Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a starkly GPU-limited scenario in Greedfall. The data shows the Arc B390, a 3 nm integrated-class part with 1536 shading units, is the decisive factor in frame rate, while the 12-core Zen 3 processor remains largely underutilized. This combination ranks 2595th out of 2938 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, a position driven almost entirely by the graphics solution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 60 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset drops the average to 42 FPS, a 30% reduction. Pushing to 2160p (4K) at High yields just 25 FPS, which is a 58% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline as resolution increases is the signature of a system where the graphics processor is the limiting component; the Ryzen 9 5900X has ample headroom at all tested resolutions.

The scaling becomes even more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 84 FPS. At 1440p Low, it falls to 58 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 35 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 58% for High and 58% for Low, showing a consistent dependency on pixel count. This uniformity across presets reinforces that the Intel Arc B390's fill rate and shader throughput, not the CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache or 24 threads, dictate performance.

The 4K Ultra result of 16 FPS is the clearest indicator of the bottleneck. This frame rate is below playable thresholds and demonstrates that the GPU's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum detail. In contrast, the CPU's benchmark scores, like a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262, suggest it could handle far more frames if the graphics load were lighter. The data shows that resolution scaling here is purely a function of GPU workload, with the AMD processor never becoming the constraint.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only viable resolution. At 1080p High, the combo averages 60 FPS, which is playable. At 2560x1440, the best average is 58 FPS on Low settings, and at 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 35 FPS, indicating the GPU cannot sustain smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of raw GPU score?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score is 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). These deltaPct values show it is only marginally faster than a group of very old, entry-level discrete GPUs.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B390 in this game?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate the opposite. The CPU is far more powerful than the GPU. The Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 41376 and sits in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, while the Arc B390 is in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The FPS scaling with resolution and settings is entirely consistent with a GPU-limited workload.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ryzen 9 5900X and the Intel Core i7-14650HX?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 41376, which is 0.5% lower than the Intel Core i7-14650HX's score of 41576. This deltaPct of -0.5 indicates the two processors are essentially equivalent in overall synthetic performance, making the CPU choice irrelevant to the gaming results seen here.

Q: Does increasing settings from Low to High at 1080p have a significant performance cost?

A: Yes, the cost is notable. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 84 FPS, while the High preset averages 60 FPS. This is a 24 FPS drop, or roughly a 29% reduction in frame rate. The Medium preset sits in between at 66 FPS, showing a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: What does the 4K Ultra result tell us about this combo's capabilities?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 16 FPS indicates that this configuration is entirely unsuitable for high-resolution, high-detail gaming. This frame rate is far below the threshold for smooth motion and shows the Arc B390, with its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance, is overwhelmed when rendering Greedfall at 8.3 million pixels with maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings adjustments. For a playable experience, the 1080p resolution is mandatory. At this resolution, the Low preset produces 84 FPS, which offers the smoothest gameplay but sacrifices visual quality. The High preset delivers 60 FPS, which is generally considered the baseline for fluid action RPG combat. Given that the High preset only costs 24 FPS over Low, it is the recommended balance for most players, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade while remaining playable.

The Medium preset at 1080p yields 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. This is a viable middle ground if the High preset's visual effects are too demanding, but the data shows High is the better choice for the frame rate cost. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 38 FPS, which is a significant degradation from High and introduces noticeable stutter. The data suggests avoiding Ultra entirely, as the jump from High to Ultra costs 22 FPS, a 37% reduction, for what is typically a marginal increase in visual detail in this era of game.

At 1440p, the situation changes. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 58 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 46 FPS, and High drops to 42 FPS. These lower frame rates are likely to feel less responsive, so 1440p is only recommended for players who prioritize resolution over frame rate and are willing to use Low settings. The 4K resolution is not recommended at any setting, as even the Low preset only achieves 35 FPS. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally 1080p High, which offers a 60 FPS average without the severe penalties seen at higher resolutions or the Ultra preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2595th out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the bottom 11.7% of all configurations, a position that underscores the severity of the GPU bottleneck. The rank is a direct consequence of the Arc B390's low performance ceiling; the 9th percentile GPU score of 1482 anchors the combo's capabilities, while the 87th percentile CPU score of 41376 is effectively wasted in this gaming context.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals are all within a tight 1.3% to 2.7% range, indicating the Arc B390 is grouped with some of the weakest graphics solutions available. This means the combo's rank is not an outlier due to a specific driver issue but rather a reflection of the hardware's fundamental limits. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H with a 0.3% higher score, are far more powerful, but this does not affect the gaming outcome. The data shows that the combo rank is almost entirely determined by the GPU, and any other modern CPU paired with the Arc B390 would likely produce a similar ranking.

In practical terms, this rank means the system is positioned for esports or very old titles at low settings, not for a demanding Action RPG like Greedfall. The 2938 tested combos include a wide range of hardware, and being at the 2595th position places this configuration in the lowest tier. The benchmark results confirm that this pairing is unbalanced for this game, with the processor's potential being completely overshadowed by the integrated graphics solution's limitations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. Its role in this combo is entirely defined by its modest specifications: 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The GPU's clock speeds range from a base of 300 MHz to a boost of 2500 MHz, and it operates with system-shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is "System Dependent." This design is fundamentally different from a discrete graphics card, as it has no dedicated VRAM and relies on the system's DDR4 memory, a significant limitation for high-resolution textures.

The GPU's benchmark results in Greedfall reflect these constraints. The FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS is the theoretical peak, but the measured FPS shows the real-world impact. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 84 FPS, which suggests it can handle light loads. However, at 4K Ultra, the 16 FPS result indicates the shading units and ROPs are completely saturated. The 12 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but they cannot compensate for the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth and low pixel fill rate of 60.00 GPixel/s.

The GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average score of 1482, places it in the same performance class as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which is a decade-old entry-level card. In this game, the Arc B390 acts as the primary limiter. The VRAM situation, being system-shared, means that texture-heavy scenes at higher resolutions will cause significant slowdowns, as evidenced by the 27 FPS average at 1440p Medium. The data shows that the GPU's role is to cap the system's performance at a low level, making it the single most important component in determining this combo's gaming experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 84 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. The High preset achieves 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 38 FPS. This shows a steady decline as settings increase, with a 46 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the averages are consistently lower. The Low preset produces 58 FPS, which is the only playable result at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. The High preset falls to 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset is only 27 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 24 FPS for Low, 20 FPS for Medium, 18 FPS for High, and 11 FPS for Ultra, showing that the GPU's performance scales poorly with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 32 FPS. The High preset averages 25 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 16 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B390 cannot maintain a 30 FPS minimum at any setting above Low at 4K, and even the Low preset's 35 FPS average is borderline. The measured rows indicate that 1080p is the only resolution where the combo can achieve a consistent 60 FPS, and only at the High preset or lower.