Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is exceptionally capable at mainstream resolutions but shows a distinct performance cliff as demands increase, particularly with the highest graphical presets. This analysis examines the raw FPS figures to understand where the bottleneck lies and what the optimal settings are for this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable, yet steep, decline as resolution increases, which is the hallmark of a system whose performance is heavily dictated by the graphics card at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 249 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops this to 174.8 FPS, a significant reduction of roughly 30%. At 4K, the same Low preset yields 99.5 FPS, which is another 43% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep degradation from 1080p to 4K is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the render resolution and pixel fill rate demands outpace the raw compute power of the RTX 4070.

The scaling pattern changes character when looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 111.6. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 79.3, and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 48.2 FPS. The relative drop from 1440p to 4K is nearly 40%, which is a heavier toll than the 30% drop seen from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that are disproportionately more expensive at higher resolutions, putting immense strain on the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading resources. The data implies that at lower settings, the CPU can keep feeding the GPU enough frames, but as resolution and preset complexity increase, the RTX 4070 becomes the clear limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested configurations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and RTX 4070 holds a strong position. The data places it at rank 402 out of 1705 total combos for Greedfall, placing it in the top 24% of all tested systems. This is a robust showing, indicating that the combination is well above the median performer for this title. The high ranking confirms both the 3D V-Cache-infused CPU and the modern Ada Lovelace GPU working in concert.

This rank of 402 is particularly impressive considering the GPU's benchmark percentile. The RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile compared to all other GPUs, and the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is at the 82nd percentile for CPUs. The fact that their combined in-game rank is within the top quarter of all systems suggests that they complement each other well in Greedfall, avoiding a scenario where one component severely bottlenecks the other, and instead delivering a balanced performance profile that puts it ahead of a large majority of the field. It underperforms its raw benchmark percentile slightly, which could hint at the game’s engine not fully utilizing the hardware’s theoretical maximum.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall at with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings provides an excellent balance, delivering an average of 125.6 FPS. This offers a substantial improvement in visual fidelity over 1080p while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with High settings, it averages 73.9 FPS, which is playable. However, using the Ultra preset at 4K drops the average to 48.2 FPS, which may be below the preference for many gamers seeking a consistently smooth experience.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the Ultra preset incur?

A: Compared to High settings, the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 180.9 to 111.6, a reduction of over 38%. At 4K, the drop is from 73.9 to 48.2, a near 35% decrease, showing that Ultra carries a heavy cost across all resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data points to the GPU being the primary limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The CPU’s high benchmark scores suggest it has ample headroom to support the GPU's output.

Q: How does this system's overall ranking compare to its component parts?

A: The combo ranks in the 76th percentile (rank 402 out of 1705) for this game. This is slightly lower than the individual percentiles of both the CPU (82nd) and GPU (81st), which suggests that Greedfall may not be perfectly optimized to extract the absolute maximum performance from these components.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: The jump from Low to Medium is modest. At 1080p, the average FPS goes from 249 to 194.9, a difference of about 22%. At 1440p, it goes from 174.8 to 137.3, which is a similar relative drop, indicating a consistent, but not drastic, cost for the visual improvements in the Medium preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly CPU-bound at lower settings, with an average of 249 FPS on Low. This figure is remarkably high, indicating that the Ryzen 7 5700X3D has no trouble feeding the RTX 4070 at this resolution. The High preset still yields a very playable 180.9 FPS, while Medium sits at 194.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, brings the average down to 111.6 FPS, showing that the GPU begins to take on a more significant workload even at 1080p when all settings are maxed out.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU's workload increases as expected. The Low preset average drops to 174.8 FPS, and High settles at 125.6 FPS, both excellent figures for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. Medium is not far behind at 137.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 79.3 FPS, which is still respectable but indicates that the GPU is now the definite bottleneck. At 3840x2160, the scaling is steep. Low settings produce 99.5 FPS, which is a solid 4K experience, and High still manages 73.9 FPS. Medium hits 83.4 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, is the outlier, with an average of just 48.2 FPS, making it a challenging setting for this hardware at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays a central role in Greedfall's performance, particularly as resolution and settings increase. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of bandwidth, but the 4K Ultra data point, which averages only 48.2 FPS, suggests that the game’s Ultra settings may be demanding more than this bandwidth can efficiently deliver, possibly due to high-resolution textures and effects filling the frame buffer. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 5888 shading units are put under immense load at these higher resolutions.

The RTX 4070’s benchmark scores corroborate its strong, but not top-tier, position. It holds an 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 26927. Its performance in Greedfall aligns with this, as it is able to handle 1440p High with ease, but the 4K Ultra results show its limits. The GPU is the clear limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the FPS drop from 1440p Ultra (79.3) to 4K Ultra (48.2) is a massive 39% reduction. This indicates that the RTX 4070, while powerful, is not over-provisioned for the most demanding scenarios this game can present.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset is the clear sweet spot for this hardware. The data shows it is the most consistent performer across all three resolutions. At 1080p High, the 180.9 FPS average is far beyond what any standard display needs. At 1440p High, the 125.6 FPS average is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming, offering a smooth and responsive experience that takes full advantage of the CPU’s capabilities. Even at 4K High, the 73.9 FPS average is comfortably playable and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset.

The Medium preset is a viable fallback for 4K gaming, as it provides an 83.4 FPS average, which is a noticeable improvement over High. However, the visual difference between High and Medium is often significant in terms of shadow quality, texture filtering, and draw distances. For players with a 4K display who prioritize frame rate above all else, Medium is the better choice. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination unless the user is playing at 1080p and has a 120Hz or higher refresh rate monitor, as the 111.6 FPS average there is the only Ultra setting that provides a truly high-frame-rate experience. The 48.2 FPS at 4K Ultra is simply too low for a game that is not a fast-paced competitive shooter.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D is a formidable partner for the RTX 4070 in this game. Its key feature is the large 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is part of its Zen 3 architecture. This cache is highly effective in gaming workloads, where data needs to be accessed rapidly. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz ensures that it is more than capable of handling Greedfall’s game logic and physics, as evidenced by the exceptionally high frame rates at 1080p Low (249 FPS). At this setting, the CPU is almost certainly the limiting factor, but it does so at a level that is inconsequential for real-world use.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support this. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22366 and single-core score of 3157 are strong figures, and its overall 82nd percentile ranking places it above most other processors. The FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck until the frame rate approaches 250 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. In Greedfall, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D provides the robust foundation necessary for the RTX 4070 to stretch its legs at 1440p and even 4K, ensuring that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance at those higher resolutions.