Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent frame-rate curve in Greedfall, with the data indicating that the GPU becomes the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo produces an average of 276 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 197 FPS on High and 126 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 1440p, those figures decline to 192 FPS (Low), 137 FPS (High), and 87 FPS (Ultra). At 4K, the averages fall further to 114 FPS (Low), 82 FPS (High), and 52 FPS (Ultra). The progression from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 58% reduction in average FPS (from 197 to 82), which is a steep curve that strongly suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher resolutions, rather than the CPU's compute capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame-rate deltas across resolutions tell a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this configuration. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 276 FPS, and dropping to 1440p Low only reduces that to 192 FPS—a 30% decrease. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is more punishing, falling from 192 FPS to 114 FPS, a 41% drop. This non-linear scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior; the Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient to feed frames at lower resolutions, but the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering pipeline becomes saturated as pixel count increases.

Looking at the Medium preset, which is the only settings tier with recorded minimum and maximum frame times, the data shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the average is 217 FPS with a minimum of 185 FPS and maximum of 250 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 151 FPS (min 128, max 173), and at 4K, it falls to 90 FPS (min 76, max 103). The consistency of the frame times, with the minimum staying within roughly 15% of the average at each resolution, indicates that the combo does not suffer from severe stuttering or CPU-related hitches even when the GPU load increases. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 4K performance at 52 FPS being less than half of the 1080p figure of 126 FPS, reinforcing that the GPU's compute units are the decisive factor at maximum quality settings.

FAQ

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Greedfall at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 52, while at 4K Low it is 114. This 62 FPS difference demonstrates that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering throughput, rather than the Ryzen 9 9900X's processing power, dictates performance at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 43223, placing it at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. It is statistically tied with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (deltaPct -0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct -0.1%), while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile by 1%.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X a strong match for this game's CPU demands?

A: Yes. The CPU's multithreaded performance is robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a Geekbench multicore score of 22174. In Greedfall, the 1080p Low result of 276 FPS shows that the processor is not a bottleneck, as the frame rate is far above typical display refresh rates.

Q: What is the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the High preset averages 137 FPS, while Ultra averages 87 FPS. That is a 50 FPS difference, or a 36% reduction in performance, for the additional visual fidelity offered by the Ultra settings.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only on lower presets. At 4K Medium, the average is 90 FPS (min 76), and at 4K High, it is 82 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short of 60 FPS, averaging 52 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread score relate to gaming performance?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has a strong single-thread score of 2253 in Cinebench R23 and 3010 in Geekbench. This is relevant because Greedfall, like many Action RPGs, relies on a primary game thread; the high single-core performance helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its L3 cache totals 64 MB, and it supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. In synthetic workloads, the CPU demonstrates exceptional multi-threaded capability, scoring 13929 in 3DMark's max threads test and 54643 in Passmark's multithread test. The single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4672.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role is to maintain a high frame-rate ceiling. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 276 FPS, which is a figure that would be impossible if the CPU were the limiting factor. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases and the GPU workload grows, the frame rate drops proportionally, but the CPU's utilization does not appear to cause any frame-time anomalies. The Medium preset's minimum FPS values (185 at 1080p, 128 at 1440p, 76 at 4K) are all within reasonable range of their respective averages, indicating that the 12-core processor can manage the game's background tasks and physics without introducing stutter.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 92 (vs all CPUs) places it in the top tier of processors, and its nearest rivals in average score include the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1%) and the Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1%). This headroom is valuable for Greedfall, which is a game from 2019 that may not be heavily optimized for modern multi-core processors, but the sheer single-thread speed of the 9900X ensures that even the primary game thread is not a constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds a rank of 654 out of 3703 total combos. This places it in the top 18% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a desktop configuration. The rank is likely influenced by the fact that the RTX 4070 SUPER, while powerful, is not the absolute fastest GPU available; it sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The CPU, however, is in the 92nd percentile, meaning the processor is more of a high-end component than the graphics card in relative terms.

The combo's position suggests that users looking for higher ranks would need to pair the 9900X with a more powerful GPU, such as one with a higher Passmark G3D score than the RTX 4070 SUPER's 29995. Conversely, the data shows that the CPU is not holding back the GPU in Greedfall; the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are high enough that a faster GPU would likely still be the bottleneck at 4K, but the current combo offers a balanced experience for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and capable 4K performance on reduced settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 276 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 217 FPS (min 185, max 250), High averages 197 FPS, and Ultra averages 126 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 150 FPS, which is a substantial range that offers users flexibility depending on their display's refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low averages 192 FPS, Medium averages 151 FPS (min 128, max 173), High averages 137 FPS, and Ultra averages 87 FPS. The 1440p results show that the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors, as even the Ultra preset exceeds 60 FPS, and the High preset is comfortably above 120 FPS. For 4K gaming at 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 114 FPS, Medium averages 90 FPS (min 76, max 103), High averages 82 FPS, and Ultra averages 52 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be a concern for users with VRR displays, but the Medium and High presets remain playable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p users with a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, the High preset at 197 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it stays well above the refresh rate of most displays while offering a significant upgrade over Medium's 217 FPS (which is only 10% faster but visually inferior). The Ultra preset at 126 FPS is still viable for 120Hz displays, but the 36% performance drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains.

For 1440p, the High preset at 137 FPS is the recommended choice for 144Hz monitors, as it provides a smooth experience without the 36% performance penalty of Ultra (87 FPS). Users with 60Hz displays can safely enable Ultra at 87 FPS, but for competitive play or high-refresh panels, High is the sweet spot. At 4K, the Medium preset at 90 FPS (min 76) is the best experience, as it maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS with a comfortable margin, while the High preset at 82 FPS is also acceptable. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K due to its 52 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The data clearly shows that Medium is the highest preset that guarantees a playable experience at 4K, and High is the best choice for 1440p high-refresh-rate gaming.