Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The data indicates a system that delivers playable frame rates across most settings combinations, but with a clear performance ceiling. At 1080p, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces average frame rates ranging from 63 FPS on Ultra to 138 FPS on Low, placing this combo at rank 2313 out of 2938 tested combinations in Greedfall. The RTX 2060, which sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, proves to be the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 5 7500X3D's strong single-thread performance keeps 1080p results competitive. The measured data shows a system that can handle Greedfall comfortably at 1080p with high settings, but struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, revealing a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, average FPS falls from 99 at 1920x1080 to 68 at 2560x1440, a 31% reduction, and continues down to 41 at 3840x2160, representing a 59% total drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count rises.

The Low preset tells a similar story with even more dramatic scaling. Average FPS moves from 138 at 1080p down to 96 at 1440p (a 30% drop) and then to 57 at 4K (a 59% total decrease). The fact that Low settings at 4K (57 FPS) barely outperform High settings at 1440p (68 FPS) underscores the resolution penalty. When the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, the RTX 2060's 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate simply cannot keep pace, regardless of how light the settings load becomes.

Ultra settings expose the most severe scaling. The 1080p Ultra average of 63 FPS drops to 44 at 1440p and collapses to 26 at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is barely above what would be considered a minimum playable threshold, and the 59% drop from 1080p to 4K mirrors the pattern seen in other presets. The data suggests that the limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU, as even the most aggressive settings reduction (Low vs. Ultra) at 4K yields only a 31 FPS improvement, from 26 to 57 FPS.

At 1080p, the scaling between presets is more moderate, indicating that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU adequately. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, provide sufficient single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 138 FPS suggests the CPU can push well beyond what the RTX 2060 can render at higher settings, but the gap narrows as resolution increases and the GPU becomes the sole constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the decisive factor in this system's Greedfall performance, particularly at resolutions above 1080p. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a bottleneck at 4K. The measured FPS data reflects this: at 4K Medium, the average of 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS indicates the memory subsystem is struggling to feed the rendering pipeline efficiently.

The RTX 2060's clock speeds of 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost, combined with 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s. These specifications explain the card's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 15290. In the context of nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 sits within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (deltaPct 0.8) and 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (deltaPct 0.6), making it competitive with those cards despite its older Turing architecture.

Greedfall's rendering demands at 4K Ultra push the RTX 2060 to its absolute limit, resulting in a 26 FPS average. This aligns with the card's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 53, which is notably lower than its DirectX 11 score of 110, suggesting that the Turing architecture's DX12 implementation struggles with certain workloads. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 further confirms that the card is not optimized for modern API-heavy scenarios, which Greedfall's Ultra preset likely leverages.

At 1080p, the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for all presets, as evidenced by the 138 FPS Low result. However, the gap between Low (138 FPS) and Ultra (63 FPS) at 1080p highlights how much performance is lost to the higher-fidelity rendering features. The card's 12 nm process node and 10,800 million transistors contribute to its 160 W TDP, which is modest by modern standards but still requires a 450 W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin power connector.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D provides a strong foundation for Greedfall, with its 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The processor's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature, likely contributing to its strong PassMark single-thread score of 3494 and multithread score of 25047. These results place the CPU at the 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 44573.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D edges out the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H by 0.2% (deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i9-13950HX by 0.5% (deltaPct 0.5), while trailing the Intel Core i5-14600 by 0.7% (deltaPct -0.7). This tight grouping indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in Greedfall's performance; instead, it provides consistent, capable performance that does not bottleneck the RTX 2060 at standard resolutions.

The CPU's impact on Greedfall is most evident at 1080p Low, where the 138 FPS average suggests the processor can drive frame rates well beyond what the GPU can render at higher settings. The PassMark physics score of 2779 and floating point math score of 43594 indicate solid computational throughput, which translates to smooth gameplay in open-world sections of Greedfall where physics and AI calculations are frequent. The 5 nm process node and 11,270 million transistors contribute to a 65 W TDP, making the chip efficient while maintaining high clock speeds.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system drops to 26 FPS, a result that no CPU improvement could remedy given the RTX 2060's limitations. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 is sufficient for Greedfall's demands, and the 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes provide ample bandwidth for the GPU and storage subsystems.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p High settings, the average FPS is 99, and at Medium it rises to 109. Even at Ultra, the average of 63 FPS exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, though with less headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth experience with this hardware?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS of 68 is playable, while Medium offers 75 FPS with a minimum of 64. At 4K, only Low settings (57 FPS average) approach playability, while High drops to 41 FPS and Ultra falls to 26 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in Greedfall?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283, deltaPct 0), 0.1% ahead of the Radeon 680M (15270), and 0.8% ahead of the RX 7600 (15171). This suggests similar performance across these cards.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 2060?

A: The data indicates no meaningful CPU bottleneck. The processor's single-thread score of 3494 and 89th percentile ranking ensure it can feed the GPU adequately at 1080p, where the 138 FPS Low result shows headroom beyond the GPU's limits.

Q: What settings preset should be avoided at 4K?

A: Ultra settings at 4K produce only 26 FPS average, which is below acceptable playability. Medium at 4K offers 45 FPS, still marginal, while Low at 57 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 99 at 1080p to 68 at 1440p, then to 41 at 4K, representing a total loss of 58 FPS or approximately 59% of the 1080p performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low 138 FPS, High 99 FPS, Medium 109 FPS (with a minimum of 92 and maximum of 125), and Ultra 63 FPS. The Medium preset shows the narrowest variance between minimum and maximum, indicating consistent frame pacing, while the 75 FPS gap between Low and Ultra demonstrates the significant cost of higher-fidelity settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 96 FPS, High 68 FPS, Medium 75 FPS (minimum 64, maximum 87), and Ultra 44 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 64 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold, but Ultra's 44 FPS average falls below it. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 52 FPS, a slightly smaller gap than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to dominate the performance equation.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 57 FPS, High 41 FPS, Medium 45 FPS (minimum 38, maximum 52), and Ultra 26 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS is noticeably low, indicating frame drops during intense scenes. The 31 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest across all resolutions, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the primary constraint regardless of settings.

The progression across resolutions shows that 1080p Medium (109 FPS) outperforms 1440p Low (96 FPS), and 1440p Medium (75 FPS) outperforms 4K Low (57 FPS). This pattern suggests that users should prioritize resolution reduction over settings reduction when seeking higher frame rates, as the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are more efficiently utilized at lower pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the 1080p Medium preset is the standout choice, delivering 109 FPS average with a minimum of 92 FPS. This combination provides smooth gameplay with only a 29 FPS penalty compared to Low, while offering significantly better visual quality than the 63 FPS Ultra preset. The tight minimum-maximum range of 92 to 125 FPS indicates stable performance, making this the most reliable option for consistent frame delivery.

At 1440p, Medium settings (75 FPS average, 64 FPS minimum) offer the best experience for users prioritizing visual fidelity over maximum frame rate. The High preset at 68 FPS is also viable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum of 64 FPS provides better safety against drops below 60 FPS during combat-heavy scenes. Ultra at 44 FPS should be avoided for competitive or fast-paced play, though it remains technically playable for slower exploration.

For 4K, Low settings at 57 FPS is the only preset that approaches a playable experience, but even this falls slightly below the 60 FPS target. Users with 4K displays should either accept the 41 FPS High preset for visual quality or reduce resolution to 1440p for better performance. The 4K Medium preset (45 FPS) offers no meaningful advantage over High (41 FPS) and carries a higher risk of drops to 38 FPS.

The overall recommendation is to play at 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and performance, or 1440p Medium if the display supports it. The Ultra preset, which yields 63 FPS at 1080p and 44 FPS at 1440p, is not worth the substantial frame rate cost given the marginal visual improvements over High settings. This system's sweet spot is clearly at 1080p or 1440p with Medium to High settings, where the RTX 2060 can maintain fluid gameplay without exposing its VRAM and bandwidth limitations.