Greedfall

# Greedfall CPU/GPU Performance Analysis

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a capable but not class-leading experience in Greedfall, with measured frame rates ranging from 62 FPS at 4K Ultra to 329 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that scales predictably across resolutions and settings, with the RTX 5080 providing substantial headroom at lower resolutions while the CPU becomes a more significant factor as settings increase. This combination ranks 220th out of 3703 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations evaluated.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It carries a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this chip achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, while Geekbench results show 11268 multi-core and 2058 single-core.

In Greedfall, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p resolution where frame rates reach 329 FPS on Low settings. This high frame rate suggests the i5-14400F's single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the RTX 5080 at lower resolutions. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 3701 and multi-thread score of 25470 indicate strong per-core capability, which matters for a game like Greedfall that relies on consistent frame pacing. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all processors places it above average, though its nearest rivals — including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% ahead) and Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% ahead) — show that this chip sits in a competitive mid-range tier.

At higher settings, the CPU's role shifts. The measured FPS drop from 329 FPS at 1080p Low to 150 FPS at 1080p Ultra suggests that while the CPU can drive high frame rates, the increased draw calls and physics calculations at Ultra settings create additional load. The i5-14400F's PassMark physics score of 1523 and floating point math score of 61319 provide context for its ability to handle these computational demands. The CPU's 10-core configuration with 16 threads offers ample parallelism for modern game engines, but Greedfall's aging engine (released in 2019) may not fully utilize all cores, making the strong single-core performance more relevant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 represents the Blackwell 2.0 architecture on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. It ships with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clock speeds are 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, with memory running at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The RTX 5080 includes 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, 112 ROPs, 84 RT cores, and 336 tensor cores.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions. The transition from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows the RTX 5080's rendering capabilities taking center stage. At 4K High, the system delivers 97 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 62 FPS — a 36% reduction. This performance profile aligns with the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 36565 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637, which place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival comparisons show the RTX 5080 is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark scores, though the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE sits 2.2% ahead.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient for Greedfall at all tested settings, even at 4K Ultra where texture detail and draw distances demand significant memory. The GPU's 256-bit memory bus and 960 GB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not create bottlenecks. The RTX 5080's FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom, and the 84 RT cores — while not heavily utilized in this game — contribute to the overall rendering pipeline.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across settings presets. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 259 FPS with a minimum of 220 FPS, while High produces 235 FPS and Ultra drops to 150 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 24 FPS (9%), while the gap between High and Ultra is 85 FPS (36%). This suggests that Ultra settings impose a disproportionate performance cost relative to the visual improvement.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. Medium delivers 179 FPS (minimum 152), High produces 163 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104 FPS. The Medium-to-High delta narrows to 16 FPS (9%), while High-to-Ultra costs 59 FPS (36%). At 4K, Medium achieves 107 FPS (minimum 91), High reaches 97 FPS, and Ultra falls to 62 FPS. The Medium-to-High gap shrinks further to 10 FPS (9%), while High-to-Ultra again costs 35 FPS (36%).

The data consistently shows that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 4K High, the system maintains 97 FPS — comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay. At 1440p High, 163 FPS provides excellent responsiveness for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset's consistent 36% performance penalty across all resolutions indicates it introduces computationally expensive effects that yield diminishing returns. For players targeting 60+ FPS, High settings are the recommended choice across all three resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + RTX 5080 combination ranks 220th out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the top 5.9% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's strong overall performance, though it is not at the absolute top tier. The CPU's 83rd percentile and GPU's 87th percentile positions suggest that this combo performs slightly below what the individual components' percentiles might predict, indicating that the CPU may slightly constrain the GPU in certain scenarios.

The rank of 220 out of 3703 means there are 219 combinations that achieve higher FPS in Greedfall. These likely include configurations with higher-end CPUs paired with the RTX 5080 or similar GPUs, as well as systems with even more powerful GPUs. The i5-14400F's position relative to its rivals — within 0.5% of the Intel Core i7-12800H and 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS — suggests that CPU headroom is not a significant limiting factor. The RTX 5080's performance relative to its rivals, being 0.6-0.7% ahead of two AMD options but 2.2% behind the RX 9070 GRE, indicates the GPU is well-positioned for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the frame rates are 329 FPS at 1080p, 228 FPS at 1440p, and 136 FPS at 4K. This represents a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 40% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the progression is 259 → 179 → 107 FPS, with drops of 31% and 40% respectively. High settings show 235 → 163 → 97 FPS, again with 31% and 40% reductions. Ultra settings show 150 → 104 → 62 FPS, with 31% and 40% drops.

The consistent 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 40% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates GPU-bound behavior. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the percentage drops would be smaller at higher resolutions because the CPU workload would remain constant while GPU load increases. Instead, the proportional FPS reductions mirror the increase in pixel count (1080p has 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has 3.69 million, 4K has 8.29 million), confirming that the RTX 5080 is the primary performance driver at all settings.

The 4K-to-1080p FPS ratio at High settings is 97/235 = 0.41, meaning 4K delivers 41% of 1080p performance. This ratio is consistent across settings presets, reinforcing that the GPU's rendering throughput scales predictably with resolution. The i5-14400F's role becomes more significant only at 1080p Low where 329 FPS approaches the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p High delivers 163 FPS average, providing an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. 4K High maintains 97 FPS for 60+ FPS gameplay, while 1080p High reaches 235 FPS for competitive-level responsiveness.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM cause any issues in Greedfall?

A: No. The measured results show stable performance at 4K Ultra (62 FPS) and 4K High (97 FPS), indicating the 16 GB GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for all tested settings and resolutions.

Q: How does this combo compare to alternatives in the same price range?

A: The RTX 5080 is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark scores, but 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. The i5-14400F is within 0.5% of its nearest CPU rivals.

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

A: At 1080p Low (329 FPS), the CPU becomes more relevant as frame rates approach the processor's delivery limit. At 1080p Ultra (150 FPS), the GPU workload increases and becomes the primary constraint.

Q: What settings preset provides the most consistent frame pacing?

A: Medium settings show the tightest frame ranges with minimums of 220 FPS at 1080p, 152 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. The minimum-to-average ratios are 85%, 85%, and 85% respectively, indicating stable performance.

Q: How does this system rank overall for Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 220th out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.9% of all tested systems. This reflects strong but not top-tier performance for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 329 FPS average
• Medium: 259 FPS average, 220 FPS minimum, 297 FPS maximum
• High: 235 FPS average
• Ultra: 150 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 228 FPS average
• Medium: 179 FPS average, 152 FPS minimum, 206 FPS maximum
• High: 163 FPS average
• Ultra: 104 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 136 FPS average
• Medium: 107 FPS average, 91 FPS minimum, 123 FPS maximum
• High: 97 FPS average
• Ultra: 62 FPS average

The minimum FPS values are only available for Medium settings, where the data shows consistent frame delivery. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 220 FPS represents 85% of the average, while at 1440p Medium the minimum of 152 FPS is 85% of the 179 FPS average, and at 4K Medium the 91 FPS minimum is 85% of the 107 FPS average. This consistency across resolutions suggests stable performance without significant frame drops or stuttering. The maximum FPS values at Medium settings — 297 at 1080p, 206 at 1440p, and 123 at 4K — indicate the system can burst above average when scene complexity allows.