Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

The measured FPS data for Greedfall with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-limited across most settings, yet demonstrates surprising headroom at lower resolutions. This combo ranks 1584th out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested system configurations for this title. The data indicates a substantial performance gap between the CPU's capabilities and what the GPU can deliver in this 2019 Action RPG, with the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth serving as the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates where the bottleneck shifts in this system. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 204 avg FPS, which drops to 141 avg FPS at 2560x1440 (-31%) and further to 84 avg FPS at 3840x2160 (-59% from 1080p). This steep decline at 4K indicates the GPU is the limiting component once pixel count increases dramatically.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight into the scaling behavior. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 160 avg FPS, falling to 111 avg FPS at 1440p (-31%) and 66 avg FPS at 4K (-59%). The consistent ~31% drop from 1080p to 1440p across both Low and Medium settings suggests a predictable scaling pattern tied to pixel throughput rather than CPU constraints. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a more severe decline of approximately 40-41% for these same settings, highlighting the exponential cost of 4K rendering on the RTX 3070.

High settings tell a similar story, with 146 avg FPS at 1080p dropping to 101 avg FPS at 1440p (-31%) and 60 avg FPS at 4K (-59%). The Ultra preset reveals the most dramatic scaling, starting at 93 avg FPS in 1080p, falling to 64 avg FPS at 1440p (-31%), and collapsing to 38 avg FPS at 4K (-59%). This consistent pattern across all four quality presets — with the 1440p to 4K drop always being steeper than the 1080p to 1440p drop — confirms that pixel count, not scene complexity, is the dominant factor driving performance degradation.

The fact that even at 4K Low the system maintains 84 avg FPS, while 4K Ultra falls to 38 avg FPS, suggests the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are being saturated differently across presets. The RTX 3070's 5888 shading units and 96 ROPs must process 8.3 million pixels at 4K, and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes increasingly strained as texture quality and effects complexity rise.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070's specifications directly explain the observed performance envelope. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, the card has sufficient throughput for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K with higher presets. The 8 GB capacity appears adequate for this title at the tested settings, as no VRAM-related stutter or min FPS anomalies appear in the Medium preset data (min FPS of 136 at 1080p, 94 at 1440p, and 56 at 4K).

The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz from the Ampere architecture's 8 nm Samsung process node provide the computational foundation for these results. The 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 317.4 GTexel/s texture rate suggest the card can handle Greedfall's rendering demands at moderate resolutions, but the FP32 throughput of 20.31 TFLOPS becomes the limiting factor when shader complexity increases with Ultra settings.

Comparing to the GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the RTX 3070 scores 17208 on average, sitting 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083), 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037), and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019). The RTX 3070 also trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c by 1.5% (17468). This places the GPU in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-to-upper tier card that delivers solid 1440p performance but lacks the raw compute for 4K Ultra gaming.

The 220 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provide adequate power delivery and bandwidth for the card's operation, though the 1x 12-pin power connector may require adapter considerations for some systems. The DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API support ensures full compatibility with Greedfall's rendering features, while the Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 support provide alternative API paths if needed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D presents an interesting contrast to the GPU's limitations. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), this processor can reach boost clocks of 5.70 GHz and maintains a base clock of 4.30 GHz. The 128 MB of L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide ample headroom for gaming workloads, but the data shows this CPU is rarely the limiting factor in Greedfall.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42018 and single-core score of 2259, Geekbench multicore of 26736 and single-core of 3064, and 3DMark 16-thread score of 16374. The PassMark multithread score of 70255 and single-thread score of 4737 indicate strong performance across both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The 95th percentile ranking versus all CPUs places this processor in the top tier of available hardware.

However, Greedfall's performance data shows that even at 1080p Low with 204 avg FPS, the frame rate is still limited by the GPU rather than the CPU. The fact that Ultra settings at 1080p only reach 93 avg FPS while Low reaches 204 avg FPS demonstrates that the GPU's shading workload, not CPU physics or game logic, is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (0.1% lower score), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (0.1% lower), AMD EPYC 8224P (0.3% lower), and Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (0.4% lower) — all show negligible performance differences, confirming that CPU choice has minimal impact on this game's frame rates.

The 170 W TDP and 4 nm TSMC process node allow the CPU to sustain high clocks without thermal throttling, but this headroom goes largely unused in Greedfall scenarios. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2549 and 4-thread score of 4963 suggest strong single-threaded performance, yet the game's engine appears to leverage only a fraction of the available 32 threads.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only with High settings, which deliver 60 avg FPS. Low settings achieve 84 avg FPS at 4K, Medium reaches 66 avg FPS, but Ultra drops to 38 avg FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system produces 204 avg FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 38 avg FPS — a 81% reduction driven entirely by pixel and shader workload. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D's benchmark scores indicate it has far more performance headroom than the RTX 3070 can utilize.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve high frame rates?

A: At 1440p, the system delivers 141 avg FPS on Low, 111 avg FPS on Medium, 101 avg FPS on High, and 64 avg FPS on Ultra. For a 144Hz monitor, 1440p High provides an excellent balance at 101 avg FPS, while 1080p Medium reaches 160 avg FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest performance rivals?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score of 17208 places it 0.7% above the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970M. It sits 1.5% below the NVIDIA Tesla K40c. All these differences are marginal in real-world gaming.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause any performance issues at 4K?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops. The Medium preset at 4K maintains a min FPS of 56, indicating the 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for Greedfall's texture and geometry requirements at the tested settings.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combos for Greedfall?

A: This configuration ranks 1584th out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the upper 57% of all systems. Given the GPU's 61st percentile ranking and the CPU's 95th percentile ranking, the overall position reflects the GPU's stronger influence on game performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 204 avg FPS, Medium achieves 160 avg FPS with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184 FPS, High reaches 146 avg FPS, and Ultra falls to 93 avg FPS. The 1080p results show a clear linear relationship between preset quality and performance, with each step up in settings costing approximately 15-18% of frame rate.

The 2560x1440 results demonstrate the system's sweet spot for high-refresh gaming. Low settings deliver 141 avg FPS, Medium achieves 111 avg FPS with a range of 94-128 FPS, High produces 101 avg FPS, and Ultra drops to 64 avg FPS. The 1440p Medium preset offers the best combination of visual quality and smoothness, with the 94 FPS minimum still above 60 FPS for consistent gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings maintain 84 avg FPS, Medium reaches 66 avg FPS with a range of 56-76 FPS, High achieves exactly 60 avg FPS, and Ultra collapses to 38 avg FPS. The 4K Ultra result is notable for being less than half the 1080p Low score, illustrating the exponential cost of 4K rendering. The Medium preset at 4K, with its 56 FPS minimum, remains the only viable option for near-60 FPS 4K gaming.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p users, the Medium preset at 160 avg FPS offers an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance, especially given the 136 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. High settings at 146 avg FPS are also viable, but the marginal visual improvement comes at a 9% performance cost. Ultra at 93 avg FPS remains playable but sacrifices the high-refresh advantage of this combination.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 111 avg FPS with a 94 FPS minimum is the recommended choice for most users, as it maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS while providing moderate visual enhancements. High settings at 101 avg FPS are equally viable for those prioritizing image quality, with the performance difference between Medium and High being only 9%. Ultra at 64 avg FPS is borderline playable but risks drops below 60 FPS in intense combat sequences.

For 4K gaming, High settings at exactly 60 avg FPS provide the best playable experience, though users should be prepared for occasional dips below 60 FPS. Medium at 66 avg FPS with a 56 FPS minimum offers a slightly more consistent experience but with reduced visual quality. Low at 84 avg FPS is the only preset that provides comfortable headroom above 60 FPS, though the visual compromise may be unacceptable for some players. Ultra at 38 avg FPS is not recommended for 4K gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1584th out of 3703 tested combos for Greedfall, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects a system where the GPU's mid-tier status (61st percentile) dominates the gaming experience, while the CPU's top-tier status (95th percentile) provides no meaningful advantage in this title.

The 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 3070 position it as a capable 1440p card that can handle 4K only at reduced settings. The GPU's 17208 average benchmark score and 0.7% lead over the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT indicate that this card is competitive with mid-range options from newer generations but lacks the raw compute power of higher-tier cards.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D's 75779 average benchmark score, sitting 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and 0.4% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285, confirms its position as a flagship processor. However, in Greedfall, this CPU power translates to minimal frame rate benefits due to the game's GPU-bound nature. The 16-core, 32-thread configuration with 128 MB L3 cache is far more than this 2019 title requires, making the CPU a non-factor in determining the 1584th overall ranking.

This ranking suggests that for Greedfall specifically, users would achieve similar frame rates with a significantly less powerful CPU paired with the RTX 3070. The system's position in the middle of the tested combos is driven entirely by GPU performance, and any upgrade path would require a more powerful graphics card to meaningfully improve the 4K Ultra experience from its current 38 avg FPS.