Greedfall

# Greedfall — Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

This combination of a 6-core Comet Lake processor and an Ampere-based GPU delivers a thoroughly playable Greedfall experience across all tested resolutions, though the performance curve reveals a system that shifts from CPU-bound at 1080p to increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs. The measured data shows a 765th-place ranking out of 1705 tested hardware combos for this game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of configurations. The RTX 3070 sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-10400F lands in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, suggesting a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically outclasses the other.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives in this system. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 147.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 101.7 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 63.1 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 57% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling penalty that points squarely at the GPU as the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across every settings tier. At Low settings, the system produces 203.1 FPS at 1080p, drops to 144.3 FPS at 1440p, and lands at 85.4 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is roughly 29% across all settings, while the 1440p-to-4K drop ranges from 38% to 41% depending on the preset. This consistent scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset at 4K, which manages only 42.1 FPS. That is a 55% drop from the 94.3 FPS the same settings produce at 1080p. When a settings preset nearly halves performance from 1080p to 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases, which is typical for a 6-core/12-thread processor that can feed frames quickly at lower resolutions but has its workload lightened by the GPU's rendering burden at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads with a 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.30 GHz boost clock. Its Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process, delivers solid multi-threaded performance that shows in the benchmark data. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 indicate a processor that handles both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads competently. The PassMark multi-thread score of 12115 and single-thread score of 2541 reinforce this picture of balanced capability.

In Greedfall specifically, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS at Low settings. At 203.1 FPS, the i5-10400F is clearly keeping up with the RTX 3070's output at that resolution and settings level. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p — 203.1 FPS versus 94.3 FPS — shows that the GPU becomes the constraint as graphical fidelity increases, even at the lowest resolution tested. The CPU can sustain high frame rates, but the GPU's rendering workload caps performance on more demanding presets.

The 3DMark results provide context for the CPU's gaming potential. The 16-thread score of 4748 and max-thread score of 4735 show near-linear scaling from 8 threads (3929) to full utilization, meaning the processor uses its 12 threads efficiently. The 2-thread score of 1350 and single-thread score of 688 suggest that lightly threaded workloads, which many games still rely on, are handled well. This processor sits just 0.4% above the AMD EPYC 7552 in average benchmark score and only 1.1% below the Intel Core i5-8500, placing it in a competitive mid-range tier.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the star of this pairing, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth proves sufficient for Greedfall at most settings, though the Ultra preset at 4K pushes it to its limits. The GPU's 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines deliver a 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 compute rate. The 1500 MHz base clock and 1725 MHz boost clock provide the raw speed, while the 14 Gbps effective memory clock keeps data flowing.

The PassMark G3D score of 22214 and GPU compute score of 11195 place this card in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% ahead), which contextualizes the RTX 3070's performance tier. The DirectX 12 score of 85 and DirectX 11 score of 182 from PassMark suggest the card handles modern APIs well, which matters for Greedfall's rendering engine.

The GPU's role in Greedfall becomes dominant at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p High settings, the system produces 101.7 FPS, which is strong but shows the GPU working harder than at 1080p. The 4K results — 63.1 FPS at High, 69.6 FPS at Medium, and 85.4 FPS at Low — demonstrate that the RTX 3070 can handle 4K in this game, but only at reduced settings or with compromises. The Ultra preset at 4K's 42.1 FPS is the only result that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity and compute resources are strained by the combination of maximum settings and 4K resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K smoothly?

A: Yes, but not at Ultra settings. The measured data shows 63.1 FPS at High settings, 69.6 FPS at Medium, and 85.4 FPS at Low for 3840x2160. The Ultra preset drops to 42.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combination?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution at High settings produces 101.7 FPS, which offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p, even the Low preset hits 144.3 FPS, providing headroom for high refresh rate displays.

Q: How much performance is lost between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 203.1 FPS while Ultra drops to 94.3 FPS. That is a 54% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest settings at the same resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Greedfall?

A: The GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 42.1 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 94.3 FPS shows a 55% performance drop from resolution scaling alone, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios.

Q: Does this system support high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1080p, yes. The Medium preset produces 158.4 FPS and High produces 147.2 FPS, both exceeding 144 Hz refresh rates. At 1440p, the Low preset hits 144.3 FPS, but High drops to 101.7 FPS.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score of 28238 places it 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. It sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 203.1 FPS, Medium reaches 158.4 FPS, High achieves 147.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 94.3 FPS. This resolution shows the widest spread between settings, with a 108.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but the gaps narrow. Low averages 144.3 FPS, Medium produces 110.2 FPS, High reaches 101.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 76.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable results for most presets. Low averages 85.4 FPS, Medium achieves 69.6 FPS, High produces 63.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra shrinks to 43.3 FPS, as the GPU's rendering capabilities become the dominant constraint at this resolution.

The scaling pattern across all resolutions shows diminishing returns from settings changes as resolution increases. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra costs 108.8 FPS. At 1440p, the same settings change costs 76.9 FPS. At 4K, it costs 43.3 FPS. This is the classic signature of a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions, where the GPU's compute and memory resources are already heavily utilized before settings are even adjusted.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 147.2 FPS offers the best experience for most players. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium's 158.4 FPS while maintaining a frame rate well above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset at 94.3 FPS is still smooth, but the 53 FPS cost over High is substantial for the added visual fidelity. Players with 144 Hz monitors should stick with High; those with 240 Hz displays could consider Medium to push closer to 160 FPS.

At 1440p, the High preset at 101.7 FPS is the recommended choice. It clears the 100 FPS mark while providing strong visual quality. The Medium preset at 110.2 FPS is a reasonable alternative for those who prioritize frame rate, and Low at 144.3 FPS suits competitive play. The Ultra preset at 67.4 FPS is playable but represents a 34 FPS drop from High, making it difficult to justify unless visual fidelity is the absolute priority.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 69.6 FPS is the sweet spot. It stays above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Low's 85.4 FPS. The High preset at 63.1 FPS is also viable for those who prefer higher settings and can tolerate frame rates closer to the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 42.1 FPS should be avoided for smooth gameplay, as the sub-60 FPS result will introduce noticeable stutter and input latency in an action RPG where timing matters.

The data suggests that this hardware combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being viable only at Medium or High settings. The RTX 3070's 8 GB memory capacity and the i5-10400F's 6-core/12-thread configuration work well together at lower resolutions, but the Ultra preset at 4K exceeds what this pairing can deliver at playable frame rates. For the best overall experience, 1440p High provides the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance across the measured data.