Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, is not a demanding title by modern standards, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 utterly dominates it. The data confirms this pairing is the best of 1,705 tested combos, ranking first overall. This is a configuration that delivers exceptional frame rates at every resolution, with the primary challenge being selecting a graphics preset that balances visual fidelity against the GPU's immense headroom.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the definitive experience on this hardware, the Ultra preset is the clear choice at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 165.9 FPS, which is not only highly playable but also leaves substantial performance in reserve. Moving to 2560x1440, Ultra still maintains a commanding 114.7 FPS average, offering a significant visual upgrade over lower settings while remaining well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The performance cost of Ultra is steep, but the absolute frame rates remain so high that the visual benefits are essentially free in this context.

However, at 4K, the calculus changes. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 drops to an average of 69.8 FPS. While this is perfectly playable, the High preset at the same resolution achieves 110.1 FPS, which is a 57.7% performance increase. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra in many titles is often subtle, the High preset at 4K provides the best balance, ensuring a consistently high frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K (121.1 FPS) offers a marginal performance boost over High but likely with a more noticeable visual downgrade, making High the sweet spot for 4K. The Low preset, while capable of 367 FPS at 1080p, is only relevant for competitive play at extreme refresh rates and is unnecessary for this hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a monstrously powerful GPU, and its specifications explain why Greedfall poses little challenge. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21,760 shading units contribute to its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. These figures translate directly to the raw performance seen in the benchmark results, allowing it to push frame rates far beyond what most displays can even show. Its 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 39,650, solidify its position as a top-tier component.

The sheer amount of VRAM (32 GB) ensures that memory capacity is a non-factor, even at 4K with the highest settings. The data confirms that the RTX 5090 is not the bottleneck in this system. The performance scaling across resolutions shows that it has ample headroom, suggesting that the CPU or game engine becomes a limiting factor long before the GPU is fully saturated. The GPU is so fast that it can render Greedfall at extremely high frame rates, but the game's engine and the CPU's single-thread performance will eventually cap the output.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic trend of increasing GPU load, but with a twist due to the hardware's strength. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves 263.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 182.1 FPS, a 30.8% decrease, and at 4K High, it falls to 110.1 FPS, a 39.5% drop from 1440p. This significant drop indicates that the GPU is being tasked more heavily as resolution increases, but the absolute numbers remain incredibly high.

The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound. The 367 FPS at Low settings 1080p is a strong indicator that the Ryzen 9 5950X's single-core performance is nearing its limit. As the resolution increases, the load shifts to the GPU, which still handles it with ease. The fact that the 4K Ultra setting (69.8 FPS) is the only one that brings the system down to a more typical "high-end" frame rate shows that the RTX 5090 is only truly challenged when pushing maximum pixels and maximum settings simultaneously. The drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is from 367 to 152.1 FPS, a 58.5% reduction, highlighting the GPU's role as the resolution bottleneck, but even at 4K Low, the performance is exceptional.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system is a frame rate monster. With Low settings, it averages 367 FPS, which is ideal for a 360Hz monitor. Medium settings still achieve a blistering 289.2 FPS, and High settings remain incredibly high at 263.1 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset produces an average of 165.9 FPS, making it entirely viable for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains outstanding. The Low preset averages 255 FPS, while Medium and High deliver 197.8 and 182.1 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset, with its increased visual fidelity, still manages a very strong 114.7 FPS, proving that 1440p gaming on this combo is a flawless experience at any setting.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's immense power is more apparent. The Low preset averages 152.1 FPS, which is a phenomenal result for 4K. Medium and High settings follow at 121.1 and 110.1 FPS, respectively, both offering excellent performance for a 4K display. The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below the 100 FPS mark, averaging 69.8 FPS, but this is still a playable and visually spectacular way to experience the game.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 367 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 69.8 FPS, which is a playable frame rate, though the High preset offers a significant performance advantage.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 49,062, which is nearly identical to its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 49,166. This puts the 5950X at a 0.2% deficit.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 255 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 114.7 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: How does this system rank against other tested combos for Greedfall?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is ranked first out of 1,705 tested combos for this game.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 features a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is a key factor in its high-resolution performance.

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, it provides substantial processing power. Its multi-threaded capabilities are immense, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 38,607. However, for gaming, single-thread performance is often more critical, and the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,450 are strong indicators of its capability in this area.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep it busy. At 1080p, the data shows that the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The frame rate at 1080p Low (367 FPS) is likely near the engine's or CPU's limit, as increasing to 1080p High only reduces the average to 263.1 FPS. This 28.3% drop from Low to High is much smaller than the 58.5% drop seen from 1080p Low to 4K Low, indicating that resolution scaling is more heavily dependent on the GPU, while the CPU is already taxed at lower resolutions. The 5950X, with its high boost clock and strong single-core performance, ensures that even the RTX 5090 is not left waiting, successfully driving it to these exceptional frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves the top rank of 1st out of 1,705 tested combos in Greedfall. This reflects the sheer power of both components. The data shows a near-ideal scenario where a high-end CPU provides enough single-threaded throughput to prevent a bottleneck, while a flagship GPU has more than enough raw power to handle the game's graphics demands at any resolution. The GPU's 94th percentile ranking and the CPU's 93rd percentile ranking independently place them as top-tier hardware, and their combination results in the best possible performance for this title. The measured frame rates are not just high; they are at the very top of the database, confirming that no other tested configuration is faster in this specific game.