Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG from Spiders, presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is firmly capable of smooth gameplay at mainstream resolutions, but which encounters significant scaling challenges as pixel counts rise, with the GPU emerging as the definitive bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a steep and consistent decline in frame rates, highlighting the Arc B570's limitations at higher pixel densities. At the most demanding “Ultra” preset, the average frame rate drops from 59 FPS at 1920x1080 to 41 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 18 frames. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average plummets to just 24 FPS, which is a 59% decrease from the 1080p result and a 41% decrease from the 1440p result. This pattern strongly indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's processing power, is the limiting factor at 4K.

The scaling behavior is consistent across all settings presets. With “High” settings, the average FPS falls from 92 at 1080p to 64 at 1440p and then to 38 at 4K. The “Medium” preset follows a similar trajectory, with averages of 102, 71, and 42 FPS, respectively. Even the “Low” preset, which typically reduces the load on the graphics card, sees a substantial drop from 130 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 4K. This broad-based decline suggests that the game's visual effects and geometric complexity at 4K are simply too much for the B570's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 380.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth to handle efficiently.

The frame time consistency also degrades with resolution. At 1080p with “Medium” settings, the measured variance is relatively tight, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. At 1440p, the same preset shows a wider spread, from 60 FPS to 81 FPS. At 4K, the minimum and maximum values are 36 and 48 FPS, respectively. This increasing variance at higher resolutions is a classic sign of the GPU struggling to maintain a steady output, leading to a less smooth experience even when the average frame rate might seem playable. The data clearly shows that 4K is not a viable target for this configuration in Greedfall, while 1440p offers a playable, albeit not consistently high-refresh-rate, experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, built on the Zen 5 architecture, provides a robust foundation for this game. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it has ample parallelism for a modern Action RPG. The processor's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1280 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3023, are crucial for maintaining high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU has more influence.

Benchmark results indicate that the 9700X is a high-performing chip, sitting in the 86th percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 37943 is essentially on par with its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-14901E and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, with delta percentages of just 0.1%. This suggests that the processor is not a weak link in this system. Its multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and a Passmark multithread score of 37161, ensure that background tasks and the game's engine logic will not cause stuttering.

The data suggests that the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with frames. At 1080p, the system achieves an average of 130 FPS on “Low” settings, which is a high enough number to suggest the CPU can push well beyond 100 FPS in this title. The fact that frame rates drop so precipitously at 4K, even with the same CPU, reinforces that the GPU is the bottleneck. The 9700X's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide the necessary bandwidth to keep the Arc B570 fed, but the graphics card cannot keep up with the increased pixel workload. The CPU is performing its role admirably, leaving the GPU as the sole constraint on performance.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware combination, the measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings preset. At 1920x1080, the “High” preset is the clear sweet spot, delivering an average of 92 FPS. This provides a fluid experience for a game that features real-time combat. While the “Low” preset offers a higher 130 FPS, the visual fidelity trade-off is generally not worth it for a 2019 title when the “High” preset already exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a significant margin. The “Ultra” preset at 59 FPS is technically playable but sits right at the edge of the 60 FPS target, and the visual difference between “High” and “Ultra” is often negligible compared to the performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the “High” preset remains the recommended choice, producing an average of 64 FPS. This is a solid result for 1440p gaming. The “Medium” preset, at 71 FPS, offers a small performance boost and could be chosen for a slightly higher frame rate, but “High” provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. The “Ultra” preset at 41 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. For 4K resolution, the data paints a less optimistic picture. All presets fail to achieve a consistent 60 FPS, with the best result being the “Low” preset at 54 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for slower-paced exploration but may feel less responsive in combat. The “Medium” preset at 42 FPS is borderline, and “High” and “Ultra” are not recommended for competitive or fast-paced play.

The optimal experience for this GPU and CPU combo is to target 1080p or 1440p with the “High” preset. This configuration consistently provides an average frame rate above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth and visually pleasing experience. Pushing to “Ultra” settings or higher resolutions incurs a significant performance penalty that outweighs the marginal visual improvements, making “High” the definitive sweet spot for the Intel Arc B570 in Greedfall.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K resolution?

A: Technically, yes, but not at a consistently smooth frame rate. At 4K with “Low” settings, the average FPS is 54, and at “Medium” it drops to 42. The “High” preset averages 38 FPS and “Ultra” only 24 FPS. These results are below the 60 FPS target for a fluid experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware configuration?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are the most suitable resolutions. At 1080p with “High” settings, the system averages 92 FPS, and at 1440p with the same preset, it averages 64 FPS. Both provide a playable and smooth experience.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results suggest the CPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU's performance is in the 86th percentile, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, is only 0.1% faster in average score. The steep frame rate drops at higher resolutions point directly to the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

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

A: The performance cost of “Ultra” is substantial. At 1080p, “Ultra” averages 59 FPS compared to “High's” 92 FPS, a 36% reduction. At 1440p, it drops from 64 FPS on “High” to 41 FPS on “Ultra,” and at 4K, it falls from 38 FPS to 24 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate consistency at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 71, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81. This indicates a relatively stable frame rate, though the 21 FPS variance between the minimum and maximum suggests some fluctuation during intense scenes.

Q: Is the Arc B570's performance in this game comparable to its direct rivals?

A: The data shows the Arc B570's average benchmark score is 20556. This places it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% faster than the Intel Arc A750. Its performance is essentially on par with these cards in general compute benchmarks.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, is the decisive factor in this system's Greedfall performance. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a significant resource for texture streaming at high resolutions. However, the card's compute capabilities, rated at 11.52 TFLOPS FP32, appear to be the limiting factor, especially as resolution increases. The GPU's benchmark percentile of 65 places it in the mid-range, but its 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 suggests a more modest level of raw performance.

The card's performance in Greedfall aligns with its position relative to its nearest rivals. The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the Intel Arc A750, which has a delta of -0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 0.1% slower. This indicates that in this game, the B570 is performing as expected for its class. The 80 ROPs and 144 TMUs are responsible for pixel and texture processing, and the data suggests these units are being overwhelmed at 4K, leading to the sub-60 FPS averages.

The GPU's clock speed is fixed at a base and boost of 2500 MHz, which is a relatively high frequency. However, the card's transistor count of 19,600 million and die size of 272 mm², manufactured on a 5 nm process, do not translate into enough raw throughput to handle Greedfall's 4K workload. The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is sufficient for the game's textures, but the memory bus width of 160-bit limits the bandwidth available to the GPU cores. The result is a card that excels at 1080p and can manage 1440p well, but falls short at 4K, where its performance metrics clearly show a system that is GPU-bound and struggling to keep up with the demand.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact measured average FPS for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B570 combination in Greedfall.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average FPS of 130.
• Medium: Average FPS of 102, with a minimum of 87 and a maximum of 117.
• High: Average FPS of 92.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 59.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average FPS of 90.
• Medium: Average FPS of 71, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81.
• High: Average FPS of 64.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 41.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average FPS of 54.
• Medium: Average FPS of 42, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48.
• High: Average FPS of 38.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 24.

This breakdown confirms the scalability issues at high resolutions. The frame rate at 1080p is more than double that of 4K for every preset except “Ultra,” where the gap is even larger. The performance delta between “Low” and “Ultra” presets is also noteworthy; at 1080p, “Ultra” is 71 FPS slower than “Low,” while at 4K, the difference is 30 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's resource allocation becomes less efficient at higher resolutions, leading to a more pronounced performance penalty for enabling higher graphical fidelity. The data positions this combo as a strong 1080p performer and an adequate 1440p option, but a weak choice for 4K gaming in this title. The rank of 2344 out of 2938 tested combinations for this game in its benchmark database further underscores that while this is a workable setup, it is not among the top-tier performers for Greedfall.