Greedfall

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti lands at rank 1330 out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 64th percentile of all system pairings. That is a solidly above-average position, though not a top-tier one, reflecting a combination where a strong GPU carries much of the load while a mid-range six-core CPU from 2018 keeps overall performance from reaching elite status. The rank suggests this setup will handle the game comfortably at most settings, but it will not be among the fastest configurations for players chasing maximum frame rates at high resolutions.

In the broader context of the GPU's capabilities, the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29945. That score is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile, which trails by just 0.1%, and it edges out the RTX 2080 Ti by 0.5%. The CPU, meanwhile, sits at the 47th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 2254, placing it just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U. The gap between the GPU's high percentile and the CPU's middling percentile is the defining characteristic of this combo: the graphics card is far more capable than the processor, which becomes evident in how frame rates scale across resolutions and settings.

# GPU Role

The RTX 3070 Ti is the clear performance driver in this pairing. It brings 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Greedfall's textures and geometry at 1440p and even 4K. The GPU's base clock of 1575 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz are modest on paper, but the underlying Ampere architecture with 6144 shading units and 192 texture mapping units provides substantial raw throughput. The 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power helps explain why the card handles high settings so well, even at 4K where the measured average of 63 fps at High settings shows headroom for smooth gameplay.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant for this game. With 8 GB of VRAM, the RTX 3070 Ti avoids the capacity bottlenecks that can plague lower-memory cards at Ultra settings, though the data shows that Ultra at 4K still drops to 40 fps average, suggesting that the game's most demanding preset pushes the GPU's limits. Interestingly, the memory clock of 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed, combined with the 256-bit bus, yields that 608.3 GB/s figure — a number that comfortably exceeds what Greedfall needs at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 4K, however, the bandwidth and shading throughput become the deciding elements, and the measured frame rates reflect a GPU that is strong but not overwhelming at that resolution.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its standing. Its Passmark G3D score of 23356 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3478 are consistent with a card that outperforms its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800, by a slim 0.5% margin. The Vulkan score of 139541 and OpenCL score of 119718 further indicate robust compute performance across APIs, which matters for a game like Greedfall that relies on DirectX 11-style rendering with modern GPU features. The RTX 3070 Ti's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present but not heavily exercised in this title, as Greedfall predates widespread ray tracing adoption, so the card's rasterization strength is what shows up in these frame rate measurements.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 153 fps, which jumps to 106 fps at 1440p and then falls to 63 fps at 4K — a drop of 58.8% from 1080p to 4K. That steep decline indicates the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom at 1080p to let the GPU stretch its legs. The fact that 1080p High produces 153 fps, which is nearly 2.5 times the 4K figure, shows that the GPU's workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

The pattern holds across other settings. At Medium, the average FPS goes from 168 at 1080p to 117 at 1440p to 70 at 4K. At Low, the numbers are 214, 149, and 89 respectively. The Low setting at 1080p, hitting 214 fps, is particularly telling: at that point, the CPU's six cores and six threads are likely nearing their limit, as the GPU could theoretically push even higher if the processor allowed. The gap between 1080p Low (214 fps) and 1440p Low (149 fps) is 30.4%, while the gap between 1440p Low and 4K Low (89 fps) is 40.3% — the latter being steeper, again pointing to GPU dominance at 4K.

The Medium presets include min and max FPS values, which offer insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 143 to 194 fps, a spread of 51 fps that suggests some scenes tax the system more than others. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 99 to 134 fps, and at 4K Medium it tightens further to 59 to 80 fps. This compression of the frame rate range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently the bottleneck, with less variance introduced by CPU-dependent scenes. The data strongly suggests that for the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity, 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, while 4K requires dropping to Medium or Low to maintain playable performance.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p offers the best balance. At High settings, the combo averages 106 fps at 1440p, which is well above the 63 fps at 4K High and only slightly below the 153 fps at 1080p High. The 1440p Medium setting also delivers a strong 117 fps average with a min of 99 fps, ensuring smooth gameplay without the steep performance hit of 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its closest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 29945 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti, while trailing the RX 6800 by 0.5% and the RX 6700 by 1.6%. In practical terms, this means the 3070 Ti performs nearly identically to these cards, with differences well within the margin of error for real-world gaming.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: The CPU's percentile rank of 47 versus the GPU's 75 percentile suggests some imbalance. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 214 fps, which is likely near the CPU's limit given its six cores and six threads with a 4.10 GHz boost clock. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, so the CPU's limitations are less relevant at higher resolutions.

Q: What settings preset should I use for 4K gaming?

A: For 4K, the Low preset yields an average of 89 fps, which is the most playable option. Medium drops to 70 fps average with a 59 fps minimum, which is still acceptable, while High falls to 63 fps and Ultra drops to 40 fps, the latter being too low for smooth gameplay. Medium at 4K appears to be the best compromise between visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Greedfall compare to its overall hardware rankings?

A: The combo ranks 1330 out of 3703 tested combos in this game, which is in the top 36% of all pairings. This is slightly better than the CPU's individual 47th percentile rank, reflecting that the GPU's strength compensates for the CPU's mid-range standing.

Q: Does the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Greedfall?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM-related stutters or crashes, as frame rates remain stable across settings. The 8 GB capacity is sufficient for this 2019 title, even at 4K Ultra, though the 40 fps average at that setting suggests compute or bandwidth limits rather than memory capacity are the constraint.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for settings selection. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with even Ultra hitting 98 fps average. However, the jump from High at 153 fps to Ultra at 98 fps represents a 35.9% performance drop for what is likely a modest visual improvement in a game of this era. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 168 fps, which is only 9.8% higher than High, making High the better choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing much speed. For most players, 1080p High at 153 fps is the optimal configuration — it looks good, runs fast, and leaves headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. High at 106 fps is excellent, but Medium at 117 fps offers a 10.4% improvement with a minimum of 99 fps, ensuring no noticeable dips. The Ultra preset at 68 fps is still playable, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 35.8% of performance, mirroring the 1080p pattern. Given that Greedfall is an action RPG where frame rate stability matters for combat responsiveness, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the safest experience with a 99 fps floor, while High remains viable for those prioritizing visuals over a small margin of smoothness.

For 4K, the options narrow considerably. Ultra at 40 fps is below the threshold for comfortable action gameplay, and High at 63 fps is borderline. The Medium preset at 70 fps average with a 59 fps minimum is the best choice for 4K, offering a playable experience that stays above 60 fps most of the time. Low at 89 fps is smoother but sacrifices the visual richness that makes 4K worthwhile. The data suggests that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, with the understanding that some scenes may dip to 59 fps, which is acceptable for a single-player RPG. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: High is the best value at 1080p, Medium or High at 1440p, and Medium at 4K.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosting to 4.10 GHz. With 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s of dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth, this CPU provides adequate throughput for Greedfall, but its 2018 design is clearly the weaker link in this pairing. The CPU's benchmark scores tell a story of modest capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 5141 and single-core of 1389. These numbers place the i5-9400 in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which is below average for a modern gaming system.

In Greedfall specifically, the CPU's role becomes apparent in the lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 214 fps, which is likely near the practical ceiling for this processor given its six threads. The fact that the GPU could theoretically push higher is evidenced by the 3070 Ti's strong benchmark scores, but the CPU's single-thread performance — reflected in that 935 Cinebench R23 single-core score — limits how fast the game can render frames at low GPU load. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, and the CPU's limitations become less noticeable, as evidenced by the smoother frame rate scaling at those resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals highlight its positioning. It sits 0.2% below the Core i7-1068NG7, 0.4% below the Core i3-10305, and 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, with essentially identical average scores. This means the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range processors from its era, but it lacks the multi-threading of more modern CPUs, which can matter in games with heavy background simulation. For Greedfall, a game that is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards, the i5-9400 proves sufficient for 60+ fps gameplay at all resolutions, but it does cap the system's potential at 1080p where the GPU is otherwise underutilized. The 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node are dated, yet the processor's six physical cores provide enough muscle for this action RPG's demands, particularly when paired with a GPU as capable as the RTX 3070 Ti.