Greedfall

The Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination delivers a highly capable Greedfall experience, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling shift as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system is firmly CPU-bound at lower settings, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The measured frame rates show a smooth scaling curve that drops sharply when Ultra settings are enabled, indicating that the game’s highest preset demands a significant hardware toll that this combo cannot fully offset at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

Resolution scaling in Greedfall follows an expected trajectory, but the magnitude of the FPS drop between 1080p and 4K varies dramatically depending on the quality preset. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average frame rate falls from 166.5 FPS to 117.3 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. The subsequent jump to 3840x2160 at High yields 71 FPS, which is another 40% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep drop-off at 4K indicates that the RX 9070’s rendering workload is scaling non-linearly with pixel count, and the GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily.

At Low settings, the scaling pattern changes character. The 1080p Low preset produces 236 FPS, while 1440p Low drops to 163.8 FPS and 4K Low settles at 94.1 FPS. The relative declines are 30.6% and 42.5% respectively, showing that even with minimal graphical overhead, the pixel throughput demands at 4K still cut performance by more than half compared to 1080p. This suggests that the limiting component at Low settings is still the GPU’s raw fillrate and shading capacity, though the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate to feed the frame pipeline at these high rates.

The Ultra preset tells a different story about the limiting factor. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 105 FPS, but 1440p Ultra drops to 72.6 FPS and 4K Ultra plummets to 43.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Ultra figure, and the gap between Ultra and High at 4K is a substantial 28 frames per second. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately increase GPU load at higher resolutions, making the RX 9070 the clear bottleneck. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 MB of shared L3 cache are sufficient to maintain high frame generation, but they cannot compensate for the GPU’s 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 throughput being saturated by the 4K Ultra workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to High settings as the optimal balance for this combo across all resolutions. At 3840x2160, High delivers 71 FPS, which is comfortably above the 43.2 FPS of Ultra and only slightly below the 78.9 FPS of Medium. The jump from High to Ultra costs 27.8 FPS at 4K, a 39% penalty that is not justified by the visual uplift. At 2560x1440, High produces 117.3 FPS, which is within striking distance of the 129.8 FPS Medium result but far ahead of the 72.6 FPS Ultra figure. The 1080p High result of 166.5 FPS is also strong, offering a 61.5 FPS advantage over Ultra while remaining smooth.

For users targeting 4K, the data suggests that High is the ceiling for a playable experience. The 71 FPS average is sufficient for most displays, but those with high refresh rate 1440p monitors can push further. At 1440p, Medium settings at 129.8 FPS provide an excellent balance if frame rate is prioritized over image quality, but High’s 117.3 FPS is close enough that the visual fidelity gain is worth the small performance trade-off. At 1080p, the 187.9 FPS Medium preset is the best choice for esports-style responsiveness, though the 236 FPS Low result shows the combo is capable of extreme frame rates if needed, albeit with reduced visual quality.

Low settings are only recommended for competitive play or when absolute maximum frame rates are required. The 4K Low result of 94.1 FPS is still playable, but the visual compromise is severe for an Action RPG that relies on atmospheric detail. The data clearly shows that Medium and High are the sweet spots, with Ultra being an outlier that should be avoided at 4K and only considered at 1080p if the 105 FPS average is acceptable.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the primary driver of performance in Greedfall, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is ample for Greedfall’s textures, even at 4K Ultra, but the 43.2 FPS result at that preset suggests that memory bandwidth is not the limiting factor. Instead, the GPU’s 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs are being saturated by the game’s rendering demands when Ultra effects are enabled.

The clock speeds of the RX 9070 play a significant role in its performance. The base clock of 1330 MHz boosts to 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. This boost behavior allows the GPU to maintain high throughput during sustained gaming sessions, which is reflected in the relatively stable frame rates across the measured presets. The 4 nm process node from TSMC and 53,900 million transistors contribute to the GPU’s 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance, which is the raw compute capacity that Greedfall’s shaders can leverage.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 79 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780, places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. However, the nearest rival data shows that its performance is closely matched by the NVIDIA A2, which scores 34866 with a delta of -0.2%, and the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 at 34677 with a 0.3% delta. This indicates that the RX 9070’s gaming performance in Greedfall is competitive but not exceptional, and the measured FPS results confirm that it is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra rather than the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its full potential. Low settings produce an average of 236 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and presets. Medium settings yield 187.9 FPS, High delivers 166.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 105 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 131 FPS, showing that the CPU and GPU can scale well at this resolution, but Ultra still imposes a significant penalty.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but begin to show GPU limitations. Low settings average 163.8 FPS, Medium hits 129.8 FPS, High achieves 117.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 72.6 FPS. The 1080p to 1440p drop at High is 49.2 FPS, while at Ultra it is 32.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling more with the higher resolution when Ultra effects are active.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low settings average 94.1 FPS, Medium reaches 78.9 FPS, High produces 71 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43.2 FPS. The 4K results are the most revealing: the difference between Low and Ultra is 50.9 FPS, and even the jump from High to Ultra is 27.8 FPS. This shows that 4K Ultra is the only preset where the combo fails to maintain a smooth 60 FPS average, making it unsuitable for that configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 555th out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 32.5th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is respectable given the CPU’s mid-range positioning, but it is held back by the GPU’s performance at 4K Ultra. The CPU itself has a percentile ranking of 75 among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 17181, while the GPU ranks at the 79th percentile with an average score of 34780.

The combo’s ranking suggests that it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all tested configurations, which is a strong result for a system built around a 6-core, 12-thread CPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with an average score of 17189 and a delta of 0%, and the Intel Core i7-1260P at 17212 with a -0.2% delta. These close scores indicate that the i5-11400F is well-matched with other mid-range processors, and its performance in Greedfall is not limited by CPU compute.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show a similar clustering, with the NVIDIA A2 at 34866 (-0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at 34541 (0.7% delta) being the closest comparisons. This tight grouping suggests that the RX 9070’s performance is consistent with its benchmark score, and the Greedfall results are representative of its overall capability. The combo rank of 555 indicates that while the system is capable, it does not break into the top tier, primarily due to the 4K Ultra deficiency.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: High settings at 3840x2160 produce 71 FPS, which is the highest playable average above 60 FPS. Ultra drops to 43.2 FPS, which is not smooth enough for most users.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p for high refresh rate displays?

A: The 1080p Medium preset delivers 187.9 FPS, while High achieves 166.5 FPS. Both are suitable for 144Hz monitors, and Low reaches 236 FPS for maximum responsiveness.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting component at 4K, as evidenced by the 43.2 FPS Ultra result. The CPU’s 4.40 GHz boost clock and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: Medium produces 129.8 FPS, while High delivers 117.3 FPS, a difference of 12.5 FPS. The visual uplift from High may justify the small performance loss.

Q: Does the combo rank highly among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 555th out of 1705 combos, placing it in the upper third of all configurations. This is a solid result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the GPU and CPU?

A: The GPU has a launch MSRP of 549 USD, and the CPU has a launch MSRP of $157.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in Greedfall, but its specifications ensure that it does not become a bottleneck at most settings. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This boost capability is critical for maintaining high frame rates at 1080p, where the measured 236 FPS Low result indicates that the CPU can generate frames rapidly enough to keep the GPU fed. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the game’s world streaming.

The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and single-core score of 2029 show balanced performance, while the Passmark multithread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981 indicate strong integer and floating-point throughput. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and max-thread score of 5652 demonstrate that the CPU can scale well with multi-threaded workloads, which is beneficial for Greedfall’s background simulation and AI processing.

However, the CPU’s role becomes less significant as resolution increases. At 4K, the GPU’s workload dominates, and the CPU’s frame generation is more than sufficient to keep up. The 4K Low result of 94.1 FPS versus the 1080p Low result of 236 FPS shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 17181 place it in line with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which scores 17189, and the Intel Core i5-1240U at 17141 with a 0.2% delta. This indicates that the i5-11400F is a reliable mid-range choice that pairs well with the RX 9070, providing enough compute headroom to avoid holding back the GPU in most scenarios.