Greedfall

# Greedfall: Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a wide spread of frame rates across Greedfall's resolution and quality presets, revealing a system that is heavily influenced by graphical load. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the setup delivers smooth performance across most settings, but the march to 4K exposes the GPU's limitations, with frame rates dropping below the 60 FPS threshold at High and Ultra presets. The measured results suggest a pairing where the CPU has ample headroom, while the GPU becomes the decisive factor as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 109.9 at 1920x1080 to 74.9 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 35 FPS, and then to 46.5 at 3840x2160, representing a 63 FPS drop from 1080p. This pattern holds for Medium settings, where 1080p yields 117.6 FPS, 1440p drops to 85.9 FPS, and 4K falls to 47.6 FPS. The scaling is less severe between 1440p and 4K for Low settings — 107.1 to 61.8 FPS — but the overall trend is unmistakable: each resolution jump costs roughly 25–35% of the previous frame rate.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic degradation, with 67.4 FPS at 1080p, 47.4 FPS at 1440p, and just 31.6 FPS at 4K. This suggests that Greedfall's Ultra settings impose a heavy pixel-shading burden that the Turing-based GPU cannot sustain as resolution climbs. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 151.9 FPS while 4K Ultra sits at 31.6 FPS — a 120 FPS difference — highlights how the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become saturated at higher resolutions. The data implies that for 4K gaming, this combo is only viable at Low settings, where 61.8 FPS barely exceeds the 60 FPS mark.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings substantial processing power to this pairing, and benchmark results indicate it is not the bottleneck in Greedfall. With 14 cores and 20 threads, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are strong, as reflected in a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 15846. Single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642, which matters for a game like Greedfall that likely relies on a few primary threads for game logic and AI. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz and base clock of 3.50 GHz provide the raw frequency headroom needed to keep frames flowing at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 49166, places it ahead of close rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 49062 (0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i5-14600KF, which scores 49367 (0.4% higher). This performance margin means that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU pushes 151.9 FPS, the CPU is unlikely to cause frame drops. The data shows the CPU's L3 cache of 24 MB (shared) and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample bandwidth for feeding the GPU, but the measured FPS scaling across resolutions suggests the CPU's role diminishes as pixel count rises. At 4K, the CPU's utilization likely drops, as the GPU's rendering time dominates the frame budget.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the clear performance gatekeeper in this configuration, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, with a boost clock of 1650 MHz and a base clock of 1470 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but strained at 4K. The GPU's compute capability is rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 places it in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774.

The GPU's nearest rivals show how tightly packed this performance tier is: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN scores 19706 (0.3% lower), the RTX 2070 scores 19680 (0.5% lower), and the Quadro K5200 scores 19623 (0.8% lower). This clustering explains why the RTX 2060 SUPER delivers solid 1080p performance but struggles at 4K Ultra, where the 31.6 FPS average reflects the GPU's limited pixel throughput (105.6 GPixel/s) and texture rate (224.4 GTexel/s). The 12 nm Turing architecture, with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, is showing its age under Greedfall's demanding Ultra preset. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K textures may push memory usage close to the limit, contributing to the steep FPS drop at 3840x2160.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 109.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium offers 117.6 FPS — a modest gain that might not justify the visual downgrade. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 67.4 FPS, still playable but noticeably lower, so High is the recommended choice for 1080p users seeking a stable experience without sacrificing much detail.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 74.9 FPS, which is smooth for most players, while Medium provides 85.9 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 47.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, so it should be avoided. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 107.1 FPS, but the visual compromise is severe. For 4K, the data shows only the Low preset (61.8 FPS) meets the 60 FPS bar, while Medium (47.6 FPS) and High (46.5 FPS) are close but sub-optimal, and Ultra (31.6 FPS) is not playable for smooth action. The recommendation is clear: use High at 1080p, High or Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 60 FPS in 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where the measured average FPS is 61.8. Medium (47.6 FPS), High (46.5 FPS), and Ultra (31.6 FPS) all fall short of 60 FPS at 3840x2160.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The High preset delivers 109.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and offers better visuals than Medium (117.6 FPS) with only a 7.7 FPS penalty. Ultra drops to 67.4 FPS, so High is the recommended balance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062) and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600KF (49367). It ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER a bottleneck at 1440p?

A: At 1440p High, the GPU delivers 74.9 FPS, which is playable, but the drop from 1080p High (109.9 FPS) indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor. At 1440p Ultra, the 47.4 FPS result confirms the GPU is the bottleneck.

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

A: The Low preset averages 151.9 FPS, while Ultra averages 67.4 FPS — a difference of 84.5 FPS. This shows the Ultra preset imposes a significant rendering cost on the GPU.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 1211 out of 1705 tested combos for Greedfall, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, consistent with the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 151.9, Medium 117.6, High 109.9, and Ultra 67.4. The spread of 84.5 FPS between Low and Ultra demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to preset changes at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 107.1, Medium 85.9, High 74.9, and Ultra 47.4. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 59.7 FPS, but the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth play. At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 61.8, Medium 47.6, High 46.5, and Ultra 31.6. Here, the Low preset is the only one to exceed 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to less than half the Low preset's frame rate. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step reduces FPS by roughly 30–40%, with the Ultra preset suffering the largest absolute drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1211 out of 1705 tested combinations places it in the 71st percentile of all systems tested for Greedfall, meaning roughly 29% of tested combos perform worse. This ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's 63rd percentile standing, while the CPU's 93rd percentile performance indicates the processor is not the limiting factor. The data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER holds this combo back, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 1080p High (109.9) and 1440p High (74.9) are respectable, but the 4K results (46.5 FPS High) reveal the GPU's constraints. The combo's rank is consistent with the GPU's nearest rival cluster, where the RTX 2070 scores only 0.5% higher in average benchmark, implying that swapping to a slightly faster GPU would not dramatically change Greedfall performance. The CPU's headroom means that upgrading the GPU alone could shift this combo significantly higher in the rankings, as the 14-core i5-14600K has ample processing power to feed a more capable graphics card.