Greedfall

# Greedfall with AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

This pairing of AMD's Zen 5-based Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA's Ampere-generation RTX 3080 Ti produces a system that ranks 744th out of 2,938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it comfortably in the top quartile of all configurations. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a setup that handles this 2019 Action RPG with substantial headroom at 1080p, remains highly playable at 1440p, and only begins to show strain at 4K with the heaviest preset.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable but pronounced FPS drop as resolution increases, with the magnitude of that drop varying significantly by settings preset. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 176 FPS at 1920x1080 to 122 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 54 FPS or roughly 31%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the High preset averages 73 FPS, which represents a 59% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, a hallmark of GPU-bound operation at these settings.

The Low preset demonstrates even steeper resolution scaling in absolute terms. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 247 FPS, which drops to 171 FPS at 1440p and 102 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 59%, nearly identical to the High preset's scaling. This consistency across presets suggests that the limiting factor at higher resolutions is the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than any CPU-side bottleneck that might manifest differently at lower settings.

Medium settings show a similar pattern, with 194 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Medium is 60 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Medium is 54 FPS. This slightly non-linear scaling hints that at 1080p Medium, the CPU may begin to exert some influence, as the frame rate of 194 FPS approaches what a high-end processor might cap at in this game's engine.

Ultra settings produce the most dramatic resolution sensitivity. The system manages 112 FPS at 1080p Ultra, falling to 78 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and then collapsing to 46 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result represents a 59% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure, again consistent with the other presets. However, the absolute values at 4K Ultra — 46 FPS average — fall below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, indicating that this preset at 4K is the one configuration where the combo struggles.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature for gaming workloads, and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,807 points and single-core score of 2,228 points place it in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs. In the context of Greedfall, a game released in 2019, this processor's capabilities far exceed what the title's engine can fully utilize.

The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Greedfall's frame pacing. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,228, combined with the high 5.60 GHz boost clock, ensures that the primary game thread has ample headroom. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,704 reinforces this picture. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has less work per frame and the CPU must feed frames at 247 FPS average, the processor's strong single-core showing is what enables such high frame rates without becoming the limiting factor.

The multi-threaded capabilities of the 9850X3D are less critical for Greedfall, which is not known as a heavily threaded title. The PassMark multi-thread score of 41,318 and the data compression score of 474,501 demonstrate that the CPU has substantial parallel throughput, but the game's engine likely only uses a handful of threads. The processor's 120W TDP and 4nm process node from TSMC indicate efficient operation, though these are not directly reflected in gaming frame rates.

Compared to its nearest CPU rivals, the 9850X3D's average benchmark score of 58,386 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58,323, a 0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i9-14900 (58,115, a 0.5% advantage). It trails the Intel Xeon w5-2545 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 by 0.7%. These negligible differences suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, this processor performs on par with a wide range of high-end desktop and workstation parts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and RTX 3080 Ti achieves a rank of 744 out of 2,938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 75th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's position in the overall hierarchy — the RTX 3080 Ti sits in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs — while the CPU's 92nd percentile ranking is somewhat underutilized given the game's modest thread requirements.

The combo rank of 744 suggests that while this is a strong configuration, there are numerous other pairings that deliver higher frame rates in Greedfall. The RTX 3080 Ti's nearest GPU rivals provide context: the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 0.8% higher on average (40,870 vs. 41,187 for the 3080 Ti), while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB is 1.2% lower and the Tesla M40 is 1.7% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 2% lower at 40,377. These small deltas indicate the 3080 Ti is in a tightly packed performance tier, which explains why the combo rank, while solid, is not higher.

The gap between the CPU's 92nd percentile and the combo's 75th percentile ranking illustrates that Greedfall's performance is predominantly GPU-limited for this pairing. A stronger GPU would likely push this combo higher in the rankings, whereas a stronger CPU would yield diminishing returns. The data supports this interpretation: at 1080p Low, the system hits 247 FPS, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates and suggests the GPU is still keeping pace with the CPU's frame generation capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 247 FPS, Medium averages 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS, High averages 176 FPS, and Ultra averages 112 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 135 FPS, representing a 55% performance penalty for the highest quality preset. Even at Ultra, the 112 FPS average comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making 1080p a resolution where this combo provides a smooth experience at any setting.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but begin to show the GPU's workload increasing. Low settings average 171 FPS, Medium averages 134 FPS with a range of 114 to 155 FPS, High averages 122 FPS, and Ultra averages 78 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p still maintains a 78 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a playable experience with maximum quality. The Medium preset's minimum of 114 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system rarely drops below high refresh rate territory.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent at the highest preset. Low settings average 102 FPS, Medium averages 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS and maximum of 92 FPS, High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra drops to 46 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with its 68 FPS minimum, remains playable, but the Ultra preset's 46 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration where the combo fails to maintain a consistently smooth frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8nm process. It features 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation processors, along with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock of 1365 MHz boosts to 1665 MHz, producing 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Greedfall, the GPU's memory subsystem plays a critical role at higher resolutions. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this 2019 title even at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the system completing benchmarks without indication of memory-related stuttering. The 912.4 GB/s bandwidth provides ample throughput for the texture-heavy environments typical of Action RPGs. The GPU's pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s directly influence how quickly the renderer can fill the screen at 4K, where the 8.3 million pixel count demands substantial fill rate.

The RTX 3080 Ti's benchmark results place it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 26,896 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077. The GPU's nearest rivals show it is competitive with, but not dominant over, a range of workstation and consumer cards. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 192,697 and OpenCL score of 170,037 indicate strong compute capabilities that may benefit other applications but are not directly relevant to Greedfall's rendering workload.

The GPU's 350W TDP and 750W suggested PSU indicate this is a power-hungry component, though the benchmark data does not reveal how power draw varies with resolution and settings. The dual-slot design and 285mm length are physical characteristics that affect system compatibility, not in-game performance. The 12-pin power connector is a notable requirement for installation, but again has no bearing on measured frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: At 2560x1440, the system delivers 122 FPS on High settings and 78 FPS on Ultra, both above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, only Low (102 FPS), Medium (80 FPS), and High (73 FPS) maintain playable averages, while Ultra falls to 46 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High is the most robust choice.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41,187 is 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870), 1.2% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (41,707), 1.7% higher than the Tesla M40 (41,897), and 2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (40,377). These are all within a 4% band, indicating very similar overall performance.

Q: Why does 4K Ultra produce only 46 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra preset places the heaviest load on the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth, requiring it to process 8.3 million pixels per frame with maximum quality effects. The RTX 3080 Ti, while capable at lower resolutions, does not have sufficient throughput to maintain 60 FPS under this extreme workload, resulting in a 46 FPS average.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 247 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is not severely limiting performance. The processor's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,228 and 5.60 GHz boost clock provide strong per-thread performance. Given that the combo ranks 744th out of 2,938, the CPU is likely not the primary constraint in most scenarios.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system averages 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS. This provides a consistently smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold, with the minimum still exceeding 100 FPS.

Q: How does the combo's ranking reflect its overall capability?

A: The combo ranks 744th out of 2,938 tested configurations, placing it in the top 25% of all pairings. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking is higher than the GPU's 83rd percentile, indicating that the graphics card is the more limiting component in this pairing for Greedfall.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data indicates that 2560x1440 with High settings is the optimal configuration. At 122 FPS average, this preset delivers smooth gameplay with substantial visual quality, and the frame rate is high enough to take advantage of 120Hz displays. The 1440p High setting also provides headroom above the 60 FPS minimum, ensuring consistency during demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings at 112 FPS provide the best visual experience without compromising playability. The 1080p Ultra preset is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 100 FPS, making it ideal for competitive play or high refresh rate displays. The 1440p Ultra preset at 78 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, as it remains above 60 FPS.

For 3840x2160 users, Medium settings at 80 FPS offer the best balance, with the 68 FPS minimum still maintaining playability. High settings at 4K (73 FPS) are also acceptable, though the margin above 60 FPS is thinner. The 4K Ultra preset at 46 FPS should be avoided unless the user accepts sub-60 FPS performance. Low settings at any resolution provide the highest frame rates but sacrifice too much visual quality for this GPU's capabilities, as even 4K Low (102 FPS) exceeds what most displays can show.