Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination in Greedfall produces a playable experience that scales predictably with resolution and settings. This pairing places the system in the 71st percentile for CPU performance among all tested processors and the 70th percentile for GPU performance, indicating a balanced mid-range setup. The data shows a system that can handle the action RPG comfortably at 1080p, with performance degrading at higher resolutions, particularly when the Ultra preset is enabled.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Matisse. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and can boost up to 4.20 GHz, drawing 65 W TDP. This 7 nm chip from TSMC features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor’s benchmark results show a strong multi-threaded profile, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and a single-core score of 2124, while its Geekbench multi-core and single-core scores are 7372 and 1536, respectively.

In the context of Greedfall, an Action RPG, this CPU provides ample headroom for the game's logic, AI, and physics calculations. The 12 threads allow the processor to handle background tasks and the game's engine efficiently, as evidenced by the Passmark multi-thread score of 17700. The processor's percentile rank of 71 places it above average, and its nearest rivals deliver nearly identical average scores: the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17007 (0.2% higher), while the Intel Core i5-11400 scores 17067 (0.2% lower). This suggests that the 3600's computational throughput is well-suited for the CPU-bound aspects of the game, ensuring that the frame rate is not consistently bottlenecked by the processor at lower resolutions.

The single-thread performance, while not class-leading, is sufficient for the game's primary thread. The Passmark single-thread score of 2562 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 696 indicate that the Zen 2 architecture can handle the game’s main loop without significant hiccups. The data suggests that at 1080p, where the GPU load is lower, the CPU is capable of feeding the graphics card enough data to maintain high frame rates, as the measured 152 FPS at Low settings demonstrates. The processor’s modest boost clock of 4.20 GHz does not appear to be a limiting factor, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU settings rather than showing erratic behavior indicative of CPU bottlenecks.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. It comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. Its memory operates at 2000 MHz, effectively 16 Gbps. The card features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, delivering a texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s. With a TDP of 160 W, it requires a 450 W power supply and a single 8-pin connector.

In terms of performance, the GPU’s Passmark G3D score is 16461, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1804. Its percentile rank of 70 places it in the upper tier of graphics cards. The nearest rivals show a tight grouping: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 scores 24277 (0.7% higher), the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170 (1.1% higher). This suggests that the RX 6600 XT is positioned competitively, though its performance in Greedfall is more directly influenced by the memory capacity and bandwidth.

The 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates show that at 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 45, which drops to 29 at Ultra settings. This significant drop suggests that the GPU is running out of memory or bandwidth when texture quality and other VRAM-intensive features are maxed out. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, where the card delivers 152 FPS and 105 FPS at Low settings, respectively. However, at 4K Ultra, the 29 FPS average indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, unable to sustain the load imposed by the highest settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the system performs exceptionally well, with average frame rates ranging from 69 FPS at Ultra to 152 FPS at Low. Moving to 1440p, the average FPS drops proportionally: 48 FPS at Ultra, 75 FPS at High, 83 FPS at Medium, and 105 FPS at Low. At 4K, the decline becomes more pronounced, with averages of 29 FPS at Ultra, 45 FPS at High, 49 FPS at Medium, and 63 FPS at Low.

This scaling indicates a GPU-bound system. From 1080p to 4K at Low settings, the frame rate drops from 152 FPS to 63 FPS, a reduction of approximately 58%. At High settings, the drop is from 108 FPS to 45 FPS, a reduction of about 58% as well. This consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s workload does not increase significantly with resolution. The 4K Ultra setting, with only 29 FPS, highlights the GPU’s inability to handle the combined load of high resolution and maximum visual fidelity.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the measured values show a clear downward trend as resolution increases. The fact that the system can achieve 152 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the Ryzen 5 3600 can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, particularly when VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth are stressed at 4K with higher presets.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall at with this hardware?*

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the highest average frame rates, ranging from 69 FPS at Ultra to 152 FPS at Low. At 1440p, the system still delivers playable performance, with averages from 48 FPS at Ultra to 105 FPS at Low. 4K is only viable at Low settings (63 FPS) or Medium settings (49 FPS), as Ultra drops to 29 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 17035, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400 (17067). It also scores 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 7742 (16998) and 0.2% lower than the AMD EPYC 7573X (17070).

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The 4K Ultra preset yields an average FPS of 29, down from 69 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This drop is attributed to the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth being insufficient for the high-resolution textures and effects, making the RX 6600 XT the limiting component.

Q: Is the RX 6600 XT better than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER?

A: The data indicates they are very close in performance. The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 1.1% higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER’s score of 24170. However, this is a marginal difference in synthetic benchmarks, not a definitive in-game advantage.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS values. At 1080p, the minimum is 101 FPS, at 1440p it is 70 FPS, and at 4K it is 42 FPS. These figures provide a baseline for frame time consistency.

Q: Does the CPU’s thread count affect the game’s performance at 1080p?

A: With 12 threads, the Ryzen 5 3600 provides sufficient parallelism for the game’s engine. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (152 FPS) and High (108 FPS) suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU is able to render frames without waiting on processor data.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2624 out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall ranking, which is notable given the individual component percentiles. The CPU is in the 71st percentile, and the GPU is in the 70th percentile, yet the combined performance ranks in the 29th percentile (2624/3703). This discrepancy suggests that while each component is above average individually, their pairing does not yield a top-tier result in this specific game.

The ranking indicates that many other hardware combinations produce higher average frame rates, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher single-thread performance. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, particularly at higher resolutions, so combos with more VRAM or faster memory would likely outperform this setup. The rank of 2624 out of 3703 means that approximately 71% of tested combos achieve better performance in Greedfall, which aligns with the GPU’s percentile but falls short of the CPU’s percentile, reinforcing that the graphics card is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides an average FPS of 119, with a minimum of 101 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience. At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers an average of 83 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS, which is still well within playable territory. Even at 4K, the Medium preset maintains an average of 49 FPS, dipping to a minimum of 42 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced RPG.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset is the clear choice, offering 152 FPS at 1080p, 105 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. This preset ensures a highly responsive experience, especially on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset is viable at 1080p (108 FPS) and 1440p (75 FPS) but falls to 45 FPS at 4K, which may be too low for some players. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it hits 69 FPS, but at 1440p it drops to 48 FPS and at 4K it becomes unplayable at 29 FPS. Therefore, the data suggests that Medium is the optimal preset for this hardware, providing a consistent experience without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.