rendering workload. The PassMark multithread score of 55759 and the physics score of 3338 further indicate robust multi-threaded capability.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 94 places it in the top 6% of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 67469. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 at -0.3% delta, the AMD EPYC 4484PX at -0.5%, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX at -0.6%. These comparisons show that the Ultra 9 275HX is competitively positioned against workstation-class processors, despite being a mobile-market part.

In the context of Downfall's measured performance, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor at any resolution or setting. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the 226 FPS result suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high rates. The fact that the 4K Ultra result drops to 42 FPS while the CPU has ample headroom indicates that the GPU is the sole bottleneck at that configuration.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 2035 out of 3716 tested combos in Downfall. This places the combo in the middle of the distribution, at approximately the 55th percentile of all tested systems. The rank reflects the overall performance of the pair across the measured resolutions and settings, weighted by the game's rendering demands.

The CPU's strong benchmark position, at the 94th percentile, contrasts with the combo's mid-pack ranking. This discrepancy suggests that the GPU, while capable at the 81st percentile, is the performance ceiling for this pairing in Downfall. The RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game, but the GPU's raw compute throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 sets the upper bound on frame rates, particularly at 4K where the Ultra preset falls to 42 FPS.

The combo's rank of 2035 indicates that there are 1701 tested configurations that perform better in Downfall, and 2034 that perform worse. The median position suggests that this system is representative of a typical high-end mobile or desktop pairing, where the CPU is more than sufficient for the game's demands but the GPU determines the ultimate frame rates. For a horror game like Downfall, where the atmosphere and pacing are critical, the mid-pack ranking does not necessarily detract from the experience, as the measured FPS values show that the combo can deliver smooth performance at most settings and resolutions.

The relative contributions of the CPU and GPU to this ranking are clear from the benchmark data. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon w5-3525 and AMD EPYC 4484PX, have nearly identical average scores with deltas of -0.3% and -0.5%, respectively. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, also have very close average scores with deltas of 0.1% and 0.4%. This tight clustering around both the CPU and GPU indicates that the combo's ranking is stable and not subject to large swings from component variance.