Greedfall

Greedfall on the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 shows a clear pattern: this combo is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 provides substantial frame rates across the board, with the Ryzen 7 3700X keeping pace until the resolution drops, where the CPU's single-threaded performance starts to cap the output.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a straightforward story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 247.6 FPS, but at 1440p that falls to 172.5 FPS, and at 4K it drops further to 100.8 FPS. That is a 40% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and another 42% from 1440p to 4K at Low settings. This scaling behavior is classic GPU limitation—the CPU is capable of feeding frames at 1080p, but the GPU's workload increases with pixel count, pulling average FPS down.

The gap narrows when you look at Ultra settings, where the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 115.9 FPS to 45 FPS. The percentage decrease is larger on Ultra (61%) than on Low (59%), which suggests that the extra graphical load at Ultra settings amplifies the GPU's role. However, the fact that 1080p Ultra only reaches 115.9 FPS—far below the 247.6 FPS at Low—indicates that the RTX 4070 is not the sole constraint at lower resolutions. If the GPU were the only limit, you would expect the 1080p results to be closer to the 4K results in terms of relative performance. Instead, the 1080p numbers plateau, pointing to the Ryzen 7 3700X's single-core speed as a secondary ceiling.

The data shows that the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2694 and Geekbench single-core score of 1672 are modest by modern standards. In Greedfall, an Action RPG with demanding AI and physics, these scores translate into a cap around 247 FPS at 1080p Low. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the 100.8 FPS Low result, which is still high but far from the 1080p ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing sits at rank 448 out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 74th percentile of all tested CPU-GPU combinations. That is a strong result, but it is not top-tier. The rank reflects a balance: the RTX 4070 is a high-end GPU with an average benchmark score of 37283 and an 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 3700X has an average score of 28631 and an 85th percentile among CPUs. The combo's overall rank is lower than both individual percentiles, suggesting that the pairing is not perfectly matched for this game—either the CPU holds back the GPU at lower resolutions, or the GPU cannot fully utilize the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities at higher settings.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 3700X scores 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7203P, while trailing the Intel Core i5-12600 and Intel Core i5-12600H by 0.1%. These deltas are negligible, meaning the CPU is effectively on par with those parts in general compute. But in Greedfall, the game's engine may favor the Intel parts' newer architecture, which could explain why the combo rank is not higher. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.6% lower score) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (1.9% lower), but the RTX 4070 is 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5300M. These comparisons are synthetic benchmarks, not game-specific, but they give a sense of the hardware's overall capability.

The rank of 448 out of 1705 means there are 1257 combos that perform worse, but also 447 that perform better. For a 2019-era CPU paired with a 2023 GPU, this is a respectable outcome, though it underscores that the Ryzen 7 3700X is a generation behind the RTX 4070's ideal partner.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to High settings as the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 179 FPS, which is smooth for any display, while Low gives 247.6 FPS and Ultra drops to 115.9 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p is only 18.3 FPS (from 197.3 to 179), but the visual quality improvement is significant. At 1440p, High hits 124.1 FPS, which is above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh monitors, while Ultra falls to 79.1 FPS—still playable but not ideal for competitive play. At 4K, High produces 73.5 FPS, which is near the 60 FPS console-like experience, while Ultra drops to 45 FPS, which is too low for a smooth experience.

Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution. The penalty from High to Ultra is severe: at 1080p, it costs 63.1 FPS (from 179 to 115.9); at 1440p, it costs 45 FPS (from 124.1 to 79.1); and at 4K, it costs 28.5 FPS (from 73.5 to 45). The visual difference between High and Ultra in Greedfall is typically marginal—shadow quality and draw distance are the main changes—but the performance hit is substantial. Medium settings are a viable fallback if you need higher frame rates, offering 197.3 FPS at 1080p and 134.8 FPS at 1440p, but the gap to High is small enough that High is the better trade-off.

For 4K, High is the only sensible choice. The 73.5 FPS average is smooth, and the 45 FPS at Ultra is a noticeable dip that affects gameplay responsiveness. If you have a 144Hz monitor at 1440p, High is the best match, as it stays above 120 FPS. At 1080p, High is overkill for most displays (179 FPS exceeds most refresh rates), but it future-proofs against demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset reveals consistent behavior across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 247.6 FPS on Low, 197.3 FPS on Medium, 179 FPS on High, and 115.9 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 53% reduction, with each step up costing roughly 20-30 FPS. At 2560x1440, the numbers are 172.5 FPS (Low), 134.8 FPS (Medium), 124.1 FPS (High), and 79.1 FPS (Ultra). The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 45 FPS, which is the largest single-step penalty in the dataset. At 3840x2160, the results are 100.8 FPS (Low), 79.5 FPS (Medium), 73.5 FPS (High), and 45 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Low result is higher than the 1440p Ultra result (100.8 vs 79.1), which highlights how much settings matter more than resolution at this tier.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 is strong enough to push 4K Low above 100 FPS, which is impressive for a 2019 game. However, the Ultra settings at 4K are the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, suggesting that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU's memory bandwidth. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on the RTX 4070 with a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is likely sufficient for 4K textures, but the 192-bit bus width may be a limiting factor at Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's specifications explain the measured results. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 192-bit bus, the GPU delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Greedfall, a game from 2019, this is more than enough for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the memory bandwidth may be the reason the frame rate drops to 45 FPS. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units provide the raw compute power, as evidenced by the high FPS at lower settings. The 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance is a strong indicator of the GPU's ability to handle the game's effects at high resolutions.

The RTX 4070's percentile ranking at 81% versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, places it firmly in the upper mid-range. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 0.6% lower, which is a negligible difference in synthetic tests. The GPU's 200W TDP and 240mm length make it a practical card for most systems, and the 16-pin power connector is standard for this generation. In Greedfall, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K, but the CPU's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock are sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks at higher resolutions.

The VRAM is a key factor. 12 GB is generous for a 2019 title, and the data shows that the combo does not run out of memory at any settings or resolution—otherwise, the frame rates would be much lower. The RTX 4070's memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) contributes to the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is likely why the 4K High result of 73.5 FPS is stable. At Ultra settings, the higher texture detail and shadow quality may increase memory pressure, but the 45 FPS result at 4K Ultra suggests a compute or bandwidth limit rather than a capacity issue.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but only at High settings or lower. The measured data shows 73.5 FPS at 4K High, which is playable, and 100.8 FPS at 4K Low. Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: High settings is the recommended choice, delivering 124.1 FPS. This is above the 120 FPS mark for high-refresh monitors. Medium gives 134.8 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is not worth the 10.7 FPS gain. Ultra drops to 79.1 FPS, which is a significant loss for minor visual improvements.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 247.6 FPS, but the CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 2694) likely caps the frame rate. The RTX 4070 is capable of higher FPS in other scenarios, but the CPU prevents it from exceeding this level.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems in Greedfall?

A: It ranks 448th out of 1705 tested combos, placing it in the 74th percentile. This is a strong result, but the CPU's age (released in 2019) holds it back from the top tier.

Q: Is Ultra settings worth the performance cost?

A: No. The data shows a steep penalty from High to Ultra at all resolutions: 63.1 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 28.5 FPS at 4K. The visual difference in Greedfall is minimal, making High the better choice for consistent frame rates.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth, and does it matter here?

A: The RTX 4070 has 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. This is sufficient for the game at all settings, as the combo never runs out of VRAM. The bandwidth is likely a factor in the 4K Ultra drop to 45 FPS, but the GPU's compute power is the main driver at lower settings.