Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG from Spiders, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical preset. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but demonstrates substantial headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested settings to interpret how this specific hardware pairing handles the game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies for this configuration. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 176 FPS at 1080p to 122 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 54 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the average falls further to 73 FPS, representing another 49 FPS loss. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the performance penalty scales almost linearly with the increase in pixel count.

The scaling behavior differs notably across presets. At the Low preset, the system achieves 247 FPS at 1080p, 171 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 58.7%, which is slightly less severe than the 58.5% drop observed at High settings. This suggests that even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the rendering pipeline remains the dominant constraint, though the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are clearly sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at these lower resolutions.

The Medium preset data, which includes minimum and maximum FPS values, provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 134 FPS, with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of 80 FPS, with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. The consistency of the frame pacing, as indicated by the relatively narrow gap between minimum and maximum at each resolution, points to a stable performance profile without sudden CPU-related hitches.

The Ultra preset reveals the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the average is 112 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 78 FPS; and at 4K, it falls to 46 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K represents a 41% reduction in performance, which is a steeper decline than the 36% drop seen from 1080p to 1440p. This non-linear scaling at the highest settings suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately burden the GPU at higher resolutions, such as advanced shading or post-processing that scales with pixel count.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest measured average is 247 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, at High and Medium settings the system averages 73 FPS and 80 FPS respectively at 3840x2160. However, at the Ultra preset, the average drops to 46 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance cost?

A: The performance cost is substantial. At 1080p, the average drops from 176 FPS on High to 112 FPS on Ultra, a 36% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 73 FPS to 46 FPS, a 37% reduction.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum frame rate recorded is 68 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Medium settings preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Greedfall?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate scales predictably with resolution, and the CPU's high performance metrics, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737, suggest it is not the primary constraint.

Q: Does the Medium preset offer a good balance between visual quality and performance?

A: Based on the measured data, Medium provides a solid balance. At 1440p, it averages 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, offering a smooth experience while being 12 FPS faster than High at the same resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, provides a robust foundation for this game. Its boost clock of 5.50 GHz and base clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with a 128 MB L3 cache, deliver strong single-thread and multi-thread performance that prevents CPU bottlenecks from emerging in Greedfall. The benchmark scores reflect this capability, with a Geekbench single-core score of 3041 and a multi-core score of 22884. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 further confirms the processor's ability to handle complex workloads.

The data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU would be most likely to become a limiting factor, the system still achieves 247 FPS. This high frame rate, which approaches the refresh rate limits of many displays, indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU. The PassMark single-thread score of 4646 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 both suggest that the processor's per-core performance is more than adequate for this game's engine.

The CPU's 4 nm process node and Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, contribute to its efficiency and performance. With a TDP of 120 W, it operates within a reasonable power envelope, allowing sustained high clock speeds without thermal throttling. The 16,630 million transistors on a 2x 70.6 mm² die size indicate a dense and capable design. In the context of Greedfall, the processor's role is to feed the GPU with data efficiently, and the measured frame rates at lower resolutions confirm it performs this task without issue.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing a smooth experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the optimal choice based on the measured data. It delivers an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, ensuring that frame drops remain above the 60 FPS threshold for most of the gameplay. The High preset at 4K, with an average of 73 FPS, is also viable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate of 68 FPS provides a more consistent experience during intense action sequences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again stands out as the best balance between visual quality and performance. It achieves an average of 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS mark for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 1440p offers 122 FPS average, but the Medium preset's additional 12 FPS could be beneficial for maintaining frame times in demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 78 FPS, is playable but does not fully utilize the potential of a 144Hz display.

For 1080p gaming, the High preset is recommended, as it provides an average of 176 FPS while offering significantly better visual fidelity than the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 112 FPS, is also a strong option for those who prioritize image quality, as it still maintains a high frame rate. The Low preset at 1080p, while achieving 247 FPS, is unnecessary for most users given the system's capability to run higher settings without sacrificing smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 744 out of 2938 tested combinations in Greedfall. This places it in the top 25.3% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating a strong performance level. The rank reflects the GPU's 83rd percentile among all GPUs and the CPU's 91st percentile among all CPUs, with the combined system performing capably in this specific title.

The GPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which is 0.8% faster, and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB, which is 1.2% slower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is 2% slower than the RTX 3080 Ti in this comparison. These deltas are minimal, suggesting that the RTX 3080 Ti is positioned in a competitive performance tier. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, are within 2.1% of its average score, further confirming the balanced nature of this pairing.

Given the combo rank of 744 out of 2938, the system is clearly capable of delivering a high-quality Greedfall experience. The rank indicates that while there are many faster configurations, this combo sits comfortably in the upper quartile of tested systems. This positioning aligns with the measured FPS data, which shows excellent performance at 1080p and 1440p, and solid performance at 4K with adjusted settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 247 FPS on Low, 194 FPS on Medium, 176 FPS on High, and 112 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS, demonstrating tight frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 171 FPS on Low, 134 FPS on Medium, 122 FPS on High, and 78 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution records a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS, maintaining a consistent experience above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 102 FPS on Low, 80 FPS on Medium, 73 FPS on High, and 46 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS, showing that even at the highest resolution, the system can maintain playable frame rates when settings are managed appropriately.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s, which is crucial for handling the high-resolution textures and complex scenes in Greedfall. The 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs provide substantial raw processing power, evidenced by the FP32 performance of 34.10 TFLOPS.

The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1365 MHz, built on Samsung's 8 nm process, allow it to maintain high performance under load. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while not heavily utilized in this non-ray-traced title, contribute to the card's overall capabilities. The 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die size indicate a large and powerful chip, which is reflected in the 350 W TDP.

The benchmark results for the GPU, such as the PassMark G3D score of 26896 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077, confirm its strong standing. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where the Ultra preset drops to 46 FPS. This is a direct consequence of the rendering load exceeding what the card can process at that resolution and settings level. The card's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with its measured performance in Greedfall, where it delivers excellent results at 1080p and 1440p, and requires settings adjustments for optimal 4K play.