Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG released on 2019-09-09, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data shows a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 92 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the average to 64 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. The jump to 4K at High settings further reduces the average to 38 FPS, which is a 41% drop from the 1440p figure and a 59% decline from 1080p. This scaling pattern is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The Intel Arc B570, with its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, is being saturated by the increasing pixel count and texture loads.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is still somewhat balanced, but the CPU has enough headroom to push higher frame rates if the GPU could keep up. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 130 FPS, indicating that when the graphical load is reduced, the combination can produce very high frame rates. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is severe: the system manages 54 FPS at Low but only 24 FPS at Ultra. This 56% performance penalty from lowering settings at 4K is more pronounced than the 55% penalty seen at 1080p (from 130 FPS to 59 FPS), showing that the GPU’s raw compute and memory throughput become the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and maximum of 48. This narrow band suggests consistent frame pacing, but the overall performance is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider smooth. The data implies that for a consistent experience at 4K, users would need to rely on the Low preset to approach playable frame rates, but even that only yields 54 FPS. The scaling curve indicates that the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not sufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15790. The single-thread performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5. The 3DMark tests show a scaling pattern from 2065 in the 2-thread test to 9979 in the max-thread test, indicating that the processor efficiently utilizes its available cores.

In this game, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 130 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this specific title given the game’s 2019 release date and typical single-threaded dependencies. The fact that the frame rate doesn’t scale linearly with resolution when moving from Low to High suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same settings. This is not the case, as the 1080p High average of 92 FPS drops to 64 FPS at 1440p High, confirming that the GPU’s workload is the dominant factor.

The processor’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and 8-thread score of 7202 suggest it has ample compute headroom for game logic and physics. The L3 cache of 25 MB shared and per-core L2 of 1.25 MB provide sufficient data locality for the game’s assets. The percentileVsAllCpus of 84 places it in the top 16% of all CPUs, which is a strong position. However, in this specific game, the data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting component at resolutions above 1080p, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-side constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B570 achieves a rank of 2344 out of 2938 tested combos for this game. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested system configurations. This ranking is surprising given the individual component strengths, particularly the CPU’s high percentile rank. The data suggests that the GPU is holding back the overall system performance in Greedfall.

The comboRankInGame of 2344 indicates that most other tested combinations outperform this pairing. This is likely due to the Arc B570’s relatively low percentileVsAllGpus of 65, which puts it in the bottom 35% of all GPUs. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600T (avgScore 35305, deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core i7-12700KF (avgScore 35365, deltaPct -0.2), have nearly identical average benchmark scores, showing that the CPU is a solid performer. However, the GPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc A750 (avgScore 20582, deltaPct -0.1) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534, deltaPct 0.1), have similar average scores, indicating that the B570 is not an outlier in its class.

The low combo rank implies that in Greedfall, the specific combination of this CPU and GPU does not yield the expected performance uplift. A different GPU with higher raw throughput would likely move this combo to a much higher rank, as the CPU has demonstrated it can support higher frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system can reach 130 FPS, which is a respectable figure, but the GPU’s limits are exposed at higher settings and resolutions, preventing the combo from climbing the ranks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this hardware for a smooth experience?

A: The data shows that 1080p with Medium settings yields an average of 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which is the highest resolution and settings combination that maintains an average above 100 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1440p with Medium settings provides an average of 71 FPS and a minimum of 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: The average benchmark score for the B570 is 20556, while the A750 scores 20582, showing a deltaPct of -0.1. This indicates that the B570 is essentially on par with the A750 in synthetic benchmarks, with a negligible performance difference.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck in this system?

A: The measured FPS data suggests it is not. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 130 FPS, and the frame rates drop consistently with increasing resolution, which is a GPU-bound pattern. The CPU’s 3DMark max-thread score of 9979 and single-thread score of 1043 show strong performance, indicating it is not the limiting component.

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

A: The data shows that at 4K, even the Low preset only achieves an average of 54 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 42 FPS and Ultra to 24 FPS. This indicates that 4K gaming is only marginally playable at the lowest settings, and not recommended for a consistent experience.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 90 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 41 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in performance when moving from Low to Ultra, showing a significant impact from the graphical settings.

Q: Does the GPU’s 10 GB of VRAM cause any issues at higher resolutions?

A: The data does not explicitly show VRAM-related issues, but the 4K High preset (38 FPS) and 4K Ultra preset (24 FPS) show significant performance drops. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB capacity may be insufficient for the highest textures at 4K, but the measured FPS indicates the core compute is the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the clear limiting factor in this system for Greedfall. Its specifications include 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, 80 ROPs, and 18 ray tracing cores, with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute of 11.52 TFLOPS.

The benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 14195 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2649. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 83514 and the Vulkan score is 96844. These numbers place the GPU in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. The nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, has a nearly identical score, confirming that the B570 is a mid-range performer.

In Greedfall, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s world, and the data shows it struggles at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra preset averages only 24 FPS, which is a 59% drop from the 1080p High preset’s 92 FPS. This scaling is expected given the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth. The 1440p Ultra setting averages 41 FPS, suggesting that the GPU can handle the resolution at lower settings but not at the highest fidelity. The GPU’s 150 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate it is a mainstream card, and the data confirms it is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium to high settings, rather than 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the target resolution. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 102 FPS and a minimum of 87 FPS. This provides a smooth experience without the performance penalty of Ultra, which drops to 59 FPS. The High preset at 1080p is also viable, with an average of 92 FPS, making it a good choice for those who prioritize image quality over a slight frame rate buffer.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it achieves an average of 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is just at the threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1440p drops to 64 FPS, which is still playable but offers less headroom for dips in demanding scenes. The Low preset at 1440p averages 90 FPS, which is smoother but sacrifices visual fidelity.

For 4K, the data suggests that the Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 54 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 42 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the minimum of 36 FPS could cause noticeable stutters. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, as they average 38 FPS and 24 FPS, respectively, which are below the threshold for a comfortable gaming experience. Users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution or accepting significant visual compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Greedfall with the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B570 is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 130 FPS. The Medium preset averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The High preset averages 92 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 59 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 90 FPS. The Medium preset averages 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 81 FPS. The High preset averages 64 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 41 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 54 FPS. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High preset averages 38 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 24 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops across all settings. The Medium preset at each resolution provides a balanced experience, with the 1080p Medium offering the highest minimum FPS of 87. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding, with an average of 24 FPS, which is below playable levels. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a 30% reduction in performance, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 41% reduction. This indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute are the primary bottlenecks at higher resolutions.