Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a remarkably strong experience in Greedfall, ranking 474th out of 2,938 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the top 16% of all configurations. The pairing demonstrates excellent balance, with the CPU's high single-thread performance complementing the GPU's substantial rasterization power to produce frame rates that remain playable even at 4K Ultra settings. Benchmark results indicate this is a configuration that prioritizes high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming while still offering viable 4K performance, making it a versatile choice for this 2019 action RPG.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 474 out of 2,938 tested configurations places it in the 84th percentile overall, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing. This ranking reflects the synergy between the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the RTX 4070 SUPER, where neither component bottlenecks the other to a significant degree in Greedfall. The data shows that this combo outperforms roughly 84% of all tested pairings, indicating that users can expect a consistently smooth experience across most settings and resolutions.

Examining the CPU's position among its peers provides context for this ranking. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D holds a 92nd percentile score versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58,386. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (score 58,323, deltaPct 0.1%), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (score 58,504, deltaPct -0.2%), the Intel Core i9-14900 (score 58,115, deltaPct 0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (score 58,826, deltaPct -0.7%). These margins are extremely tight, with all rivals within 0.7% of the 9850X3D's average score. This indicates that the CPU's raw computational throughput is competitive with top-tier server and desktop processors, though its real advantage in Greedfall lies in its architectural efficiency and cache design rather than raw benchmark supremacy.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER achieves an 83rd percentile score versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43,223. Its nearest competitors are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (score 43,262, deltaPct -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (score 43,268, deltaPct -0.1%), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (score 43,301, deltaPct -0.2%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (score 43,667, deltaPct -1%). The GPU's performance is within 1% of these rivals, suggesting that the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in a performance tier where small architectural differences translate into marginal benchmark variations. In Greedfall specifically, this translates to frame rates that consistently exceed 60 FPS at 4K High and approach 200 FPS at 1080p High, which aligns with the combo's strong overall ranking.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is particularly relevant for Greedfall, which is an open-world action RPG that frequently loads and reloads game assets, environmental geometry, and NPC data. Benchmark results indicate that the CPU's cache hierarchy helps maintain consistent frame pacing, as evidenced by the tight minimum-to-maximum FPS ranges at Medium settings across all resolutions.

The CPU's single-thread performance is notable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,228 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4,704. In Greedfall, which relies heavily on a single main game thread for physics, AI, and game logic, this strong single-core performance ensures that the CPU does not become a limiting factor even at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom. The multi-threaded performance is equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,807 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 41,318. While Greedfall does not scale perfectly across all 16 threads, the extra headroom provided by the CPU's multi-threading capabilities prevents frame drops during complex scenes with numerous NPCs or particle effects.

The 9850X3D's 120 W TDP and support for DDR5 dual-channel memory with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the GPU without bottlenecks. The CPU's 4 nm process node and 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die contribute to its efficiency, allowing sustained boost clocks during extended gaming sessions. In Greedfall, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced at 1080p, where the measured FPS reaches 276 at Low settings, indicating that the processor can drive the GPU to its maximum output without being constrained. At 4K Ultra, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, but the 9850X3D's consistent performance ensures that frame times remain stable, as shown by the 52 FPS average at that demanding setting.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's clocks are set at a base of 1980 MHz with a boost of 2475 MHz, and its memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). With 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, the RTX 4070 SUPER delivers 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute capability is directly relevant to Greedfall's rendering workload, which includes detailed character models, environmental textures, and dynamic lighting effects.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM proves sufficient for Greedfall at all tested settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the game demands substantial memory for high-resolution textures and draw distances, and the 52 FPS average indicates the GPU is operating near its limits without running out of memory. The 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming remains fluid, contributing to the absence of stutter in the measured data. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 80 ROPs and 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate allow for efficient fill-rate performance, which is critical for Greedfall's dense environments and complex geometry.

The GPU's ray tracing capabilities, provided by 56 RT cores, are less relevant for Greedfall, which was released in 2019 and does not utilize ray tracing extensively. However, the 224 tensor cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate ensure that the GPU can handle any future enhancements or mods that might leverage these features. The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a power-efficient choice, with a suggested power supply of 550 W. In Greedfall, the GPU's role scales predictably with resolution: at 1080p, it delivers 276 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary throughput driver, while at 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average reflects the GPU's compute and memory limits being approached.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p compared to higher resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 197 FPS average, while at 2560x1440 the same settings yield 137 FPS, and at 3840x2160 the average drops to 82 FPS. This represents a 30% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and an additional 40% decrease from 1440p to 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset delivers 90 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 103 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 82 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 52 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's cache size impact Greedfall performance?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing in Greedfall's open-world environments. This is evidenced by the tight FPS ranges at Medium settings, such as 185-250 FPS at 1080p and 76-103 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1440p High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the combo achieves 137 FPS average. Given that the CPU can drive 276 FPS at 1080p Low, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 1440p, though the CPU's single-thread performance ensures it is not a significant constraint.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43,223, which is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262) and 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667). This places it in a tight performance cluster.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking and what does it indicate?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D ranks in the 92nd percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58,386. This indicates it outperforms 92% of all tested CPUs, making it a high-end processor suitable for demanding gaming workloads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that highlights the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 197 FPS, which drops to 137 FPS at 1440p (a 30% decrease) and further to 82 FPS at 4K (a 40% decrease from 1440p). This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but the GPU's rendering workload increases disproportionately with pixel count.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra settings, 1080p yields 126 FPS, 1440p yields 87 FPS (a 31% decrease), and 4K yields 52 FPS (a 40% decrease). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources scale linearly with resolution, without hitting any architectural bottlenecks. At Low settings, the scaling is steeper: 276 FPS at 1080p drops to 192 FPS at 1440p (a 30% decrease) and then to 114 FPS at 4K (a 41% decrease). This suggests that even at reduced graphical loads, the GPU's fill-rate and shading capacity are the limiting factors.

The data also indicates that the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the 276 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates, but the GPU is still the limiting component since the CPU's single-thread performance would theoretically support even higher FPS. At 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average is clearly GPU-bound, as the CPU's performance headroom is far beyond what is needed to maintain that frame rate. This analysis confirms that users seeking higher FPS at 4K would need a more powerful GPU, while those prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p would benefit from a GPU upgrade rather than a CPU change.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and frame rate priorities. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset provides the best balance, delivering 90 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS. This ensures a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, which is critical for action RPG combat. High settings at 4K drop to 82 FPS average, which is still playable but offers less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 4K, at 52 FPS average, is not recommended for consistent gameplay, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable frame pacing issues.

At 1440p, the High preset is the standout choice, delivering 137 FPS average. This provides a high-refresh-rate experience that maximizes the benefits of 1440p displays, while Medium offers 151 FPS for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. Ultra at 1440p yields 87 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the smoothness that the lower presets provide. For users with 1440p 144 Hz monitors, High settings are the recommended choice, as they balance visual quality with the frame rates needed to fully utilize the display's refresh rate.

At 1080p, all presets deliver frame rates above 120 FPS, with Low achieving 276 FPS, Medium at 217 FPS, High at 197 FPS, and Ultra at 126 FPS. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, Low or Medium settings are recommended, but for most users, High settings provide the best visual experience while maintaining frame rates well above the 144 Hz threshold. The data shows that the combo is never CPU-bound at 1080p, so users can freely select settings based on visual preference without worrying about CPU-induced stutters. The Medium preset at 1080p, with a minimum of 185 FPS, offers the most consistent frame pacing, making it a safe choice for users who prioritize stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings achieve 276 FPS average, Medium reaches 217 FPS with a minimum of 185 FPS and maximum of 250 FPS, High delivers 197 FPS, and Ultra provides 126 FPS. The 50 FPS gap between Low and Ultra represents the full range of graphical fidelity options, with even the most demanding preset remaining well above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset's 185 FPS minimum indicates that frame pacing remains stable even during intense scenes, which is crucial for maintaining a responsive feel in combat.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings yield 192 FPS, Medium achieves 151 FPS with a minimum of 128 FPS and maximum of 173 FPS, High delivers 137 FPS, and Ultra provides 87 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 128 FPS ensures that gameplay remains smooth on 144 Hz displays, while High settings at 137 FPS offer a good balance for users who want higher visual quality without sacrificing refresh rate. Ultra at 87 FPS is still playable but represents a significant step down from the lower presets, indicating that the GPU's rendering workload becomes substantial at this resolution when all effects are maximized.

At 3840x2160, the combo shows its limits while remaining viable for most users. Low settings achieve 114 FPS, Medium delivers 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 103 FPS, High reaches 82 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The Medium preset's 76 FPS minimum is the key metric, as it ensures that the experience remains smooth even during demanding sequences. High settings at 82 FPS average are also acceptable, though users may notice occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold in particularly complex scenes. Ultra at 52 FPS is not recommended for consistent gameplay, as the sub-60 FPS average will result in noticeable judder and reduced responsiveness. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires users to accept Medium or High settings to maintain a consistently smooth experience.