Greedfall

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB delivers a playable but constrained experience in Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG. Benchmark data shows this combination ranks 1532nd out of 1705 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower quartile of systems. The 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake processor with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock provides solid CPU headroom, while the RTX 3050’s 4 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured results reveal a system that handles 1080p competently but struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K, with the gap between settings presets widening as pixel count increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all four settings presets remain above 50 FPS on average. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 35.8 FPS, while at 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 44.4 FPS, making 1080p the practical ceiling for consistent performance.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from High settings at 1080p to High settings at 4K?

A: The average FPS falls from 74.9 at 1920x1080 to 51.7 at 2560x1440 and further to 32.2 at 3840x2160. This represents a 57% reduction in average frame rate when scaling from 1080p High to 4K High, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Does the Low preset provide a 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the combo averages 74.3 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. In contrast, Medium settings at the same resolution average 59.7 FPS, just shy of 60.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever viable with this hardware?

A: Only at 1920x1080, where Ultra averages 51 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 35.8 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 22.8 FPS. These lower resolutions show that Ultra is only marginally playable at 1080p.

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

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, placing it 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115) and 1.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-8500 (14332 is actually higher, so the i5-10400F is 1.1% behind). Against the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277), the i5-10400F trails by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU’s launch MSRP?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB had a launch MSRP of 199 USD. It features a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs.

GPU Role

The RTX 3050 4 GB is the dominant performance determinant in this pairing, and its memory configuration is the most telling factor. The GPU packs 4 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest amount of VRAM for a modern Action RPG, and the measured FPS data reflects this limitation. Across all resolutions, the delta between Low and Ultra settings is substantial, but the absolute numbers at 4K are consistently below 45 FPS even on Low, which points directly to the GPU’s compute and memory throughput constraints rather than the CPU.

The GPU’s clock behavior reinforces this analysis. With a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost of 1740 MHz, the card operates at a frequency that is typical for its class, but the 7.127 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is insufficient for high-fidelity rendering at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s are modest figures that cap fill-rate-intensive scenes. In Greedfall, which features dense environments and complex geometry, these limits surface quickly. The fact that the GPU occupies the 50th percentile among all GPUs, with no nearest rivals listed, suggests it sits exactly in the middle of the performance distribution — a position that translates to mediocrity in demanding titles.

The 90 W TDP and 250 W suggested PSU indicate a power-efficient design, but efficiency does not compensate for the lack of raw throughput. The 4 GB frame buffer is particularly problematic at 3840x2160, where texture data exceeds the available memory, causing the measured FPS to plummet. The RTX 3050’s 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores are present, but Greedfall does not heavily leverage ray tracing, so these resources do little to aid the average FPS figures. Essentially, the GPU is the wall that the CPU hits against, and the data shows this wall is low.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, but the magnitude varies. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 107.7 at 1920x1080 to 74.3 at 2560x1440 and 44.4 at 3840x2160. This is a 41% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 40% drop to 4K, indicating a scaling pattern that is roughly linear with pixel count. At High settings, the drop is similar in proportion: 74.9 to 51.7 to 32.2, representing 31% and 38% reductions respectively. Ultra settings show the most severe degradation, falling from 51.0 at 1080p to 35.8 at 1440p and 22.8 at 4K — a 55% total loss from 1080p to 4K.

These numbers tell a clear story about the limiting component. The CPU, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 688 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1453, is more than capable of feeding frames at 1080p, where the GPU is already struggling to maintain 100 FPS on Low. As resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows faster than the CPU’s, and the FPS curve bends downward accordingly. The fact that Low settings at 4K (44.4 FPS) do not even reach the High settings at 1080p (74.9 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the bottleneck. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the FPS to flatten out at high resolutions, but instead, it continues to fall, confirming that the RTX 3050’s 192.0 GB/s bandwidth and 4 GB capacity are insufficient for 4K rendering.

The scaling also reveals that the gap between settings presets narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 56.7 FPS (107.7 vs 51.0). At 4K, this gap shrinks to 21.6 FPS (44.4 vs 22.8). This compression occurs because at 4K, the GPU is so overwhelmed that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel load, making the preset choice less impactful than at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for optimal playability. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only guaranteed option, averaging 107.7 FPS. At the same resolution, Medium averages 85 FPS, which also comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. High settings at 1080p average 74.9 FPS, still above 60, but the margin is thinner. Ultra at 1080p drops to 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and therefore not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440 changes the calculus. Low is the only preset that remains above 60 FPS, averaging 74.3 FPS. Medium dips to 59.7 FPS, which is borderline, and High falls to 51.7 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is essentially unplayable at 35.8 FPS. For users with 1440p displays, the Low preset is the pragmatic choice, though Medium may be acceptable for those tolerant of minor frame rate dips. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS; Low averages 44.4 FPS, Medium 37.7 FPS, and High 32.2 FPS. This resolution is only suitable for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and are willing to accept sub-45 FPS gameplay.

The recommendation from the data is unambiguous: use Medium settings at 1080p for the best experience. This preset delivers 85 FPS, which is 13% higher than High and 20% lower than Low, but the visual uplift from Low to Medium is significant in a game like Greedfall, which relies on atmospheric detail. Ultra should be avoided entirely, as its 51 FPS average at 1080p introduces noticeable stutter in action sequences. The 4 GB VRAM is the constraint here, and the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot where memory usage stays within limits while the GPU still has enough headroom to render the scene.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1532 out of 1705 tested combinations places it in the bottom 10% of all systems tested for Greedfall. This is a poor standing, but it must be contextualized by the hardware’s age and position. The i5-10400F, with its 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, is a competent mid-range processor from 2020. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD EPYC 7552, which it beats by 0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which beats it by 0.8%. These deltas are negligible, suggesting the CPU is not the cause of the low combo rank.

Instead, the GPU drags the entire system down. The RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, which is the median performance point. In a demanding title like Greedfall, a median GPU is insufficient for high settings at high resolutions. The combo rank of 1532 reflects this, as most of the 1705 tested combos likely feature more powerful GPUs. The data indicates that the CPU could support a much stronger GPU without becoming a bottleneck, as evidenced by its 12 threads and 12 MB of L3 cache, but the RTX 3050 caps the system’s potential.

Compared to the nearest CPU rivals, the i5-10400F’s synthetic scores are within 1.2% of its peers, meaning any performance differences in Greedfall would be negligible. This reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the sole reason for the low rank. The 4 GB VRAM is a particular liability, as modern games increasingly require 6 GB or more for high textures. The combo’s rank suggests that for this specific game, the system is better suited for 1080p gaming at medium-to-low presets, which aligns with the measured FPS data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for Greedfall is as follows, organized by resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results. Low settings average 107.7 FPS, Medium averages 85 FPS, High averages 74.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 56.7 FPS, and each step down in settings yields a meaningful gain. Low-to-Medium is a 22.7 FPS increase, Medium-to-High is a 10.1 FPS increase, and High-to-Ultra is a 23.9 FPS decrease. All presets except Ultra exceed the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low settings average 74.3 FPS, Medium averages 59.7 FPS, High averages 51.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 35.8 FPS. Only Low remains above 60 FPS, and the drop from Low to Medium is 14.6 FPS, which is the largest relative penalty among the presets. The gap between High and Ultra is 15.9 FPS, showing that Ultra is a substantial downgrade.

At 3840x2160, the system is under severe strain. Low settings average 44.4 FPS, Medium averages 37.7 FPS, High averages 32.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 22.8 FPS. No preset reaches 60 FPS, and even Low is below the 45 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The difference between Low and Ultra is 21.6 FPS, and the scaling is consistent, with each preset step costing roughly 5-7 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 3050 4 GB is the limiting factor, and the i5-10400F has ample headroom. The 1080p Medium result of 85 FPS is the standout figure, offering a playable experience with reasonable visual quality. The 1440p Low result of 74.3 FPS is also notable, but the 4K results are uniformly poor, confirming that this combo is not suited for high-resolution gaming in Greedfall.