Greedfall

# Greedfall — Intel Core i7-12700K + Intel Arc B370

This pairing of Intel's 12-core Core i7-12700K with the integrated-class Intel Arc B370 produces results that are firmly at the lower end of the tested spectrum for Greedfall, with a combo rank of 2699 out of 2938 tested combinations. The data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics solution, as the CPU's strong multi-threaded and single-threaded benchmark scores are unable to translate into playable frame rates at higher resolutions or settings. The measured FPS across all twelve tested configurations shows a maximum average of just 76 FPS at 1080p Low, with performance degrading sharply as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a dramatic and consistent performance cliff that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 54 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, a drop of 16 FPS, and then further down to 22 FPS at 4K, representing a cumulative reduction of 32 FPS from the starting point. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 42% loss in average FPS (from 38 to 22), indicating that the Arc B370's rendering capabilities are being overwhelmed by the pixel count at 2160p.

Low settings exhibit a similar pattern, starting at 76 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 53 FPS at 1440p, and reaching 31 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 45 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the High preset's decline. Medium settings show the same downward trajectory: 60 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings, which are the most demanding, begin at just 35 FPS at 1080p and fall to 24 FPS at 1440p, ending at 14 FPS at 4K.

The fact that even the lowest settings at 4K only manage 31 FPS, while the same Low preset at 1080p achieves 76 FPS, suggests that the resolution scaling is not purely a GPU-bound phenomenon — the system shared memory architecture of the Arc B370, where memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," likely exacerbates the performance degradation at higher resolutions. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and max-thread score of 9979 indicate ample processing headroom, so the frame rate collapse is not attributable to processor limitations. The data implies that users seeking consistent 60 FPS gameplay will need to remain at 1080p and likely below High settings, as the 1440p results across all presets fall short of that threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 2699 out of 2938 tested combinations, this system sits in the bottom 8% of all tested pairings for Greedfall, which is a telling statistic for a CPU that ranks in the 84th percentile among all processors. The disparity between the CPU's strong standalone performance and the combo's low rank highlights how decisively the GPU dictates the overall gaming experience in this title. The Arc B370's individual percentile of 5 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, places it in a performance class that is barely above entry-level discrete graphics from over a decade ago.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals provides context for its capabilities. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, which is a mere 0.2% higher than the Arc B370's 1184, while the ATI Radeon HD 5770 achieves 1190, a 0.5% advantage. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M is 0.7% ahead at 1192, and the AMD FirePro M2000 trails by 1.4% with a score of 1168. These comparisons place the Arc B370 in the same performance neighborhood as GPUs that were not designed for modern gaming workloads, which explains why Greedfall — a 2019 Action RPG — struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals, by contrast, show that the Core i7-12700K is well-matched against its peers. The Intel Core i5-13600T averages 35305, a negligible 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i7-12700KF is 0.2% behind at 35365. The Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% difference), and the Intel Core 5 213PE is 0.4% off at 35428. These tight margins indicate that the CPU is performing as expected for its class, and the low combo rank cannot be attributed to any processor deficiency. The bottleneck is unambiguous: the GPU's 5th percentile ranking is the primary factor dragging this combo to the 2699th position.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process node with a 25 W TDP. Its base clock runs at 300 MHz, boosting up to 2400 MHz, and it relies on system shared memory for both frame buffer and texture storage, with memory bandwidth explicitly listed as "System Dependent." This architectural choice has profound implications for Greedfall performance, as the game's open-world environments and texture streaming requirements place continuous demands on memory bandwidth that the shared system memory configuration may struggle to satisfy.

The GPU's compute specifications include 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is rated at 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate at 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and FP16 at 12.29 TFLOPS (2:1). These figures, while respectable for an integrated solution, are insufficient for Greedfall's demands at higher resolutions. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, corroborates the measured FPS data showing sub-60 performance at 1440p across all settings.

The boost clock of 2400 MHz is reasonably high, but the base clock of 300 MHz suggests significant power-saving downclocking during less demanding scenes, which could introduce frame time inconsistency. The measured Medium preset data supports this concern: at 4K, the minimum FPS is 21 against an average of 25, and at 1440p the minimum of 35 FPS is well below the 41 FPS average. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 51 FPS against a 60 FPS average shows less variance, but the overall pattern indicates that the GPU's clock behavior under load may not be stable enough for smooth gameplay. The system shared memory configuration, with no dedicated VRAM, further complicates performance predictability, as the "System Dependent" bandwidth means results will vary based on the host system's memory speed and configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings presets offer the most viable experience for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 76 FPS on average, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that clears the 60 FPS threshold with meaningful headroom. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 60 FPS on average, with a minimum of 51 FPS, which is borderline playable but may experience noticeable drops during intense combat or when traversing dense environments. The High preset at 1080p drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, while the Ultra preset falls to 35 FPS, which is generally considered unplayable for an Action RPG requiring responsive controls.

At 2560x1440, no preset achieves even 55 FPS on average. The Low preset is the best option at 53 FPS, which is notably lower than the 76 FPS seen at 1080p Low. Medium delivers 41 FPS, High drops to 38 FPS, and Ultra is at 24 FPS. For 3840x2160, the situation is dire across the board: Low manages 31 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a minimum of 21 FPS, High is at 22 FPS, and Ultra is at 14 FPS. None of these 4K configurations approach playable frame rates for a game that requires timely input responses.

Based on the measured rows, the recommended configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, as it provides the best balance of performance and visual quality — the 76 FPS average offers sufficient headroom to maintain smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes. Users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could consider the Medium preset at 1080p, where the 60 FPS average is technically at the playability threshold, but the 51 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips below that line. The data does not support any settings above Medium at 1080p, and it strongly advises against attempting 1440p or 4K with this hardware, as even the lowest settings at those resolutions fail to deliver consistently smooth performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings was tested, producing a clear performance hierarchy. Low settings yield an average of 76 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this combo in any configuration. Medium settings average 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, indicating a 18 FPS spread between the lowest and highest observed frame rates. High settings average 54 FPS, a 6 FPS drop from Medium, and Ultra settings average 35 FPS, a substantial 19 FPS decline from High. The step from Medium to High (6 FPS) is smaller than the step from High to Ultra (19 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces disproportionately heavy rendering effects.

At 2560x1440, the same four presets were measured, with a notable compression of the performance range. Low settings average 53 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, High averages 38 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 29 FPS, which is smaller than the 41 FPS gap observed at 1080p, indicating that resolution scaling is beginning to dominate over settings-based differences. The Medium preset's 13 FPS range (35 to 48) is the widest observed at this resolution, suggesting frame pacing variability under moderate graphical loads.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses to levels that are marginal at best. Low settings average 31 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS, High averages 22 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is just 17 FPS, which is the narrowest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is saturated at 4K regardless of the quality preset. The Medium preset's 7 FPS range (21 to 28) is relatively tight, but the absolute values are too low for playable gameplay. The data across all resolutions consistently shows that the Arc B370 cannot sustain 60 FPS at any settings beyond 1080p Low, and even at 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS of 51 suggests occasional stutter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU-GPU pair?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with the Low preset produces the highest average FPS at 76, which is the only configuration exceeding 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 60 FPS but has a minimum of 51 FPS.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 31 at Low settings, with Medium at 25, High at 22, and Ultra at 14. All 4K configurations fall well below playable frame rates.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower.

Q: Is the CPU limiting performance in this game?

A: No. The Core i7-12700K ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5. Its nearest rivals show less than 0.5% performance differences, indicating the CPU is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo rank for this system in Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 2699 out of 2938 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low rank is attributable to the GPU's 5th percentile performance ranking.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average is 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, yielding a 13 FPS spread that indicates noticeable frame pacing inconsistencies.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K, based on the Alder Lake-S architecture on Intel's 10 nm process, features 12 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes provide connectivity for discrete GPUs, although the Arc B370 uses an IGP bus interface. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier position this as a high-performance desktop processor, and its benchmark results confirm strong compute capabilities across various workloads.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role appears to be largely secondary to the GPU, as the measured frame rates at all resolutions and settings are far below what the processor's capabilities would permit. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and single-core score of 1850.5 indicate robust performance in both multi-threaded and latency-sensitive tasks, which is relevant for an Action RPG that must handle real-time game logic, AI pathfinding, and physics calculations alongside rendering. The 3DMark multi-thread score of 9979 and single-thread score of 1043 demonstrate that the CPU maintains strong performance across synthetic workloads, and its 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is well above average for gaming workloads.

The nearest CPU rivals highlight the i7-12700K's competitive positioning. The Intel Core i5-13600T averages 35305, a 0.1% difference, while the i7-12700KF is 0.2% behind at 35365, and the i7-13700T is 0.3% off at 35403. The Intel Core 5 213PE trails by 0.4% with a score of 35428. These margins are negligible and confirm that the i7-12700K is performing at the expected level for its class. Given that the CPU has 12 cores and 20 threads with a 5.00 GHz boost clock, it is unlikely to present any bottleneck in Greedfall, which is a 2019 title that does not require the highest core counts. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield far greater performance improvements than any CPU change, as the Arc B370's 5th percentile ranking is the dominant constraint on this system's gaming capabilities.