Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a component pairing that scales predictably, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions while the CPU demonstrates its capability at lower ones. This analysis walks through the data to show how this specific configuration handles the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected progression as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 177 FPS at 1080p to 123 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 73 FPS at 4K. This represents a 30% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the workload on the GPU increases significantly with pixel count.

The Low settings preset shows a similar trajectory, with average FPS figures of 248, 172, and 103 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. The delta between 1080p and 1440p Low is 76 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K Low is 69 FPS, showing that the performance drop is relatively consistent regardless of the graphics load. This consistency suggests that the game engine scales its rendering workload proportionally with resolution, and the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient to avoid any memory-related stutters or frame drops that could skew the results.

At Medium settings, the measured minimum and maximum frame rates provide additional context. At 1080p Medium, the average is 195 FPS with a minimum of 166 and maximum of 224. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155. At 4K Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93. The gap between minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution increases, from 58 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p to 24 FPS at 4K. This narrowing suggests that at higher resolutions, the frame times become more consistent because the GPU is working closer to its maximum capacity, reducing the variance caused by scene complexity.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 113 FPS, which is 64 FPS lower than Low settings at the same resolution. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 78 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 47 FPS. The Ultra preset demands significantly more from the GPU, and the 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider acceptable for smooth gameplay. The data shows that the scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 66 FPS, which is the largest absolute drop across all settings presets, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects and draw distances place a heavy burden on the RTX 4070's shading units and texture units.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. The GPU packs 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, and its boost clock reaches 2475 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications directly influence the measured FPS results in Greedfall, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth and capacity become more critical.

The GPU's 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput that Greedfall requires. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s suggest that the card can handle the game's texture-heavy environments, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 47, indicating that the GPU's compute resources are saturated. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is substantial, yet the game's Ultra preset at 4K still pushes the card to its limits, resulting in sub-60 FPS performance.

The RTX 4070's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present, but Greedfall's 2019 release date means it likely does not leverage ray tracing or DLSS features that these cores would accelerate. The benchmark results are therefore primarily a measure of the GPU's rasterization performance in this title. The passmark_g3d score of 26927 and the 3dmark steel nomad dx12 score of 3854 position the card in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a deltaPct of 0.1, making them nearly identical in average benchmark score.

The memory clock of 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed provides the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth that is sufficient for the game's loading of textures and geometry. The 12 GB capacity is not a limiting factor in Greedfall, as the measured FPS drops from 4K Low at 103 FPS to 4K Ultra at 47 FPS, which is a performance reduction driven by compute load rather than memory capacity. The GPU's TDP of 200 W and suggested PSU of 550 W indicate that power delivery is not a constraint in this pairing, and the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth for data transfer from the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F and RTX 4070 combination achieves an average of 177 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 47, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 172 FPS while Ultra settings produce 78 FPS, a difference of 94 FPS.

Q: Are there any minimum FPS measurements available for the Medium preset?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 has a minimum FPS of 166, at 2560x1440 a minimum of 115, and at 3840x2160 a minimum of 69.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 rank among all GPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU is in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

Q: What is the boost clock speed of the RTX 4070?

A: The boost clock is 2475 MHz, while the base clock is 1920 MHz.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 248 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. The Medium preset at the same resolution averages 195 FPS, with a minimum of 166 and maximum of 224 FPS. High settings at 1080p average 177 FPS, and Ultra settings average 113 FPS. This progression from Low to Ultra represents a 135 FPS drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional graphical features significantly impact the frame rate even at the lowest resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 172 FPS, which is 76 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155 FPS. High settings at 1440p average 123 FPS, and Ultra settings average 78 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 94 FPS, which is smaller than the 135 FPS delta at 1080p, showing that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, reducing the relative impact of settings changes.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 103 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93 FPS. High settings at 4K average 73 FPS, and Ultra settings average 47 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 56 FPS, further confirming that at this resolution, the GPU's compute resources are the limiting factor, and the settings preset has a reduced relative impact compared to lower resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 166 to 224 FPS, a spread of 58 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 115 to 155 FPS, a spread of 40 FPS. At 4K, the range is 69 to 93 FPS, a spread of 24 FPS. This narrowing range with increasing resolution indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated at higher resolutions, leading to more stable frame times and less variance from scene-to-scene complexity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 688 in 3dmark and 1451 in cinebench r23, while the multi-thread scores are 4735 in 3dmark max threads and 10283 in cinebench r23 multicore. These scores place the CPU in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14185.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS of 248 suggests that the CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates, and the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution with low graphical demands. However, the data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the system even at the highest settings, as the 1080p Ultra result of 113 FPS is still well above the 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS, which is clearly GPU-bound.

The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Greedfall's threading model, which is typical of a 2019 Action RPG. The 3dmark_8_threads score of 3929 and 3dmark_16_threads score of 4748 show that the CPU scales well with thread count, but the game likely does not utilize more than 8 threads effectively. The single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark is modest, but it does not appear to be a limiting factor in the measured results, as the frame rates at 1080p are consistently high across all settings.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s with DDR4 dual-channel support is adequate for the game's data streaming requirements. The PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the RTX 4070, although the GPU supports PCIe 4.0. The nearest CPU rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Xeon 6756E with a deltaPct of 0.2, putting them nearly at parity, and the AMD EPYC 7552 with a deltaPct of 0.5, showing the i5-10400F is slightly ahead of these server-class processors in the average benchmark score.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low at 248 FPS, Medium at 195 FPS, High at 177 FPS, and Ultra at 113 FPS. For users with a 60 Hz or 144 Hz monitor, the High preset offers a balanced experience with 177 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most displays. The Ultra preset at 113 FPS is also viable and provides the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 123 FPS, which is suitable for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 135 FPS offers a slight performance advantage, but the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in terms of shadow quality and texture filtering. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is still above 60 FPS and provides the best visual experience, making it a viable choice for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate headroom. The Low preset at 172 FPS is unnecessary for most users, as the visual compromises are not justified by the additional frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 73 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 81 FPS offers a safety margin above 60 FPS, and the Low preset at 103 FPS provides the smoothest experience but with significant visual compromises. The Ultra preset at 47 FPS is not recommended for 4K gaming, as the frame rate falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stuttering during fast-paced combat. For 4K users, the High preset is the best choice, offering 73 FPS while maintaining the game's visual fidelity.

The Medium preset, with its measured minimum and maximum frame rates, provides the most consistent performance. At 1080p, the range is 166 to 224 FPS, at 1440p it is 115 to 155 FPS, and at 4K it is 69 to 93 FPS. This consistency makes Medium a reliable choice for users who want predictable frame times, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU is more heavily loaded. Overall, the data suggests that High settings at 1080p or 1440p, and High settings at 4K, provide the best experience per the measured rows.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 912 out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the RTX 4070, which is in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, combined with a capable mid-range CPU that does not bottleneck the GPU in this game. The i5-10400F's 68th percentile ranking among CPUs is lower than the GPU's ranking, but the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is sufficient for Greedfall's demands.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the RTX 4070 is 0.1% ahead of the Tesla P4 in average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% ahead. These deltas are small, indicating that the RTX 4070 is closely matched with these competitors in raw compute performance, but the measured FPS in Greedfall demonstrates that the RTX 4070's architectural advantages in shading units and memory bandwidth translate to strong real-world performance.

The CPU's nearest rivals show similar close margins, with the Intel Xeon 6756E at 0.2% ahead and the AMD EPYC 7552 at 0.5% ahead in average benchmark score. The i5-10400F's positioning among these server-class processors is notable, but the measured FPS results in Greedfall are more relevant for assessing gaming performance. The combo rank of 912 out of 3703 suggests that while there are many combinations that perform better, this pairing offers a solid balance of CPU and GPU capabilities for this specific game. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and the i5-10400F provides adequate support without introducing a significant bottleneck at the resolutions and settings tested.