Greedfall

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It uses DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth, and its 12 MB of shared L3 cache is split across the cores. This CPU sits in the 73rd percentile against all CPUs in the database, which places it as a solidly mid-range part for modern gaming, though its architecture is now several generations old.

In Greedfall, this CPU does not appear to be the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 280.9 FPS average, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average remains 167.7 FPS. These numbers suggest that the i5-10400F has enough single-threaded headroom for this Action RPG, which is not particularly thread-hungry. The CPU's single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 1453, and its multi-core score is 10297 — respectable figures that translate into strong frame pacing in titles that rely on a few heavy threads.

However, the data reveals a ceiling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 167.7 to 116.5 — a 30.5% decline. This is a larger relative drop than what would be expected from pure GPU scaling alone, indicating that the CPU is starting to limit the upper bound of frame rates. The i5-10400F's 3DMark scores support this: its 8-thread score of 3929 and max-thread score of 4735 are not exceptional, and in a game like Greedfall that may not use all 12 threads efficiently, the per-core performance becomes the deciding factor.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-10400F is within a tight band. It scores 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552, but 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C and 1.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-8500. These are negligible differences in practice, meaning the CPU is firmly in a performance tier where no single part clearly dominates. For Greedfall specifically, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient — the game does not appear to scale beyond 12 threads based on the measured results, and the boost clock of 4.30 GHz provides the single-thread speed needed for consistent frame delivery.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a Blackwell 2.0 GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock runs at 2407 MHz, and the memory operates at 28 Gbps effective. With 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, this is an extremely high-end part that ranks in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

In Greedfall, the RTX 5090 is clearly the dominant component driving frame rates at every resolution and settings combination tested. At 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 70.8 FPS average — a playable frame rate for a demanding title. At 4K High, that jumps to 109.3 FPS, and at 4K Low it reaches 147.5 FPS. These numbers show that even at the highest resolution, the GPU has ample headroom to handle Greedfall's rendering demands.

The GPU's raw compute power is substantial. Its FP32 throughput is 104.8 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s means that even heavily textured scenes should not stall the render pipeline. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Greedfall requires — the game was released in 2019 and is not known for extreme memory usage — so VRAM capacity is a non-issue here.

What the data shows is that the RTX 5090's performance scales almost linearly with resolution when paired with this CPU. At 1440p High, the average is 178.5 FPS; at 4K High, it is 109.3 FPS. That is a 38.8% drop, which is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase (1440p to 4K is about 2.25x pixels, but the FPS drop is less severe, suggesting the CPU is partially limiting at 1440p). At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiter, and it still delivers over 70 FPS at Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across three resolutions reveals a classic bottleneck transition. At 1080p, the combo is heavily CPU-limited. The difference between Low (280.9 FPS) and High (250.1 FPS) is only 10.9%, and even Ultra (167.7 FPS) is well above 144 Hz. The i5-10400F's single-thread performance is the primary constraint here — the RTX 5090 is capable of far more, but the CPU cannot feed frames fast enough.

Stepping up to 1440p, the GPU starts to take over. Low settings yield 248.5 FPS, High yields 178.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 116.5 FPS. The spread between settings widens compared to 1080p, which is the expected behavior when the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 1440p Ultra result of 116.5 FPS is 30.5% lower than 1080p Ultra's 167.7 FPS, and this proportional relationship continues to 4K.

At 4K, the GPU is unambiguously the bottleneck. Ultra settings produce 70.8 FPS, which is a 57.8% drop from 1440p Ultra's 116.5 FPS. This is close to the theoretical pixel-count scaling (1440p to 4K is a 2.25x pixel increase, which would predict a 55.6% drop if perfectly GPU-bound). The slight discrepancy suggests that the CPU is still contributing a small overhead, but the RTX 5090's workload is now the dominant factor.

The 4K Low result of 147.5 FPS is particularly telling. Even at the lowest settings, where the GPU's shading work is minimal, the frame rate does not approach the 1080p Low result of 280.9 FPS. This indicates that at 4K, memory bandwidth and ROP throughput are the limiting factors — the RTX 5090's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is immense, but Greedfall's 4K buffer and post-processing still demand significant memory traffic. The GPU's 176 ROPs handle the pixel fill, and the 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is the theoretical ceiling; the measured results show the combo operating at roughly 35% of that ceiling at 4K Ultra, which is typical for a game with heavy shader work.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in Greedfall?

A: At 1080p, yes. The 1080p Low result of 280.9 FPS shows the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU cannot fully stretch its legs. At 4K, the bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU, with the 4K Ultra result of 70.8 FPS being far below what the CPU could deliver.

Q: How much VRAM does Greedfall use with the RTX 5090?

A: The data does not include VRAM usage figures, but the RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. Given the game's 2019 release date, this capacity is far beyond any conceivable requirement for Greedfall at the tested settings.

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

A: At 1440p High, the combo delivers 178.5 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 4K High, it drops to 109.3 FPS, which is still smooth. The choice depends on your display; both resolutions are fully playable.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306. It is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D, 0.2% ahead of the RTX 5050 Mobile, and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6600. The NVIDIA CMP 40HX is 1.6% ahead of the RTX 5090.

Q: Does the CPU's 12-thread configuration help in Greedfall?

A: The i5-10400F's 12 threads appear sufficient. The game does not show signs of scaling beyond this count, as the frame rates at 1080p are consistently high across settings. The CPU's max-thread 3DMark score of 4735 is modest, but Greedfall does not appear to require more.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1080p Ultra, and is it playable?

A: The 1080p Ultra average is 167.7 FPS. This is highly playable on any monitor, and it indicates that the CPU is still the limiting factor at this resolution — the GPU could deliver more if the CPU allowed it.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 68th out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the top 4% of all configurations in the database, which is an excellent result for a CPU that is not a top-tier part.

The ranking reflects the GPU's dominant role. The RTX 5090's 94th percentile standing among all GPUs, combined with the i5-10400F's 73rd percentile CPU standing, creates a lopsided pairing. In Greedfall, the GPU's massive compute resources (104.8 TFLOPS FP32) and high memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) drive the frame rates at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU's mid-range performance only caps the absolute maximum at 1080p.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is in the top 68 positions, which means it outperforms the vast majority of configurations. The practical implication is that this combo is overkill for Greedfall at 1080p — the CPU holds back the GPU — but at 4K, it is a well-balanced pairing that delivers smooth frame rates even at Ultra settings. The 1705-combo dataset shows that this ranking is not an outlier; it is consistent with the GPU's position in the top percentile.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for the optimal experience. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, but the differences are instructive. Low (280.9 FPS) and Medium (257.4 FPS) are both extremely high, while High (250.1 FPS) is nearly identical to Medium. Ultra drops to 167.7 FPS, which is still above 144 Hz. For 1080p users, High settings offer the best balance — the frame rate is 250.1 FPS, which is only 3.2% lower than Low but provides significantly better visual quality.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. Low (248.5 FPS) and Medium (201.4 FPS) are both excellent, but High (178.5 FPS) is the sweet spot for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. Ultra (116.5 FPS) is still playable, but the drop from High to Ultra is 34.7%, which is a steep price for the extra visual features. For most users, High at 1440p is the recommended preset.

At 4K, the priorities change. Ultra (70.8 FPS) is technically playable, but it is below the 72 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth motion. High (109.3 FPS) is the clear winner — it is 54.4% faster than Ultra while still looking excellent. Medium (118.5 FPS) is only 8.4% faster than High, so the visual quality difference between Medium and High is likely worth the small frame rate cost. Low (147.5 FPS) is unnecessary unless the user has a very high refresh rate 4K display.

The best overall experience across all resolutions is the High preset. It delivers 250.1 FPS at 1080p, 178.5 FPS at 1440p, and 109.3 FPS at 4K. This preset provides a consistent frame rate that exceeds 100 FPS at all tested resolutions, making it the most versatile choice for this hardware combination. If maximum visual quality is the priority and the user is on a 4K display, Ultra is viable at 70.8 FPS, but the 35% frame rate penalty versus High is substantial. For the vast majority of users, High is the recommended settings preset.