Downfall

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a commanding performance profile in Downfall, a 2016 horror title. The data shows a combination capable of extreme frame rates, though the scaling patterns reveal a nuanced relationship between resolution, settings, and the limiting hardware component. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested systems, and provides actionable settings guidance based strictly on the benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates demonstrate a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly with the chosen quality preset. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 328 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that figure to 234 FPS, a reduction of 94 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 146 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is substantial, indicating that the GPU is being fed more work per frame as pixel count rises.

The High preset shows a similar pattern but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p High, the average is 220 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 157 FPS, and at 4K High, it settles at 98 FPS. This represents a 122 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K, which is a larger absolute gap than the Low preset’s 182 FPS difference. The scaling suggests that at Low settings, the CPU has more headroom to push frames, while at High settings, the GPU becomes a more significant factor earlier in the resolution climb.

The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling curve. At 1080p Medium, the average is 269 FPS with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 309 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 192 FPS (min 163, max 221), and at 4K Medium, the average is 119 FPS (min 101, max 137). The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min/max range, remains relatively stable across resolutions for this preset, suggesting the hardware handles the increased load without severe stuttering.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, as expected. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 138 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 98 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 61 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling—it is the only measured configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this preset at maximum resolution pushes the GPU to its limits in this title.

The data strongly suggests that Downfall is not heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 328 FPS is exceptionally high, and the drop to 4K Low (146 FPS) shows that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases. However, the gap between 1080p High (220 FPS) and 4K Low (146 FPS) is narrower than the gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low, implying that at higher settings, the GPU’s workload scales more steeply with resolution. The CPU’s role becomes less critical at 4K, where even the lowest settings yield a frame rate that is roughly half of the 1080p Low figure.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 holds a rank of 576 out of 2928 tested combos for Downfall. This places it in the top 20% of all tested systems, a strong showing for a mobile CPU paired with a flagship mobile GPU. The percentile data for the individual components supports this ranking: the CPU sits in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs.

The combo’s rank is notable given the hardware’s specifications. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 67469, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Xeon w5-3525 and 0.5% lower than the AMD EPYC 4484PX. It is 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6515P. These are marginal differences, indicating that the Core Ultra 9 275HX performs on par with high-end desktop workstation processors in synthetic benchmarks, despite being a mobile part.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 79842 is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 0.6% higher than the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB. It is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT but 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X. These deltas are small, suggesting that the RTX 5090’s raw compute performance is comparable to these data-center and workstation-class cards, though its gaming-oriented features may provide additional benefits in titles like Downfall.

The rank of 576 out of 2928 combos indicates that many systems with more powerful desktop components or higher-clocked variants achieve better frame rates in this game. However, for a mobile platform, this is a compelling result. The data shows that the combo is not at the very top of the leaderboard, but it is comfortably above the median, and its performance in Downfall is competitive with systems that might be expected to outperform it based on component pricing or positioning.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this combo for Downfall’s frame rates. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Downfall, a game from 2016 that likely does not require anywhere near 32 GB of VRAM, but the sheer bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-intensive effects do not become bottlenecks.

The GPU’s clock speeds are a key factor in its performance. The base clock is 2017 MHz, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. These clocks, combined with the 21760 shading units and 680 tensor cores, allow the RTX 5090 to maintain high frame rates even at 4K. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is capable of 146 FPS at 4K Low, which is a demanding workload for most hardware.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial. It delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and an identical 104.8 TFLOPS for FP16, with a 1:1 ratio. This raw compute power is reflected in the benchmark scores: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 18355, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 334370. These numbers indicate that the GPU is not just fast for gaming but also excels at general-purpose compute tasks, which can be beneficial if Downfall uses any physics or post-processing effects that leverage GPU compute.

The RTX 5090’s role in Downfall becomes more prominent at higher resolutions and settings. The drop from 1080p Ultra (138 FPS) to 4K Ultra (61 FPS) is a 77 FPS reduction, which is a clear sign that the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases. In contrast, the drop from 1080p Low (328 FPS) to 4K Low (146 FPS) is 182 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop but a smaller percentage drop (44% vs 56% for Ultra). This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU can still feed the GPU enough data to keep it busy, but at Ultra settings, the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance in Downfall depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 269 FPS with a minimum of 228 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors. The High preset at 1080p still offers a strong 220 FPS average, but the jump from Medium to High yields a 49 FPS penalty, which may not justify the visual improvements if the display cannot show more than 240 Hz.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again provides the best experience. The average of 192 FPS (min 163) is high enough for smooth gameplay on 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors. The High preset at 1440p drops to 157 FPS, which is still playable but may cause visible tearing on higher refresh displays without VRR. The Ultra preset at 1440p (98 FPS) is not recommended for competitive play, but it is viable for a cinematic experience on a 100 Hz display.

For 4K, the choice is more constrained. The Medium preset at 4K delivers an average of 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS, making it the only preset that consistently stays above 100 FPS. The High preset at 4K (98 FPS) is close, but its minimum frame rate is not listed, which introduces uncertainty about its consistency. The Ultra preset at 4K (61 FPS) is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, as it sits right at the 60 FPS threshold and may dip below it during intense scenes.

The data indicates that Low settings are unnecessary for this combo at any resolution. Even at 4K Low, the average FPS is 146, which is far higher than what most displays can show. The Low preset sacrifices too much visual quality for a gain that is imperceptible on standard refresh rates. The recommended path is to use Medium settings at 1080p, 1440p, or 4K, with the option to increase to High at 1080p or 1440p if the display supports it and the user prefers better shadows and textures.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Downfall?*

A: The highest average FPS is 328, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but barely. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 61, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU’s synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX has an average benchmark score of 67469, which is 0.7% higher than the Intel Xeon 6515P but 0.3% lower than the Intel Xeon w5-3525.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, using 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus.

*Q: Is the combo more CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Downfall?*

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rate drops significantly regardless of settings, while at 1080p Low, the CPU can push 328 FPS, indicating it is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo’s rank in the database for this game?

A: The combo ranks 576 out of 2928 tested combinations for Downfall.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo’s Downfall performance. This mobile processor features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The architecture is Arrow Lake, built on a 3 nm process from TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. This is a high-end mobile part, and its synthetic benchmarks reflect that: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 35589, and the single-core score is 2204. The Geekbench multi-core score is 20795, with a single-core score of 2458.

The CPU’s 24 cores are more than adequate for Downfall, a game that is unlikely to utilize more than a handful of threads. The single-core performance is more relevant for gaming, and the boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides strong per-core throughput. The PassMark single-thread score of 4713 confirms this, placing it in a competitive position against desktop processors. The cache hierarchy—192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB shared L3—ensures that frequently accessed data is readily available, reducing latency.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 328. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls to saturate its rendering pipeline. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 234 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 146 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 94 FPS, which is a larger drop than the 88 FPS reduction from 1440p to 4K. This pattern suggests that the CPU’s ability to prepare frames becomes less critical as the GPU’s rendering time increases.

The CPU’s thermal design power (TDP) is 55 W, which is low for a 24-core part, but the boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the necessary speed for gaming workloads. The memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU’s massive bandwidth. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes ensures that the GPU has a high-bandwidth connection to the CPU, reducing potential bottlenecks in data transfer.

Overall, the Core Ultra 9 275HX is not the limiting factor in Downfall. The data shows that even at the highest settings and resolutions, the frame rates are limited by the GPU’s rendering capabilities rather than the CPU’s processing speed. The CPU’s high single-thread performance and low TDP make it an ideal companion for the RTX 5090 in a mobile platform, allowing the combo to achieve frame rates that rival many desktop systems. The rank of 576 out of 2928 combos reflects the CPU’s ability to keep pace with the GPU, even though other combos with more powerful desktop CPUs may edge it out in this specific title.