Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, presents a demanding workload for the combination of an Intel Core i5-14600KF and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. The measured data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, resulting in a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings. The following analysis breaks down the performance metrics for this specific configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions shows a clear hierarchy in performance scaling, with the "Low" preset providing the only consistently fluid experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 73 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this configuration and provides a comfortable margin above standard 60 FPS display refresh rates. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 57 FPS average, which is still serviceable but begins to show the GPU's limits, with the minimum recorded at 48 FPS indicating potential stutters during intense scenes.

The High preset at 1080p yields 52 FPS average, a marginal step down from Medium that sacrifices performance for only a slight visual improvement. The data shows that the Ultra preset is not viable, as it plunges to 33 FPS at 1080p, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive. For the best balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended choice, as it maintains an average above 55 FPS while offering a significant visual upgrade over Low.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset averages 50 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset drops to 40 FPS, and the High preset falls to 36 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1440p is effectively unplayable at 23 FPS. For 1440p gaming, the Low preset is the only reasonable option, though users should expect a less visually rich experience. At 4K, all settings produce averages of 30 FPS or below, meaning the game is not recommended at this resolution for this hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the definitive bottleneck in this system. This GPU features a TU117 chip on a 12 nm process, with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. The relatively low memory capacity of 4 GB is a significant limiting factor for modern games, especially at higher resolutions and texture settings. The GPU's base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and it offers 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, resulting in a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s.

The benchmark data shows the GTX 1650's average score is 7472, placing it in the 40th percentile of all GPUs. This performance level is nearly identical to the Intel UHD Graphics 750, which is just 0.4% behind, and the AMD Radeon HD 8850M, which is 0.3% behind. It is also only 1% faster than the Intel Arc A310. These figures demonstrate that the GTX 1650 is positioned in the entry-level segment of the market, and its ability to render Greedfall is limited accordingly.

The GPU's DirectX 12 performance score is particularly low at 35, while its DirectX 11 score is 58, suggesting that the card performs better with older APIs. Greedfall, being a 2019 title, likely relies on DirectX 11, which may explain why the game is playable at all despite the GPU's age. The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors indicate a low-power design, but this does not compensate for its limited compute capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a steep performance penalty as resolution increases, confirming that the GTX 1650's fillrate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed at higher pixel counts. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the same settings yields a significant drop in average FPS. For example, the High preset drops from 52 FPS at 1080p to 36 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 31%. The Low preset drops from 73 FPS to 50 FPS, a 32% decrease. This consistent proportional drop indicates that the GPU's pixel processing capability is the limiting factor, rather than the CPU.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) is even more punishing. The High preset falls from 36 FPS to 21 FPS, a 42% reduction. The Low preset drops from 50 FPS to 30 FPS, a 40% decrease. At 4K, even the Low preset fails to maintain a playable 30 FPS average, and the Ultra preset is reduced to a slideshow at 14 FPS. This pattern of declining performance with each resolution step is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases quadratically with pixel count.

The frame time consistency also degrades at higher resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 48, but at 1440p Medium, the minimum drops to 34, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 20. This indicates that not only does the average frame rate decrease, but the variance increases, leading to a less stable experience with more noticeable hitches and stutters. The data clearly suggests that the GTX 1650 is only suitable for 1080p gaming in this title, and that any attempt to increase resolution will result in a sub-par experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset for playing Greedfall with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the Medium preset offers the best overall balance, achieving an average of 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS. While the Low preset is faster at 73 FPS, the Medium preset provides a more visually appealing experience without sacrificing playability.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its closest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. This is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7447, 0.3% slower) and the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441, 0.4% slower). It is slightly faster than the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425, 0.6% slower) but slightly slower than the Intel Arc A310 (7550, 1% faster).

Q: Is the Ultra preset usable at any resolution with this setup?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces an average of 33 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. All of these results are below the threshold for smooth gameplay, making the Ultra preset unsuitable for this combination of CPU and GPU.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-14600KF, is a high-end processor with an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. In contrast, the GTX 1650 sits in the 40th percentile, showing a much lower relative performance level.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The performance drop is substantial and consistent across settings. With the High preset, the average FPS falls from 52 at 1080p to 36 at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 31%. With the Low preset, the average falls from 73 to 50 FPS, a similar 32% reduction.

Q: Does the game provide consistent frame times at 4K resolution?

A: No, the data shows poor frame pacing at 4K. The Medium preset at 4K has an average of 24 FPS, but the minimum FPS is 20 and the maximum is 27, indicating significant variance and frequent frame drops that would be noticeable during gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a powerful processor that is far from being a bottleneck in Greedfall. This CPU features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The processor is based on the Raptor Lake architecture and is built on Intel's 10 nm process node. Its benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, as well as a Geekbench multi-core score of 17085 and a single-core score of 2445.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 49394 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, showing that it is a top-tier performer. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which is only 0.3% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which is 0.4% faster. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% slower, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% slower. This level of performance is more than sufficient to feed the GTX 1650 with data, as the GPU's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor.

Given the high single-thread performance of the i5-14600KF, it can adequately handle the game's simulation and AI logic, ensuring that the GPU is the sole constraint on frame rates. The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile choice, but its capabilities are wasted in this pairing, as the GPU cannot translate the CPU's processing power into higher frame rates in this demanding title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS of 73. The Medium preset yields 57 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. The High preset produces 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops significantly to 33 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the GPU can maintain playable frame rates up to the High preset, but Ultra is too demanding.

At 2560x1440, performance takes a notable hit across the board. The Low preset averages 50 FPS, which is playable but on the edge. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. The High preset falls to 36 FPS, and the Ultra preset is reduced to 23 FPS. At this resolution, only the Low preset offers a consistently smooth experience, and even then, it is not ideal.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1650 is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is the only setting to reach this threshold. The Medium preset averages 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. The High preset drops to 21 FPS, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable at 14 FPS. The frame time data at 4K Medium, with a gap of 7 FPS between minimum and maximum, indicates severe instability. The overall ranking of this CPU-GPU combination in Greedfall is 3581 out of 3703 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 6% of systems for this game.