Greedfall

# Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions tell a clear story about how Greedfall scales with this hardware pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 383 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 266 FPS, a 30.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 159 FPS, which is 58.5% below the 1080p Low result. These are steep drops, but the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high — even at 4K Low, the system is pushing well past 150 FPS.

The High preset shows a similar pattern. At 1080p High, the system averages 273 FPS. At 1440p High, that falls to 190 FPS (a 30.4% drop), and at 4K High, it reaches 113 FPS (a 58.6% drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentages — roughly 30% from 1080p to 1440p, then another 40% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the scaling is nearly linear with pixel count. That points to the GPU being the primary limiter as resolution increases, rather than any CPU bottleneck appearing at lower resolutions.

Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 301 FPS at 1080p, 209 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces 175 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that drops below 100 FPS, and it still clears 60 FPS by a healthy margin.

The fact that 1080p Low reaches 383 FPS — far beyond typical display refresh rates — suggests the CPU is not holding the system back even at lower resolutions. If the processor were a limiting factor, we would expect to see the frame rate plateau or compress as resolution drops. Instead, the gains from 1440p to 1080p are nearly identical in percentage terms to the gains from 4K to 1440p, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario across the board.

For players targeting 4K, the drop from Low to High costs roughly 27% of the frame rate (159 to 113 FPS), while moving to Ultra costs an additional 36% (113 to 72 FPS). The 4K High result of 113 FPS is particularly notable — it clears 100 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate 4K displays. Even 4K Ultra at 72 FPS is playable, though it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, every preset except Ultra stays above 190 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS suggests that even in heavy combat or densely populated areas, the frame rate will rarely dip below 170 FPS. The 1440p High result of 190 FPS is nearly indistinguishable from Medium in practical terms, making it a strong choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

The scaling pattern indicates that Greedfall is heavily GPU-bound with this configuration. The RTX 5090 D's raw throughput — 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and a 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth — is being exercised fully as resolution climbs. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is unlikely to be a constraint at any resolution, given the game's 2019 release date and modest texture requirements by modern standards.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across presets at each resolution. Starting with 1080p, Low yields 383 FPS, Medium 301 FPS, High 273 FPS, and Ultra 175 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 82 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is only 28 FPS. The largest single-step drop is from High to Ultra at 98 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces a significant rendering cost — likely heavy post-processing or shadow quality — that does not proportionally benefit visual quality in a game from 2019.

At 1440p, the pattern repeats: Low at 266 FPS, Medium at 209 FPS, High at 190 FPS, and Ultra at 121 FPS. The Medium to High step costs only 19 FPS, whereas High to Ultra costs 69 FPS. The 1440p High result of 190 FPS, with a 178 FPS minimum and 240 FPS maximum, is the most balanced configuration in the entire dataset. It provides a 60% headroom above 120 FPS, which is the practical ceiling for most 1440p high-refresh displays.

At 4K, the choices become more consequential. Low gives 159 FPS, Medium 125 FPS, High 113 FPS, and Ultra 72 FPS. The Medium to High step costs 12 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 41 FPS. For 4K gaming, High is the optimal preset: 113 FPS average is comfortably above 100 FPS, and the visual improvement over Medium is noticeable without the severe performance penalty of Ultra.

The data indicates that Ultra presets are poorly optimized for this title relative to the performance they consume. Across all three resolutions, Ultra costs between 36% and 41% of the frame rate compared to High, while offering marginal visual gains in a game that already looks dated by 2024 standards. The 4K Ultra result of 72 FPS is the only configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, and it does so with no headroom for frame-time spikes.

For players with 1080p displays, High at 273 FPS is the sensible ceiling. The jump to Ultra costs 98 FPS and provides little tangible benefit. For 1440p users, High at 190 FPS is the recommended preset — it stays above 178 FPS even in the worst measured frame, which is far beyond what any 1440p display can show. For 4K users, High at 113 FPS is the sweet spot, with Medium at 125 FPS as a fallback if consistent 120 FPS is required.

The Medium preset's measured minimums — 256 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K — are all well above playable thresholds. This makes Medium a safe choice for players who prioritize frame-time consistency over absolute visual quality. The 4K Medium minimum of 106 FPS is particularly reassuring, as it indicates the system will not dip below 100 FPS even in demanding scenes.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 2 out of 3,703 tested combos in Greedfall. This places the pairing in the top 0.05% of all configurations tested for this game. The rank is based on measured frame rates across the resolutions and presets listed, not on synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's individual benchmark standing helps explain this result. The RTX 5090 D sits at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (score 76,904, delta +1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (score 78,940, delta -1.6%), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (score 79,396, delta -2.1%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (score 79,605, delta -2.4%). These deltas are all within 2.5%, indicating that the RTX 5090 D's synthetic benchmark performance is closely matched by several other cards, but its in-game performance in Greedfall is exceptional.

The CPU's benchmark positioning is similarly strong. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39,768. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (score 39,603, delta +0.4%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (score 40,048, delta -0.7%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (score 39,485, delta +0.7%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (score 40,081, delta -0.8%). All deltas are under 1%, meaning the CPU's synthetic scores are effectively tied with several other processors.

The rank of 2 out of 3,703 is remarkable given that both components face stiff competition in their respective benchmark categories. The fact that the combo ranks so highly in Greedfall specifically — rather than in a generic gaming benchmark — indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited to the game's engine and rendering characteristics. The high frame rates measured across all resolutions and presets confirm that neither component is a bottleneck in this title.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Greedfall?

A: The data shows strong results at all three measured resolutions. At 1440p High, the system averages 190 FPS with a 178 FPS minimum and 240 FPS maximum. At 4K High, it averages 113 FPS. Both are playable, but 1440p provides more headroom above refresh-rate limits.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904), 1.6% below the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), 2.1% below the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), and 2.4% below the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605). These deltas are small, but in Greedfall the RTX 5090 D's combination of 32 GB GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth delivers top-tier results.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using in Greedfall?

A: No. At every resolution, Ultra costs between 36% and 41% of the frame rate compared to High. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 72 FPS, versus 113 FPS at 4K High. The visual difference is minimal in a 2019 title, making High the better choice.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: No. The 1080p Low result of 383 FPS indicates the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, provide ample headroom. Frame rate scaling from 1440p to 1080p remains nearly linear, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound system.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2nd out of 3,703 tested combinations in Greedfall. This places it in the top 0.05% of all configurations, confirming that this pairing is one of the best available for this game.

Q: How much memory does the GPU have, and does it matter?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. For Greedfall, which released in 2019, this is far more than the game requires. The memory capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any resolution or preset in this title.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, running at 1750 MHz with a 28 Gbps effective data rate, provides a 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth across a 512-bit bus. This bandwidth is critical for maintaining high frame rates at 4K, where the GPU must fetch and process large amounts of texture and geometry data each frame.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost. These clocks, combined with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is identical to the FP16 throughput, indicating a 1:1 ratio that simplifies shader workloads.

The GPU's benchmark data shows a Passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 28,396. In DirectX-specific tests, the scores are 231 for DirectX 10, 371 for DirectX 11, and 219 for DirectX 12. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 310,674 and the Vulkan score is 376,915. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326. These numbers place the GPU at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

The 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are present but largely unused in Greedfall, which does not feature ray tracing or DLSS as significant features. The GPU's raw rasterization performance is what drives the measured frame rates. The 575 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 16-pin power connector indicate a power-hungry part, with a suggested 950 W PSU.

The GPU's role in Greedfall is straightforward: provide enough fill rate and memory bandwidth to sustain high FPS across all resolutions. The data confirms it does so admirably. At 4K Ultra, the 72 FPS average is the only result below 100 FPS, and even that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High result of 113 FPS demonstrates that the GPU has headroom even at the highest resolution.

The nearest GPU rivals — the RX 6650M XT, RX 6850M XT, and Tesla P100 variants — all have similar average benchmark scores, but none of them are paired with a CPU of this caliber in the measured data. The RTX 5090 D's combination of raw compute, memory bandwidth, and driver optimization for modern games makes it the right choice for Greedfall at high resolutions.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provides the computational foundation for this combo. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it offers a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The 120 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a flexible part for overclocking, though the 3D V-Cache architecture is the key feature for gaming.

The CPU's cache hierarchy is substantial: 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is particularly beneficial for games like Greedfall that have large working sets and frequent data reuse. The 96 MB L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing memory latency and improving frame pacing.

The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 23,230, while the single-core score is 2,080. The Geekbench multi-core score is 18,696 and the single-core score is 2,964. The 3DMark scores are 10,081 for 16 threads, 2,394 for 2 threads, 4,669 for 4 threads, 8,252 for 8 threads, 10,067 for max threads, and 1,212 for single thread. The Passmark multi-thread score is 40,009 and the single-thread score is 4,430.

The Passmark sub-tests show a balanced profile: integer math at 116,709, floating point math at 79,456, data compression at 468,017, data encryption at 22,158, extended instructions at 38,808, find prime numbers at 423, physics at 4,083, and random string sorting at 48,526. These scores indicate the CPU handles both integer-heavy and floating-point-heavy workloads effectively, which matters for game logic and physics calculations.

The CPU's memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and an 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth. It also supports ECC memory. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 CPU lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 5090 D's PCIe 5.0 x16 connection. The integrated Radeon Graphics are present but irrelevant for this discrete GPU setup.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, process game logic, and manage the simulation. The 1080p Low result of 383 FPS demonstrates that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at very high frame rates. The nearly linear scaling from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor across all measured configurations.

The nearest CPU rivals — the Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, Ryzen AI 9 365, Ryzen AI 7 450, and Ryzen 7 7700 — all have similar average benchmark scores within 0.8% of the 9800X3D. However, none of these rivals offer the same 96 MB L3 cache, which is a significant advantage in gaming workloads that exhibit high cache locality. The 9800X3D's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its strong gaming-specific cache configuration, makes it an ideal pairing for the RTX 5090 D in this title.