Greedfall

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a stark contrast in capability, with the processor ranking in the 95th percentile among all CPUs while the GPU lands in the 9th percentile. Benchmark results for Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, show that this combination is overwhelmingly limited by the graphics solution, producing playable frame rates only at 1080p with lower settings. The data indicates a system where the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded performance is largely untapped, as the integrated graphics struggle to maintain fluid motion at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings in Greedfall?

A: The measured average frame rate is 60 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is the highest resolution and setting combination that achieves a 60 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to 38 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390’s average benchmark score is 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460), and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443). These are the only comparable scores provided in the data.

Q: What is the performance difference between the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and its closest rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an average benchmark score of 75779. This is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (score 75738) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (score 75716), and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (score 75488).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 46, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. This data point is one of only two with min/max values in the measured results.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have a dedicated VRAM allocation?

A: No. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its memory bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means the graphics solution relies on the system’s main memory rather than a dedicated pool of video memory.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at High settings?

A: The average frame rate falls from 60 FPS at 1920x1080 to 42 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 25 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 58% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at the High preset.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. Its role in Greedfall is defined by its limited throughput: the GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations pipelines, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The clock speeds are specified as a 300 MHz base and a 2500 MHz boost, which yields a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS.

The memory configuration is critical to understanding its performance. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. Its memory bandwidth is described as "System Dependent," which ties its effective performance to the host system’s memory speed and architecture. This is a significant constraint for a game like Greedfall, which demands consistent memory access for textures and geometry.

Benchmark results show the Arc B390 has a score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463) and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460), with the Arc B390 holding a 1.3% to 2.7% advantage. These are extremely low scores, indicating that the GPU is a severe bottleneck in this system. The measured FPS data confirms this: the GPU cannot push past 84 FPS even at the lowest settings and resolution, and it falls to 16 FPS at 4K Ultra. This suggests the Arc B390’s rendering capabilities are the primary limitation across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of GPU-bound behavior. At the High preset, the average frame rate is 60 FPS at 1920x1080, 42 FPS at 2560x1440, and 25 FPS at 3840x2160. This shows a loss of 18 FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further loss of 17 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear in percentage terms, but the trend is consistent: higher resolutions demand more pixel throughput, which the Arc B390 cannot provide.

For the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 84 at 1920x1080 to 58 at 2560x1440, and then to 35 at 3840x2160. The gap between Low and High settings narrows at higher resolutions, with a 24 FPS difference at 1080p shrinking to a 10 FPS difference at 4K. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing graphics quality yields only modest gains. The Medium preset follows a similar pattern: 66 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with an average of 38 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and just 16 FPS at 4K. This preset’s demands are beyond the Arc B390’s capabilities at any resolution, but it becomes virtually unplayable at 4K. The data indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU’s performance (in the 95th percentile) is far in excess of what is needed for these frame rates. Resolution scaling in Greedfall is directly tied to the GPU’s pixel and texture fill rates, which are fixed at 60.00 GPixel/s and 120.0 GTexel/s.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which delivers an average of 84 FPS. This is the only combination that exceeds 80 FPS, providing the smoothest motion among all tested settings. The Medium preset at 1080p is the next best option, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS, which still offers a playable experience with improved visual quality over Low.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 58 FPS, which is playable but with a noticeable drop from 1080p. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS, which may be acceptable for less demanding players but sits below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 1080p matches 60 FPS exactly, but it offers no headroom for demanding scenes, as no minimum FPS is provided for this setting.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p, it averages 38 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, it drops to 27 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 16 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 27 FPS and a minimum of 23 FPS, is also not advisable for a responsive experience. The data suggests that for the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity, the Low or Medium presets at 1920x1080 are the only viable options, with Low providing the most consistent performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 84 FPS, Medium settings achieve 66 FPS (with a minimum of 56 and maximum of 76), High settings achieve 60 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 38 FPS. This resolution provides the only configurations that reach or exceed 60 FPS, with the Low preset being the sole option to surpass 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across all presets. Low settings produce 58 FPS, Medium settings produce 46 FPS (with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53), High settings produce 42 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 27 FPS. No preset at this resolution reaches 60 FPS, with the Low preset coming closest at 58 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly lower. Low settings average 35 FPS, Medium settings average 27 FPS (with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 32), High settings average 25 FPS, and Ultra settings average 16 FPS. All configurations at this resolution fall below 36 FPS, making the experience choppy for most players.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the delta between Low and Ultra presets is 46 FPS at 1080p (84 vs 38), 31 FPS at 1440p (58 vs 27), and 19 FPS at 4K (35 vs 16). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as it cannot fully utilize the performance headroom offered by lower settings when pixel count increases. The combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Greedfall is 2595 out of 2938 total combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz, with a 170 W TDP. The CPU features 128 MB of L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. It supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform.

Benchmark results for the 9950X3D are robust. It scores 42018 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2259 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 26736 multi-core and 3064 single-core. The 3DMark tests show scores of 17184 for max threads, 9259 for 8 threads, 4963 for 4 threads, and 2549 for 2 threads. These results place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 75779. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, scores 75738, a difference of only 0.1%.

In Greedfall, the CPU’s role is largely secondary. The game’s measured FPS is constrained by the GPU, as evidenced by the low frame rates across all settings and resolutions. The 9950X3D’s multi-threaded performance, which excels in synthetic benchmarks like Cinebench R23 (42018) and PassMark multi-thread (70255), is not the limiting factor here. The game is an Action RPG from 2019, and the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the frame rate is 84 FPS, which is well below what the CPU is capable of supporting.

The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.70 GHz and strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2259) would benefit games that are CPU-bound, but Greedfall at these settings is not such a case. The GPU’s 9th percentile ranking and its nearest rivals (all low-end NVIDIA GPUs) confirm that the Arc B390 is the bottleneck. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with data, and given the GPU’s limitations, the 9950X3D is effectively idle in comparison, leaving its 16 cores and 32 threads largely underutilized in this specific configuration.