Greedfall

Greedfall on the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by the graphics card, though the CPU proves sufficient to feed it at lower resolutions. The measured data shows a clear scaling pattern: as resolution drops, frame rates climb dramatically, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K while the system becomes more balanced at 1080p. This pairing ranks 127th out of 2938 tested combinations for this title, placing it in the top percentile of systems.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, especially at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 66 FPS average, which jumps to 104 FPS at High settings, 114 FPS at Medium, and 145 FPS at Low. This represents a 120% increase from Ultra to Low at 4K, demonstrating that the RTX 4090's raw throughput is the limiting factor when pixel count is maximized. The gap between settings narrows at lower resolutions: at 1440p, the spread from Ultra (111 FPS) to Low (243 FPS) is a 119% uplift, nearly identical in relative terms, but the absolute numbers are substantially higher.

Moving to 1080p, the scaling pattern shifts. Low settings produce 351 FPS, Medium delivers 276 FPS, High reaches 250 FPS, and Ultra sits at 160 FPS. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p is only 119%, similar to the other resolutions, but the absolute headroom suggests the CPU is beginning to matter. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads boosting to 5.50 GHz, appears capable of sustaining these high frame rates. The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the system is likely approaching the CPU's practical limit for this game engine, given that the 351 FPS figure represents a 45% increase over the 243 FPS seen at 1440p Low, which is a smaller relative gain than the 67% jump from 4K Low (145 FPS) to 1440p Low (243 FPS).

The most telling observation comes from comparing the 4K to 1440p transition. At High settings, 4K yields 104 FPS while 1440p yields 174 FPS, a 67% improvement. The same comparison at Medium settings shows 114 FPS rising to 191 FPS, also a 67% gain. This consistent scaling factor across settings indicates that the GPU is the dominant constraint at these resolutions, as the workload scales predictably with pixel count. However, at 1080p, the gains over 1440p are compressed: High settings go from 174 FPS to 250 FPS (44% increase), and Low settings go from 243 FPS to 351 FPS (44% increase). This compression suggests the CPU is starting to cap performance, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data offers clear guidance on the optimal settings-to-performance trade-off for this hardware combination. At 4K, the Medium preset provides the best balance, delivering 114 FPS average with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. This frame rate comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining visual fidelity above the Low preset. The High preset at 4K achieves 104 FPS but without recorded minimum or maximum values, making it harder to assess consistency. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 66 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, and the Low preset at 145 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for the performance gain.

At 1440p, the High preset emerges as the sweet spot with 174 FPS average. The Medium preset offers 191 FPS with a minimum of 163 FPS and maximum of 220 FPS, but the visual uplift from Medium to High is typically significant in an Action RPG like Greedfall, and the 17 FPS cost is acceptable. The Ultra preset at 111 FPS is viable for players prioritizing image quality, while the Low preset at 243 FPS is unnecessary unless targeting extremely high refresh rate displays. For 1080p, the High preset at 250 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides excellent frame rates while avoiding the diminishing returns of the Low preset at 351 FPS. The Medium preset at 276 FPS is also strong, but High's visual improvements justify its slightly lower average.

The data indicates that the Medium preset's recorded minimum and maximum values across all resolutions provide confidence in its frame pacing. At 4K Medium, the 97 FPS minimum ensures no drops below smooth gameplay, while at 1440p Medium, the 163 FPS minimum keeps even the most intense combat sequences fluid. The Ultra preset, lacking such metrics, carries more risk of stutter, particularly at 4K where its 66 FPS average leaves little margin. For the best experience, players should prioritize Medium or High settings depending on resolution, with Medium offering the most predictable performance based on the available data.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable at 4K with this hardware?

A: The maximum 4K average is 145 FPS at Low settings. The Ultra preset produces 66 FPS, High produces 104 FPS, and Medium produces 114 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its nearest rivals in general CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69,996 in average benchmark score, placing it 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875) and 0.7% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515). It trails the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 0.2% (70,163) and the Intel Core i7-14700K by 0.9% (69,355).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings produce 243 FPS while Ultra settings produce 111 FPS, representing a 132 FPS difference. Medium settings achieve 191 FPS, and High settings achieve 174 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's benchmark performance align with its in-game results?

A: The RTX 4090 holds an 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60,326 (0% delta), while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896 (2.5% higher). The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 9,223.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame times based on recorded data?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, it ranges from 234 to 317 FPS; at 1440p, from 163 to 220 FPS; and at 4K, from 97 to 131 FPS. This data indicates predictable frame pacing.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have, and what is its boost clock?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It carries a 65 W TDP and is built on TSMC's 4 nm process with Zen 5 architecture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 351 FPS average, the single highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings follow at 276 FPS with a minimum of 234 FPS and maximum of 317 FPS. High settings achieve 250 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 160 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 191 FPS spread, with each step up in quality costing approximately 40-50 FPS until the jump from High to Ultra, which costs 90 FPS. This suggests the Ultra preset applies significantly more demanding effects that disproportionately impact the RTX 4090.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably. Low settings deliver 243 FPS, Medium produces 191 FPS with a 163 FPS minimum and 220 FPS maximum, High achieves 174 FPS, and Ultra settles at 111 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 132 FPS, narrower than at 1080p because the GPU is already working harder. The Medium preset's recorded range of 57 FPS indicates consistent performance, while the other presets lack such granular data. Notably, the gap between High and Medium at 1440p is only 17 FPS, making High a more attractive option than at 1080p where the gap is 26 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the resolution where the RTX 4090 faces its heaviest load, Low settings still manage 145 FPS, demonstrating the card's raw power. Medium settings achieve 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS, keeping the experience above 60 FPS even in worst-case scenarios. High settings drop to 104 FPS, and Ultra falls to 66 FPS, just above the 60 FPS baseline. The 79 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest absolute spread across resolutions, but the relative performance hit is consistent. This data confirms that Greedfall is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, with the CPU rarely becoming a limiting factor.

The Medium preset is the only configuration with full FPS data (average, minimum, maximum) across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the 234 FPS minimum ensures no perceptible stutter even in dense scenes. At 1440p, the 163 FPS minimum remains well above typical high-refresh-rate targets. At 4K, the 97 FPS minimum dips slightly but never threatens playability. This consistency makes Medium the most predictable setting for this hardware pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 serves as the dominant performance driver in Greedfall, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this 2019 Action RPG's texture and geometry requirements. The GPU's 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver the raw compute needed to push 4K Ultra to 66 FPS and 1080p Low to 351 FPS. The boost clock of 2520 MHz, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with Ada Lovelace architecture, allows the card to maintain high throughput across varying workloads.

The RTX 4090's benchmark profile shows it ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60,140 (0.3% lower). The card's PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and GPU compute score of 26,613 indicate strong general and compute performance. In Greedfall specifically, the GPU's behavior aligns with its synthetic results: at 4K Ultra, the 66 FPS average suggests the card is fully utilized, while at 1080p Low, the 351 FPS figure hints at potential CPU limitations rather than GPU headroom.

The memory configuration plays a critical role at higher resolutions. The 24 GB capacity means texture loading is never a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra where demanding assets could strain lesser cards. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that the high pixel throughput required at 3840x2160 is sustained without memory stalls. The GPU's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s provide the theoretical foundation for the observed frame rates. The card's FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS gives it ample compute for the shader work Greedfall demands, though the game's age means it likely doesn't leverage the RTX 4090's full feature set, including its 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a supporting but essential role in this configuration. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, the CPU provides enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4090 at most settings and resolutions. The boost clock of 5.50 GHz is critical for maintaining high frame rates at 1080p, where the system achieves 351 FPS at Low settings. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB of L1 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the game's AI and physics calculations. Its 89.6 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without causing stalls.

The Ryzen 7 9700F's benchmark results place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 69,996. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70,163 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69,875 (0.2% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69,515 (0.7% lower). The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,691 and multithread score of 36,470 indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for games like Greedfall that may not scale perfectly across all 16 threads. The floating-point math score of 77,955 and integer math score of 120,788 further demonstrate the CPU's capability for diverse workloads.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as frame rates scale predictably with pixel count. However, at 1080p, the frame rate gains from 1440p are compressed: High settings only improve by 44% (174 to 250 FPS) compared to the 67% improvement from 4K to 1440p. This compression indicates the CPU is approaching its limit, preventing the GPU from achieving even higher frame rates. The 351 FPS at 1080p Low likely represents a practical ceiling for this CPU-GPU pairing in Greedfall, as the game's engine cannot process frames faster than the CPU can submit them. The 65 W TDP of the Ryzen 7 9700F means it operates efficiently while sustaining these workloads, and its 94th percentile ranking confirms it is a top-tier processor for gaming, even if its average benchmark score sits within 1% of several rivals.