Greedfall

This analysis examines the benchmark results for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 in the 2019 Action RPG, Greedfall. The data provided is measured, not theoretical, and offers a clear view of how this specific combination handles the game across a range of resolutions and quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination sits at rank 819 out of 1705 tested combos for Greedfall. This places it roughly in the middle of the pack, indicating that while it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is far from being a weak performer. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component drastically bottlenecks the other, though the data will show the CPU becomes a limiting factor at higher settings.

The GPU itself is a strong contributor to this position. The RTX 5060 holds the 73rd percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109. Its nearest rivals show an incredibly tight grouping: the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097 (a 0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 30158 (-0.2%), and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29969 (0.5%). This means the RTX 5060 is essentially performance-identical to these cards in raw compute benchmarks, which sets expectations for its frame delivery in Greedfall.

On the CPU side, the Core i5-9400 is at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, +0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, +0.2%), showing the i5 is right at the expected level for its class. The combination's rank of 819 suggests that in Greedfall, the system performs in line with what these component scores predict, delivering a playable but not overwhelming experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a smooth frame rate?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 88.2 FPS on Ultra and 138.5 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, it achieves 60.3 FPS on Ultra and 92.2 FPS on High. The data suggests 1080p is the sweet spot for high refresh rates, while 1440p is viable for 60+ FPS gameplay on most settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 76.6 FPS on Low, 63.8 FPS on Medium, 56.4 FPS on High, and 37.7 FPS on Ultra. The jump from High to Ultra is significant, making High the recommended ceiling for 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop sharply with higher settings. However, at 1080p Low, the CPU's six cores and six threads without hyper-threading become more relevant, as the frame rate advantage of the GPU cannot be fully utilized.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its direct rival, the RX 7700 XT?

A: In average benchmark scores, the RTX 5060 scores 30109, while the RX 7700 XT scores 30097, a delta of 0%. This indicates they are statistically tied in raw performance, so in-game results for Greedfall are expected to be very similar.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 5060?

A: The launch MSRP is 299 USD.

Q: Does the 8 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5060 cause issues at any resolution?

A: The measured FPS data shows no catastrophic failures, but the 37.7 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the 8 GB GDDR7 memory capacity may be a limiting factor at the highest settings, where frame rates drop below playable thresholds.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 High, the combo produces 138.5 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops this to 92.2 FPS, a reduction of 46.3 FPS. Jumping to 3840x2160 High yields 56.4 FPS, another drop of 35.8 FPS. This linear progression indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at High settings, as the workload scales directly with pixel count.

The scaling behavior changes with the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 88.2 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 60.3 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it reaches only 37.7 FPS. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that the combination of 4K pixel count and Ultra effects like shadows and post-processing creates a load that the RTX 5060 cannot sustain, even with its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth.

At Low settings, the frame rates remain high across the board: 189.1 FPS at 1080p, 129.5 FPS at 1440p, and 76.6 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low still achieves over 76 FPS indicates that the GPU has ample headroom when visual effects are reduced. The limiting component at 1080p Low is likely the CPU, as the Core i5-9400's six threads can struggle to feed the GPU with enough frames to reach 200+ FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full range of settings. Low settings produce an average of 189.1 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 152.8 FPS, and High settings drop to 138.5 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 88.2 FPS, a massive 53% reduction from Low. This wide spread indicates that Greedfall's Ultra preset introduces significant graphical overhead that the RTX 5060 must process.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally. Low settings average 129.5 FPS. Medium settings average 106.2 FPS, and High settings average 92.2 FPS. Ultra settings result in 60.3 FPS, which is still playable but below the 90+ FPS seen at 1080p. The 1440p results show a balanced system where both CPU and GPU contribute to the final output.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings average 76.6 FPS, making it the only 4K preset to exceed 60 FPS. Medium settings yield 63.8 FPS, and High settings produce 56.4 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 37.7 FPS, which is below the typical 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The 4K data clearly shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with the graphical workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process. It features 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory runs at 1750 MHz, translating to 28 Gbps effective, over a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's role in Greedfall is significant, especially at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show that the RTX 5060 can deliver 88.2 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is a solid result for a demanding Action RPG. At 1440p Ultra, the 60.3 FPS result demonstrates that the card can still handle high settings, but the 37.7 FPS at 4K Ultra highlights a limitation. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a factor here, as Greedfall's Ultra textures and effects at 4K may exceed this memory footprint, causing performance to plummet.

The GPU's passmark G3D score of 20891 and its percentile of 73rd among all GPUs confirm its position as a mid-to-high-range card. Its nearest rival, the RX 7700 XT, has a delta of 0%, meaning the two cards are interchangeable in this game. The RTX 5060's performance in Greedfall aligns with its overall compute capabilities, making it a capable choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake Refresh processor with six cores and six threads. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The CPU has a 9 MB shared L3 cache, with 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 per core. It supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 189.1 FPS, but this is likely near the limit of what the CPU can feed to the GPU. The six threads without hyper-threading may struggle to maintain frame pacing at such high frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 88.2 FPS, which is more likely a GPU limitation, but the CPU still needs to handle the game's AI and physics.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place it at the 50th percentile, meaning it is an average performer. Its nearest rivals, the i3-10305 and i3-1125G4, have deltas of 0.2%, showing the i5-9400 is not notably faster or slower. In the context of Greedfall, the CPU provides enough processing power to avoid being a major bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, but it may limit performance in high-refresh-rate 1080p scenarios where the GPU is not fully saturated.