Greedfall

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination sits at rank 1298 out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The data shows this pairing is not a top performer for this Action RPG, but it remains functional across most settings. The CPU’s 50th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU’s 68th percentile among all graphics cards suggest a system that is balanced toward the graphics side, yet the overall combo rank indicates that other factors, likely the six-core, six-thread CPU, hold the experience back from higher placements.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1298 out of 1705 tested combinations places it in the 24th percentile of all tested systems for Greedfall. This is a modest result, reflecting a pairing that delivers playable but not exceptional performance. The RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score of 24731 puts it nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which scores 24763 with a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the AMD card is essentially tied with that mobile workstation part. It is also just 0.3% ahead of the Intel Arc A350M and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, showing that the GPU sits in a competitive mid-range cluster.

On the CPU side, the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134. The only rival it trails is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which scores 2319 and is 0.6% faster. This tight grouping indicates the i5-9400 is a solid but unremarkable processor, and in Greedfall, the measured frames per second reflect that. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 68.7 FPS, which is respectable, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 30.2 FPS, showing the strain of high-resolution rendering.

The rank also benefits from the GPU’s strong showing in synthetic tests like 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it scores 2134, and Passmark G3D, where it hits 16277. These numbers suggest the graphics card has headroom, but the combo’s overall position is dragged down by the CPU’s mid-pack standing. The data indicates this is a system for 1080p and 1440p gaming, not for pushing 4K at maximum quality.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of which settings offer the best experience. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 152.8 FPS, which is far above the refresh rate of most monitors and indicates the CPU and GPU are barely taxed. Medium produces 116.1 FPS, still excellent for smooth gameplay, while High drops to 105.2 FPS, remaining highly playable. Ultra at 1080p yields 68.7 FPS, which is acceptable but shows a significant 36.5 FPS drop from High, suggesting that Ultra’s added effects heavily impact the GPU.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. It delivers 105.2 FPS, which is 53% faster than Ultra and only 11 FPS slower than Medium. The jump from High to Ultra costs 36.5 FPS, a 35% reduction, which is too steep for the marginal visual gains in an Action RPG. At 1440p, High produces 75.6 FPS, which is still smooth, while Medium hits 82.2 FPS. Choosing High at 1440p is reasonable if the display supports it, as it maintains frame rates above 60 FPS.

At 4K, the situation changes drastically. High settings yield only 44.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for most gamers. Medium drops to 48.6 FPS, and Low jumps to 62.4 FPS, the only 4K preset to cross the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K play, Low is the only viable option for consistent smoothness, while High and Medium require accepting lower frame rates. Ultra at 4K is effectively unplayable at 30.2 FPS, so it should be avoided entirely. The data suggests that this combo is best used at 1080p High or 1440p High, with 4K reserved for Low preset only.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 105.2 FPS at 1080p to 75.6 FPS at 1440p, a 28% reduction, and then to 44.1 FPS at 4K, a 58% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 5700 XT’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The Low preset shows similar behavior, with 152.8 FPS at 1080p dropping to 101.6 FPS at 1440p and 62.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is notably higher than 4K High, indicating that reducing settings alleviates the GPU load significantly. Medium settings follow the same trend, going from 116.1 FPS at 1080p to 82.2 FPS at 1440p and 48.6 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern across all presets points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance remains static regardless of resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 68.7 FPS at 1080p falling to 44.9 FPS at 1440p and 30.2 FPS at 4K. This 56% drop from 1080p to 4K highlights the GPU’s struggle with high-resolution textures and shadow effects. The data indicates that the i5-9400, with its six cores and six threads, has enough processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RX 5700 XT cannot maintain high frame rates as resolution rises. The limiting component is clearly the graphics card, not the processor.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p on High settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 105.2 FPS at 1080p High, which is well above the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The Low preset is the only 4K option that exceeds 60 FPS, delivering 62.4 FPS. Medium and High produce 48.6 FPS and 44.1 FPS respectively, while Ultra falls to 30.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile?

A: The RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score of 24731 is 0.1% lower than the RTX A5000 Mobile’s 24763, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1440p?

A: No, the data shows the frame rate drops from 105.2 FPS at 1080p to 75.6 FPS at 1440p High, which is a GPU-driven reduction. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at these resolutions.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p?

A: High delivers 105.2 FPS while Ultra produces 68.7 FPS, a difference of 36.5 FPS. This represents a 35% performance loss for Ultra.

Q: How much faster is Low compared to Ultra at 4K?

A: Low achieves 62.4 FPS while Ultra manages 30.2 FPS, making Low more than twice as fast, with a 32.2 FPS advantage.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT plays a central role in this combo’s Greedfall performance, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the data shows it becomes a limiting factor, as frame rates drop significantly across all presets.

The GPU’s clocks are set with a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1905 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz. These frequencies, combined with 2560 shading units and 160 texture mapping units, yield a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with its 68th percentile standing among all GPUs. The chip is built on TSMC’s 7 nm process with 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, making it a dense and power-efficient design for its era.

In Greedfall, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra. At 1080p, the difference between Low (152.8 FPS) and Ultra (68.7 FPS) is 84.1 FPS, showing that the GPU is heavily taxed by higher settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 and Passmark G3D score of 16277 confirm the card’s capabilities, but the measured FPS data reveals that Greedfall’s Ultra preset demands more than the RX 5700 XT can comfortably deliver. The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc A350M and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, score within 0.6% of it, indicating that this card is competitive but not class-leading. For this game, the RX 5700 XT is best utilized at High settings, where it provides a smooth experience without the steep performance penalty of Ultra.