Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that, on paper, should be easy for a modern system like the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combo to handle. The benchmark data confirms this, but not without some surprising twists at the highest settings. The measured frames per second reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower settings, yet hits a stark performance wall when you push the Ultra preset, regardless of resolution. This pairing is capable of delivering very high refresh rates, but the path to getting there requires understanding the specific demands of this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent and predictable, but the magnitude depends heavily on the chosen graphics preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (293.5 fps) to 2560x1440 (236.1 fps) represents a 19.5% reduction in frame rate. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 (137.5 fps) is a more severe 41.8% drop. This steep decline at lower settings indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder at higher resolutions, but the absolute frame rates remain so high that the experience is fluid at every step.

With High settings, the scaling is more even. The jump from 1080p (240.4 fps) to 1440p (166.8 fps) is a 30.6% reduction, and the move to 4K (97.5 fps) is another 41.5% drop. This pattern suggests a balanced workload where both resolution and graphical fidelity are taxing the system equally. The total drop from 1080p High to 4K High is 59.4%, which is a significant hit but leaves you with a still-playable frame rate.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. The performance cliff is visible immediately. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 155 fps, which is 35.5% lower than 1080p High. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate falls to 105.5 fps, and at 4K Ultra, it plunges to 65.4 fps. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 31.9% drop, and from 1440p to 4K is a 38.0% drop. The data shows that Ultra settings introduce a massive, resolution-independent bottleneck, likely related to specific effects that are not GPU-core-bound. The fact that 4K Ultra is only 58% slower than 1080p Ultra, while 4K High is 59% slower than 1080p High, suggests the Ultra preset's cost is a fixed penalty that dwarfs the resolution scaling.

This pattern reveals the limiting component. At Low, Medium, and High presets, the GPU is the primary driver, and its scaling with resolution follows the expected trajectory. However, the Ultra preset's disproportionate performance penalty indicates a different constraint, likely related to memory bandwidth or a specific rendering feature that this older game implements inefficiently on newer hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a powerhouse, and its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth is more than enough for Greedfall. The benchmark results show the GPU is rarely the limiting factor outside of the Ultra preset. With a boost clock of 2617 MHz and 10752 shading units, the card has immense raw compute power. This is reflected in its performance at 1080p, where it achieves 293.5 fps on Low settings, indicating it is waiting on the CPU to feed it data.

The GPU's role is most clear when examining the difference between Medium and High settings. At 1080p, moving from Medium (265.5 fps) to High (240.4 fps) costs only 9.5% performance. This small penalty for a visual upgrade shows the GPU has headroom to spare. At 4K, the same settings change results in a 9.6% drop (107.8 to 97.5 fps). The RTX 5080 handles these presets easily, maintaining over 60 fps at 4K High.

The Ultra preset breaks this trend. The 155 fps at 1080p Ultra is a 35.5% drop from High, and at 4K Ultra, the 65.4 fps is a 33% drop from High. This is not a typical GPU load curve. It suggests that a specific Ultra setting, possibly related to shadow quality or post-processing, is hitting a hard architectural limit. The GPU's 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs are not the bottleneck; instead, it appears the game's Ultra path is poorly optimized for the Blackwell architecture. The data shows the RTX 5080 is a capable card for this game, but its full potential is only unlocked by avoiding the Ultra preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a Zen 2 processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are modest by today's standards, but they are sufficient for this title. The benchmark data shows the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution or preset, except potentially at the very highest frame rates. The passmark multithread score of 22458 and the single-thread score of 2656 indicate a balanced processor that can handle both gaming and streaming workloads.

The CPU's influence is visible in the 1080p Low results. At 293.5 fps, the system is likely hitting a CPU-side frame rate limit. This is a classic sign of a single-thread bottleneck, where the game's main logic thread cannot issue draw calls fast enough to keep the GPU fully occupied. However, this is not a practical problem, as 293.5 fps is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

The Ryzen 7 3700X's 32 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth are adequate for Greedfall. The game does not appear to be cache-sensitive, as the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is smooth and consistent across the Low, Medium, and High presets. The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is also telling. It scores within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12600 and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, meaning it is not a weak link. The data shows that this CPU can feed the RTX 5080 well enough to maintain high frame rates, but it is the first component to show strain when the system is pushed to over 290 fps.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X holding back the RTX 5080 in Greedfall?

A: At standard gaming resolutions and presets, no. The data shows the CPU is only a limiting factor at 1080p Low, where the 293.5 fps average suggests a CPU-side frame cap. At 4K High, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the GPU is the primary driver of the 97.5 fps result.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, the system produces 166.8 fps, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate of most monitors. At 4K High, the 97.5 fps is still excellent, but 1440p offers a better balance of visual fidelity and headroom.

Q: Why is the Ultra preset so much slower than High?

A: The benchmark data shows a massive performance cliff. At 1080p, Ultra (155 fps) is 35.5% slower than High (240.4 fps). This is disproportionate to the typical cost of raising settings and points to an inefficient rendering path in the game's Ultra options that does not scale with the GPU's core count.

Q: Does the 16 GB of VRAM help in this game?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is not a limiting factor at any tested setting. The game does not appear to exceed the memory capacity, as the performance drops are consistent with compute or bandwidth limits, not memory allocation failures. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for a 2019 title.

Q: Can this system hit 240 fps in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p with High or lower settings. The data shows 1080p High at 240.4 fps and 1080p Low at 293.5 fps. At 1440p, the highest achievable is 236.1 fps on Low, which is just under the 240 fps target.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631. This is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28591). The performance deltas are -0.1% and 0.1%, respectively, indicating these processors are functionally equivalent in general compute tasks.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination ranks 105th out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the top 6.2% of all systems tested for this game. This high rank is primarily due to the GPU's raw strength, as the CPU is a mid-range part from 2019. The data shows that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, but it is not at the very top.

The rank of 105 is impressive, but it is not a reflection of perfect optimization. The Ultra preset's performance cliff is a significant flaw that prevents this combo from breaking into the top 50. If the game handled Ultra settings without the massive penalty, the rank would likely be higher. However, the overall results show that this pairing is a strong performer, capable of delivering a high-refresh-rate experience at 1440p and a solid 4K experience at High settings.

The data indicates that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The RTX 5080's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of the combo's success. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking is respectable but not exceptional. The synergy between the two is adequate, but the CPU does create a minor bottleneck at extremely high frame rates. This is a classic case of a modern GPU paired with an older but still capable CPU, resulting in a system that is better than the sum of its parts in most scenarios, but flawed in specific edge cases.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on your target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K, the High preset is the clear winner. It delivers 97.5 fps, which is a comfortable margin above 60 fps and only 31.4% slower than the Medium preset. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 65.4 fps result is a 33% drop from High for a marginal visual improvement.

For 1440p, the High preset is again the best choice. The 166.8 fps result is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, and it is only 10.1% slower than the Medium preset. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 105.5 fps, which is playable but represents a 36.7% performance hit compared to High. If you insist on Ultra, 1440p is the highest resolution where the frame rate remains above 100 fps.

For 1080p, the High preset is the most sensible option. The 240.4 fps result is excellent, and the Low preset's 293.5 fps is likely beyond the refresh rate of most displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p is a poor choice, as the 155 fps result is a 35.5% drop from High, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is often negligible in fast-paced action. The data strongly suggests avoiding the Ultra preset entirely with this hardware configuration. The Medium preset offers no significant advantage over High, as the frame rate difference is less than 10% at all resolutions. The High preset is the sweet spot, offering the best balance of visual quality and raw performance.