Greedfall

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience in Greedfall across most settings, though the data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern: as resolution increases, performance drops significantly, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, CPU and GPU roles, and provides recommendations based solely on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data for this combo shows a steep performance curve as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 99 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction, and then falls further to 41 FPS at 4K, representing a 59% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This pattern strongly suggests that the rendering load is scaling almost entirely with pixel count, and the GPU is the limiting factor.

The scaling behavior becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 138 FPS, which is exceptionally high for this title. Moving to 1440p Low yields 96 FPS, a 30% drop, and at 4K Low the system still manages 57 FPS. The fact that even the lowest quality settings cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K confirms that the RTX 2060's raw throughput is the primary constraint, as reducing the CPU load does not provide a proportional benefit at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 125 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 75 FPS with a range of 64 to 87 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. This consistent drop across all quality levels indicates that the pixel throughput demand is the dominant factor, and the CPU's performance headroom is not being fully utilized at higher resolutions.

The Ultra settings preset shows the most dramatic scaling penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 63 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, the system falls to just 26 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for a smooth experience. The 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings mirrors the High preset, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting component across all quality levels.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores are respectable for a modern entry-level CPU, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674. The processor's percentile rank of 68 among all CPUs indicates it sits above the median in overall performance.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured frame rates at 1080p show that the system can reach 138 FPS on Low settings, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach high frame rates. The 3DMark scores support this, with a 4-thread score of 2859 and an 8-thread score of 4026, showing that the processor's multi-threading capabilities are adequate for this title.

However, the data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The fact that frame rates drop consistently from 1080p to 1440p to 4K across all settings, regardless of the CPU load, demonstrates that the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor. The CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by its Geekbench single-core score of 1932, is sufficient to handle the game's logic without becoming a constraint.

The processor's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide adequate memory bandwidth for this workload. The system's dual-channel memory support, while not directly measured in the FPS data, is standard for this platform. The CPU's TDP of 58 W indicates it is a power-efficient part, and its 10 nm process node allows for the high boost clocks that contribute to its strong single-thread performance.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this combo?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the most viable resolution. At High settings, the system achieves 99 FPS, and at Medium settings, it reaches 109 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS. At 1440p, frame rates drop to 68 FPS on High and 75 FPS on Medium, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in Greedfall?*

A: At 4K, the system only achieves 41 FPS on High settings and 45 FPS on Medium settings. The Ultra preset drops to 26 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. For a consistent experience, 4K is not recommended, as even Low settings only reach 57 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. It is essentially tied with the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492, and it is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452. It trails the Intel Core 5 120UL by 0.7%, which scores 13594.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. It is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 at 15283, and it is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 680M at 15270. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM by 0.6%, which scores 15199.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 138 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 63 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops by approximately 59% from 1080p to 4K at High settings, regardless of CPU load. The CPU's performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860, is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 138 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this combo. The Medium preset averages 109 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 125 FPS. The High preset averages 99 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 63 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 96 FPS, which is still smooth for most displays. The Medium preset averages 75 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. The High preset averages 68 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 44 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is viable for most settings, though Ultra settings become marginal.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The Low preset averages 57 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a smooth experience. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. The High preset averages 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 26 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only suitable for Low settings, and even then, the experience is borderline.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 92 to 125 FPS, at 1440p, the range is 64 to 87 FPS, and at 4K, the range is 38 to 52 FPS. This data indicates that frame time consistency degrades with resolution, as the gap between minimum and maximum frame rates narrows but the average drops.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is based on the Turing architecture and features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation units. It operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, showing that the RTX 2060 is a mid-range performer. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14111 and DirectX 12 score of 53 provide context for its gaming capabilities.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is clearly dominant. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this title, as the data shows consistent performance across settings without signs of memory-related stuttering. The GPU's 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the texture-heavy environments typical of an Action RPG. The boost clock of 1680 MHz allows the GPU to sustain high utilization, as evidenced by the 138 FPS result at 1080p Low settings.

The GPU's performance characteristics explain the resolution scaling observed in the data. At 1080p, the GPU is able to render frames quickly, reaching 99 FPS on High settings. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the pixel fill rate becomes the limiting factor, causing the frame rate to drop proportionally. The GPU's pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K, explaining the 41 FPS result at High settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset provides an excellent experience with 99 FPS average. For users seeking maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 138 FPS offers the highest frame rate, but the Medium preset at 109 FPS provides a better balance between visual quality and performance, with a minimum of 92 FPS ensuring consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. The 75 FPS average with a minimum of 64 FPS provides a playable experience without requiring the visual sacrifices of the Low preset, which achieves 96 FPS. The High preset at 68 FPS is also acceptable, but the Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 64 FPS offers more headroom against drops. The Ultra preset at 44 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the only viable option is the Low preset, which achieves 57 FPS. The Medium preset at 45 FPS and High preset at 41 FPS are marginal, and the Ultra preset at 26 FPS is not playable. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only setting that maintains a reasonable frame rate, though it requires significant visual compromises.

The data shows that the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame delivery across all resolutions, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum frame rates. This suggests that Medium settings offer better frame pacing, making it the safest choice for maintaining smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset consistently underperforms, with the largest drops relative to High settings, indicating that its additional visual effects are not worth the performance cost.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 2932 out of 3703 tested combos for Greedfall. This places the system in the bottom 21% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a lower-mid-range setup for this title. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance is adequate for this game.

The combo's rank is consistent with the individual component rankings. The CPU sits in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a slightly above-average CPU with a below-average GPU results in a system that performs well at 1080p but struggles at higher resolutions.

When compared to other combos, this system's performance is driven by the GPU's constraints. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals, such as the RTX 3050 OEM and AMD Radeon 680M, have similar average benchmark scores, suggesting that this combo would perform similarly to systems using those GPUs. The CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures that it does not hold back the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 138 FPS result at 1080p Low.

The ranking of 2932 out of 3703 indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming. The data shows that the system can handle this resolution with high frame rates across all settings, making it a viable choice for gamers who prioritize smooth performance over visual fidelity. At higher resolutions, the system falls behind many other combos, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting component.