Greedfall

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

The measured FPS data for Greedfall with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveals a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 203.1 FPS, but at 4K Low, that figure drops to 82.5 FPS — a 59.4% reduction. This steep decline is typical of a graphics-bound scenario at higher pixel counts.

The scaling curve steepens dramatically at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 94.2 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it falls to 64.3 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 36.5 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 57.7 FPS, or roughly 61.3% lower, which indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are being saturated by the game's highest preset at 4K.

Interestingly, the difference between Low and High settings narrows as resolution rises. At 1080p, Low (203.1 FPS) versus High (145.6 FPS) shows a 57.5 FPS gap. At 4K, the same comparison yields only a 20.4 FPS gap (82.5 vs 62.1). This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is already near its limit even on Low settings, so additional graphical features have less headroom to impact performance. The CPU, with 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, appears sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions; the data shows 1080p Low exceeding 200 FPS, which is well beyond what a CPU-limited scenario would typically produce.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 793rd out of 1705 tested combos for Greedfall. That places it in the 46.5th percentile — slightly below the median of all tested systems. Given that the RTX 3070 sits in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs and the i5-12400 ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's mid-pack ranking in this game suggests that Greedfall's engine does not fully leverage the strengths of this hardware pairing.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its expected contribution. The Intel Core i7-9700 scores 0.1% higher in average benchmark score, while the Intel Core i5-11600K trails by 0.4%. These are marginal differences, indicating the i5-12400 is not a bottleneck in synthetic terms. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 0.9% lower and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 1% lower — are close in aggregate performance, yet the RTX 3070's 72nd percentile ranking shows it is a capable mid-to-high-tier card. The fact that this combo still lands near the middle of the pack in Greedfall points to game-specific optimization quirks rather than fundamental hardware weakness.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm Intel process, includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The processor's 3DMark scores reveal a strong scaling pattern: 1,692 in the 2-thread test, 3,012 in 4-thread, 4,745 in 8-thread, and 5,890 at max threads. This shows that Greedfall, which is not thread-heavy, still benefits from the multi-core headroom.

In Cinebench R23, the i5-12400 scores 15,935 multi-core and 2,249 single-core. The single-core result is particularly relevant for Greedfall's engine, which often relies on single-threaded game logic. The PassMark single-thread score of 3,456 reinforces that this CPU can handle the frame-to-frame decision making without stalling the GPU. However, the data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 203.1 FPS — a figure that likely brushes against CPU limits for draw calls. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,873 and max-thread score of 5,890 demonstrate that the 12 threads are utilized effectively when needed, but Greedfall rarely demands that level of parallelism.

With a TDP of 65 W, the i5-12400 is efficient, and its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms a majority of processors in general benchmarks. For Greedfall specifically, the CPU appears to be a non-issue: the measured FPS at 1080p are high enough that any frame pacing issues would stem from the GPU or engine, not the processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p (1920x1080): Low delivers 203.1 FPS, Medium 159.9 FPS, High 145.6 FPS, and Ultra 94.2 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 43.2 FPS, while Medium to High drops another 14.3 FPS. The largest single-setting penalty is High to Ultra, which loses 51.4 FPS — a 35.3% reduction. This suggests Ultra introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU.

1440p (2560x1440): Low runs at 141.4 FPS, Medium at 112.3 FPS, High at 103.6 FPS, and Ultra at 64.3 FPS. The Medium-to-High delta is only 8.7 FPS, indicating these two presets are relatively close in visual impact. Ultra again stands out, costing 39.3 FPS over High — a 37.9% drop. Compared to 1080p, the same settings lose about 30% performance on average, consistent with the increase in pixel count.

4K (3840x2160): Low produces 82.5 FPS, Medium 65.3 FPS, High 62.1 FPS, and Ultra 36.5 FPS. The differences between Medium and High are minimal (3.2 FPS), but Ultra is nearly half of High's performance. At 4K, even Low settings struggle to maintain 60 FPS, which is the threshold for smooth gameplay on standard displays. The jump from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 42% performance across all settings, reflecting the RTX 3070's bandwidth limitations at 8 GB.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 17,400 million transistors and a die size of 392 mm². Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 14 Gbps effective across a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost of 1725 MHz, and the card includes 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 20.31 TFLOPS.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is evident in the 4K Ultra result of 36.5 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a limiting factor at this resolution and preset, as the game's textures and effects can exceed that capacity. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,162 and PassMark G3D score of 22,214 indicate solid raw performance, but the game's engine appears to be memory-hungry at high settings.

The RTX 3070's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it above most cards, yet its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% lower) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% lower) — are older or lower-tier parts. This suggests that in Greedfall, the RTX 3070's advanced features like ray tracing cores (46 RT cores) and tensor cores (184) are not being fully utilized, as the game predates widespread RT adoption. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a power-hungry but manageable card for a 550 W suggested PSU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Greedfall?

A: The data shows 1440p High delivers 103.6 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality. At 1080p Ultra, the system hits 94.2 FPS, but 4K Ultra drops to 36.5 FPS, so 1440p is the sweet spot.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19,850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 (19,831) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K (19,771). It trails the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4% (19,928).

Q: Is the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM enough for Greedfall at 4K?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 4K Ultra produces only 36.5 FPS, while 4K High reaches 62.1 FPS. This suggests the 8 GB memory capacity is strained at 4K Ultra, as the performance drop is steep.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 793rd out of 1,705 tested combos, placing it in the 46.5th percentile — slightly below the median for Greedfall.

Q: How does the CPU's 3DMark scaling inform gaming performance?

A: The 3DMark scores show strong scaling from 1,692 (2-thread) to 5,890 (max-thread), indicating 12 threads are well-utilized. Greedfall benefits from the 4.40 GHz boost clock, as evidenced by 1080p Low exceeding 200 FPS.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gap is 108.9 FPS (203.1 vs 94.2). At 1440p, it is 77.1 FPS (141.4 vs 64.3). At 4K, it narrows to 46.0 FPS (82.5 vs 36.5), showing diminishing returns from settings at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For smooth 60 FPS gameplay, the data supports using 1440p High, which delivers 103.6 FPS, or 1440p Medium at 112.3 FPS for extra headroom. At 1080p, Ultra is viable at 94.2 FPS, but the 51.4 FPS drop from High to Ultra indicates the preset's cost is not justified unless visual fidelity is the priority. For 4K displays, High is the only acceptable choice at 62.1 FPS, as Ultra drops to 36.5 FPS — below the playable threshold.

If maximizing frame rate for competitive play, 1080p Low at 203.1 FPS is the clear winner, though this sacrifices most graphical features. The Medium preset at 1080p (159.9 FPS) offers a balanced middle ground, retaining moderate visual quality while staying far above 60 FPS. At 1440p, Low (141.4 FPS) is overkill for most displays, so Medium or High is preferable.

The RTX 3070's 72nd percentile GPU rank and the i5-12400's 77th percentile CPU rank suggest this system can handle Greedfall well at mid-range settings. Given the 8 GB VRAM limit, users should avoid 4K Ultra entirely, as the 36.5 FPS result indicates the card is overwhelmed. Sticking to 1440p High or 1080p Ultra provides the best combination of visual quality and performance, based on the measured rows.