Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 action RPG from Spiders, presents an interesting study in hardware scaling when paired with the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050. The measured data reveals a configuration that is clearly capable of delivering smooth gameplay at high refresh rates, but one where performance characteristics shift dramatically depending on the resolution and preset. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand where the bottlenecks lie and how to best configure the game for this specific hardware combination.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K exposes a classic shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 160 FPS. This high frame rate, coupled with the substantial headroom, indicates that the GPU is not being fully taxed at this resolution and preset. The CPU, with its strong single-thread performance, is likely the primary limiter at this lower resolution, preventing the frame rate from climbing even higher. Moving to High settings at 1080p drops the average to 114 FPS, a 29% reduction, showing the GPU beginning to take on more work but still leaving performance on the table.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the scaling pattern becomes more pronounced. At Low settings, the average FPS falls to 111, a 31% drop from the 1080p Low figure. This is a significant decrease, but the frame rate remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The Medium preset at 1440p yields an average of 87 FPS, while High produces 79 FPS. The gap between Low and High at 1440p is 32 FPS, which is smaller than the 46 FPS gap seen at 1080p. This compression of the performance delta suggests that the GPU is starting to become a more significant factor, as its workload increases with pixel count.

The most revealing data comes at 3840x2160. The RTX 5050's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are heavily taxed here. Low settings yield an average of 66 FPS, which is a 41% drop from the 1440p Low result. This is a steep scaling curve. High settings at 4K produce only 47 FPS on average, and the Ultra preset falls to just 30 FPS. The data indicates a clear GPU bottleneck at 4K. The frame rate differences between presets at this resolution are stark, with Ultra delivering less than half the frame rate of Low. The measured data shows that this configuration is not suited for 4K gaming with high visual fidelity, as the GPU simply lacks the raw throughput and memory bandwidth to maintain playable frame rates at that resolution with demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60+ FPS average?

A: The data shows that both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are viable for 60+ FPS gameplay. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 73 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset averages 79 FPS, while Ultra drops to 50 FPS, making 1440p High the highest preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 perform at 4K in Greedfall?

A: Performance at 3840x2160 is limited. The highest average FPS recorded at this resolution is 66 FPS on Low settings. High settings drop to 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. These figures indicate that 4K gaming is only feasible with significant compromises to visual quality.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results suggest the CPU is the primary limiter at 1920x1080, especially on lower presets. The jump from Low (160 FPS) to Ultra (73 FPS) is large, but the absolute frame rates are high, indicating the GPU has headroom. The Intel Core i5-12600KF's strong single-thread score of 3302 in Cinebench R23 helps push high frame rates, but the game's engine appears to cap performance before the GPU is fully saturated.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 87 FPS, while High averages 79 FPS. This is a relatively small difference of 8 FPS, suggesting that the visual improvements from Medium to High cost less performance than the jump from High to Ultra, which drops to 50 FPS.

Q: How does the combo's rank in this game compare to its overall hardware percentile?

A: The combination ranks 1776 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 40th percentile for this specific game. This is lower than the CPU's individual percentile of 79 and the GPU's percentile of 66, indicating that Greedfall presents a more demanding or less optimized workload for this pairing than average.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 5050 cause issues at 4K?

A: While the data does not explicitly measure VRAM usage, the significant performance drop at 3840x2160, particularly the fall from 66 FPS on Low to 47 FPS on High, suggests that memory capacity and bandwidth are likely constraining factors. The 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is a potential bottleneck at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Greedfall, the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 pairing holds the 1776th position out of 2938 total combinations. This rank places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is somewhat surprising given the individual components' performance percentiles. The CPU scores in the 79th percentile against all other processors, and the GPU sits in the 66th percentile against all other graphics cards. This disconnect suggests that Greedfall's engine does not scale perfectly with this combination of hardware.

The rank is more telling when considering the GPU's nearest rivals. The RTX 5050's average benchmark score of 21035 is very close to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which scores 20713, a difference of 1.6%. This indicates that the RTX 5050 performs at a level similar to a mid-range card from a previous generation. The combination's rank in Greedfall reflects this positioning. It is not a top-tier performer, but it is not at the bottom either. The data suggests that for a game like Greedfall, which is not the most graphically demanding title in the database, this combo provides a solid, if unspectacular, experience. The low rank relative to the CPU's potential indicates that the GPU is holding the system back in this specific title, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers strong results across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, which drops to 126 FPS on Medium, 114 FPS on High, and 73 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS, indicating good frame pacing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease. The Low preset averages 111 FPS, Medium drops to 87 FPS (with a min of 74 and max of 100), and High averages 79 FPS. The Ultra preset sees a significant drop to an average of 50 FPS, which is noticeably below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium averages 52 FPS (min 44, max 60), High drops to 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 55% reduction in performance, highlighting the GPU's limitations at this resolution. The data shows a clear pattern: the system is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and smooth 60+ FPS at 1440p with moderate settings, but it is not suitable for 4K gaming beyond the lowest preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its core configuration, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, provides a strong foundation for gaming. The benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 1016 in 3DMark and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302, which are indicative of excellent per-core performance. This is crucial for games like Greedfall, which often rely on a few heavily-threaded tasks.

The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a 3DMark max-thread score of 7952. This suggests that the CPU will not be a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios. However, the data from the measured FPS indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is indeed the limiting factor. The high frame rates on Low settings (160 FPS) suggest that the game's logic and draw call processing are maxing out the CPU's capabilities.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (average score 27872, delta -0.3%) and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (average score 27896, delta -0.3%). These comparisons show that the i5-12600KF is performing at a level comparable to high-end processors from the previous generation. In Greedfall, this means the CPU is more than capable of feeding the RTX 5050 at lower resolutions, but its performance headroom becomes less relevant as the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60+ FPS experience, the 1920x1080 Ultra preset is viable, averaging 73 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality at this resolution without sacrificing playability. If a higher refresh rate monitor is in use, the 1080p High preset at 114 FPS or the 1080p Medium preset at 126 FPS are excellent choices.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best choice for maintaining a smooth 60+ FPS experience, with an average of 79 FPS. The Medium preset offers a higher average of 87 FPS and is a good fallback if frame rate stability is a priority. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 50 FPS, should be avoided for consistent gameplay, as it dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the only preset that achieves an average above 60 FPS is Low, at 66 FPS. This is the only recommended setting for 4K play. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is playable but may feel less smooth, and the High and Ultra presets should be avoided. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, users should target 1440p High or 1080p Ultra. These settings provide a substantial visual upgrade over the lower presets while maintaining frame rates that are well above the playable threshold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its 2560 shading units and boost clock of 2572 MHz give it a peak FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS. These specifications place it in the mid-range tier of the current GPU lineup, as reflected by its 66th percentile ranking against all other graphics cards.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to render the game at high frame rates, but it is not fully utilized. At 1440p, the GPU begins to show its limits, with the Ultra preset dropping to 50 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely significant contributors to this issue. The high texture and geometry demands of 4K resolution can exceed the memory capacity, leading to performance degradation.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 17326 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2502. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, has a score of 20713, a delta of 1.6%, indicating the RTX 5050 is slightly slower on average. This positioning is evident in the 4K results, where the card struggles. The data clearly shows that while the RTX 5050 is a capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, its memory subsystem and raw compute power are not sufficient for high-quality 4K gaming in Greedfall. The GPU is the primary limiter for this combination at resolutions above 1080p, and users should adjust their settings accordingly to ensure a smooth experience.