Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that responds strongly to both resolution and settings changes. With the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, the data shows a system that can handle high refresh rates at 1440p, but requires careful settings management at 4K to stay smooth. The CPU, which sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, is not the bottleneck here; the GPU workload dominates the frame rate curve.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals a GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 173 at 1920x1080 to 115.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 33%. Moving further up to 3840x2160, the average drops to 70 FPS, which is about 60% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3080 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern across all settings confirms this. At Low settings, the system achieves 238.3 FPS at 1080p, 165.9 FPS at 1440p, and 97.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is still playable, but the halving of performance from 1080p to 4K is a typical sign of a GPU that is maxed out. At Ultra settings, the drop is more dramatic: 111.5 FPS at 1080p falls to 76 FPS at 1440p and then crashes to 42.7 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only configuration in the measured data that is not comfortably smooth.

The data suggests that this pairing is best suited for 1440p gaming. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is noticeable but acceptable, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is much larger. For a 4K monitor, the user must be willing to lower settings to Medium or Low to maintain a playable frame rate, as the jump from 42.7 FPS at Ultra to 77.9 FPS at Medium shows a massive 82% improvement in performance.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset is the sweet spot. At 2560x1440, High delivers 115.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium's 132.7 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is only about 13% in performance, but the visual quality gain is typically worth it. At 1080p, High hits 173 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors without any compromise.

Ultra settings are not recommended for this combo. At 1440p, Ultra yields 76 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. At 4K, Ultra drops to 42.7 FPS, which is a poor experience for an action RPG. The performance cost of Ultra over High is steep: at 4K, the frame rate drops by 39% (from 70 to 42.7 FPS), and at 1440p it drops by 34% (from 115.7 to 76 FPS). This suggests that Ultra settings in Greedfall carry a heavy penalty that is not justified by the modest visual improvements.

For 4K users, the Low preset at 97.5 FPS is the only way to get close to 100 FPS, but it will look noticeably worse. A better compromise is Medium at 77.9 FPS, which still offers a decent visual experience while staying above 60 FPS. The data shows that this game is not optimized for 4K Ultra on this hardware, and users should target High at 1440p for the best overall experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing. With 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, the memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s is substantial, but it is the raw compute power that drives the frame rates. The GPU's 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores are built on the Ampere architecture, and its boost clock of 1710 MHz helps it sustain high throughput. The data shows that Greedfall is heavily GPU-bound, as evidenced by the sharp frame rate drops with increasing resolution.

The GPU's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it near its direct rivals. Compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, the RTX 3080 is 0.9% slower in average benchmark score, and it is 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo. These are negligible differences, meaning the RTX 3080 is well-positioned in the performance hierarchy. The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is sufficient for the measured settings, as the frame rates do not show signs of memory throttling even at 4K Ultra.

The RTX 3080's FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS is a key indicator of its capability. This raw power translates directly into the measured FPS numbers. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not fully stressed, achieving 238.3 FPS, but as the resolution increases, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The 4K Ultra result of 42.7 FPS is the only point where the GPU's limits are fully exposed, suggesting that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the shader units.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, it delivers 115.7 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, the frame rate is higher but the visual fidelity is lower, while at 4K, the frame rate drops below 60 FPS on Ultra settings.

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes, but only on lower presets. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 77.9, and at Low it is 97.5. The High preset at 4K drops to 70 FPS, which is still playable, but the Ultra preset at 42.7 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: How much performance is lost when switching from High to Ultra?

A: The penalty is significant. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 173 FPS to 111.5 FPS, a reduction of about 36%. At 2560x1440, it drops from 115.7 to 76 FPS (a 34% loss), and at 4K it drops from 70 to 42.7 FPS (a 39% loss). The Ultra preset is consistently much more demanding.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rate scales dramatically with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable, as shown by its high percentile ranking and the fact that frame rates don't plateau at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its closest rivals in this context?

A: The RTX 3080 is nearly identical in performance to its closest rivals. It is 0.9% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo based on average benchmark scores. This means the gaming experience will be very similar across these cards.

Q: What settings should I use for a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 111.5 FPS, which is enough for most high-refresh displays. However, the High preset at 173 FPS is better suited for 144Hz or 165Hz monitors. The Low preset at 238.3 FPS offers the highest frame rates but sacrifices visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a strong partner for the RTX 3080 in this game. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture, it provides ample processing power. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are modest by modern standards, but the data shows that this is not a hindrance in Greedfall. The CPU sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 28631 places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600 and 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT.

The CPU's performance is not the limiting factor here. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 238.3 FPS, which is well beyond what most monitors can display. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 111.5 FPS result indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough. The frame rates across all resolutions and settings are consistently high enough to show that the CPU is not causing any stutter or bottleneck.

The 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are sufficient for this game's demands. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19087, are more than enough for an Action RPG like Greedfall. The data suggests that users could pair this CPU with even more powerful GPUs and still see scaling, as the frame rate curves are smooth and predictable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system performs exceptionally well across all presets. The Low preset achieves 238.3 FPS, Medium hits 185.6 FPS, High reaches 173 FPS, and Ultra dips to 111.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 127 FPS, showing that the settings have a massive impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low delivers 165.9 FPS, Medium drops to 132.7 FPS, High manages 115.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 76 FPS. The 1440p High result is the standout, offering a smooth experience that is only 33% slower than 1080p High.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. Low produces 97.5 FPS, Medium drops to 77.9 FPS, High reaches 70 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration below 60 FPS in the entire dataset. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep: at High settings, the frame rate drops from 115.7 to 70 FPS, a 39% reduction that clearly demonstrates the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 3080 can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, but 4K gaming requires dropping to Medium or Low settings. The Ultra preset is particularly punishing at 4K, costing nearly half the performance compared to High. For users with a 4K display, the Medium preset at 77.9 FPS is the recommended choice to maintain a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.