Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 pairing in Greedfall presents a classic study in component bottlenecking, where the data reveals a stark divide between the CPU's theoretical capabilities and the GPU's practical limitations. This combination ranks at 3581 out of 3703 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 3% of all systems, a position driven almost entirely by the graphics card's performance ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable yet severe drop as resolution increases, confirming that the GTX 1650 is the primary limiting factor across all tested settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 73 FPS, but this falls to 50 FPS at 1440p and 30 FPS at 4K — a reduction of 31.5% and 58.9% respectively. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput, not a CPU that is struggling to feed frames.

The most telling evidence comes from the Ultra settings row. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 33 FPS, which drops to 23 FPS at 1440p and a nearly unplayable 14 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is substantial: 73 vs 33 FPS at 1080p, 50 vs 23 FPS at 1440p, and 30 vs 14 FPS at 4K. These deltas indicate that the GTX 1650's shading units and ROPs are overwhelmed by the increased shader complexity of higher presets, regardless of resolution.

What makes the scaling particularly interesting is that the CPU should not be the bottleneck here. The Ryzen 7 5800XT, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, scores 23,794 in Cinebench R23 multicore and sits in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. The benchmark results indicate that at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lightest, the system only reaches 73 FPS — a figure that suggests even at the lowest settings, the GTX 1650 cannot leverage the CPU's full potential. The 4K Low result of 30 FPS is exactly half the 1080p Low result, a linear scaling that points to pure GPU pixel-pushing limits rather than any CPU-induced frame pacing issues.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5800XT is a Zen 3 Vermeer part with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s provide ample bandwidth for feeding a discrete GPU. In synthetic tests, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded muscle: 9,993 in Cinebench R20 multicore and 28,053 in Passmark multithread, with a 3DMark 16-thread score of 7,683.

However, for Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, the CPU's role appears secondary. The game's engine likely does not scale perfectly with 16 threads, but even single-thread performance is robust — the 3DMark single-thread score of 959 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,410 indicate that the 5800XT can handle game logic and draw call submission without breaking a sweat. The fact that the system achieves only 73 FPS at 1080p Low, while the CPU is capable of far higher frame rates in less GPU-bound scenarios, underscores that the processor is idling relative to its capacity.

The nearest rivals to the 5800XT in overall CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (deltaPct -0.3), which are mobile parts with similar average scores. This suggests that the 5800XT's desktop performance is roughly equivalent to high-end laptop chips, but in Greedfall, these differences become irrelevant because the GPU saturates first. The CPU's percentile rank of 81 versus the GPU's percentile rank of 40 tells the entire story: the system is built around a top-quartile processor paired with a bottom-half graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the definitive bottleneck. This Turing-architecture GPU (TU117 chip) has 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth — a modest figure that becomes critical at higher resolutions and settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores are telling: a Passmark G3D score of 7,880 places it in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are integrated or low-end parts like the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (deltaPct 0.4) and AMD Radeon R7 350 (deltaPct 0.6). The only slightly faster rival is the Intel Arc A310 at -1 deltaPct, but the margin is negligible. This is a GPU designed for 1080p gaming at medium settings, not for 4K Ultra, and the Greedfall data confirms this.

The memory situation is particularly concerning. At 4K Ultra, the game drops to 14 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra, it only manages 33 FPS. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is likely being exceeded at higher presets, causing texture streaming and memory swapping that tanks frame rates. The fact that 1080p Medium yields 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS suggests that the GPU is right at the edge of its comfortable operating range; pushing to High or Ultra crosses into territory where the memory bus and shading units cannot keep up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution where this GPU is most comfortable, the frame rates are playable but not smooth at higher settings. Low settings yield 73 FPS average, which is excellent for a GTX 1650. Medium drops to 57 FPS (min 48, max 66), still acceptable for an Action RPG. High falls to 52 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 33 FPS, making it borderline for fast-paced combat.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades predictably. Low produces 50 FPS, Medium 40 FPS (min 34, max 45), High 36 FPS, and Ultra 23 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 10 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 4 FPS — a diminishing return pattern that suggests the GPU is becoming shader-bound rather than memory-bound at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are mostly unplayable. Low gives 30 FPS, Medium 24 FPS (min 20, max 27), High 21 FPS, and Ultra 14 FPS. The 4K Low result of exactly 30 FPS is interesting because it matches the 1080p Ultra result of 33 FPS closely; in both cases, the GPU is processing roughly the same number of pixels per frame relative to its fill rate. The data shows that 4K is simply beyond this GPU's capabilities for Greedfall, regardless of settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 3581 out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 3.3% of all systems tested. This is a remarkably low position for a CPU that ranks in the 81st percentile, which highlights how heavily the GPU drags down the overall system performance in this game. The rank is not a measure of the CPU's ability — it is a measure of the system's actual gaming performance, and the GTX 1650's limitations dominate.

To contextualize, if this CPU were paired with a stronger GPU, the rank would likely improve dramatically, as the 5800XT has the multi-threaded muscle (23,794 in Cinebench R23) and single-thread responsiveness (3,359 in Cinebench R23 single-core) to drive much higher frame rates. The data implies that the system is severely imbalanced for Greedfall: the processor is overqualified for the workload, while the graphics card is underqualified. The percentile difference — 81 for the CPU versus 40 for the GPU — is one of the largest gaps one would expect to see in a benchmark database.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 1080p smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 73 FPS. Medium settings drop to 57 FPS (with a minimum of 48 FPS), which is playable, but High and Ultra average 52 FPS and 33 FPS respectively, making Ultra particularly difficult for maintaining consistent frame rates in combat.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the GTX 1650 can produce consistently playable frame rates. At 2560x1440, even Low settings only reach 50 FPS, and at 3840x2160, no settings preset achieves a smooth 60 FPS.

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

A: The GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 81st percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 40th percentile. The frame rates scale with resolution and settings in a way that indicates the GTX 1650's shading units and 4 GB of VRAM are saturated long before the Ryzen 7 5800XT reaches its limits.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 7,472 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7,447), Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7,441), and AMD Radeon R7 350 (7,425). The Intel Arc A310 is slightly faster at 7,550, a delta of -1 percent. These are all low-end or integrated parts, confirming the GTX 1650 sits at the bottom of the GPU hierarchy.

Q: Why does performance drop so sharply from 1080p to 4K?

A: The transition from 1080p Low (73 FPS) to 4K Low (30 FPS) represents a 58.9% drop in frame rate for a 4x increase in pixel count. This linear scaling suggests the GPU is purely fill-rate limited, and the 128.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth cannot feed the render pipeline fast enough at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded in the data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 14 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The minimum FPS recorded for any settings preset is 20 FPS at 4K Medium, indicating that even the medium preset can drop below playable thresholds during demanding scenes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this system is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This preset delivers 57 FPS on average with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is the highest minimum frame rate recorded for any settings combination that also maintains a smooth average. The Medium preset at 1080p provides the best balance between visual quality and playability.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low offers 73 FPS, which is the smoothest experience available. This is recommended for action-heavy combat sequences where reaction time matters more than graphical fidelity. The jump from Low to Medium costs 16 FPS (73 to 57), which is a significant sacrifice for modest visual improvements.

At 1440p, only Low settings (50 FPS) are recommended for playable performance. Medium at 1440p drops to 40 FPS with a 34 FPS minimum, which may cause noticeable stutter in combat. High and Ultra at 1440p (36 and 23 FPS respectively) are not advisable for action gameplay.

At 4K, no settings preset is truly playable, as even Low settings only reach 30 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU in Greedfall. Players attempting 4K should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or accepting sub-30 FPS frame rates. The 1080p Medium preset is the clear winner in the measured data, offering the best combination of average frame rate, minimum frame rate stability, and visual quality for this hardware configuration.