Greedfall

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a playable experience in Greedfall at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: the combination excels at lower resolutions with high headroom, becomes demanding at 1440p, and struggles to maintain smooth performance at 2160p. The Arc B580 proves to be the dominant factor in this pairing, with the i5-9400 providing adequate support without becoming a limiting bottleneck at the tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the combination produces its weakest results. The average frame rates across all four presets remain below the 60 FPS playability threshold. With Low settings, the average FPS reaches 59.2, which is just a hair under the target. Moving to Medium drops the average to 48.4 FPS, a 21.8% reduction from Low. High settings further reduce performance to 42.4 FPS, while Ultra brings the average down to 26 FPS, representing a 56.1% loss compared to the Low preset. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is substantial, indicating that the GPU is heavily loaded and the rendering demands of 4K outpace the hardware's capabilities.

At 2560x1440, performance improves significantly. The Low preset delivers an average of 101 FPS, which is a 70.6% improvement over the same preset at 4K. Medium produces 79.9 FPS, and High reaches 74.1 FPS. All three of these presets clear the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. The Ultra preset averages 45.4 FPS, falling below the target. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a 55.0% performance drop, with the most demanding preset leaving the system unable to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 1920x1080, the combination shows its strongest performance. The Low preset averages 146.8 FPS, which is a 45.3% increase over the same preset at 1440p. Medium averages 114.4 FPS, and High averages 106.6 FPS. Even the Ultra preset manages an average of 65.1 FPS, staying above the 60 FPS target. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 81.7 FPS, a 55.7% reduction, but every preset remains playable. The margin of safety at 1080p is comfortable, with even the most demanding settings providing a playable experience.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset meets the 60 FPS threshold. The closest result is the Low preset at 59.2 FPS, but it is still below the target. The recorded data indicates that the best playable setting is unavailable at this resolution, as all four presets fail to sustain a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High, which averages 74.1 FPS. This setting provides the most demanding visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 79.9 FPS and Low preset at 101 FPS also remain playable, but High offers the best balance of image quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 45.4 FPS is not recommended for playable performance.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is Ultra, which averages 65.1 FPS. This is the most demanding setting available and it still clears the 60 FPS target by 5.1 FPS. The High preset at 106.6 FPS, Medium at 114.4 FPS, and Low at 146.8 FPS all provide even higher frame rates, but Ultra is the recommended setting for maximum visual fidelity while maintaining playability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary performance driver in this combination, especially at higher resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a dramatic reduction in frame rates, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 146.8 FPS, while at 4K it drops to 59.2 FPS, a 59.7% reduction. This substantial drop points to the Arc B580 being the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400, plays a supporting role. Its six cores and six threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the combination achieves 146.8 FPS on Low settings, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU at high frame rates. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's workload does not scale proportionally. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rates are heavily influenced by the GPU's rendering limits, not the CPU's processing capacity.

The scaling between presets further confirms the GPU's dominance. At 1440p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 101 to 45.4, a 55.0% drop. This is a GPU-bound behavior, as the CPU's performance remains constant across settings. The i5-9400's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629, place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which is adequate for gaming but not a high-end part. The combination works because the game's engine does not require excessive CPU resources, allowing the GPU to take center stage.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2825 out of 3703 tested combos in the database for Greedfall. This places it in the lower half of the distribution, which is consistent with its performance profile. The rank reflects that while the system can run the game at 1080p and 1440p with playable frame rates, it is not a top-tier configuration. The 4K results, which fall below the 60 FPS threshold, likely contribute to this ranking, as many other combos in the database handle higher resolutions more effectively.

The GPU's percentile of 68 among all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 23021, suggests it is a solid mid-range performer. The CPU's percentile of 47 is lower, indicating that the processor is a weaker link in the pairing. However, the game's performance is not severely impacted by the CPU, as the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are respectable. The rank of 2825 out of 3703 is a fair assessment of the system's overall capability in this specific title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the GPU, the Intel Arc B580's average score of 23021 is closely matched by several other cards. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, which is 0.2% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, which is 0.7% higher. These small deltas indicate that any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Greedfall, with performance differences of less than 1%. Users with any of these cards can expect similar results at the same resolutions and settings.

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400's average score of 2254 is closely matched by several processors. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is 0.4% higher. These deltas are all within 0.4%, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in this game. The choice between these processors would make no practical difference in the measured frame rates.

The Verdict

This PC can run Greedfall at playable frame rates for most common gaming scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on all presets, including Ultra at 65.1 FPS. This makes 1080p the most versatile resolution, as users can max out the settings and still enjoy smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 74.1 FPS, providing a playable experience with good visual quality, and the Medium and Low presets also remain above the threshold. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not playable, as it drops to 45.4 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain a playable frame rate on any preset. The best result is Low at 59.2 FPS, which is just below the target. This means 4K gaming is not viable with this combination for Greedfall. The verdict is clear: the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B580 are suitable for 1080p Ultra and 1440p High, but users should avoid 4K if they require 60 FPS. The data confirms that this is a capable mid-range setup for the game, with the GPU being the key factor in determining performance at higher resolutions.