Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

This combination of AMD's 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER produces consistently high frame rates across Greedfall's resolution and quality spectrum. The measured data shows this pairing ranks 654th out of 3,703 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 18% of all tested configurations. The RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, handles the 2019 action RPG with substantial headroom at 1440p, while the 5950X's 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample processing power for the game's CPU-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four quality presets tested. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 276 FPS average, Medium reaches 217 FPS, High drops to 197 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 126 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 71 FPS (a 36% reduction) at 1080p, which is the largest single-preset penalty observed. For players targeting 144Hz displays at 1080p, the High preset at 197 FPS average provides a comfortable margin above the refresh rate, while Medium at 217 FPS offers extra headroom without the visual degradation of Low.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low produces 192 FPS, Medium 151 FPS, High 137 FPS, and Ultra 87 FPS. The High preset remains the sweet spot for 144Hz monitors, delivering 137 FPS average with no frame time data suggesting instability. The Medium preset at 151 FPS is also viable for 144Hz, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High in Greedfall's detailed environments justifies the 14 FPS cost. Ultra at 87 FPS falls short of 144Hz targets but remains above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay on 75Hz or 100Hz panels.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. Low yields 114 FPS, Medium 90 FPS, High 82 FPS, and Ultra only 52 FPS. Here, the High preset at 82 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K displays with 60Hz refresh rates, providing a 37% buffer above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 52 FPS dips below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth 4K play. The Medium preset at 90 FPS could suit 75Hz 4K monitors, but the High preset's visual benefits make it the stronger recommendation for most 4K users. The Low preset at 114 FPS might appeal to competitive players, but Greedfall is a single-player RPG where visual fidelity typically takes precedence.

The data indicates that High is the optimal preset across all resolutions, balancing visual quality with performance headroom. The gap between High and Ultra narrows at higher resolutions (36% at 1080p, 37% at 1440p, 37% at 4K), suggesting the Ultra preset's additional effects tax the GPU proportionally regardless of resolution.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER, built on the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, provides the graphical muscle for Greedfall. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates over a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock of 1980 MHz boosts to 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 43,223.

The GPU's transistor count of 35,800 million on a 5 nm TSMC process (294 mm² die) supports 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and DLSS, though Greedfall's 2019 release predates widespread RT implementation in the genre. The FP32 compute throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS (with FP16 running at the same rate) indicates substantial headroom for the game's DirectX 12 workload, which the passmark_directx_12 score of 110 reflects.

The GPU's 220 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU requirement frame its power envelope, but the measured frame rates suggest the card operates well within its thermal and power limits in Greedfall. The pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s explain why the card maintains 82 FPS at 4K High: the fill rate and texture throughput are sufficient for the game's asset density.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (deltaPct -0.1), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct -0.1), NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (deltaPct -0.2), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (deltaPct -1). These deltas, all within 1% of the RTX 4070 SUPER's average score, indicate the card sits at a performance tier where minor architectural differences produce negligible benchmark gaps. In Greedfall specifically, the 12 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient at 4K Ultra (52 FPS), though the frame rate collapse from High to Ultra suggests memory bandwidth, not capacity, limits the highest preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, codenamed Vermeer on the Zen 3 architecture, provides 16 cores and 32 threads across a 7 nm TSMC process. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz boosts to 4.90 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB L2 per core. The CPU's 105 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) frame its system-level performance. The 5950X sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51,947.

The CPU's benchmark portfolio shows strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 26,017, while single-core reaches 1,614. The Geekbench multi-core score of 15,233 and single-core score of 2,083 reinforce this pattern. PassMark multi-thread results (45,424) and integer math (185,520) indicate the CPU's capacity for the physics and AI calculations Greedfall's open-world environments demand.

In Greedfall, the 5950X's role is less about raw multi-threading and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10,810 (versus 11,597 at max threads) suggests the game utilizes around 16 threads effectively. The single-thread score of 944 in 3DMark indicates the CPU's per-core performance is adequate for the game's main thread, though the 4.90 GHz boost clock helps ensure no bottleneck at 1080p Low where the GPU produces 276 FPS.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (deltaPct -0.2), AMD EPYC 8124P (deltaPct -0.3), Intel Core i9-13900F (deltaPct 0.4), and Intel Core i7-14700 (deltaPct -0.7). These deltas, all under 1%, place the 5950X in a tightly contested performance tier. For Greedfall, the 5950X's 64 MB L3 cache likely helps with the game's asset streaming, while the 32 threads provide headroom for background tasks during gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for 60 FPS gameplay?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 82 FPS average, providing a comfortable buffer above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 90 FPS and Low at 114 FPS also exceed 60 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so High is the recommended 4K setting.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER perform at 1440p with High settings?

A: The card produces 137 FPS average at 2560x1440 with High settings, which provides a 137% margin above 60 FPS and comes close to 144Hz refresh rates. The Medium preset at 151 FPS exceeds 144Hz, while Ultra at 87 FPS remains above 60 FPS but falls short of high-refresh targets.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in Greedfall?

A: The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combination produces 276 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates. The 5950X's 16 cores and 4.90 GHz boost clock provide sufficient headroom for the game's threaded workload.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 52 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This falls below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, making High (82 FPS) the better choice for 4K play.

Q: How does the 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM affect Greedfall performance?

A: The 12 GB GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for all tested settings. The frame rate drop from High (82 FPS) to Ultra (52 FPS) at 4K suggests memory bandwidth, rather than capacity, limits the Ultra preset.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low produces 276 FPS average, while Ultra produces 126 FPS, a difference of 150 FPS or 119%. This represents the full range of the quality settings at 1080p, with Medium (217 FPS) and High (197 FPS) falling between these extremes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how resolution scaling affects this combination. At 1080p High, the system produces 197 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 137 FPS, a 30% drop. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 82 FPS, a 40% reduction from 1440p and a 58% drop from 1080p. These scaling factors indicate the GPU becomes the primary limiter as resolution increases, with the CPU's contribution diminishing at higher pixel counts.

The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 276 FPS at 1080p, 192 FPS at 1440p (30% drop), and 114 FPS at 4K (41% drop from 1440p, 59% from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. The Medium preset's frame time data (min/max) shows tighter ranges at higher resolutions: 185-250 FPS at 1080p, 128-173 FPS at 1440p, and 76-103 FPS at 4K. The relative spread (35% at 1080p, 35% at 1440p, 36% at 4K) remains constant, indicating stable performance scaling.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p increases pixel count by 78%, yet the frame rate drops by only 30% at High settings. This suggests the GPU has spare throughput at 1080p that gets utilized as resolution increases. The 1440p to 4K transition (2.25x pixel count) produces a 40% frame rate drop, indicating the GPU approaches its fill rate limits at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 126 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (31% drop), and 52 FPS at 4K (40% drop from 1440p, 59% from 1080p). These numbers confirm that the RTX 4070 SUPER's 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the binding constraint at 4K Ultra.

The data suggests the 5950X's role diminishes at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low (276 FPS), the CPU must feed frames at a rate approaching its practical limit. At 4K High (82 FPS), the GPU's workload dominates, and the CPU has ample headroom. This explains why the frame rate drops are consistent across presets: the scaling is primarily a GPU function.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range was measured. Low produces 276 FPS average, the highest frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium delivers 217 FPS average with a minimum of 185 FPS and maximum of 250 FPS, indicating a 65 FPS spread across the measurement window. High reaches 197 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 126 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 150 FPS, representing a 119% performance range.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates shift downward. Low produces 192 FPS, Medium 151 FPS (min 128, max 173), High 137 FPS, and Ultra 87 FPS. The Medium preset's frame time data shows a 45 FPS spread, slightly narrower in absolute terms than at 1080p but similar as a percentage (30% versus 30%). The Ultra preset at 87 FPS represents a 55% drop from Low at the same resolution, compared to a 54% drop at 1080p, indicating consistent settings scaling.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress further. Low produces 114 FPS, Medium 90 FPS (min 76, max 103), High 82 FPS, and Ultra 52 FPS. The Medium preset's spread of 27 FPS (30% of average) mirrors the lower resolutions. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, making it the sole setting unsuitable for standard 60Hz displays. The High preset at 82 FPS provides a 37% buffer above 60 FPS, while Low at 114 FPS approaches the 120Hz threshold.

The Medium preset is the only setting with complete frame time data across all three resolutions. The minimum and maximum values show consistent scaling: at 1080p the range spans 185-250 FPS, at 1440p 128-173 FPS, and at 4K 76-103 FPS. The relative spread remains constant at approximately 30%, indicating the game's frame pacing is stable across resolutions, with no unexpected spikes or drops.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 654th out of 3,703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the measured frame rates across all resolution and settings combinations, weighted by the game's typical usage patterns.

The ranking position is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The combo's 82nd percentile ranking suggests the pairing performs slightly below what the individual component percentiles might predict, likely due to the GPU being the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS result pulls the overall ranking down relative to configurations with faster GPUs.

The combo's position in the top 18% of tested configurations indicates solid performance for Greedfall, but the data shows room for improvement at the highest settings. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS falls short of the 60 FPS target, which prevents this combo from ranking higher. The 1080p and 1440p results, however, are strong, with the High preset at both resolutions exceeding 100 FPS and approaching 200 FPS at 1080p.

The ranking also reflects the game's 2019 release date, which means modern GPUs like the RTX 4070 SUPER have substantial headroom over the game's original target hardware. The 5950X, released in late 2020, similarly provides more processing power than Greedfall's original system requirements demanded. This combination represents a high-end pairing that delivers playable-to-excellent performance across all tested configurations, with the only compromise being 4K Ultra, which falls just below the 60 FPS threshold.