Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 action RPG from Spiders, presents an interesting case for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing. This combination demonstrates strong performance across the board, with the data showing it is capable of delivering high frame rates at all tested resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that this system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, while still providing a solid 4K experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers a 170 FPS average, which is only 18 FPS behind the Low preset's 238 FPS but a substantial 62 FPS ahead of Ultra's 108 FPS. The jump from High to Medium at 1080p yields a modest 17 FPS gain (187 FPS), suggesting that High is the sweet spot for visual fidelity and performance. At 2560x1440, High produces a 118 FPS average, which remains above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 75 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 70 FPS is the recommended starting point. The data shows that this setting combination is the only one at 3840x2160 that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, excluding the Low preset. While the Low preset at 4K achieves 98 FPS, the visual compromise is significant for a 28 FPS gain over High. The Medium preset at 4K, with its 77 FPS average and 66 FPS minimum, is a viable alternative, but the High preset offers a better balance of image quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 4K, which yields only 45 FPS, should be avoided unless the user prioritizes maximum visual fidelity over frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, with its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 320-bit memory bus, plays a crucial role in this game's performance. The GPU's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth provides ample data throughput for Greedfall's open-world environments, which often feature dense textures and complex geometry. The measured results show that the RTX 3080 handles these workloads effectively, as evidenced by the 70 FPS average at 4K High settings. The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz and 8704 shading units contribute to its ability to maintain high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU is less of a bottleneck.

The VRAM capacity of 10 GB proves sufficient for Greedfall at the tested settings. The data shows no unusual performance drops that would indicate VRAM limits being hit, even at 4K Ultra settings where the 45 FPS average is more indicative of the GPU's raw compute limits rather than memory capacity. The RTX 3080's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 68 RT cores suggest that the Ampere architecture is well-matched for this title's rendering demands, though Greedfall does not heavily utilize ray tracing features. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 23172 places it in a solid mid-to-high tier, and the measured game results confirm that its performance in Greedfall aligns with expectations for this class of hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 800th out of 2938 tested combinations in Greedfall, placing it in the top 27.2% of all tested setups. This ranking is notable because it places this combo ahead of many newer and more expensive configurations, demonstrating that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 3080 pairing remains a highly capable choice for this game. The combo's percentile ranking of 91 for the CPU and 68 for the GPU suggests that the CPU's strong performance compensates for the GPU's mid-tier percentile position, resulting in a balanced overall experience.

The rank of 800 out of 2938 indicates that while this setup is not in the top tier of performance, it significantly outperforms the majority of tested combos. This is particularly impressive considering the RTX 3080's end-of-life production status and its relatively modest 68th percentile ranking. The data suggests that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's high single-thread and multi-thread performance helps push the RTX 3080 to its limits, especially at lower resolutions where CPU-bound scenarios are more common. The 12-core, 24-thread CPU with a 5.50 GHz boost clock and 128 MB of L3 cache provides substantial headroom, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data in most gaming scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional frame rates: the Low preset achieves 238 FPS, Medium reaches 187 FPS, High hits 170 FPS, and Ultra drops to 108 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 159 and maximum of 215 show a narrow variance, indicating consistent performance. The 68 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates that the GPU is capable of handling the resolution with ease, and the CPU's strength allows for high frame rates even at the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales appropriately: Low produces 165 FPS, Medium 130 FPS, High 118 FPS, and Ultra 75 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS, suggesting a tight performance envelope. The 90 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is more pronounced than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor at this resolution. The High preset's 118 FPS average remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance takes a more significant hit: Low achieves 98 FPS, Medium 77 FPS, High 70 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 66 FPS and maximum of 89 FPS show that even at 4K, the system can maintain playable frame rates. The 53 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is substantial, underscoring the GPU's limitations at this resolution. The High preset's 70 FPS average is the most balanced option for 4K gaming, offering a smooth experience without the visual compromises of the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers a 118 FPS average, which is 47 FPS above the 75 FPS Ultra preset. This provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system achieves a 45 FPS average. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the RTX 3080 is the limiting factor at these settings.

Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Greedfall?

A: Yes, the 10 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient. The benchmark results show no VRAM-related performance issues, with stable frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 238 FPS while High delivers 170 FPS, a difference of 68 FPS. This indicates that the system has enough headroom to run at high settings without sacrificing playability.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's CPU performance impact the game?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's strong single-thread performance, as shown by its 6739 Cinebench R23 single-core score, helps maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions where CPU-bound scenarios are more common.

Q: What is the system's overall ranking among tested combos?

A: The combination ranks 800th out of 2938 tested combos, placing it in the top 27.2% of all tested configurations for Greedfall.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a pivotal role in this system's performance, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the bottleneck. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads, built on the Zen 5 architecture, provide substantial multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 47737 Cinebench R23 multicore score and 56154 Passmark multithread score. The 128 MB of L3 cache is particularly beneficial for gaming, as it helps reduce memory latency and improves data access patterns. The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz and 4.40 GHz base clock ensure that single-threaded workloads, which are common in game logic and physics calculations, are handled efficiently.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 54762 indicate that it is a top-tier processor. In Greedfall, this translates to high frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU's performance is more critical. The measured data shows that at 1920x1080 Low settings, the system achieves 238 FPS, which is a strong indicator of CPU capability. The near-identical performance between the Low and High presets at 1080p (238 FPS vs 170 FPS) suggests that even at High settings, the CPU is not the limiting factor, allowing the GPU to work at its full potential. The CPU's 3dmark scores, including a 13795 max-thread score and 9002 8-thread score, further confirm its ability to handle the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a predictable pattern, with performance decreasing as resolution increases. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 170 at 1920x1080 to 118 at 2560x1440 (a 30.6% reduction), and then to 70 at 3840x2160 (a 40.7% reduction from 1440p). This scaling suggests that the RTX 3080 becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, with the CPU's role diminishing. The 100 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings highlights the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the performance drop is not linear across all settings. At Low settings, the FPS decreases from 238 at 1080p to 165 at 1440p and 98 at 4K, a total reduction of 140 FPS (58.8%). At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 108 at 1080p to 75 at 1440p and 45 at 4K, a total reduction of 63 FPS (58.3%). This consistency suggests that the scaling is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The relatively smaller percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p (around 30%) compared to the drop from 1440p to 4K (around 40%) indicates that the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth and compute resources are more strained at 4K, where the 760.3 GB/s bandwidth and 29.77 TFLOPS are pushed to their limits.