Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of delivering high frame rates across most settings, yet the performance scaling between resolutions and presets reveals a system that is heavily influenced by the graphics card. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS to provide a clear picture of what gamers can expect from this hardware duo.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combination, the data clearly indicates that the High preset offers the most balanced experience, particularly at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 177 FPS, which is a significant 64 FPS jump over the Ultra preset's 113 FPS, while only being 18 FPS shy of the Medium preset's 195 FPS. The performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is substantial, with a 36% reduction in frame rate at 1080p, making High the sweet spot for competitive or high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains an excellent 123 FPS average, which is still well above the 78 FPS seen at Ultra. The drop from High to Ultra here is even more pronounced, representing a 45 FPS decrease. This pattern suggests that the Ultra preset introduces graphical effects that disproportionately tax the GPU without providing a proportional visual benefit, as the system struggles to maintain fluidity.

The 3840x2160 resolution is where the recommendation shifts slightly. Here, the High preset's 73 FPS average is still playable, but the Medium preset's 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS provides a more stable baseline for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to a mere 47 FPS average, which is likely too demanding for a consistently smooth experience. The data suggests that for 4K, the Medium preset is the optimal choice, as it offers a 17% performance increase over High while likely retaining most of the visual fidelity that matters at that pixel density.

The Low preset, while achieving impressive raw numbers—248 FPS at 1080p, 172 FPS at 1440p, and 103 FPS at 4K—should be avoided unless maximum frame rates are the absolute priority over visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium is relatively small in performance cost (53 FPS at 1080p) but represents a significant upgrade in the game's visual presentation. Ultimately, the High preset at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K, provide the best balance of performance and quality based on the measured data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use for this CPU and GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on the High preset provides an excellent balance, yielding a 123 FPS average. This is a substantial upgrade over 1080p in visual clarity while maintaining a frame rate that is 50 FPS higher than the 4K High preset's 73 FPS average.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 177 on High to 113 on Ultra, a 64 FPS decrease. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 123 to 78 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls from 73 to 47 FPS. This indicates that Ultra has a high performance cost.

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but not at the highest settings. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, which is a smooth experience. The High preset is also playable at 73 FPS average, but the Ultra preset falls below 50 FPS, which is not ideal.

Q: Why is the performance gap between 1080p and 4K so large at the Low settings?

A: At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 248 FPS at 1080p to 103 FPS at 4K, a 145 FPS reduction. This large drop indicates that even at the lowest graphical settings, the GPU is still the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the increased pixel count directly impacts rendering load.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 912 out of 3703 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 25% of all systems. This suggests it is a high-performing setup, though not at the absolute top tier.

Q: What does the minimum FPS data tell us about frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS data. At 1080p, the minimum is 166 FPS, at 1440p it is 115 FPS, and at 4K it is 69 FPS. These minimums are fairly close to their respective averages, indicating relatively stable frame pacing without severe stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination holds a rank of 912 out of 3703 tested combos for Greedfall. This position places it comfortably in the upper quartile of all tested systems, indicating a high level of performance relative to the broader hardware landscape. The percentile data for the individual components supports this; the CPU is in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 81st percentile against all GPUs.

This ranking suggests that while this is not the absolute fastest configuration possible, it is a formidable one. The CPU's high percentile indicates that its 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample processing power for the game's logic, while the GPU's slightly lower percentile highlights that it is the more likely bottleneck in demanding scenarios. The gap between the CPU's 91st percentile and the GPU's 81st percentile is telling; it implies that a system with a more powerful GPU could see higher frame rates, but the 5950X is unlikely to hold the RTX 4070 back in most situations.

The combination's rank of 912 suggests there are many systems with faster GPUs or more balanced pairings. However, the measured FPS data shows that this particular combo still delivers excellent playability at high refresh rates for 1080p and 1440p, and even manages solid 4K performance on Medium settings. The rank is a holistic measure, but the specific game data reveals that for Greedfall, this system is more than adequate, offering a high-quality experience without being at the bleeding edge of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a clear performance hierarchy across the three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak capability. The Low preset achieves an average of 248 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Moving up, Medium delivers 195 FPS (with a minimum of 166 FPS), High provides 177 FPS, and Ultra drops to 113 FPS. The scaling here shows that even at 1080p, the Ultra preset imposes a significant performance penalty, suggesting it is not optimized for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down as expected. Low still produces a very high 172 FPS, while Medium averages 135 FPS (minimum 115 FPS). High maintains a strong 123 FPS, and Ultra falls to 78 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra at this resolution is a 45 FPS drop, which is a 36% reduction. This reinforces the idea that the Ultra preset is particularly demanding.

For 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low yields 103 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS (with a minimum of 69 FPS), and High drops to 73 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, only manages 47 FPS, which is just below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience. The data shows that the gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 22 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 26 FPS, indicating that the higher presets have a more linear performance cost at this resolution.

This breakdown highlights the GPU's role as the primary performance driver. The CPU, with its high benchmark scores, is not the limiting factor. Instead, the RTX 4070's capabilities are fully utilized, and the frame rate scales directly with the graphical load imposed by the resolution and settings. The 1080p results, particularly at Low settings, reveal a scenario where the system is likely CPU-bound or hitting a frame rate ceiling, as the GPU has more than enough power to render the scene quickly.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is a critical indicator of system balance. At the Low setting, the frame rate falls from 248 FPS at 1080p to 172 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction, and then to 103 FPS at 4K, a further 40% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline is expected, as 4K has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, putting a massive load on the GPU.

For the Medium setting, the scaling is similar. From 195 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 135 FPS at 1440p (a 31% decrease) and then to 81 FPS at 4K (a 40% decrease from 1440p). The High setting follows suit: 177 FPS at 1080p, 123 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop), and 73 FPS at 4K (a 41% drop). The Ultra setting shows the most dramatic scaling: 113 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop), and 47 FPS at 4K (a 40% drop from 1440p).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings is noteworthy. The frame rate reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistently around 31%, and from 1440p to 4K it is around 40%. This uniform scaling strongly suggests that the system is purely GPU-limited. The CPU, with its high single-thread and multi-thread performance, is able to feed the GPU enough data at all resolutions, allowing the rendering load to scale linearly with pixel count. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller performance differences at higher resolutions, as the CPU would be the limiting factor regardless of resolution.

The fact that even at Low settings, the 4K frame rate (103 FPS) is less than half the 1080p frame rate (248 FPS) confirms that this is a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 4070 is the component determining the final output, and its performance at 4K is what shapes the experience. This analysis indicates that for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitors, the system is well-suited, but for 4K, the GPU becomes the definitive constraining factor.

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 multi-core score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. The Geekbench scores also show strong performance, with a multi-core score of 15233 and a single-core score of 2083. These numbers place the CPU in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, indicating it is a top-tier processor.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions, as noted previously, points to a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's high multi-threaded performance ensures that it is not a limiting factor, even in complex scenes with many AI characters or physics calculations. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10810 and max-thread score of 11597 demonstrate its ability to handle heavy workloads, but the game's engine likely does not utilize all 32 threads effectively.

The single-thread performance is also critical. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1614 and Geekbench single-core score of 2083 are strong, ensuring that the game's primary game logic thread runs efficiently. However, the data does not show any scenarios where the CPU is causing a frame rate ceiling, as the 1080p Low setting reaches 248 FPS without the CPU appearing to hold it back. The processor's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide ample bandwidth for the game's data, further reducing the chance of CPU-related bottlenecks. The CPU's performance is more than sufficient to keep up with the GPU, making it a solid foundation for this gaming setup.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of performance in this system. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2475 MHz, and it has a TDP of 200 W. The GPU's benchmark scores are solid, with a PassMark G3D score of 26927 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 174152. It holds an 81st percentile ranking against all GPUs, which is high but slightly below the CPU's ranking.

The measured FPS data clearly shows the GPU's influence. The uniform scaling of frame rates with resolution indicates that the RTX 4070 is the limiting component. The 12 GB of VRAM appears sufficient for Greedfall at all tested settings, as there is no indication of texture or memory-related performance cliffs. The GPU's 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units handle the game's rendering demands effectively, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

The performance drop at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings (47 FPS), shows the limitations of the GPU's raw compute power. The 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial, but the sheer pixel count of 4K overwhelms them at the highest settings. The GPU's 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in Greedfall, as it is not a ray-traced title, so the standard rasterization performance is what matters most here. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 is a powerful card that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming, delivering extremely high frame rates, but it is best paired with Medium or High settings for a smooth 4K experience. The GPU's performance is the definitive factor in determining the final frame rate, with the CPU providing ample support.