Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents a varied performance landscape for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy across resolutions and presets, with the system demonstrating strong capability at 1080p but facing significant challenges at 4K. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, contextualizes them against the component's broader standings, and provides guidance on optimizing the experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data suggests that the High preset at 2560x1440 provides the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At this setting, the system achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 111 FPS seen at Low, but it remains well within a playable range for most users. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p is only an 8 FPS reduction (from 87 to 79 FPS), making High a sensible choice for improved visual fidelity without a major performance penalty.

For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 111 FPS, offering a significant margin above the High preset. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is particularly compelling, with an average of 126 FPS and a recorded minimum of 107 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. The High preset at 1080p also performs admirably at 114 FPS average, but the Medium preset's tighter minimum frame rate suggests a more stable experience.

The Ultra preset is generally not recommended for this combo. At every resolution, it incurs a severe performance cost. At 1080p, Ultra averages 73 FPS, which is a 41 FPS drop from the High preset. At 1440p, this falls to 50 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to an unplayable 30 FPS average. The visual gains from Ultra rarely justify halving the frame rate. The optimal experience is therefore found by using High settings at 1440p or Medium settings at 1080p, depending on the user's preference for resolution versus maximum frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the primary driver of frame rates in Greedfall, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical factor, as the benchmark data reveals a disproportionate performance drop when moving from 1440p to 4K, suggesting the GPU is hitting a memory or compute ceiling.

The GPU's core clocks are set at a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 2560 shading units, contribute to a 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance figure. In Greedfall, the RTX 5050 shows its strength at 1080p, where it can push average frame rates above 114 FPS on High settings. The performance scales predictably down as resolution increases, but the 4K results are particularly weak, with the High preset averaging only 47 FPS.

The GPU's overall standing is modest, with a percentile ranking of 66 against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 21035 places it in close competition with several other cards, as evidenced by its nearest rivals. For instance, it is 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT but 1.6% slower than the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile. This mid-range positioning is reflected in its 4K performance, where the 8 GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus limit its ability to handle the increased texture and shading demands, resulting in an average of 47 FPS on High and only 30 FPS on Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 on High settings provides the best overall experience, with an average of 79 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual clarity and performance. 1920x1080 offers higher frame rates, up to 160 FPS on Low, but at a lower visual fidelity.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: 4K gaming is challenging. The High preset at 3840x2160 manages only a 47 FPS average, and the Ultra preset drops to 30 FPS. While the Low preset can achieve 66 FPS, the visual compromise is substantial. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience, 1440p is the more appropriate target.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance cost?

A: The performance cost of Ultra is steep. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 73 FPS compared to High's 114 FPS, a 41 FPS difference. At 2560x1440, the gap widens to a 29 FPS difference (50 vs. 79 FPS). The visual uplift from Ultra is rarely worth this significant frame rate reduction.

Q: Is the Medium preset a good choice for consistent frame times?

A: Yes, the Medium preset shows the most stable frame pacing. At 1920x1080, it has a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS, with an average of 126 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 74 FPS, and the maximum is 100 FPS, averaging 87 FPS. This preset offers a good compromise between visual quality and smoothness.

Q: How does this system's performance compare to other tested combinations?

A: This specific combo ranks 1776 out of 2938 tested combinations for Greedfall. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, indicating that while it is capable of good 1080p and decent 1440p performance, it is not a top-tier configuration for this game.

Q: What is the role of the CPU in this game's performance?

A: The CPU's role is secondary in Greedfall at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear GPU bottleneck as resolution increases. The 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 9700F provides ample processing power, as evidenced by its 94th percentile ranking, ensuring it does not become a limiting factor at 4K where the GPU is clearly the constraining component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5050 demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, while the Medium preset delivers a strong 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. The High preset remains highly playable at 114 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, sees a significant drop to 73 FPS, highlighting the high cost of maximum settings. This resolution shows the system's ability to take full advantage of high refresh rate monitors on most presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down accordingly. The Low preset still provides a smooth experience at 111 FPS. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, which is still a solid performance level. The High preset delivers a respectable 79 FPS, making it a viable choice for high-fidelity gaming. The Ultra preset struggles here, dropping to 50 FPS, which makes it unsuitable for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become pronounced. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playable frame rates, averaging 66 FPS. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS, indicating a borderline experience. The High preset falls to 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 30 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K is beyond the comfortable reach of this GPU in Greedfall.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Greedfall, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 holds a rank of 1776 out of 2938. This position, in the lower half, reflects the RTX 5050's mid-range performance profile. The CPU is a high performer, ranking in the 94th percentile against all CPUs and scoring similarly to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which is only 0.2% faster. The GPU, however, sits in the 66th percentile against all GPUs, pulling the overall combo ranking down.

The combo's rank suggests that while it is a competent 1080p and entry-level 1440p machine, it is not a high-end configuration. The measured FPS data supports this, showing that it excels at lower resolutions but falls behind at 4K. This rank is a useful indicator for users to set their expectations appropriately. The system is more than capable of handling the game at medium-to-high settings at mainstream resolutions, but it will not compete with high-end combinations that achieve top-tier ranks and much higher frame rates at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F serves as a robust foundation for this system. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, it is a modern, high-performance processor. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz can boost up to 5.50 GHz, ensuring fast single-threaded and multi-threaded processing. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory contribute to its strong performance in general computing tasks.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with data. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. For example, at 3840x2160, the frame rates drop dramatically across all presets compared to 1920x1080, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's high performance, evidenced by its average benchmark score of 69996 and its 94th percentile ranking, means it can easily handle the game's logic and physics without imposing a performance limit. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, scores a nearly identical 69875, highlighting the 9700F's strong position. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node also indicate an efficient design that will not produce excessive heat, allowing the GPU to operate without thermal constraints.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this system. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 114 FPS at 1920x1080 to 79 FPS at 2560x1440, a 30% reduction. Further scaling to 3840x2160 yields an average of 47 FPS, a 59% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5050's rendering capabilities and memory bandwidth are being saturated as the pixel count increases.

This scaling pattern is a classic indicator of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the dramatic drop in FPS at 4K, even on the Low preset where the average falls from 160 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 4K, confirms that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the primary constraint. The 8 GB memory buffer is likely insufficient for the high-resolution textures and shaders in Greedfall, causing significant performance degradation. Users seeking higher 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU with greater memory bandwidth and capacity.