Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that scales heavily with the graphics card, and pairing the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on your resolution and quality preset. The measured data shows this combination is capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p, solid 60+ FPS at 1440p, and remains playable at 4K with the right settings. The RX 7900 XT is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, as the i5-9400's six cores and six threads are sufficient to keep up with the GPU across most of the tested configurations. The following analysis breaks down exactly what to expect from this specific hardware combo in Greedfall, based strictly on the measured FPS rows and the benchmark scores of the individual components.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the "High" preset is the sweet spot for this combo across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers 191 FPS average, which is a massive margin over the 122 FPS average seen at Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra is 69 FPS, making the visual fidelity jump of Ultra not worth the performance cost when you can already achieve nearly double the refresh rate of a standard 60Hz monitor at High. At 2560x1440, High produces 132 FPS average, which is still comfortably above the 84 FPS average at Ultra. The 48 FPS difference between these two presets at 1440p mirrors the 1080p trend, reinforcing that High is the optimal balance. Even at 3840x2160, High holds a 79 FPS average, which is playable, while Ultra drops to 50 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth motion.

For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, the Low preset at 1080p yields an extraordinary 268 FPS average, and even at 4K, Low maintains 111 FPS average. However, Low settings typically sacrifice too much visual quality in an Action RPG where environmental detail matters. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 210 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K, but the incremental gain over High is only 19 FPS at 1080p and 14 FPS at 1440p. Given that High is only 8 FPS slower than Medium at 4K (79 vs 87), the recommendation is clear: use High for the best experience. The Ultra preset is only advisable for players who insist on maximum visual fidelity and are willing to accept the frame rate drop to 122 FPS at 1080p, 84 FPS at 1440p, or 50 FPS at 4K. In short, the data supports High as the default choice for this hardware pairing in Greedfall.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 31 chip, and it brings substantial memory and compute resources to this game. The GPU features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This large memory pool is more than enough for Greedfall, which is a 2019 title, meaning the game will never come close to exhausting VRAM capacity at any resolution or settings preset tested. The 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs provide the raw fill rate needed to push the high frame rates seen in the measured data. The boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz are the key clock figures driving performance, and they directly contribute to the GPU's ability to maintain high averages at 1440p and 1080p.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance class. The PassMark G3D score of 29009 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 71068 indicate a very strong GPU, though the percentileVsAllGpus of 55 shows it sits just above the median in the broader database. The nearest rivals in the benchmark data include the AMD Radeon 660M, which scores 13812 (0.5% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, which scores 13821 (0.5% higher). The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 13543, which is 1.5% lower. This clustering is interesting because it shows the RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score of 13745 is very close to much lower-tier GPUs in synthetic tests, yet the measured FPS in Greedfall tells a different story. The game clearly favors the RX 7900 XT's specific strengths, as the 4K High average of 79 FPS and 1440p High average of 132 FPS are strong results that a typical mid-range GPU would struggle to match. The 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute rating provides ample headroom for this older title, making the GPU the primary driver of the high frame rates observed.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 743rd out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations in the database. This is a strong showing, and it reflects the GPU's dominance in this pairing. The comboRankInGame of 743 out of 3703 means that roughly 2960 other CPU-GPU pairings performed worse in this game. The ranking is likely held back by the CPU, as the i5-9400's percentileVsAllCpus of 47 places it below the median for processors. However, the GPU's high performance compensates significantly, allowing the combo to achieve a rank that is much higher than the CPU's individual standing. The data suggests that in Greedfall, the RX 7900 XT is doing most of the heavy lifting, and the i5-9400 is sufficient to avoid becoming a severe bottleneck at most settings.

The rank also indicates that this combo is highly capable for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers frame rates that would satisfy most gamers. At 4K, the combo still performs admirably, but the rank suggests that other combos with faster CPUs might pull ahead at that resolution, particularly in CPU-bound scenarios. The fact that the combo ranks 743rd out of 3703 means it is better than 80% of all tested pairings, which is a notable achievement for a six-core CPU from 2018 paired with a 2022 GPU. The measured FPS data supports this ranking, showing that the combo never drops below 50 FPS average in any tested configuration, and it exceeds 100 FPS average in the majority of them. This is a well-balanced pairing for Greedfall, despite the age gap between the components.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce a 268 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 210 FPS average, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS, indicating a smooth experience with no major frame time spikes. High settings yield 191 FPS average, still far beyond any display's refresh rate in common use. Ultra settings are the only preset at 1080p that falls below the 200 FPS mark, coming in at 122 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 146 FPS drop, which is a 54% reduction in performance, illustrating how demanding the Ultra preset is even at the lowest resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced scaling with settings. Low settings deliver 186 FPS average, which is still excellent for 1440p. Medium settings produce 146 FPS average, with a minimum of 124 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS. High settings come in at 132 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 84 FPS average. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 48 FPS, which is a significant margin that makes Ultra less appealing. The minimum FPS figures for Medium at 124 FPS confirm that even in demanding scenes, the combo maintains a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring a fluid experience.

At 3840x2160, the combo still manages to provide playable frame rates, but the settings choice becomes critical. Low settings deliver 111 FPS average, which is impressive for 4K. Medium settings produce 87 FPS average, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, showing that the combo can hold above 60 FPS in most scenarios at Medium. High settings drop to 79 FPS average, which is still playable but with less headroom. Ultra settings fall to 50 FPS average, which is on the edge of smoothness and may be noticeable in fast-paced combat. The minimum FPS of 74 at Medium is the only data point below 75 FPS at 4K, indicating that this combo is best used at High or below for a consistent 4K experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers a 132 FPS average, which is 48 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 84 FPS average. Given the modest visual gain from High to Ultra, High provides the best balance of frame rate and quality at 1440p.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 111 FPS average, Medium achieves 87 FPS average, and High achieves 79 FPS average. The Ultra preset drops to 50 FPS average, so for a smooth 4K experience, High or lower is recommended.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7's 2259 score and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-10710U's 2248 score. It also trails the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 by 0.4% and the Intel Core i3-10305 by 0.4%, showing it performs nearly identically to these processors.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile compared to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a percentileVsAllGpus of 55, meaning it performs better than 55% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 13745, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 660M, scores 13812, which is 0.5% higher.

Q: Is the frame rate stable at Medium settings across all resolutions?

A: The measured data includes minimum FPS values only for Medium settings. At 1080p, the minimum is 179 FPS with a 210 FPS average. At 1440p, the minimum is 124 FPS with a 146 FPS average. At 4K, the minimum is 74 FPS with an 87 FPS average. This indicates stable performance with no severe drops.

Q: How does this combo rank overall in Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 743rd out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's strong performance, as the CPU alone sits at the 47th percentile of all CPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 9 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a mid-range performer, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and a Geekbench multicore score of 5141. The percentileVsAllCpus of 47 indicates it is slightly below the median for all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% higher). These deltas are minimal, showing that the i5-9400 is squarely in the mid-range CPU tier.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain the high frame rates seen in the measured FPS. The six threads are sufficient for this 2019 title, which is not heavily multithreaded. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance for game logic and draw calls. The measured FPS does not include any CPU-specific bottleneck indicators, but the fact that the combo achieves 268 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is not severely limiting the GPU at lower resolutions. However, at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is under maximum load, the CPU's limitations become less relevant as the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The CPU's performance is adequate for this pairing, but it is the weaker link compared to the RX 7900 XT. The data shows that the CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are unremarkable, yet in Greedfall, it manages to keep up with the GPU well enough to deliver playable frame rates at all tested settings, with the only sub-60 FPS result being 50 FPS at 4K Ultra.