Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing delivers a wide spread of performance in Greedfall, ranging from highly playable at 4K to exceptionally fast at 1080p. The data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU begins to assert its influence as resolution drops and frame rates climb. This combination ranks 1064th out of 3703 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested, which is a solid position for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the performance bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 170 FPS, which drops to 118 FPS at 1440p and further to 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 59% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the GPU as the primary limiting component. The RTX 3080 is being pushed hard at 4K, while the Ryzen 5 5500 has enough headroom to keep feeding it frames at lower resolutions.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 238 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 98 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K here is 140 FPS, or a 59% drop, mirroring the High preset scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the performance curve is dictated by the GPU's raw throughput rather than any CPU limitation that would manifest differently at different settings levels.

Medium settings tell a similar story, with 187 FPS at 1080p, 130 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is only 41% of the 1080p figure, showing that the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth and compute capacity are the deciding factors. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute scaling, going from 108 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p and finally 45 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p figure, indicating that the highest settings push the GPU to its absolute limit in this title.

The 1440p to 4K transition is particularly telling. At High settings, the drop is from 118 FPS to 70 FPS, a 41% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 165 FPS to 98 FPS, also a 41% reduction. This uniform scaling across settings confirms that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the primary stressor on this hardware. The RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 320-bit bus are being saturated at 4K, regardless of whether the game is running at Low or High preset.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosting to 4.20 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture processor sits on the AMD Socket AM4 platform and features 16 MB of L3 cache. In Greedfall, an Action RPG with moderate CPU demands, this configuration proves sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3080 at most settings, though the data suggests some limitation at the highest frame rates.

The processor's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 16429 multi-core and 2319 single-core, which represents strong single-thread performance for a 5000-series chip. The 3DMark tests show a score of 836 for single-thread and 5411 for max threads, indicating that the CPU scales reasonably well across multiple cores. The Geekbench single-core score of 1730 and multi-core score of 7976 reinforce that this is a balanced performer for gaming workloads.

The CPU's impact becomes visible when examining the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the system hits 238 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. The gap between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 73 FPS (from 238 to 165), while the gap between 1440p Low and 4K Low is 67 FPS (from 165 to 98). The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop is similar in magnitude to the 1440p to 4K drop suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is starting to limit performance, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

The Ryzen 5 5500's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this title. The processor's PCIe Gen 3 interface, while not the latest standard, does not appear to create a measurable bottleneck in the measured results. The CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile against all CPUs, placing it above average but not at the top tier, which is consistent with its performance in Greedfall where it enables high but not extreme frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Greedfall?

A: The data shows that 1440p provides the best balance, with 118 FPS on High and 130 FPS on Medium settings. At 4K, the system still achieves playable frame rates, with 70 FPS on High, but the 1080p results exceed 170 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at different resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset is demanding on this hardware. At 1080p, it delivers 108 FPS, which is smooth, but at 1440p it drops to 75 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 45 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider minimum for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 holding back the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 238 FPS, which is very high. The frame rate scaling suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU could likely produce more frames if the CPU could feed it faster. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is clearly the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows 165 FPS on Low and 75 FPS on Ultra at 1440p, a difference of 90 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 1064th out of 3703 tested combos for Greedfall, placing it in the 71st percentile of all tested configurations. This means it outperforms roughly 71% of all systems tested in this game.

Q: Does the game support high refresh rates with this hardware?

A: Yes, at 1080p, the system exceeds 144 FPS on all settings except Ultra, which hits 108 FPS. At 1440p, Low and Medium settings exceed 130 FPS, while High settings reach 118 FPS. This makes the combo suitable for 144 Hz monitors at 1080p and most 1440p settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1064 out of 3703 total tested combinations places this system in the upper third of all configurations tested in Greedfall. This ranking is notable because it combines a mid-range six-core CPU with a high-end GPU, and the result shows that the CPU is not a significant liability in this title. The system outperforms roughly 71% of all tested combos, which is a strong result for a pairing where the processor costs less than many competitors.

The ranking context becomes clearer when considering the CPU and GPU individually. The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19593, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 with a score of 19617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 at 19668 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i7-10700F at 19499 (0.5% lower). These tiny deltas show that the Ryzen 5 5500 is competitive with several other mainstream processors, and its performance in Greedfall is consistent with this standing.

The RTX 3080, on the other hand, has an average benchmark score of 23172, placing it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 at 23249 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 at 23250 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23273 (0.4% higher). The GPU's percentile ranking is slightly lower than the CPU's, which suggests that the combo's overall rank of 1064 is roughly in line with expectations based on component-level performance.

The fact that this combo ranks in the 71st percentile of tested systems, while the CPU sits in the 73rd percentile and the GPU in the 68th percentile, indicates that the pairing works well together in Greedfall. The system does not experience any significant synergy penalty or unexpected bottleneck that would drag its rank below what the individual components suggest. This is a practical consideration for builders who want to maximize their investment in a GPU without overspending on a processor that would not meaningfully improve gaming performance in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for settings selection based on target frame rates and display capabilities. For 4K displays, the High preset at 70 FPS is the best playable option, as the Medium preset delivers only 77 FPS and the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most players. The Low preset at 4K produces 98 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is likely not worth the frame rate gain when High is already above 60 FPS.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 118 FPS is the recommended choice for players with 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors. Medium settings at 130 FPS offer a small performance boost with a slight visual compromise, while Low at 165 FPS is only necessary for 165 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, as it remains above 60 FPS.

At 1080p, all settings produce playable frame rates, with Low at 238 FPS and High at 170 FPS. The Medium preset at 187 FPS is a strong middle ground, but High at 170 FPS is the recommended choice for most players because it provides the best visual quality while still supporting 144 Hz and even 165 Hz monitors. Ultra at 1080p delivers 108 FPS, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays but sacrifices significant performance for marginal visual gains.

The Medium preset across resolutions shows the most consistent minimum frame rates, with 159 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. These minimums suggest that Medium settings provide the most stable experience, particularly at 1440p where the 110 FPS minimum is well above the 60 FPS threshold. For players who prioritize smoothness over maximum frame rates, Medium at 1440p is a compelling option that balances visual fidelity with stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p resolution, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 238 FPS average, which is the maximum measured result for this combo. Medium settings produce 187 FPS average with a minimum of 159 FPS and a maximum of 215 FPS, showing a 56 FPS spread between minimum and maximum. High settings reach 170 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 108 FPS average, representing a 55% reduction from Low to Ultra.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decrease from 1080p. Low settings hit 165 FPS average, Medium produces 130 FPS average with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS, and High settings deliver 118 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 75 FPS average, which is 37 FPS lower than High and 90 FPS lower than Low. The Medium preset's minimum of 110 FPS at this resolution indicates that even the lowest dips remain smooth.

At 4K resolution, the system still maintains playable frame rates on most settings. Low settings produce 98 FPS average, which is the highest 4K result. Medium settings deliver 77 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS, making this the only 4K setting with recorded minimum and maximum values. High settings reach 70 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 45 FPS average, which is the lowest measured result across all resolutions and settings.

The complete set of measured results shows a clear progression: the system is capable of 4K gaming at High settings with 70 FPS, 1440p at High settings with 118 FPS, and 1080p at High settings with 170 FPS. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it achieves 108 FPS, as it drops below 60 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset provides the most balanced experience across all resolutions, with frame rates ranging from 77 FPS at 4K to 187 FPS at 1080p. The data indicates that this combo is versatile enough to handle any resolution below 4K at high settings, while 4K gaming is best limited to High or Medium presets for smooth performance.