Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a wide spread of results in Greedfall, swinging from a locked 60 FPS at 4K on Low settings to nearly 150 FPS at 1080p on Low. The data reveals a setup where the GPU is the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strength only becomes fully visible at 1080p.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which achieves exactly 60 FPS on average. This is the only setting at this resolution that clears the playability threshold; High falls to 42.9 FPS, Medium drops to 44.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 15.4 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High is a smaller 1.7 FPS loss. This suggests a steep scaling curve early on, with diminishing returns at higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High, delivering 73.3 FPS. This leaves headroom above the 60 FPS line, but the Ultra preset at 48.5 FPS is not playable. The gap between Medium (78 FPS) and High (73.3 FPS) is only 4.7 FPS, which is modest, but the jump from High to Ultra is a significant 24.8 FPS drop. This indicates that Ultra settings at this resolution push the GPU past its comfort zone.

For 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, averaging 67 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset is fully playable. The margins are wider here: High runs at 102.5 FPS, Medium at 117.3 FPS, and Low at 147.7 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to High is a 35.5 FPS jump, showing that the GPU is less strained at 1080p, and the CPU has room to feed frames.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in component importance across resolutions. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor. The difference between Low (60 FPS) and High (42.9 FPS) is a 17.1 FPS drop, while the CPU’s capabilities are mostly irrelevant because the GPU is saturated. Even the powerful Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which scores 95th percentile against all CPUs, cannot compensate for the Arc B580’s limits at 4K. The GPU’s 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs reinforces this.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly. The GPU still leads, but the CPU begins to matter more. The 99.5 FPS on Low settings versus 73.3 FPS on High shows that the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the gap between Low and High is 26.2 FPS, which is smaller than the 17.1 FPS drop at 4K. This implies that at 1440p, the CPU can still feed the GPU enough to make the preset choice matter, but the GPU is still limiting the absolute maximum frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the CPU starts to play a more significant role. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with its 128 MB L3 cache and high single-thread performance (3dMark single-thread score of 1292), can push frame rates well beyond what the GPU is capable of at higher resolutions. The jump from High (102.5 FPS) to Medium (117.3 FPS) is 14.8 FPS, and Low reaches 147.7 FPS. This scaling shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor anywhere; instead, the GPU is the primary constraint at all resolutions, but its relative impact diminishes at 1080p where frame rates are much higher.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. From 1080p Low (147.7 FPS) to 1440p Low (99.5 FPS) is a 48.2 FPS drop, and further to 2160p Low (60 FPS) is another 39.5 FPS drop. This consistent degradation across all presets points to GPU-bound rendering, as the CPU is unlikely to be the cause of such a large performance hit when moving to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2824 out of 3703 tested combinations for Greedfall. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which might seem surprising given the CPU’s high ranking. The CPU alone is 95th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU is only 68th percentile. The combo’s rank is thus dragged down by the GPU, which is the limiting factor in this game.

The rank suggests that in Greedfall, the GPU is the component that determines the overall experience. The CPU’s strengths (scoring 42,018 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 70,255 in Passmark multi-thread) are not fully utilized because the game is not CPU-bound at the tested settings. The ranking indicates that many other combinations with slower CPUs but faster GPUs would outperform this setup in Greedfall.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 has an average score of 75,738, which is 0.1% lower than the Ryzen 9 9950X3D’s 75,779. The Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D is also 0.1% slower, and the AMD EPYC 8224P is 0.3% slower. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285 is just 0.4% slower. These CPUs would all produce nearly identical frame rates in Greedfall, meaning that the GPU is the differentiator in this system.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are interesting. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average score of 23,061, which is 0.2% lower than the Arc B580’s 23,021. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% faster, and the RTX 3080 is 0.7% faster. The NVIDIA P106-100 is 1% faster. This means that the Arc B580 is in the same performance tier as the RTX 2080 and the RTX 3080 in general benchmark terms, but in Greedfall, this translates to the specific FPS numbers above. If a user were to swap the GPU for a RTX 3080, they would expect similar or slightly higher frame rates, but the exact numbers would depend on the game’s optimization.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which achieves exactly 60 FPS. High, Medium, and Ultra presets all fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with High at 42.9 FPS, Medium at 44.6 FPS, and Ultra at 29.3 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p?

A: High settings, which average 73.3 FPS. Low runs at 99.5 FPS, Medium at 78 FPS, and Ultra is not playable at 48.5 FPS. The High preset is the highest quality that stays above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The CPU is 95th percentile, but the GPU is only 68th percentile. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU-bound behavior, as the CPU is not a bottleneck even at 1080p Low (147.7 FPS).

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to a RTX 2080?

A: In benchmark scores, the RTX 2080 is 0.6% faster than the Arc B580 (23,061 vs 23,021). In Greedfall, this would likely translate to a few FPS difference, but the specific FPS numbers are not measured for that GPU.

Q: What settings are playable at 1080p?

A: All presets are playable at 1080p. Low runs at 147.7 FPS, Medium at 117.3 FPS, High at 102.5 FPS, and Ultra at 67 FPS. The Ultra settings are the most demanding that still clear the 60 FPS threshold.

*Q: Does the CPU’s 3D V-Cache make a difference in Greedfall?*

A: The data does not show a direct comparison with a non-X3D CPU. However, the CPU’s high cache is part of why it scores 95th percentile, but the game appears to be GPU-bound based on the FPS scaling across resolutions.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Greedfall, but the playable experience depends heavily on resolution. At 3840x2160, only Low settings (60 FPS) are playable, which is not ideal for a game that has visual quality settings. At 2560x1440, High settings (73.3 FPS) are the best playable option, and at 1920x1080, Ultra settings (67 FPS) are fully playable. The system is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but its 4K performance is limited by the GPU. The 16-core CPU is overkill for this game, as the GPU is the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160:

• Low: 60 FPS average
• Medium: 44.6 FPS average
• High: 42.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 29.3 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 99.5 FPS average
• Medium: 78 FPS average
• High: 73.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 48.5 FPS average

1920x1080:

• Low: 147.7 FPS average
• Medium: 117.3 FPS average
• High: 102.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 67 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Arc B580 is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, but struggles above 1440p. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D provides ample headroom, but it is never the limiting factor. The system is a solid choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and it can handle 4K only with reduced settings.