Downfall

# Downfall with Intel Core Ultra X7 368H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings in Downfall?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, this combination produces an average of 120 FPS. This drops to 86 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 53 FPS at 3840x2160, showing a steep scaling curve as resolution increases.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra X7 368H scores 40,518 on average across benchmarks, placing it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (40,431) and Intel Xeon 6507P (40,426). It trails the Intel Core 7 253PE (40,557) by 0.1% and the Intel Core 5 223PE (40,585) by 0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its closest competitor, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54,209, a mere 0.1% difference.

Q: Which settings preset delivers the highest minimum FPS at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the only one with reported minimum FPS data, showing a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 193 FPS. This indicates a stable experience, though Low and High presets average 205 and 137 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate the system remains GPU-limited throughout. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 287, while at 4K Low it drops to 127. The scaling pattern suggests the CPU maintains headroom, as the 16-core, 16-thread processor with a 5.00 GHz boost clock keeps pace even at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 1400 MHz, translating to 22.4 Gbps effective. This configuration supports high-resolution textures without capacity constraints in Downfall.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X7 368H brings 16 cores and 16 threads to this configuration, built on the Panther Lake architecture at a 3 nm process node. Base clock sits at 2.00 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This is a mobile processor with a 25 W TDP, yet it maintains an 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs tested. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 2.5 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic workloads, the processor demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability. Cinebench R23 multi-core results show a score of 28,221, while single-core performance reaches 3,984. PassMark multi-thread testing yields 32,956, and integer math scores 88,083. These figures place the chip in a competitive position against its nearest rivals, with all four listed competitors within 0.2% of its average benchmark score of 40,518.

For Downfall, a horror title from 2016, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic. The 16-thread count ensures ample parallel processing for AI routines and physics calculations common in the genre. The high boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides responsive single-thread performance, which matters for games that rely on a primary simulation thread.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s via LPDDR5X dual-channel support is sufficient for feeding the GPU with draw calls and scene data. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 4 CPU lanes offers substantial transfer rates for modern storage and GPU communication. In benchmark results, the CPU shows no signs of bottlenecking, as evidenced by the high FPS ceilings at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically surfaces first.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary driver of Downfall's visual output. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, the GPU contains 45,900 million transistors across a 379 mm² die. The chip operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and memory runs at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). This configuration produces 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 761.5 GTexel/s of texture fill rate.

Memory capacity of 16 GB GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This is critical for Downfall's horror environments, which often feature dense textures and atmospheric effects. The 304 TMUs and 112 ROPs handle texture filtering and pixel output efficiently, while 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects and DLSS features if enabled.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all tested cards places it in the upper tier of available hardware. Its average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, deltaPct 0.1%), and it outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, deltaPct -1.1%) and Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, deltaPct -2.6%) in the composite metric.

In Downfall, the GPU dictates performance across all tested settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 120 FPS average, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 53 FPS. This 67 FPS gap illustrates the GPU's workload scaling with resolution. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler design indicate a high-power part, with the suggested 700 W PSU providing adequate headroom. The launch MSRP was 1,199 USD, and production status is now end-of-life, having been succeeded by the GeForce 50 series.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals clear performance tiers across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 287 FPS average, Medium reaches 235 FPS (with a min of 199 and max of 270), High achieves 192 FPS, and Ultra drops to 120 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance for competitive play, maintaining well above 200 FPS while providing improved visual fidelity over Low.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low delivers 205 FPS, Medium averages 168 FPS (min 142, max 193), High reaches 137 FPS, and Ultra falls to 86 FPS. The Medium preset here remains the optimal choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the 142 FPS minimum ensures consistent frame delivery without dipping below typical 144 Hz display refresh rates.

For 3840x2160, the options become more constrained. Low averages 127 FPS, Medium hits 104 FPS (min 89, max 120), High manages 85 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS. At 4K, the Medium preset is recommended for a playable experience, as the 89 FPS minimum stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth horror gameplay. High settings remain viable at 85 FPS average, but the tighter minimum frame times from Medium provide more consistent pacing.

Considering the horror genre's reliance on atmosphere and sudden visual stimuli, frame consistency matters more than absolute maximums. The Medium preset at any resolution offers the best compromise: at 1080p it delivers 235 FPS with a 199 FPS minimum, at 1440p it produces 168 FPS with a 142 FPS minimum, and at 4K it achieves 104 FPS with an 89 FPS minimum. These minimums are notably higher than the corresponding Ultra presets, which lack reported minimum values but average significantly lower.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of Intel Core Ultra X7 368H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 902nd out of 2,928 total combos in Downfall. This places it in the 69.2nd percentile of tested configurations, meaning roughly 69% of all tested combos perform better in this specific game.

The ranking reflects the balance between the mobile-class CPU and desktop-class GPU. While the RTX 4080 is a high-end graphics card, its end-of-life status and the mid-tier positioning of the Core Ultra X7 368H (87th CPU percentile) contribute to a combo that sits above average but not at the top tier. The 902nd rank suggests that many combos featuring more recent flagship CPUs or higher-tier GPUs achieve superior frame rates.

Notably, the combo's performance in Downfall is consistent with the hardware's synthetic benchmark positions. The CPU's 87th percentile and GPU's 86th percentile both indicate upper-midrange placement, and the combo ranking in the 69th percentile of game-specific results suggests the game's optimization favors other configurations. The data indicates this is a capable pairing, but one that faces stiff competition from combos with newer generation components optimized for this title's engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings spectrum was tested. Low settings produce 287 FPS average, the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 235 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS. High settings achieve 192 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 120 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 167 FPS reduction, representing a 58.2% decrease in average frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 205 FPS average. Medium settings produce 168 FPS with a documented range of 142 to 193 FPS. High settings manage 137 FPS, while Ultra drops to 86 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 119 FPS, a 58.0% decrease. All four settings maintain playable frame rates, with even the most demanding preset staying above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 127 FPS. Medium settings reach 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 120 FPS. High settings produce 85 FPS, and Ultra falls to 53 FPS. This is the only resolution where Ultra drops below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 4K Ultra is not viable for smooth gameplay. The spread from Low to Ultra is 74 FPS, a 58.3% reduction.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings reveals the scaling pattern. At Low, 1080p yields 287 FPS, 1440p yields 205 FPS (71.4% of 1080p), and 4K yields 127 FPS (44.3% of 1080p). At Medium, the progression is 235 FPS to 168 FPS to 104 FPS. At High, it's 192 FPS to 137 FPS to 85 FPS. At Ultra, it's 120 FPS to 86 FPS to 53 FPS. The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest uniform GPU scaling behavior.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces frame rates by approximately 28-29% across all four settings. For example, at High settings, 192 FPS at 1080p falls to 137 FPS at 1440p, a 55 FPS drop. At Ultra, the reduction is 120 FPS to 86 FPS, a 34 FPS drop. This consistent percentage scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as pixel count increases by 77.8% from 1080p to 1440p.

The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is more severe. At Low, 205 FPS falls to 127 FPS, a 38.0% reduction. At Medium, 168 FPS falls to 104 FPS, a 38.1% reduction. At High, 137 FPS falls to 85 FPS, a 38.0% reduction. At Ultra, 86 FPS falls to 53 FPS, a 38.4% reduction. This resolution step increases pixel count by 125% (from 3.69 million to 8.29 million pixels), and the frame rate drop aligns closely with the expected GPU workload increase.

The data shows that the limiting component is the GPU across all tested configurations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the 1080p Low result of 287 FPS indicates the CPU can feed frames at very high rates, while the GPU becomes the constraint as resolution increases. The consistent percentage drops at each resolution step confirm this interpretation.

The RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB capacity are sufficient for Downfall's requirements at all tested settings. The 4K Ultra result of 53 FPS suggests that this preset exceeds the GPU's comfortable operating range, pushing it below the 60 FPS standard. Medium settings at 4K, with an 89 FPS minimum, represent the highest quality setting that maintains consistent frame delivery. The system's performance ceiling is defined by the GPU's rasterization throughput, not by memory bandwidth or CPU processing power.