Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that responds well to both CPU and GPU resources, but the balance shifts heavily depending on the resolution and preset. The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 tested here delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience, though 4K Ultra proves demanding. The data shows a system that is well-matched for high-refresh 1440p gaming but requires settings discipline for 4K. The measured frames per second (FPS) across twelve configurations reveal a clear performance hierarchy, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain an average FPS above 90?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 94 FPS. At 1920x1080, the average FPS exceeds 136 on High settings, making 1080p the safest choice for very high frame rates.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, dropping from High to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 94 to 60, a significant 36% performance penalty. The measured range for Ultra is not provided, but the average indicates a substantial cost for the extra visual fidelity.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 7700's 16 GB of VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, there is no evidence of VRAM capacity limiting performance. The RX 7700 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth, which appears sufficient for the tested configurations, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark standing relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. This places it within 0.6% of the Intel Core 7 160UL and 0.5% of the AMD EPYC 7552, indicating performance parity with these very different processors. It also sits 0.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6756E.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark standing relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852. It is 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and 0.1% faster than the AMD Radeon R9 370X, but it trails the AMD Radeon RX 9060 by 1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti by 1.7%.

Q: How does the combo's performance rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1705 out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the 46th percentile of all tested combos. This is a mid-pack ranking, reflecting a balanced pairing that outperforms many budget and older combinations but is outclassed by high-end modern systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame places this specific CPU and GPU pairing at rank 1705 out of 3703 tested combos. This mid-field position is a direct result of the components' individual standings. The Core i5-10400F holds a percentileVsAllCpus of 68, meaning it outperforms 68% of all tested CPUs, while the Radeon RX 7700 holds a percentileVsAllGpus of 58. The pairing of a strong mid-range CPU with a slightly weaker mid-range GPU creates a system that is greater than the sum of its parts for gaming, as the CPU is capable enough to feed the GPU at most resolutions. The data indicates that this combination would outperform systems with lower-performing GPUs but is not in the top tier of gaming performance. The rank suggests that while it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is far from the bottom, offering a dependable baseline for 1440p gaming. The CPU's proximity to rivals like the Intel Xeon 6756E and AMD EPYC 7552 in synthetic benchmarks does not translate to a high gaming rank, which shows that gaming performance is more dependent on the GPU in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary driver of Greedfall's visual output. It is based on the Navi 32 chip using the RDNA 3.0 architecture and is manufactured on a 5 nm process. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1900 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz. Its memory subsystem is a key asset: 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This configuration is well-suited for Greedfall's large environments and texture data, as evidenced by the consistent frame times at higher resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It also has 40 ray tracing cores, though Greedfall's age means traditional rasterization is the primary workload. The raw throughput figures of 25.18 TFLOPS for FP32 and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s are substantial, allowing the card to handle the game's effects and geometry without issue. The benchmark results show a passmark_g3d score of 20974, which indicates strong DirectX 11 and 12 performance, the APIs most relevant to this game. In the measured data, the GPU's performance scaling is the most critical factor; at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 36, showing the GPU is being pushed to its limits. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the 191 FPS average suggests the CPU is reaching its limit. The GPU's role is clear: it provides headroom at lower settings but becomes the definitive bottleneck at 4K and high presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers high frame rates: Low settings yield an average of 191 FPS, Medium yields 150 FPS (with a range of 127-172), High yields 136 FPS, and Ultra yields 87 FPS. This shows a clear progression, with the jump from High to Ultra costing 49 FPS, a 36% reduction.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings produce an average of 132 FPS, Medium produces 104 FPS (with a range of 88-120), High produces 94 FPS, and Ultra produces 60 FPS. The Medium setting's minimum FPS of 88 indicates that even at this resolution, the system maintains playable frame rates. At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Low settings achieve an average of 79 FPS, Medium achieves 62 FPS (with a range of 53-71), High achieves 56 FPS, and Ultra drops to 36 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, only Low and Medium presets provide an average FPS above 60. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below the playable threshold of 40 FPS, indicating a need for significant settings adjustments for 4K gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU's dominance in the bottleneck equation. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 136 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p, a 31% reduction, and then to 56 at 4K, another 40% reduction from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 191 at 1080p to 132 at 1440p (31% reduction) and then to 79 at 4K (40% reduction). The proportional drop between 1440p and 4K is larger than between 1080p and 1440p, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

This scaling behavior indicates that the Core i5-10400F is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat as resolution increases. Instead, the consistent 31% and 40% reductions in FPS as pixel count increases show that the Radeon RX 7700's rendering throughput is the constraint. The 16 GB of VRAM and high bandwidth are sufficient, but the GPU's compute units must process more pixels, leading to the observed drops. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the GPU is working near its maximum capacity, while at 1080p, the frame rates are high enough to suggest that the CPU is beginning to limit performance, particularly at Low settings where the GPU has less work to do.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo. It is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, combined with 12 MB of shared L3 cache, provide adequate processing power for Greedfall's game logic and AI. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4 is sufficient to feed the GPU, as the measured FPS at lower resolutions shows.

The CPU's benchmark scores show it can handle multithreaded workloads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451. Its single-thread performance is more relevant for older games like Greedfall, which may not utilize all 12 threads efficiently. The passmark_single_thread score of 2541 indicates solid single-core performance, which helps maintain frame pacing. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the FPS reaches 191, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output. This is supported by the fact that the GPU's percentile rank is lower than the CPU's, suggesting the GPU is more likely to be the performance ceiling in most scenarios. The CPU's role is to provide stable frame delivery without bottlenecking the GPU at 1440p and 4K, which it does successfully. Its performance is comparable to the Intel Xeon 6756E and AMD EPYC 7552 in synthetic tests, but its 6-core/12-thread configuration is more than adequate for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is viable for 60+ FPS gaming, with an average of 87 FPS. However, for competitive or high-refresh monitors, the High preset at 136 FPS is the better choice, offering a significant 49 FPS improvement over Ultra with a likely minimal visual difference in an older title. The Medium preset at 150 FPS is also excellent for very high refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the High preset provides the best balance, delivering an average of 94 FPS. This is ideal for 1440p 144Hz monitors, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a smooth experience. The Ultra preset drops to 60 FPS, which is playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 104 FPS is a good alternative if you prefer higher frame rates over visual fidelity.

For 3840x2160, the data strongly suggests avoiding the Ultra preset, which averages only 36 FPS. The High preset at 56 FPS is borderline, but the Medium preset at 62 FPS is the recommended choice for a playable 4K experience. The Low preset at 79 FPS is also viable if frame rate is the priority, but the visual compromise is significant. The measured minimum FPS of 53 at 4K Medium indicates that even this setting can dip, so a slight reduction in shadow or effect quality may be necessary for a locked 60 FPS experience.