Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a dataset that clearly illustrates a GPU-bound scenario in Greedfall. The benchmark results show a stark contrast between the high-end 2024 processor and the 2017 Polaris-based graphics card, with performance scaling patterns that consistently point to the graphics card as the primary constraint across all resolutions and settings. This combination ranks 3371st out of 3703 tested combos, placing it in the lower percentile of system configurations for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 81 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 56 FPS, a reduction of 25 FPS or approximately 31%. At 4K, the average falls further to 34 FPS, which represents a 58% decline from the 1080p figure. This steep drop-off indicates that the RX 580's rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases, with the CPU's substantial headroom having no opportunity to compensate.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows a similar pattern: 64 FPS down to 44 FPS, a 20 FPS loss. The 4K Medium result of 26 FPS continues this trajectory. High settings follow the same trend, with 58 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these drops across all settings presets strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU's fill rate and pixel processing throughput rather than any CPU-related bottleneck.

When examining the percentage drops, the pattern becomes even more telling. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS loss across all settings is roughly 30-31%. From 1440p to 4K, the loss is approximately 39-40%. This non-linear degradation is characteristic of a graphics card operating well beyond its optimal efficiency range at higher resolutions. The RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are clearly insufficient for the pixel workloads demanded by 4K rendering in this Action RPG.

The data indicates that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo approaches playable framerates, and even then, only at lower settings presets. The 4K results, ranging from 15 FPS at Ultra to 34 FPS at Low, are uniformly below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This resolution scaling analysis conclusively identifies the GPU as the performance ceiling, with the CPU's capabilities remaining largely untapped throughout the resolution range.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 serves as the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, the card operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz. These specifications, while respectable for the card's 2017 release, are severely outclassed by the demands of Greedfall at higher resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, delivering 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s provide theoretical maxima that the measured results show are being approached at 1080p but overwhelmed at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 15 FPS average indicates the card is operating at its absolute limit, with the 32 ROPs struggling to handle the pixel fill requirements.

Memory bandwidth plays a critical role in these results. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is identical across all resolutions, but the demands on it scale with pixel count. At 4K, the effective bandwidth per pixel is one-quarter of what it is at 1080p, explaining the dramatic FPS drops. The GDDR5 memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) provides no headroom for the increased data requirements of higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (deltaPct -0.1) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (deltaPct -0.4), indicating the RX 580 sits in the mid-range of graphics performance. The PassMark G3D score of 8813 and DirectX 12 score of 43 further contextualize its capabilities relative to modern titles.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Greedfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 81, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the only configuration where the combo exceeds 80 FPS, with all other settings and resolutions falling below this threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X limiting performance in this game?

A: No. The benchmark data shows a GPU-bound scenario, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops across resolutions. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, provide far more processing capability than the RX 580 can utilize, particularly at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's 12940 and 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER's 12986. These deltas are minimal, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: What 4K settings are playable with this configuration?

A: The data shows no 4K settings achieve 30 FPS average. The best 4K result is 34 FPS at Low settings, followed by 26 FPS at Medium, 24 FPS at High, and 15 FPS at Ultra. None of these provide a consistently smooth experience.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 81 FPS average while Ultra produces 37 FPS, a difference of 44 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to highest settings preset.

Q: Does the combo's ranking reflect its overall gaming capability in this title?

A: The combo ranks 3371st out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 9% of configurations. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the RX 580's age and performance class relative to the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 81 FPS, representing the only configuration to exceed 80 FPS. Medium settings achieve 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73 FPS, providing a stable range. High settings drop to 58 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 37 FPS. The spread from 81 to 37 FPS demonstrates the significant performance cost of higher quality presets at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440 shows a substantial decline across all settings. Low settings average 56 FPS, making 1440p Low the only configuration at this resolution to exceed the 30 FPS threshold. Medium settings produce 44 FPS with a range of 38 to 51 FPS, while High settings average 40 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 26 FPS, below the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs between 25 and 11 FPS depending on settings, with the largest absolute loss occurring at Low settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings average 34 FPS, the only 4K configuration to exceed 30 FPS. Medium settings average 26 FPS with a range of 22 to 30 FPS, while High settings average 24 FPS. Ultra settings produce a mere 15 FPS average, making this configuration virtually unplayable. The 4K results show a compression of the settings hierarchy, with only 19 FPS separating Low from Ultra, compared to 44 FPS at 1080p.

The Medium settings preset at each resolution provides the most complete dataset, including minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the 54-73 FPS range indicates reasonable consistency. At 1440p, the 38-51 FPS range shows tighter clustering. At 4K, the 22-30 FPS range is narrow but consistently low. This data suggests that Medium settings offer the most predictable performance across resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, represents a top-tier processor that is severely underutilized in this configuration. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide exceptional single-threaded performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253. Multi-threaded capabilities are equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 22174.

The CPU's benchmark data places it at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1), indicating it sits at the upper echelon of processor performance. The 64 MB of L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for game logic, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory support offers 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, AI, and physics calculations. The measured data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is least stressed, the FPS is limited to 81, far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and max-thread score of 13929 demonstrate the processor's ability to handle substantial parallel workloads, yet the game's frame rates never approach levels that would stress these capabilities.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 54643 and single-thread score of 4672 further illustrate the CPU's dominance over the GPU in this pairing. The processor's performance headroom is so vast that it effectively plays no limiting role in any of the measured configurations. The bottleneck is unequivocally the RX 580's rendering throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset for this combo is 1080p Medium, which delivers 64 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS. This configuration provides a stable frame rate that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality above the Low preset. The 54 FPS minimum ensures that even during demanding scenes, the frame rate remains playable.

For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, 1080p Low offers the highest performance at 81 FPS average. This preset provides a substantial 17 FPS improvement over Medium settings while sacrificing some visual quality. The 1080p High preset at 58 FPS average offers a middle ground, though it falls slightly below the 60 FPS target.

At 1440p, the only playable option is Low settings at 56 FPS average. This configuration approaches but does not reach the 60 FPS threshold, making it suitable for users with 1440p displays who accept reduced visual quality. The 1440p Medium preset at 44 FPS average may be acceptable for less demanding players, though the 38 FPS minimum could cause noticeable stuttering in action sequences.

The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo under any settings preset. The highest 4K result, 34 FPS at Low settings, falls short of the 30 FPS minimum for consistent playability. All other 4K presets produce averages below 30 FPS, with Ultra settings at 15 FPS being effectively unplayable. Users with 4K displays should set the resolution to 1080p or 1440p for acceptable performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + AMD Radeon RX 580 combination ranks 3371st out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the bottom 9% of all configurations. This low ranking reflects the significant performance disparity between the two components, where the CPU's top-tier capabilities are wasted on a GPU that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at common resolutions.

This ranking is particularly notable given the CPU's 92nd percentile standing among all processors. The RX 580's 53rd percentile GPU ranking, combined with its end-of-life production status, creates a configuration that is severely imbalanced for this title. The 332 positions from the bottom of the ranking indicate that the vast majority of tested combos outperform this pairing.

The ranking suggests that users with this configuration should consider GPU upgrades as the primary path to improved performance. The CPU's benchmark scores, including an average benchmark score of 57498, demonstrate that it is capable of supporting far more powerful graphics cards without becoming a bottleneck. The data indicates that the RX 580's performance ceiling is reached well before the Ryzen 9 9900X's capabilities are fully utilized, making this combination inefficient for Greedfall despite the CPU's considerable processing power.