Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, presents a fascinating case study when paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. The measured data reveals a system with significant headroom at lower resolutions, becoming increasingly GPU-bound as pixel count rises. The combination's performance profile is defined by a stark contrast between a 16-core CPU that rarely breaks a sweat and a high-bandwidth GPU that dictates the experience at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly demonstrates where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p High, the system delivers an average of 170 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, that figure drops by 30.6% to 118 FPS. The most severe penalty occurs at 4K High, where the average plummets to 70 FPS — a 58.8% reduction from the 1080p High result. This scaling pattern indicates a classic transition from a CPU-limited scenario at 1080p to a GPU-limited one at 4K.

Looking at the Low preset, the trend is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system hits an average of 238 FPS, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the graphics card can render. At 1440p Low, the average is 165 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 98 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 58.8%, which is nearly identical to the percentage drop seen on the High preset. This consistency across presets is a strong signal that at 4K, the limiting factor is the GPU's raw rendering throughput, independent of the visual load imposed by the preset.

The data implies that the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the demands of 4K resolution stretch its capabilities. The difference between the 4K Medium average of 77 FPS and the 4K High average of 70 FPS is just 10%, while the jump from 4K High to 4K Ultra costs a massive 35.7% (from 70 FPS to 45 FPS). This non-linear scaling at 4K suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU's shader and ROP throughput, rather than just memory bandwidth. The question the data raises is whether the extra visual fidelity of Ultra is worth halving the frame rate compared to the High preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. In this game, however, the CPU's role appears to be providing a solid foundation rather than being the primary performance driver.

At 1080p Low, the 238 FPS average strongly suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor. A less powerful processor would likely struggle to maintain such high frame rates, but the 5950X's single-thread performance, evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 3470, ensures that even the game's main simulation thread is not a bottleneck. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1856 and the 3dmark_4_threads score of 3595 further indicate that the processor has ample headroom for the typical thread utilization of an Action RPG.

The data shows that the CPU's influence on FPS is most apparent at 1080p, where the difference between Low (238 FPS) and Ultra (108 FPS) is 54.6%. This gap is primarily due to the GPU's workload increasing with the preset, but the CPU must also handle more draw calls and physics calculations. However, the fact that the 4K Ultra average is 45 FPS, which is 58.3% lower than the 1080p Ultra average, proves that the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. The 5950X's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide sufficient data throughput for the game's world streaming, but the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is never the primary reason for frame rate drops in this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, with its GA102 chip and 8704 shading units, is a formidable graphics card. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus delivers a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s, which is crucial for high-resolution textures. The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz and FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS are high, yet the measured FPS at 4K reveals its limitations.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 45 is the lowest in the entire dataset. This is a clear indication that the RTX 3080 is being pushed to its absolute limit. The drop from 4K High (70 FPS) to 4K Ultra (45 FPS) is a 35.7% reduction, which is far steeper than the 10% drop from 4K Medium (77 FPS) to 4K High (70 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset likely enables features like high-quality shadows, ambient occlusion, and post-processing effects that heavily tax the GPU's compute and memory subsystems.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 25086 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4407 provide context for its overall capability. However, the measured game data is more telling. The fact that 4K Low still only achieves 98 FPS, while 1080p Low achieves 238 FPS, shows that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s are high, but they are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160 with demanding settings. The data indicates that the RTX 3080 is best utilized at 1440p, where it delivers an average of 118 FPS on High settings, striking a balance between visual quality and performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 5950X and RTX 3080 ranks 1064 out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the upper echelon of systems, roughly in the 71st percentile. The rank reflects the raw power of both components, but it also raises the question of whether a more balanced pairing might have ranked higher. The CPU's average benchmark score of 51947 places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's average score of 23172 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. This discrepancy suggests that the CPU is significantly more powerful relative to its peers than the GPU is relative to its own peers.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i9-13900F has an average score of 51730, which is 0.4% lower than the 5950X. The Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301, which is 0.7% higher. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming. For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 (0.3% lower), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (0.3% lower), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (0.4% lower), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (0.4% lower). These rivals are not direct competitors in terms of gaming performance, which highlights the unusual positioning of the RTX 3080's benchmark score relative to its actual gaming capabilities. The data suggests that the combo's rank is strong, but not exceptional, given that the CPU is overqualified for the GPU's performance level in this specific title.

FAQ

Q: Is this system capable of playing at 4K 60 FPS in Greedfall?

A: On the High preset, the system achieves an average of 70 FPS at 3840x2160, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Ultra preset drops to an average of 45 FPS, which is below 60 FPS.

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

A: The 2560x1440 resolution on High settings delivers an average of 118 FPS, offering a balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. At 1920x1080 High, the average is 170 FPS, but the GPU is not fully utilized at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301 (0.7% higher).

Q: Is the GPU's 10 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 45, which is below playable levels for many users. While the VRAM size is not directly measured in the FPS data, the significant performance drop at Ultra suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and capacity are stressed.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 118 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 75 FPS. This represents a 36.4% reduction in frame rate for the Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 238 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the graphics card can render.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 4K, the High preset is the most sensible choice, offering an average of 70 FPS. The Medium preset provides 77 FPS, a 10% improvement, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as its 45 FPS average falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay. For users who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, the Low preset at 4K yields 98 FPS, which is a significant improvement but still far from the 1440p results.

At 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 118 FPS. The Medium preset offers 130 FPS, which is a 10.2% improvement, but the High preset's visual quality is likely superior. The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is also viable, providing a more detailed image while maintaining a playable frame rate. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with Low at 238 FPS, Medium at 187 FPS, High at 170 FPS, and Ultra at 108 FPS. The data suggests that the High preset is the best overall choice across all resolutions, as it offers a consistent balance. For a competitive advantage, the Medium preset at 1440p provides a 10.2% FPS boost over High, which could be beneficial in fast-paced combat.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measured for each resolution and settings combination. Minimum and maximum FPS values are only available for the Medium preset at each resolution.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | Low | 98 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 77 | 66 | 89 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 70 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 45 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 165 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 130 | 110 | 149 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 118 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 75 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 238 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 187 | 159 | 215 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 170 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 108 | - | - |

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently provides a modest FPS advantage over High, with a 10% increase at 1080p, a 10.2% increase at 1440p, and a 10% increase at 4K. The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding, with a 36.5% reduction in FPS compared to High at 1080p, a 36.4% reduction at 1440p, and a 35.7% reduction at 4K. The minimum FPS values for the Medium preset show that the system maintains a stable frame rate, with the 4K minimum of 66 FPS being the lowest recorded.