Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales heavily with resolution and graphics presets. When paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B580, the measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial headroom allows for high frame rates at 1080p. The following analysis breaks down the performance characteristics of this specific combination, using only the measured FPS and benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a strong GPU limitation. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 104.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 73.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 31.1 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 45.7 FPS, which is 58.5 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern shows that the Intel Arc B580 is the limiting component as pixel count increases.

The Low preset tells a similar story, though with higher absolute numbers. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 143.8 FPS, but this falls to 103.4 FPS at 2560x1440 and 57.3 FPS at 3840x2160. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial in both cases. For High settings, the 4K result is 56.1% lower than the 1080p result. For Low settings, the 4K result is 60.1% lower. This consistency suggests that the rendering workload, not CPU overhead, is dictating the frame rate.

The data also shows that the gap between 1440p and 4K is more punishing than the gap between 1080p and 1440p. At Medium settings, the frame rate goes from 113.4 FPS at 1080p to 79.1 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 47.2 FPS at 4K. The 31.9 FPS loss from 1440p to 4K is larger than the 34.3 FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p, but the latter represents a smaller relative change. The 4K resolution nearly halves the performance seen at 1440p, which is typical for a GPU with a 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth experience, the Low preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, delivering 103.4 FPS. This is more than double the 44.4 FPS achieved at Ultra settings at the same resolution. The jump from Low to Medium at 1440p costs 24.3 FPS, bringing the average down to 79.1 FPS, which is still playable. However, High settings at 1440p reduce the frame rate to 73.1 FPS, a more noticeable compromise.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is the recommended choice for a high-refresh-rate experience, as it delivers 104.2 FPS. This is only 9.2 FPS lower than the Low preset's 143.8 FPS, but it provides significantly better visual quality. The Medium preset at 1080p, with 113.4 FPS, is a middle ground, but the High preset's 104.2 FPS is close enough that the visual upgrade justifies the minor performance loss.

Ultra settings are not viable for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset only reaches 67.5 FPS, and at 2560x1440 it falls to 44.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra produces an unplayable 24.8 FPS. The data indicates that the gap between High and Ultra is the largest single-preset jump in performance cost. For instance, at 1080p, moving from High to Ultra costs 36.7 FPS, a 35.2% decrease. The recommendation is to avoid Ultra entirely and stick with High or Medium, depending on the resolution target.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 143.8 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the Intel Arc B580 and Ryzen 9 7900X?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves a playable average of 57.3 FPS. The High and Medium presets hover around 45-47 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24.8 FPS, which is not smooth.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 delivers 103.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 44.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is 59.0 FPS slower, representing a 57.1% decrease in performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 113.4 FPS, while High averages 104.2 FPS. The High preset is 9.2 FPS slower, which is a relatively small cost for the improved settings.

Q: Which preset provides the most consistent frame rate across all resolutions?

A: The Low preset shows the highest minimum performance across the board, but it also exhibits the largest absolute drop from 1080p to 4K (86.5 FPS). The High preset drops 58.5 FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a smaller absolute change.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU workload is highest relative to the GPU, the system reaches 143.8 FPS. The Ryzen 9 7900X has ample headroom, as its benchmark scores place it in the 93rd percentile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of presets shows a clear hierarchy. The Low preset leads with 143.8 FPS. Medium follows at 113.4 FPS, which is 30.4 FPS lower. High settings produce 104.2 FPS, a further 9.2 FPS reduction. Ultra drops significantly to 67.5 FPS, which is 36.7 FPS below High. The data shows a steady decline with each preset increase, but the Ultra preset is the most demanding, costing more than a third of the performance of High.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with lower overall numbers. Low averages 103.4 FPS, which is the only preset above the 100 FPS threshold. Medium averages 79.1 FPS, a 24.3 FPS drop from Low. High averages 73.1 FPS, just 6.0 FPS behind Medium. Ultra falls to 44.4 FPS, which is 28.7 FPS behind High. The relative gap between Medium and High narrows at this resolution, while the gap between High and Ultra remains large.

At 3840x2160, the performance is constrained. Low averages 57.3 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches a smooth experience. Medium averages 47.2 FPS, a 10.1 FPS drop. High averages 45.7 FPS, nearly identical to Medium. Ultra averages 24.8 FPS, a catastrophic 20.9 FPS drop from High. At 4K, the difference between Medium and High is negligible, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and the preset changes have diminishing returns.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the decisive factor in these results. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the tested resolutions but not excessive. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and it has 2560 shading units. The measured performance in Greedfall shows a GPU that can handle 1080p High easily but struggles with 4K Ultra.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance. It has a percentile rank of 66 among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score is 23021. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, has an average score of 23181, which is 0.7% higher. This close parity is reflected in the game's frame rates, which are competitive but not class-leading. The Arc B580's PassMark G3D score is 15748, and its DirectX 12 score is 76, indicating solid API support for modern titles.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is a notable asset. At 4K with Ultra settings, the game likely approaches this limit, but the measured FPS of 24.8 suggests the compute throughput, not memory capacity, is the primary constraint. The GPU's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are modest figures that align with the observed 4K scaling. The drop from 45.7 FPS at 4K High to 24.8 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates a heavy shader and pixel workload that the B580 cannot sustain.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X provides a strong foundation for this pairing. With 12 cores and 24 threads, it has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU's benchmark performance is exceptional, with a percentile rank of 93 among all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 43695, and its single-core score is 6168. These figures show that the CPU is far from being a bottleneck in Greedfall.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with an average score of 50598 (0.1% higher), are statistically identical in performance. This means the 7900X has no trouble feeding the Arc B580 with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low, which is the most CPU-intensive scenario, reaches 143.8 FPS. This is a high frame rate that many CPUs could not sustain, but the 7900X handles it easily.

The 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support contribute to the CPU's strong showing. The memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s is sufficient for the game's data streaming needs. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting component in all tested configurations. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 51406 and single-thread score of 4238 show a balanced design that excels in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded tasks, ensuring that Greedfall's engine never stalls waiting for processor resources.