Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers exceptional performance in Greedfall, ranking in the top 4% of all tested configurations. The data shows this pairing is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU providing ample headroom to push frame rates to extreme levels at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution. At 3840x2160, the High preset provides the most balanced experience, delivering an average of 104.6 FPS. This is a significant 39.4 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset's 65.2 FPS, while only costing 8.2 FPS compared to Medium's 112.8 FPS. The visual fidelity difference between High and Ultra is typically less impactful than the 60% performance gap observed here.

For 2560x1440, the High preset again emerges as the sweet spot with 175.3 FPS average. While Medium achieves 189.7 FPS and Low reaches 240.5 FPS, the High preset maintains excellent fluidity while preserving more graphical detail. The Ultra preset at 108.5 FPS is playable but represents a substantial 38% performance reduction from High.

At 1920x1080, even the demanding Ultra preset produces 158.6 FPS, making it a viable choice for high-refresh-rate displays. However, the High preset's 253.7 FPS average provides nearly 100 additional frames per second, which is more suitable for competitive play or 240Hz monitors. The Low preset's 354.4 FPS demonstrates extreme CPU-bound scaling, but the visual compromises are rarely worth the extra frames at this resolution.

The data clearly indicates that High settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with Medium serving as a reasonable alternative for those prioritizing frame rate over fidelity.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Greedfall's requirements. The GPU's 16,384 shading units and 176 ROPs, operating at a boost clock of 2520 MHz, deliver 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This massive compute capacity is evident in the resolution scaling patterns.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 65.2, indicating the GPU is working at its limits with maximum settings. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial: 147 FPS versus 65.2 FPS, a 125% variation. This demonstrates that the RTX 4090's raw power is the primary driver of frame rates at high resolutions, with the CPU rarely becoming the bottleneck.

The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide features that Greedfall may not fully utilize, but the sheer rasterization throughput ensures consistent high performance. The card's 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler design reflect its high-end positioning, and the benchmark results confirm it operates effectively within this power envelope.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior. At High settings, the RTX 4090 delivers 253.7 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 175.3 FPS at 1440p (-31%), and further to 104.6 FPS at 4K (-59% from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates diminishing returns as resolution increases, typical of a GPU that is not fully utilized at lower resolutions.

The Low preset shows even more dramatic scaling: 354.4 FPS at 1080p, 240.5 FPS at 1440p (-32%), and 147 FPS at 4K (-59%). The consistent percentage drops suggest the GPU is the primary limiter even at 1080p Low, though the extremely high frame rates indicate the CPU is keeping pace effectively.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is less steep but still significant: 158.6 FPS at 1080p, 108.5 FPS at 1440p (-32%), and 65.2 FPS at 4K (-59%). The uniform percentage decreases across presets strongly indicate that the RTX 4090's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, while the Ryzen 9 7900X maintains sufficient CPU throughput to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for max frame rates with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination achieves 354.4 FPS average. Even at High settings, 253.7 FPS is attainable, making 1080p the clear choice for maximum frame rates.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 65.2 FPS. While playable, this is 39.4 FPS lower than the High preset at the same resolution, suggesting High is the better choice for 4K gaming.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the primary limiter at resolutions above 1080p, with consistent FPS drops of approximately 31% from 1080p to 1440p and 59% from 1080p to 4K across all settings. The CPU provides sufficient headroom at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium achieves 189.7 FPS while High delivers 175.3 FPS, a difference of 14.4 FPS. The High preset offers better visual quality with a minimal performance cost.

Q: Can this combo handle high refresh rate 4K displays?

A: With High settings at 4K, the average of 104.6 FPS exceeds 100 FPS, making it suitable for 120Hz displays. The Ultra preset's 65.2 FPS is better suited for 60Hz monitors.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X features 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This 5 nm processor from TSMC includes 64 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's multi-threaded performance is demonstrated by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695 and single-core score of 6168.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p with lower settings. The Low preset at 1080p produces 354.4 FPS, which is 100.7 FPS higher than High settings at the same resolution. This substantial difference indicates the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames when graphical load is reduced. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 4238, ensures that game logic and draw call processing do not become a bottleneck.

The CPU's 12 cores provide ample headroom for background tasks and any game engine multithreading. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where GPU load is highest, the CPU maintains frame delivery without significant drops. The processor's 93rd percentile ranking among all tested CPUs confirms its high-end positioning, though its average benchmark score of 50556 places it within 1% of several rival processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160:

• Low: 147.0 FPS
• Medium: 112.8 FPS
• High: 104.6 FPS
• Ultra: 65.2 FPS

The 4K results show a clear hierarchy, with Low outperforming Ultra by 81.8 FPS. Medium delivers only 8.2 FPS more than High, making High the more efficient choice. The large gap between High and Ultra (39.4 FPS) suggests Ultra imposes disproportionately heavy rendering costs.

2560x1440:

• Low: 240.5 FPS
• Medium: 189.7 FPS
• High: 175.3 FPS
• Ultra: 108.5 FPS

At 1440p, Low exceeds 240 FPS while Ultra remains above 100 FPS. The Medium preset provides 14.4 FPS more than High, and High offers 66.8 FPS more than Ultra. All presets deliver smooth gameplay, with even Ultra maintaining high frame rates.

1920x1080:

• Low: 354.4 FPS
• Medium: 274.9 FPS
• High: 253.7 FPS
• Ultra: 158.6 FPS

The 1080p results demonstrate extreme performance headroom. Low achieves over 350 FPS, Medium and High both exceed 250 FPS, and even Ultra maintains nearly 160 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low represents a 123% improvement in frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 59th out of 1705 tested combinations for Greedfall, placing it in the top 3.5% of all configurations. This exceptional ranking reflects the synergy between the 12-core CPU and the flagship GPU.

The GPU's individual performance, ranked in the 91st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 66473, is the primary driver of this high combo ranking. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking (average benchmark score of 50556) complements the GPU well, ensuring no significant bottleneck exists.

The data shows that while both components are top-tier individually, their combined performance in Greedfall is particularly strong. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 (scoring within 0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (within 0.4%), demonstrate that the 7900X is competitively positioned. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals show minimal performance deltas, confirming the RTX 4090's dominance.

This combo's rank of 59 out of 1705 indicates that only a handful of configurations (primarily those with newer or more specialized hardware) outperform it. For a game like Greedfall, which benefits from both strong CPU single-thread performance and massive GPU compute, this pairing delivers near-optimal results across all tested resolutions and settings.