Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG from Spiders, places the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination in a demanding position. The measured frame rates across the three primary resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, particularly as resolution scales upward. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, with any move to higher resolutions requiring significant compromises in visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe and reveals the RX 570 as the definitive bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 76 FPS. Moving to 1440p with the same Low preset drops the average to 51 FPS, a reduction of 25 FPS. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 28.2 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This steep decline points directly at the GPU's rendering limits; the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the RX 570’s 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS of compute cannot keep pace with the demand.

The pattern holds across all presets. With High settings, the drop from 1080p (49.4 FPS) to 1440p (37.6 FPS) is 11.8 FPS, and then to 4K (23.7 FPS) is another 13.9 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, starting at a sub-optimal 30.5 FPS at 1080p, falling to 25.8 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 16.8 FPS at 4K. The consistency of the decline suggests that the game is scaling the GPU load as intended, but the RX 570 simply lacks the raw throughput to maintain playable rates at higher resolutions.

The fact that the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases is telling. At 1080p, the difference between Low (76 FPS) and Ultra (30.5 FPS) is 45.5 FPS. At 4K, the difference shrinks to 11.4 FPS (28.2 FPS vs 16.8 FPS). This compression indicates that at 4K, the system is so bound by the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth that changing the quality preset has a diminished impact on the final frame rate. The CPU, while not the primary constraint, is also a factor, but the data strongly suggests that to get a smoother experience, the resolution must be lowered before considering other settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 3600 and RX 570 achieves a rank of 1602 out of 1705 combos for Greedfall. This places it in the bottom 6% of all tested systems, indicating that it will struggle to provide a high-refresh or high-fidelity experience in this title. The ranking reflects the cumulative performance measured across all resolutions and settings, and the low position underscores the hardware's limitations with this specific game engine.

The CPU itself, however, is not the reason for this low rank. The Ryzen 5 3600 holds a percentile rank of 76 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms a majority of processors in general benchmark tests. Its average benchmark score is 18129, which is essentially on par with its nearest rivals. It is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-11400, 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, and 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 1600. This indicates a very capable mid-range processor that should not be the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The GPU, on the other hand, has a percentile rank of 74 against all GPUs, but its performance in this specific game is clearly insufficient for the higher graphical loads. The low combo rank is a direct result of the GPU being overwhelmed, a conclusion supported by the resolution scaling data. The pairing is a classic case of a balanced mid-range system from a few years ago being pushed beyond its intended limits by a modern title’s demands at higher settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the clear limiting component in this configuration. Its specifications, such as the 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, are the primary drivers of the performance ceiling. The 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth is likely a significant bottleneck at 4K, where the game must stream vast amounts of texture data. The 4 GB frame buffer is also a concern; at Ultra settings and high resolutions, the game may be exceeding this capacity, forcing the system to use slower system memory, which would explain the particularly poor performance at 4K Ultra (16.8 FPS).

The GPU's clock speeds are 1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost. These are modest figures that, when combined with the 2048 shading units, produce a theoretical compute power of 5.095 TFLOPS. While this was a respectable figure for 1080p gaming at the time of the card's 2017 release, it is insufficient for the demands of Greedfall at higher settings. The benchmark results for the GPU show an average score of 30158, which is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.2% slower) and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.2% faster). This comparison is misleading for this game, as those rival GPUs have much newer architectures and likely better driver optimizations for newer titles, but the data shows that the raw performance score is not the determining factor here.

The 150 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class of card. The data shows that the GPU’s performance is not just about raw compute; the 39.81 GPixel/s pixel fill rate and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are likely the limiting factors when the resolution increases, as the GPU has to process more pixels and textures each frame. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are directly attributable to these fixed-function units being overwhelmed.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 4K?

A: The measured data shows it cannot maintain playable frame rates. At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 28.2, and with High settings, it drops to 23.7. The Ultra preset yields a very low 16.8 FPS average, so 4K is not a viable option for this hardware.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system provides a consistently playable experience. At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves 60 FPS on average, and even the High preset reaches 49.4 FPS. Higher resolutions result in sub-30 FPS averages on most presets.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the main bottleneck?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The performance drops are directly correlated with resolution increases, which primarily affects the GPU. The Ryzen 5 3600's high percentile rank (76) and competitive benchmark scores versus its rivals suggest it has sufficient headroom.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The difference is significant. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 76, while at 4K Ultra it is 16.8. This represents a 59.2 FPS difference, or roughly 4.5 times the performance, showing the extreme cost of running the game at its highest settings and resolution.

Q: What is the performance impact of the Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 results in an average FPS of 25.8. This is a very demanding configuration for the RX 570, and the frame rate is likely too low for a smooth, enjoyable experience. The Medium preset at the same resolution yields 38.4 FPS, which is more playable.

Q: With which rival GPU does the RX 570 have a similar average benchmark score?

A: The RX 570's average benchmark score of 30158 is 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. However, this does not translate to equal gaming performance in Greedfall, where the RX 570's older architecture struggles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates show that the ideal settings for this hardware are at 1920x1080. The data reveals a clear sweet spot: the Medium preset at 1080p delivers a 60 FPS average, which is a solid target for a smooth experience. This is the highest measured FPS that also maintains a reasonable level of visual quality. While the Low preset achieves 76 FPS, the jump to Medium is only a 16 FPS cost for a substantial visual improvement.

At 1080p High, the average drops to 49.4 FPS. This is still playable, but it is below the 60 FPS target and may be noticeable in fast-paced action. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as the 30.5 FPS average is below the threshold for comfortable play. For users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the best option. For those who want a balance, the Medium preset is the definitive recommendation.

Stepping up to 2560x1440 requires a significant compromise. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with a 51 FPS average. The Medium preset drops to 38.4 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration but is not ideal for combat. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p, with averages of 37.6 and 25.8 FPS respectively, are not recommended. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the Low preset fails to reach 30 FPS. Therefore, the best experience per the measured rows is a 1080p Medium preset, offering a solid frame rate without sacrificing all graphical features.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is a strong performer that is not the primary bottleneck in this configuration. Its Zen 2 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides a solid foundation for gaming. The CPU's benchmark scores are competitive; for instance, its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 15045, and its single-core score is 2124. These numbers place it firmly in the mid-range of modern processors and indicate it has enough processing power to feed the RX 570 in most scenarios.

The CPU's clock speeds are 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost. These are healthy frequencies for a 6-core part. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for gaming, as it helps reduce memory latency. The fact that the CPU's average benchmark score of 18129 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-11400 (18150, -0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (18158, -0.2% delta), confirms it is performing as expected.

However, the data suggests that the CPU's role in Greedfall is secondary. The frame rates are far more sensitive to resolution changes than to any indication of CPU saturation. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload is less dependent on resolution. Instead, the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a signature of a GPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 3600 is likely delivering frames to the GPU faster than the GPU can render them, making the GPU the definitive performance limiter. The pairing is logical, but the game's demands at higher settings simply outclass the graphics card.