Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination. The measured data reveals a pairing where the GPU is the clear bottleneck, struggling to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, exploring the roles of the CPU and GPU, scaling behavior, and the optimal configurations for this specific hardware combo.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 1608 out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the lower percentile of all systems tested for this game.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, hitting an average of 71.5 FPS. Moving to High settings at the same resolution drops the average to 54.1 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 570's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 5060?

A: The RX 570's average benchmark score is 30158, which is only 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060's score of 30109. This indicates they are nearly identical in synthetic benchmark performance.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K achieves a single-core score of 4128 in Cinebench R23, showcasing its strong single-thread capability which is typical for the Alder Lake architecture.

Q: At 4K resolution, which settings preset yields the highest average FPS?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low settings preset provides the highest average FPS at 31.4. The High preset is next at 23.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to a low of 16.8 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for ultra-high resolutions?

A: The GPU is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The data suggests this is insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay, as even the High preset at 3840x2160 only manages an average of 23.5 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary performance limiter in this pairing. Its GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process, provides 2048 shading units and a 256-bit memory bus. The GPU's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 1750 MHz, yielding a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. These specifications, combined with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, position the RX 570 as a capable 1080p graphics card for its era, but the data shows it is outclassed by the demands of Greedfall at higher resolutions.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 30158, placing it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Interestingly, its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, with a score of 30109, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, with a score of 30097. Despite being near-identical in average score, this data point is misleading for gaming; the RX 570's performance in Greedfall is heavily constrained by its memory capacity and older architecture. The benchmark results in Greedfall show a clear pattern: the GPU is working at its limit even at 1080p. For instance, the difference between Low and High settings at 1080p is 17.4 FPS, showing that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are heavily taxed by increased graphical fidelity.

The 4 GB VRAM buffer is a critical weak point. The transition from 1440p to 4K sees a dramatic collapse in performance, which points to the GPU running out of memory and resorting to slower memory paging. This is a hardware limitation that no in-game setting can fully overcome. The data implies that for this game, the RX 570 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where its 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute can be effectively utilized without the crippling memory pressure seen at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected trend: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop reveals the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 54.1 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average FPS falls to 34.4, a significant reduction of 19.7 FPS (or 36.4%). Scaling further to 3840x2160 at High settings yields an average of just 23.5 FPS, a further drop of 10.9 FPS from the 1440p result.

This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. The CPU, the Intel Core i7-12700K, is more than capable of feeding the GPU frames at 1080p. As the resolution increases, the rendering load on the GPU grows exponentially, and the RX 570's limitations become the dominant factor. The fact that the FPS drops by over 30% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and then by another 31.7% from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated.

The data also shows that lowering settings has a more pronounced effect at lower resolutions. At 1080p, switching from Ultra to Low increases the average FPS from 34.2 to 71.5, a gain of 109%. At 4K, the same settings change only improves performance from 16.8 FPS to 31.4 FPS, a gain of 87%. This suggests that at 4K, the bottleneck shifts more towards memory capacity and bandwidth, which are not as easily mitigated by reducing graphical settings like shadows or textures, whereas at 1080p, the compute units are the limiting factor and benefit more directly from reduced shader complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 1608 out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the bottom 6% of all systems tested, signifying that this pairing is not well-suited for the game's demands at higher quality presets. The rank is a holistic measure that considers performance across all tested resolutions and settings.

The low rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU, as will be discussed, is a high-end part that performs exceptionally well in synthetic benchmarks. However, in this game, the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates, especially at 1440p and 4K, drags the overall combo ranking down significantly. For context, the RX 570's average benchmark score of 30158 is in the 74th percentile for GPUs, but its performance in Greedfall is far from that mark, highlighting that synthetic scores do not always translate to real-world gaming performance, particularly for older architectures in newer titles.

The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve respectable frame rates. At 1080p with Low settings, it hits 71.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, its ranking of 1608 out of 1705 suggests that many other combinations of hardware can provide a better experience in Greedfall, particularly at higher resolutions or with higher graphical fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is an exceptionally powerful processor that is not the bottleneck in this configuration. Its Alder Lake architecture features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This processing power is reflected in its strong benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and a single-core score of 4128. The CPU's average benchmark score is 35684, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043, is crucial for maintaining stable frame times. The benchmark results imply that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of delivering frames to the GPU far faster than the GPU can render them. This is why we see a significant performance jump when lowering resolution or settings; the GPU is being relieved of work, while the CPU has ample headroom.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which is 0.6% faster. These comparisons show that the i7-12700K is a top-tier processor even when compared to newer models. In Greedfall, the data suggests that the CPU will not cause frame rate dips or stutters, and its performance headroom is so large that it would likely be several generations of GPUs before it becomes a limiting factor in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Ultra: 34.2 FPS
• High: 54.1 FPS
• Medium: 58.5 FPS
• Low: 71.5 FPS

At 1080p, the combo is most viable. The jump from Ultra to High is substantial, moving from a stutter-prone experience to a playable one. The Medium preset offers a further improvement to 58.5 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The Low preset is the only one that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, hitting an average of 71.5 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Ultra: 23.5 FPS
• High: 34.4 FPS
• Medium: 42.8 FPS
• Low: 49.8 FPS

At 1440p, the GPU begins to struggle significantly. The Ultra preset is not playable, and even High is below 40 FPS. The Medium preset yields 42.8 FPS, which may be tolerable for some, but the Low preset at 49.8 FPS is the only one that approaches a stable 50 FPS experience. This resolution requires substantial compromises to be playable.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Ultra: 16.8 FPS
• High: 23.5 FPS
• Medium: 21.8 FPS
• Low: 31.4 FPS

At 4K, the combo is not viable for smooth gameplay. All presets result in average FPS below 32, which is well below the threshold for an enjoyable action RPG experience. Interestingly, the High preset (23.5 FPS) performs slightly better than the Medium preset (21.8 FPS), which may indicate a quirk in how the game's settings are implemented or how the driver handles the workload. Regardless, the data clearly shows that 4K is out of the question for this hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Medium settings preset. This configuration provides an average FPS of 58.5, which is close to the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, while offering a level of visual fidelity that is likely better than Low. The jump from High to Medium provides an additional 4.4 FPS, which can be the difference between a slightly unstable frame rate and a more consistent one.

For players who prioritize a rock-solid 60+ FPS experience, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option, delivering 71.5 FPS. This setting should provide the most responsive and fluid gameplay, though it will sacrifice visual quality. Given that the game is an Action RPG, prioritizing frame rate for responsive combat is a valid strategy. The data suggests that the High preset at 1080p, with its 54.1 FPS average, is a solid middle ground that balances visual fidelity with playability, but it may experience occasional dips below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the data shows that players must make major sacrifices. The Low preset, yielding 49.8 FPS, is the only recommendation. Even then, the experience will not be as smooth as 1080p Medium. The 4K resolution is not recommended with this hardware, as all presets fail to reach a playable 30 FPS minimum for a consistent experience. The data indicates that the 4 GB VRAM limitation is the primary culprit, and no in-game setting can overcome this hardware constraint.