Greedfall

Greedfall is a 2019 Action RPG that scales predictably across resolutions, and the Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combo shows a clear GPU-bound curve. The data indicates this pairing is well-suited for high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p play, but 4K Ultra pushes the RTX 3070 to its limits. The measured FPS values reveal a consistent pattern: lowering settings yields proportionally larger gains at higher resolutions, which points directly to where the graphics card becomes the dominant factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 144.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 104.2 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 60.2 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 42% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-heavy workload, where the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At Low settings, the same resolution steps show 202.6 FPS at 1080p, 140.5 FPS at 1440p, and 83.8 FPS at 4K. The absolute drop from 1080p to 1440p is 62.1 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 56.7 FPS. The percentage drops are similar to High, but the higher starting point means the 4K Low result remains playable. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor; the i5-9400 with its 6 cores and 6 threads does not appear to bottleneck the RTX 3070 at any resolution in this title.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. Here, the 4K average is 38.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider minimum for smooth gameplay. The 1440p Ultra result is 64.7 FPS, and 1080p Ultra reaches 95.1 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra (30.4 FPS) is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K Ultra (26.1 FPS), but both are significant. The data shows that Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p for a consistent high-refresh experience, while 1440p Ultra is borderline.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 792nd out of 1705 tested combinations in this game. That places it in the upper-middle tier of all CPU+GPU pairings tested. The percentile position is not explicitly stated, but a rank of 792 out of 1705 means roughly 54% of tested combos perform better, and 46% perform worse. This is a reasonable result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU from the previous generation.

The i5-9400 itself sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, scores 2300 with a deltaPct of 0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 is essentially tied with that chip. The Core i7-8809G scores 2319, which is 0.6% higher. These small deltas indicate that the i5-9400 is not a performance outlier; it delivers exactly what its mid-range positioning suggests.

The RTX 3070, by contrast, sits at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28238. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, scores 27985 with a deltaPct of 0.9%, meaning the RTX 3070 is 0.9% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 27956, which is 1% slower. These margins are small, but they confirm that the RTX 3070 is a meaningful step above the mid-range GPU tier, which is why the overall combo rank is respectable despite the older CPU.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip on an 8 nm Samsung process. It has 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The boost clock is 1725 MHz, and the memory runs at 14 Gbps effective across a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is adequate for Greedfall at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 38.6 FPS suggests that the memory capacity and bandwidth are strained at higher resolutions with maxed settings.

The GPU's FP32 compute is 20.31 TFLOPS, and it has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. However, Greedfall is not a ray tracing-heavy title, so these features likely have minimal impact on the measured results. The pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s, which are the raw throughput numbers that matter for traditional rasterization. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU is capable of 202.6 FPS, indicating it has significant headroom when not limited by settings.

The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class of card. The 12-pin power connector and suggested 550 W PSU are worth noting for builders, but the performance numbers are what define the experience. In Greedfall, the RTX 3070 appears to be the primary driver of FPS changes across settings, as the CPU's 50th percentile standing does not create a visible bottleneck in the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 202.6 FPS, Medium 159.7 FPS, High 144.6 FPS, and Ultra 95.1 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 42.9 FPS drop, from Medium to High is 15.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 49.5 FPS. The largest single penalty comes from jumping to Ultra, which nearly halves the High preset frame rate. This indicates that Ultra settings enable effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 140.5 FPS, Medium 111.1 FPS, High 104.2 FPS, and Ultra 64.7 FPS. The relative ordering is identical to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower. The gap between High and Ultra is 39.5 FPS, which is a 38% reduction. This reinforces that Ultra is the most punishing preset at any resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 83.8 FPS, Medium 67 FPS, High 60.2 FPS, and Ultra 38.6 FPS. Here, Low and Medium are both playable, High is borderline at exactly 60.2 FPS, and Ultra is not viable for smooth gameplay. The difference between Medium and High is only 6.8 FPS, suggesting that the High preset adds visual quality without a massive performance cost at 4K. The step from High to Ultra is 21.6 FPS, which is a 36% drop.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The combo rank of 792 out of 1705 is driven by the GPU's 72nd percentile performance. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 202.6 FPS, which is well beyond typical monitor refresh rates and suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output.

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low or Medium settings. At 3840x2160, Low averages 83.8 FPS and Medium averages 67 FPS. High averages 60.2 FPS, which is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, but Ultra drops to 38.6 FPS and is not recommended for smooth play.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High is the sweet spot. It delivers 104.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and only 6.9 FPS lower than Medium. Ultra at 1440p drops to 64.7 FPS, so High offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT scores 27985, which is 0.9% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 27956, which is 1% slower. The AMD FirePro S7150 scores 28409, which is 0.6% faster.

Q: Does the CPU's benchmark score place it above or below average?

A: The i5-9400 is at the 50th percentile among all CPUs. Its average score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% difference) and slightly below the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, -0.6% difference).

Q: What settings should be avoided at 1080p?

A: Ultra is the only preset that falls below 100 FPS at 1080p, averaging 95.1 FPS. While this is still playable, the drop from High (144.6 FPS) is substantial. Medium and High both exceed 144 FPS, making them better choices for high-refresh monitors.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the data points to High as the default choice at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p, High delivers 144.6 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz monitors. Medium is also excellent at 159.7 FPS, but High offers more visual detail for only a 15.1 FPS penalty. Ultra at 1080p is usable at 95.1 FPS, but the 49.5 FPS drop from High is steep for the extra visual fidelity.

At 1440p, High is the clear winner with 104.2 FPS. Medium is marginally faster at 111.1 FPS, but High provides better image quality with only a 6.9 FPS loss. Ultra drops to 64.7 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS minimum but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. For 4K, Medium is the practical choice at 67 FPS, while Low offers higher headroom at 83.8 FPS. High at 4K is exactly 60.2 FPS, which may cause occasional dips below 60 in busy areas. Ultra at 4K is not recommended based on the 38.6 FPS result.

The overall pattern is that this combo handles Greedfall best with High settings at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium settings at 4K. The Ultra preset is consistently the most demanding, and the data shows it should only be used at 1080p for players who prioritize visuals over frame rate. The i5-9400's mid-range standing does not prevent the RTX 3070 from delivering strong results, making this a balanced pairing for this title.