Greedfall

Greedfall’s measured performance on the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which shows signs of CPU headroom at 1080p. The data indicates a classic mid-range pairing where the graphics card dictates the experience as pixel count rises, while the processor’s six-core, twelve-thread configuration (base clock 2.60 GHz, boost 4.40 GHz) remains a capable foundation. The combination ranks 1508 out of 1705 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower third of all possible pairings, a position that aligns with its component specifications.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers 86.3 FPS, which drops to 56.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 34.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34.3% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and a 59.8% loss from 1080p to 4K. Such a scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the render output units and memory bandwidth of the GTX 1660 SUPER (48 ROPs, 336.0 GB/s) become the primary bottlenecks.

The scaling behavior across all settings confirms this analysis. At Low settings, the 1080p frame rate of 117.8 FPS falls to 81.3 FPS at 1440p (a 31.0% reduction) and 48.9 FPS at 4K (a 58.5% reduction). The consistency of these percentages across presets—roughly a third loss at 1440p and nearly two-thirds at 4K—indicates that the GPU’s raw throughput is the limiting factor, not the game’s visual complexity settings. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at lower resolutions where the processor’s single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 868) would cap output.

The Ultra preset provides the clearest evidence of GPU saturation. At 4K Ultra, the system manages only 22.5 FPS, which is a 56.3% drop from the 51.5 FPS achieved at 1080p Ultra. This dramatic falloff is typical of a graphics card that has exhausted its shading units (1408) and texture mapping units (88), forcing the renderer to work at the limits of its 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The data suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the dominant component across all measured resolutions, with the CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) providing sufficient headroom for the GPU to express its full range of performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 90.1, which represents a smooth experience for most action RPG gameplay.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 14286, placing it at the 55th percentile of all GPUs. It performs nearly identically to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (deltaPct -0.2), while the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is 0.7% ahead in average score.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: No. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a consistent 38.8% drop across High settings (56.7 to 34.7 FPS), which indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The i5-11400F’s multi-threaded capabilities (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372) are not the constraint at this resolution.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 56.7 FPS, which is above the playable threshold. The Medium preset achieves 65.5 FPS, providing a 15.5% improvement over High, while the Ultra preset drops to 35.1 FPS, making it less suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much faster is the GPU compared to its closest competitor?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, while its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14314. This means the GTX 1660 SUPER is actually 0.2% slower than that specific competitor in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings produce 117.8 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 51.5 FPS. This 66.3 FPS gap (a 56.3% reduction) demonstrates the significant graphical load that the Ultra preset places on the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate, with the optimal preset depending on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset provides the best balance, delivering 86.3 FPS while retaining substantial visual quality over the Medium preset’s 90.1 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is only 3.8 FPS, yet High likely offers noticeably better texture filtering and shadow detail, making it the recommended choice for most users. The Ultra preset at 51.5 FPS is playable but sacrifices 40.3% of the frame rate compared to High for marginal visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset emerges as the most sensible option. It achieves 65.5 FPS, which is a 15.5% improvement over High’s 56.7 FPS, while still maintaining an acceptable visual presentation. The High preset at 56.7 FPS is close to the 60 FPS target and may be preferable for users who prioritize image quality over a small frame rate advantage. The Ultra preset at 35.1 FPS is not recommended due to the significant risk of noticeable stutter in combat scenarios.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that only the Low preset (48.9 FPS) approaches a playable experience. The Medium preset at 40.5 FPS is borderline, while High (34.7 FPS) and Ultra (22.5 FPS) fall below the threshold for smooth action RPG gameplay. Users targeting 4K should accept Low or Medium settings to maintain playability, as the GPU’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus width become strained at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its strongest performance. Low settings produce 117.8 FPS, Medium produces 90.1 FPS, High produces 86.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 51.5 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is minimal (3.8 FPS), while the jump to Ultra incurs a 40.3% penalty from High. This resolution shows the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU adequately, as the frame rates scale in a manner consistent with GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates become more constrained. Low settings deliver 81.3 FPS, Medium delivers 65.5 FPS, High delivers 56.7 FPS, and Ultra delivers 35.1 FPS. The transition from Medium to High costs 8.8 FPS (a 13.4% reduction), while the transition from High to Ultra costs 21.6 FPS (a 38.1% reduction), indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects (likely ambient occlusion and volumetric lighting) heavily tax the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance is limited. Low settings achieve 48.9 FPS, Medium achieves 40.5 FPS, High achieves 34.7 FPS, and Ultra achieves 22.5 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 38.8% drop (56.7 to 34.7 FPS), which is consistent with the pixel count increase of 2.25x. The Ultra preset at 4K is nearly unplayable, with a frame rate that is 56.3% lower than the 1080p Ultra result.

The overall data shows a system that is well-suited for 1080p gaming across all presets, adequate for 1440p with Medium or High settings, and only marginal for 4K with reduced settings. The combination of the i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads, paired with the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB VRAM, provides a consistent experience that is primarily bounded by the graphics card’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing, with its Turing architecture (12 nm process, TU116 chip) providing a baseline of 1530 MHz base and 1785 MHz boost clocks. The GPU’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for handling Greedfall’s detailed environments at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that this bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the memory subsystem must feed the 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs at a rate that exceeds the available throughput.

The GPU’s benchmark profile places it at the 55th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 14286. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (avg score 14314, deltaPct -0.2) and Intel Iris XE MAX Graphics (avg score 14315, deltaPct -0.2)—are statistically identical in performance, suggesting that the GTX 1660 SUPER sits at a performance tier where small architectural differences do not translate into meaningful gameplay advantages. However, the GPU’s 12 nm process and 6,600 million transistors (die size 284 mm²) indicate a mature design that has been optimized for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

In the context of Greedfall, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s dense foliage and complex lighting effects. The 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate and 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the measured frame rates. However, the 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes a bottleneck at 4K, where the Ultra preset’s 22.5 FPS reveals the GPU’s inability to handle the increased shader complexity. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for the game’s textures, but the 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for the high-resolution frame buffer demands. This analysis confirms that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a capable 1080p and 1440p GPU, but its architectural limits surface clearly at 4K, where the CPU’s performance headroom (evidenced by its 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17181) cannot compensate for the GPU’s constraints.