Greedfall

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates for Greedfall with the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and RTX 3080 reveal a classic scaling pattern, but with some notable wrinkles depending on the preset. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 236.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 166.6 FPS — a reduction of roughly 30%. At 4K, the same Low preset yields 101.1 FPS, which is about 57% below the 1080p figure. That steep decline at higher resolutions is the signature of a GPU-bound workload: as pixel count rises, the GPU’s fill rate and shading throughput become the bottleneck.

The High preset tells a similar story, but with a different starting point. At 1080p High, the system hits 168.6 FPS. Dropping to 1440p reduces that to 118.6 FPS, and 4K High lands at 71 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K here is a 58% loss, almost identical in percentage terms to the Low preset. What is interesting is that the gap between Low and High at 1080p is 68.2 FPS, but at 4K that gap narrows to 29.9 FPS. This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that settings changes have less relative impact on the final frame rate.

Ultra settings are where the curve steepens dramatically. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still manages 107.5 FPS — perfectly playable. But 1440p Ultra falls to 75.6 FPS, and 4K Ultra collapses to 44.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, which means this preset at this resolution is pushing the RTX 3080 to its limits. The scaling from 1080p to 4K on Ultra is a 58% drop, nearly identical to the other presets, but the absolute floor is much lower.

What does this imply about the limiting component? At 1080p Low, the CPU has headroom — the 5700X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads with a 96 MB L3 cache are clearly not the constraint, since the frame rate exceeds 200 FPS. The fact that 1080p Medium (186.4 FPS) and 1080p High (168.6 FPS) still deliver triple-digit frame rates reinforces that the CPU is not a bottleneck at these settings. However, the 5700X3D’s single-core performance, as reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 804, is respectable but not elite. The data suggests that in Greedfall, an Action RPG with moderately complex scenes, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs, with the CPU only potentially mattering at very high frame rates on Low settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The RTX 3080 in this test carries 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In a 2019 title like Greedfall, that memory configuration is more than sufficient — the game’s textures and geometry load without VRAM pressure, and the bandwidth figure is high enough that memory throughput rarely becomes the limiting factor. The GPU’s base clock of 1440 MHz and boost clock of 1710 MHz on the Ampere architecture provide the raw compute, with 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units handling the bulk of the rendering work.

The benchmark results show that the RTX 3080’s 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the key enabler for the higher frame rates. At 1080p Low, the GPU is barely breaking a sweat at 236.4 FPS, which suggests that the game’s engine is not heavily dependent on the GPU’s ray tracing cores (68 RT cores) or tensor cores (272). Greedfall’s rendering pipeline appears to favor traditional rasterization, where the 3080’s raw shader throughput shines.

What is more revealing is the GPU’s performance relative to its peers. The nearestRivals data shows the RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35787, with the AMD Radeon 880M at 35646 (0.4% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE at 36101 (0.9% faster). This places the 3080 in a performance tier where small percentage differences separate it from its competitors. In Greedfall specifically, the 4K Ultra result of 44.9 FPS indicates that the GPU is the binding constraint at the highest settings — no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the shading workload demanded by Ultra presets at 4K.

The memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) is worth noting in the context of the 4K results. At 4K, the GPU needs to fetch and process larger textures and more pixels per frame, and the 760.3 GB/s bandwidth provides the necessary throughput. The fact that 4K High (71 FPS) is nearly 58% faster than 4K Ultra (44.9 FPS) suggests that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately tax the GPU’s compute units rather than its memory subsystem.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a consistent 57-58% reduction in average FPS across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K. For example, Low goes from 236.4 FPS to 101.1 FPS, and Ultra goes from 107.5 FPS to 44.9 FPS. This is because the RTX 3080’s GPU compute becomes the limiting factor as pixel count quadruples.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700X3D holding back the RTX 3080 in Greedfall?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 236.4 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. The 5700X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads with a 96 MB L3 cache provide ample headroom. However, at 4K Ultra where the result is 44.9 FPS, the GPU is clearly the constraint, not the CPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want to stay above 60 FPS?

A: All settings at 1080p and 1440p stay above 60 FPS, with the lowest being 1440p Ultra at 75.6 FPS. At 4K, only High (71 FPS), Medium (75.7 FPS), and Low (101.1 FPS) exceed 60 FPS. 4K Ultra at 44.9 FPS is the only measured configuration below that threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080’s average benchmark score is 35787. It is 0.2% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860), 0.4% faster than the AMD Radeon 880M (35646), 0.9% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101), and 1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435).

Q: Does the 10 GB VRAM cause any issues in Greedfall?

A: No. The measured FPS data shows no anomalies that would indicate VRAM limitations. The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for this game, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings changes.

Q: What does the combo rank tell us about its overall standing?

A: This combo ranks 539 out of 1705 tested combinations in Greedfall, placing it in the top third of all tested systems. That ranking reflects the balanced performance of the 5700X3D and RTX 3080 pair.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data offers a clear hierarchy for choosing a preset. At 1080p, even Ultra delivers 107.5 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the jump from High to Ultra costs 61.1 FPS at 1080p — from 168.6 FPS down to 107.5 FPS. That is a substantial frame rate sacrifice for the visual improvements Ultra presumably brings. For players with 1080p displays, High is the sweet spot: it maintains 168.6 FPS, leaving massive headroom for dips, while still offering a solid visual experience.

At 1440p, the situation is similar but with tighter margins. High delivers 118.6 FPS, Medium hits 128.4 FPS, and Low reaches 166.6 FPS. Ultra drops to 75.6 FPS. The data suggests that High is the best balance here — it keeps the frame rate well above 100 FPS while presumably retaining most of the visual quality. Choosing Ultra at 1440p costs 43 FPS compared to High, which is a significant loss for what may be marginal visual gains in a game from 2019.

For 4K displays, the choices narrow. Ultra is effectively off the table at 44.9 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. High at 71 FPS is playable but with a narrower margin. Medium at 75.7 FPS and Low at 101.1 FPS give more headroom. The recommendation from the data is High at 4K — it offers the best visual quality while remaining above 60 FPS. Players who prioritize smoothness over visuals could opt for Medium, which gains 4.7 FPS over High. Low at 4K is an option for those who want maximum frame rates, but the 30 FPS difference between Low and High suggests it is not necessary.

How This Combo Ranks

The Ryzen 7 5700X3D paired with the RTX 3080 achieves a combo rank of 539 out of 1705 tested combinations in Greedfall. This places the system in the 68th percentile of all tested combos — meaning roughly 32% of tested systems outperform it, and 68% perform worse. For a CPU released in 2024 and a GPU released in 2020, this ranking reflects the enduring strength of the RTX 3080 in gaming workloads, particularly in a title that is not overly demanding by modern standards.

The CPU’s own percentile ranking is 82 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24673. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1360P, scores 24627 (0.2% slower), while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D scores 24605 (0.3% slower). The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 is 0.6% faster at 24811. These are extremely tight margins, indicating that the 5700X3D sits in a highly competitive performance band. The GPU’s percentile is 80 against all GPUs, with an average score of 35787. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, is 0.2% faster, and the RX 7900 GRE is 0.9% faster.

The combination of an 82nd-percentile CPU and an 80th-percentile GPU yields a 68th-percentile combo ranking in this game. The slight drop from individual component percentiles to the combo percentile suggests that Greedfall’s engine does not fully leverage the strengths of both components simultaneously — likely because the game is more GPU-bound at higher settings, leaving some CPU headroom unused. The rank of 539 out of 1705 is respectable, but it also hints that other combos with slightly weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs could achieve better results in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low at 236.4 FPS, Medium at 186.4 FPS, High at 168.6 FPS, and Ultra at 107.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 128.9 FPS, which is the largest of any resolution. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to render even the heaviest presets at above 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the numbers compress slightly: Low at 166.6 FPS, Medium at 128.4 FPS, High at 118.6 FPS, and Ultra at 75.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra narrows to 91 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% for Low, 31% for Medium, 30% for High, and 30% for Ultra — a remarkably consistent scaling factor.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 101.1 FPS, Medium at 75.7 FPS, High at 71 FPS, and Ultra at 44.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra narrows further to 56.2 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a drop of approximately 39% for Low, 41% for Medium, 40% for High, and 41% for Ultra. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets and resolution steps suggests a well-behaved rendering pipeline where the GPU workload scales predictably with pixel count.

The most striking single data point is the 4K Ultra result of 44.9 FPS — the only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 26.1 FPS, which is the largest single-preset penalty at any resolution. This indicates that Ultra settings at 4K introduce effects that the RTX 3080’s 29.77 TFLOPS of compute cannot fully sustain.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The processor is built on TSMC’s 7 nm process with a 74 mm² die containing 8,850 million transistors. Its defining feature is the 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is designed to reduce memory latency in gaming workloads. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is adequate for this game’s demands.

In Greedfall, the CPU’s multicore capabilities are evident in the high frame rates at 1080p. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 and the max-threads score of 6755 indicate that the processor can handle heavily threaded workloads. However, Greedfall is not a title that scales perfectly with core count — the single-thread score of 804 in 3DMark and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3157 suggest that the CPU’s per-core performance is moderate. This is where the 96 MB L3 cache likely compensates, allowing the CPU to keep frequently accessed game data closer to the cores.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks show how tight the competition is. The Intel Core i7-1360P is 0.2% slower in average score, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D is 0.3% slower, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 is 0.6% faster. These sub-1% differences mean that in real-world gaming, the 5700X3D’s performance is essentially equivalent to these alternatives. The data from Greedfall reflects this: the frame rates are consistently high at 1080p, and the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor at any resolution or preset combination.

The key question is whether the CPU’s 3.00 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The 236.4 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests yes — the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates to sustain well over 200 FPS. The 5700X3D’s production status is Active, and it was released in 2024, meaning it is a modern processor that still holds up well in this 2019 title. The 105 W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility make it a versatile choice, though the data here focuses purely on its gaming performance in Greedfall.