Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG released in 2019, shows distinct performance scaling behavior when paired with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The measured data provides a clear picture of how this combination handles the game across different resolutions and settings, revealing where the bottleneck lies and how the system scales under varying loads.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scenario, though with some nuance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 257.5 FPS, which drops to 180.1 FPS at 1440p and further to 107.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 58% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is increasingly becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 361.8 FPS, while 1440p Low yields 254.2 FPS, and 4K Low produces 152.2 FPS. The 4K-to-1080p ratio here is 0.42, meaning 4K performance is roughly 42% of 1080p performance. This is consistent with the expected pixel count increase, suggesting the RTX 5090 is handling the resolution scaling efficiently without other bottlenecks interfering.

However, the Ultra settings reveal a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 163.3 FPS, dropping to 114.3 FPS at 1440p and 69.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K-to-1080p ratio of 0.43 is similar to the Low preset, but the absolute numbers are much lower. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces additional rendering complexity that scales nearly linearly with resolution, keeping the GPU as the primary constraint throughout.

The Medium settings show intermediate behavior: 285 FPS at 1080p, 196.4 FPS at 1440p, and 120.9 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 31% drop, while 1440p to 4K shows a 38% drop, indicating slightly steeper scaling at higher resolutions. This is typical for a game where texture memory and fill rate demands grow faster than linear as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. With 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the GPU posts a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. These specifications directly influence the measured frame rates in Greedfall.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is particularly relevant for this game at high resolutions. Greedfall, as an Action RPG with detailed environments, can consume substantial memory at 4K with Ultra settings. The 69.5 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests the GPU has enough memory bandwidth to handle the asset streaming, but the raw computational load from the 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is what ultimately caps performance. The RTX 5090’s boost clock of 2407 MHz, up from a base of 2017 MHz, provides the headroom needed to maintain these frame rates under sustained load.

The GPU’s benchmark scores underscore its capability: 39,650 in Passmark G3D and 14,411 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 places it in the 94th percentile among all GPUs, and it sits 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D and 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile in the nearest rivals comparison. The 1.3% lead over the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 and 1.6% deficit to the NVIDIA CMP 40HX provide context for its positioning, though these synthetic benchmarks don't directly translate to Greedfall performance.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 5090 bottleneck the Core i5-14600KF in Greedfall at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 361.8 FPS, while 1080p Ultra yields 163.3 FPS. The wide spread between settings indicates the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings, but at Ultra the GPU becomes the limiting factor even at 1080p, given the 107.6 FPS at 4K High versus 257.5 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 163.3 FPS versus 257.5 FPS for High, a 36% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 180.1 FPS to 114.3 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K, Ultra provides 69.5 FPS against High's 107.6 FPS, a 35% reduction. The consistent penalty across resolutions suggests the Ultra preset adds a fixed computational cost that scales with resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM necessary for Greedfall?

A: The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the game runs at 69.5 FPS, but the memory usage isn't directly reported. The 32 GB GDDR7 capacity with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that VRAM capacity never becomes a constraint, even if the game's texture streaming at high resolutions could theoretically benefit from larger pools.

Q: How does the Core i5-14600KF's single-thread performance affect Greedfall?

A: The CPU posts a single-core score of 4,643 in Cinebench R23 and 2,778 in Geekbench single-core. With a boost clock of 5.30 GHz across 14 cores and 20 threads, the processor has ample headroom for game logic and physics, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (361.8 FPS) where CPU overhead is more likely to surface.

Q: What settings should be prioritized for 4K play on this combo?

A: The data shows 4K High at 107.6 FPS, 4K Medium at 120.9 FPS, and 4K Low at 152.2 FPS. For a smooth 4K experience, High settings appear viable, while Ultra at 69.5 FPS may be preferable for visual fidelity but requires accepting lower frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this pairing of Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 23rd out of 1,705 total combos. This places it in the top 1.3% of all tested configurations, a strong showing that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The ranking considers the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings, and this combo's ability to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra while exceeding 360 FPS at 1080p Low contributes significantly to its position.

The top-tier ranking is consistent with the individual component standings. The RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core i5-14600KF holds the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. The combination of two near-top-tier components yields a result that outperforms the vast majority of systems, though the 22 combos ahead of it likely feature even more powerful processors or configurations better optimized for this specific game engine.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF, from the Core 14th Gen series based on Raptor Lake architecture, provides 14 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 2 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core, supports the game's data access patterns. The CPU's benchmark results, including 32,889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,643 in single-core, demonstrate strong all-around capability.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 361.8 FPS result suggests the processor can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game state updates to sustain very high frame rates. The CPU's Passmark multi-thread score of 38,697 and integer math score of 125,982 indicate robust processing power for game logic, while the 24,449 physics score shows adequate performance for the game's physics simulation. The 93rd percentile ranking places it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, with a 1.4% lead over the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

The fact that frame rates continue to scale with resolution and settings suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The 14 cores and 20 threads provide sufficient parallelism for modern game engines, and the 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance where needed. The CPU's 125W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a mainstream choice that pairs well with the RTX 5090 in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces 361.8 FPS on Low, 285 FPS on Medium, 257.5 FPS on High, and 163.3 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 55% reduction in frame rate, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra (36% reduction). This indicates that the Ultra preset adds substantial rendering work compared to High, likely through enhanced post-processing or shadow quality.

At 2560x1440, the results are 254.2 FPS on Low, 196.4 FPS on Medium, 180.1 FPS on High, and 114.3 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by approximately 30% across all settings, which is consistent with the 78% increase in pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p (114.3 FPS) is still comfortably above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 152.2 FPS on Low, 120.9 FPS on Medium, 107.6 FPS on High, and 69.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result barely exceeds 60 FPS, suggesting that users seeking higher refresh rates at 4K should opt for High settings, which deliver 107.6 FPS. The 4K Low setting at 152.2 FPS shows the GPU's raw capability when not constrained by quality presets, though this may not represent an ideal visual experience for most players.