Greedfall

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates for Greedfall across resolutions reveal a clear pattern of scaling that shifts the performance bottleneck as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers 189 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops that to 131 FPS, a reduction of 30.7% from the 1080p figure. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 78 FPS, which is 58.7% below the 1080p performance and 40.5% below the 1440p result.

The scaling curve across all settings presets tells a consistent story. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (265 FPS) to 1440p (184 FPS) represents a 30.6% drop, while the jump from 1440p to 4K (110 FPS) costs another 40.2%. This nearly uniform percentage loss between each resolution step, regardless of the settings preset, indicates that the RTX 5070's rendering throughput is the primary constraint as resolution climbs. The GPU workload scales with pixel count, and the measured FPS declines track that scaling almost linearly.

For Medium settings, the available minimum/maximum data points provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 177 to 240 FPS with a 208 average. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 123–166 FPS centered on 144. At 4K Medium, the range compresses further to 73–99 FPS with an 86 average. The shrinking spread between minimum and maximum as resolution increases suggests that frame time variance becomes less pronounced when the GPU is more consistently loaded; at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed frames quickly enough that GPU utilization fluctuates more widely.

The Ultra preset data reinforces the GPU-bound interpretation. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 121 FPS, which drops to 84 FPS at 1440p and 50 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, while 1440p Ultra stays comfortably above it. The fact that even at 1080p Ultra the system cannot reach the 189 FPS seen at 1080p High suggests that the additional graphical workload from Ultra settings places meaningful strain on the GPU across all resolutions.

Comparing the scaling ratios between settings presets reveals that Low settings scale slightly better to 4K than High or Ultra do. From 1080p to 4K, Low retains 41.5% of its original frame rate, while High retains 41.3% and Ultra retains 41.3%. This near-identical retention percentage across presets indicates that the resolution scaling penalty is largely independent of the settings level — a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario where the pixel fill rate dominates the performance equation.

The data does not show evidence of CPU limitation at 1080p. If the Ryzen 9 5900X were the bottleneck at lower resolutions, the FPS at 1080p would plateau regardless of settings, and the drop from 1080p to 1440p would be smaller than the drop from 1440p to 4K. Instead, the scaling is remarkably even: each resolution step costs roughly 30–40% of the previous frame rate across all four settings presets. This uniformity points to the RTX 5070 as the consistent limiting component, with the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads providing ample headroom to feed frames at every resolution tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this CPU/GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: The highest recorded average is 265 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 208 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 189 FPS at 1080p High and 121 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with any settings preset?

A: Yes, three of the four settings presets at 3840x2160 exceed 60 FPS. Medium averages 86 FPS, High averages 78 FPS, and Low averages 110 FPS. Only Ultra falls below 60 FPS, averaging 50 FPS at 4K.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 131, while at 3840x2160 High it drops to 78. This represents a 40.5% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 73, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The next lowest minimums are 123 FPS at 1440p Medium and 177 FPS at 1080p Medium, which are the only other rows with minimum values provided.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 121 FPS versus 189 FPS for High, a difference of 36.0%. At 1440p, Ultra averages 84 FPS versus 131 FPS for High, a 35.9% gap. At 4K, Ultra averages 50 FPS versus 78 FPS for High, a 35.9% reduction.

Q: Is the frame rate at 1080p Low more than double the frame rate at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the 1080p Low average of 265 FPS is 5.3 times higher than the 4K Ultra average of 50 FPS. Even comparing 1080p High (189 FPS) to 4K Ultra (50 FPS), the ratio is 3.78 times.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, this memory configuration proves sufficient for all tested settings and resolutions, as no row in the measured data shows signs of VRAM capacity limiting performance. The game's asset complexity, while visually demanding at Ultra settings, does not push beyond the 12 GB allocation even at 3840x2160, where the Ultra preset still produces a playable 50 FPS average.

The GPU's clock behavior — 2325 MHz base and 2512 MHz boost — establishes the compute ceiling that the benchmark results reflect. The FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS, paired with 6144 shading units, drives the pixel and texture processing that Greedfall's rendering pipeline requires. The measured texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s directly influence how quickly the GPU can fill the screen at higher resolutions, explaining the consistent 30–40% FPS penalty observed at each resolution step upward.

The RTX 5070's Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 31,100 million transistors, delivers a PassMark G3D score of 29137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. The GPU's percentile ranking of 82 places it above the majority of tested graphics cards, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database — AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher score), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2.0% higher) — are within a narrow performance band. This competitive positioning suggests the RTX 5070's raw compute is adequate for Greedfall's requirements, with the measured 4K Medium result of 86 FPS demonstrating solid headroom.

The 250 W TDP and dual-slot cooler design indicate that thermal throttling is unlikely to be a factor in these results, allowing the GPU to sustain its boost clock during extended gaming sessions. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth for data transfer between the CPU and GPU, and the 16-pin power connector with a 600 W suggested PSU ensures stable power delivery. The GPU's API support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 means Greedfall's rendering features are fully supported, eliminating any API-level compatibility concerns that could skew benchmark results.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 788th out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 78.7th percentile of all system configurations evaluated. This rank reflects the geometric mean of performance across all measured resolutions and settings, weighted toward the playable combinations that the benchmark suite captures.

The top 21.3% positioning indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, which is consistent with the measured frame rates exceeding 60 FPS at 4K Medium and above across most settings. However, the rank also reveals that a substantial number of combos achieve higher performance, likely those pairing higher-end GPUs or more recent CPU generations with optimized configurations.

Within the context of the 3703 combos, the 788th rank suggests that while this system is strong, it is not at the absolute high-end for Greedfall. The RTX 5070's percentileVsAllGpus of 82 and the Ryzen 9 5900X's percentileVsAllCpus of 87 both indicate above-average components, yet the combined system rank of 788/3703 shows that the pairing does not reach the top decile of tested configurations. This is consistent with the measured 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many higher-ranked combos likely exceed.

The rank also contextualizes the resolution scaling data. A combo ranked 788th still delivers 265 FPS at 1080p Low and 189 FPS at 1080p High, demonstrating that the system is far from being a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The limiting factor at 4K Ultra is the GPU's absolute compute ceiling, not a system-level imbalance — a conclusion supported by the even scaling percentages across all settings presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 265 FPS, making it the fastest configuration measured in the entire dataset. Medium averages 208 FPS with a minimum of 177 and maximum of 240, while High averages 189 FPS. Ultra averages 121 FPS, which is 54.3% lower than Low at the same resolution. The gap between Ultra and High at 1080p is 68 FPS, the largest single-settings gap at any resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows consistent reduction. Low averages 184 FPS, Medium averages 144 FPS with a range of 123–166, and High averages 131 FPS. Ultra averages 84 FPS, which is 35.9% below the 1080p Ultra result. The Medium preset at 1440p retains 69.2% of its 1080p performance, while High retains 69.3% and Low retains 69.4% — a remarkably consistent retention rate across presets.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the most demanding scenarios. Low averages 110 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 99, and High averages 78 FPS. Ultra averages 50 FPS, representing the only measured result below 60 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 86 FPS is notable because it exceeds the 4K High result by 10.3%, while the 4K Low result of 110 FPS is 41.3% above the 4K Ultra result.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only complete minimum/maximum data. At 1080p, the range is 177–240 FPS (a 63 FPS spread). At 1440p, the range compresses to 123–166 FPS (a 43 FPS spread). At 4K, the range narrows further to 73–99 FPS (a 26 FPS spread). This progressive tightening of frame time variance as resolution increases confirms that GPU load becomes more consistent at higher pixel counts, reducing the opportunity for frame rate spikes or dips.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 1080p displays, the High preset at 189 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, offering more than three times the refresh rate of typical 60 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 121 FPS still exceeds 120 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh-rate panels, though the 36% performance cost over High may not justify the visual gains for competitive play. The Medium preset at 208 FPS is the choice for maximum frame rates without the visual degradation of Low.

At 1440p, the High preset at 131 FPS is the recommended configuration, delivering smooth gameplay on 144 Hz monitors while maintaining substantial visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 144 FPS provides a 9.9% frame rate increase over High, which may be preferable for players prioritizing refresh rate over graphical detail. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS remains playable on 60 Hz displays but does not take full advantage of higher refresh rate panels. The Low preset at 184 FPS is unnecessary given the strong High performance.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 86 FPS offers the best measured experience, providing smooth gameplay with a 73 FPS minimum that stays above common VSync thresholds. The High preset at 78 FPS is also viable, though the 9.3% lower average compared to Medium may be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. The Low preset at 110 FPS sacrifices significant visual quality for frame rates that exceed most 4K displays' refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS falls below the 60 FPS standard and is not recommended for general play, despite producing the highest visual fidelity.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset demonstrates the most balanced performance profile, with the only complete minimum/maximum data showing that frame pacing remains stable. The Ultra preset's consistent 35.9% penalty relative to High at every resolution suggests that the additional graphical features in Ultra carry a fixed computational cost that does not scale with resolution, making High the more efficient choice for players who want near-Ultra visuals without the frame rate sacrifice.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X contributes 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.80 GHz boost clock. This 5000-series processor, built on TSMC's 7 nm process with 8,300 million transistors across a dual-die design, provides substantial multi-threaded capacity that Greedfall's engine can leverage for game logic, AI, and physics simulation. The 64 MB of L3 cache distributed across the two dies helps maintain low-latency access to frequently used data, which is beneficial for open-world environments like those in Greedfall.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate strong single-thread performance that is critical for gaming. The 3DMark single-thread score of 941, Cinebench R15 single-core score of 250, Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527, and Geekbench single-core score of 2083 all place the 5900X in a competitive position. The PassMark single-thread score of 3469 further confirms that the CPU can deliver the frame-feeding capability required by high-performance GPUs. With a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, the processor can maintain high clock speeds during gaming workloads that are often lightly threaded.

The multi-threaded benchmarks show the CPU's broader capability: 3DMark max-thread score of 10075, Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16262, Geekbench multi-core score of 14118, and PassMark multi-thread score of 39002. These results place the 5900X in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (0.3% higher score) and Intel Core i7-14650HX (0.5% lower score). The CPU's average benchmark score of 41376 confirms that it is a high-performing processor that does not bottleneck the RTX 5070 in Greedfall.

The measured FPS data supports the conclusion that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 265 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at this setting. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 121 FPS result shows that the CPU maintains sufficient headroom. The even resolution scaling, with nearly identical percentage drops across settings presets, would not occur if the CPU were introducing a bottleneck at higher frame rates.

The 5900X's 105 W TDP and AM4 socket compatibility make it a practical pairing with the RTX 5070, though the CPU's release date of 2020-11-04 and launch MSRP of $549 are historical context. The processor's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth via dual-channel DDR4 support is adequate for Greedfall's data requirements, and the PCIe Gen 4 interface provides sufficient throughput for the GPU's PCIe 5.0 x16 connection, which operates at Gen 4 speeds when paired with this CPU. The measured performance confirms that this CPU/GPU combination delivers consistent results across the full resolution spectrum.