Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG that stresses the GPU more than the CPU at higher resolutions, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti shows a predictable shift in bottleneck behavior as settings and resolution change. The measured data for this combo reveals a system that is well-balanced at 1080p but progressively becomes render-bound at 4K, with the Ultra preset proving exceptionally demanding.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all four settings presets, clearly indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 107.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 72.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34.5 FPS, and then down to 47.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This means that moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 25.1 FPS, highlighting how the RTX 3060 Ti’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The Low preset shows the largest absolute drop, going from 150.8 FPS at 1080p to 102.5 FPS at 1440p and finally 64.9 FPS at 4K. The 47.5% decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings suggests that even when graphical effects are minimized, the sheer number of pixels being processed still overwhelms the GPU. In contrast, the Ultra preset shows a less dramatic relative drop, from 69 FPS at 1080p to 46.4 FPS at 1440p and 26.8 FPS at 4K, but the absolute numbers are far lower, indicating that the combination of high resolution and Ultra effects pushes the RTX 3060 Ti to its limits.

The scaling pattern also reveals that the Core i5-14600K is rarely the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 150.8 FPS, which is still below the CPU’s potential ceiling given its strong single-thread performance, but the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p (150.8 vs 118.8 FPS) shows that GPU load is already significant. By 4K, the CPU headroom is vast, as the GPU is clearly the limiting component at every preset, with the difference between Low and High at 4K being only 17.4 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 1278 out of 1705 tested combos for Greedfall. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is consistent with the RTX 3060 Ti being an older, mid-range GPU that is now end-of-life, while the CPU is a high-end part from the Core 14th Gen series. The ranking suggests that many other combos achieve higher frame rates, likely due to more powerful GPUs, though the data does not specify which components those combos use.

The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 93rd percentile among all processors tested. Its average benchmark score of 49166 places it just 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 0.4% below the Intel Core i5-14600KF, its direct sibling without integrated graphics. The GPU, meanwhile, is in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 25120, which is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX 6700M and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon RX 6600. This gap in percentile rankings between CPU and GPU explains why the combo rank is not higher: the processor has ample power, but the graphics card holds the pair back in a GPU-intensive title like Greedfall.

The combo rank of 1278 out of 1705 indicates that roughly 75% of tested configurations deliver better performance in this game. This is not a surprising result for a GPU that was released with a 399 USD launch MSRP and has since been succeeded by the GeForce 40 series. The data suggests that users seeking higher frame rates would need to pair the i5-14600K with a more capable graphics card, as the CPU is unlikely to be the constraining factor even at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture using an 8 nm process from Samsung, with a chip size of 392 mm² and 17,400 million transistors. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K with high texture loads. The GPU’s boost clock is 1665 MHz, and its memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), which helps maintain frame rates in less demanding scenes.

In Greedfall, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM capacity is a notable factor. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate collapses to 26.8 FPS, which is well below playable levels, and this is likely due to both the extreme pixel load and the memory bandwidth being saturated. Even at 1440p Ultra, the frame rate is only 46.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset’s effects and textures are too much for this GPU to handle smoothly. The GPU’s pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s are decent for its class, but they are not enough to sustain high frame rates at 4K.

The RTX 3060 Ti’s performance in this game is also reflected in its synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 20349 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626. These numbers, combined with the measured FPS, show that the GPU is capable of 60+ FPS at 1080p High and Medium settings, but it falls short of that target at 1440p High (72.6 FPS is above 60, but 4K High at 47.5 FPS is not). The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are all compatible with Greedfall’s requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3060 Ti delivers playable frame rates across most presets. The Low setting produces an average of 150.8 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, while Medium drops to 118.8 FPS and High to 107.1 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, brings the average down to 69 FPS, which is still above 60 but shows a significant 38.1 FPS penalty compared to High. This suggests that Ultra applies heavy post-processing or shadow effects that disproportionately impact the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases as expected. Low settings yield 102.5 FPS, which is still very smooth, but Medium falls to 81.5 FPS and High to 72.6 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 46.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and indicates that 1440p Ultra is not a viable option for this GPU. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 26.2 FPS, similar to the gap at 1080p, showing that the Ultra preset adds a consistent load regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 64.9 FPS, which is just above 60, but Medium falls to 51.5 FPS and High to 47.5 FPS. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 26.8 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, even the Low preset requires the GPU to work hard, and the difference between Low and High is only 17.4 FPS, indicating that the pixel fill rate is the primary constraint. For users targeting 4K, the RTX 3060 Ti is only suitable for Low settings, and even then, frame rates are marginal.

FAQ

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

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 64.9 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 51.5 FPS on Medium, 47.5 FPS on High, and 26.8 FPS on Ultra. Only Low settings come close to 60 FPS, and even that is not guaranteed.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 107.1 FPS on High and 118.8 FPS on Medium, making it ideal for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, High settings still deliver 72.6 FPS, which is playable, but Ultra drops to 46.4 FPS, so High is the recommended ceiling.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 1% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600KF.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: Yes, especially at higher resolutions. The GPU ranks in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 93rd percentile. The measured FPS shows a steep decline from 1080p to 4K, confirming that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component.

Q: What is the GPU’s VRAM capacity and type?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but can be strained at 4K with high texture settings.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 1278 out of 1705 combos tested for Greedfall, placing it in the lower-middle tier. The high CPU percentile combined with a mid-range GPU explains this moderate ranking.