Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy when paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial capabilities provide ample headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, component roles, and optimal settings based exclusively on the recorded benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K exposes a significant performance drop, indicating a shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system achieves an average of 107.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset, the average falls to 75.6 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. The most dramatic decline occurs when jumping to 3840x2160, where the average plummets to 45 FPS, representing a 58% decrease from the 1080p figure. This pattern strongly suggests that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component as pixel count increases.

The scaling behavior across different quality presets reinforces this conclusion. At 4K, the gap between Low and Medium settings is relatively small, with averages of 61.1 FPS and 46.7 FPS respectively, while the jump to Ultra causes a collapse to 28.9 FPS. This non-linear drop indicates that the GPU’s computational resources are being exhausted by the combination of high resolution and intensive graphical effects. In contrast, at 1080p, the system maintains playable frame rates even at Ultra, hitting 66.3 FPS, which shows that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently when the rendering load is lower.

The data indicates that 1440p represents a practical ceiling for this combination if aiming for consistently smooth gameplay. The difference between 1080p High (107.7 FPS) and 1440p High (75.6 FPS) is noticeable but manageable, whereas 4K High (45 FPS) falls below the threshold for fluid action. The measured scores suggest that users targeting 4K should either lower settings to Low, which yields 61.1 FPS, or accept a compromise at Medium with 46.7 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D brings substantial processing power to this pairing, which is evident in its ability to prevent CPU-induced frame rate caps. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the processor leverages its Zen 4 architecture to deliver strong multi-threaded performance. Benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29149, which places it in the 87th percentile among all CPUs. This high level of throughput means that in Greedfall, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU handles the majority of the workload.

The processor’s single-thread performance is equally robust, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2725. This is critical for games like Greedfall that may not fully utilize all available cores. The 3DMark results further illustrate the scaling: the 2-thread score is 1887, while the 8-thread score reaches 6539, showing a 3.5x improvement when moving from two to eight threads. This indicates that the CPU can efficiently distribute workload across its cores, providing consistent performance even when the game engine is not perfectly optimized for multi-threading.

When comparing to its nearest rivals, the 7800X3D holds a marginal lead. Its average benchmark score of 31580 is only 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700F (31543) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX (31495). This tight grouping suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the differences would be negligible. However, the 7800X3D’s 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable advantage for gaming, as it can reduce memory latency and improve data access patterns, potentially providing a small edge in frame pacing that is not fully captured by average FPS metrics.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive component in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU’s base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz, combined with 2176 shading units, deliver a raw compute performance of 7.181 TFLOPS FP32. This places the card in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range solution that struggles with the demands of 4K Ultra settings.

The performance data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s capabilities are best utilized at 1440p. At this resolution, the card achieves 107.6 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 81.6 FPS on Medium and 75.6 FPS on High. The substantial gap between Low and Medium (26 FPS) suggests that the GPU’s texture and shading units are heavily taxed by increased graphical fidelity. At 4K, the card’s limitations become more apparent: even on Low settings, the average FPS drops to 61.1, and enabling Ultra reduces performance to a barely playable 28.9 FPS.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 SUPER posts an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (19680) and 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706). This close grouping indicates that the card is competitive within its class, but it lacks the headroom needed for 4K gaming. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also a factor, as Greedfall’s high-resolution textures can consume significant memory, potentially leading to reduced performance if the card needs to swap data to system memory.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination in Greedfall?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, the system achieves 75.6 FPS, which is smooth and playable. While 1920x1080 offers higher frame rates (107.7 FPS on High), the visual upgrade at 1440p is substantial without sacrificing playability.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER perform at 4K in this game?

A: The card struggles at 4K, with the highest playable average being 61.1 FPS on Low settings. Medium and High settings drop to 46.7 FPS and 45 FPS respectively, while Ultra falls to 28.9 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, only Low settings are viable.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck. The processor’s high multi-threaded scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 29149, ensure it can feed the GPU efficiently. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering limits.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest competitors?

A: The 7800X3D has an average benchmark score of 31580, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-12700F (31543) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G (31407). These differences are minimal, suggesting comparable CPU performance in gaming workloads.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 153.6 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 66.3 FPS. This represents a 57% reduction in performance, highlighting the significant impact of graphical presets on the RTX 2060 SUPER.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory capacity affect performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. While this is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, the significant frame rate drops at 4K suggest that memory capacity and bandwidth may contribute to the bottleneck at higher resolutions, particularly with Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, delivering 107.7 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality. The Medium preset offers 118.3 FPS, but the visual difference is often worth the slight FPS reduction. Ultra at 1080p yields 66.3 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, so High is recommended for consistent performance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the sweet spot, achieving 75.6 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a balanced visual experience. The Medium preset at 81.6 FPS is an alternative for those prioritizing frame rate, but the drop to Low (107.6 FPS) sacrifices too much graphical fidelity for marginal gains. Ultra at 1440p (49.4 FPS) is not recommended, as it falls below ideal playability.

For 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The Low preset is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS, hitting 61.1 FPS. Medium (46.7 FPS) and High (45 FPS) are very close, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limitation. Ultra at 28.9 FPS is not viable for smooth gameplay. Given the data, players at 4K should use Low settings for a playable experience, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p with High settings for a better overall result.

The data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER is best utilized at 1440p High, where the system’s performance is both stable and visually appealing. The CPU’s high benchmark scores, including a passmark multithread result of 34293, ensure that this GPU pairing is not leaving performance on the table at this resolution. Ultimately, the recommended configuration is 2560x1440 with High settings, offering a 75.6 FPS average that balances quality and smoothness.