Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU capabilities. The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 produces a dataset that is heavily skewed by the graphics card's limitations. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings provide a clear picture of where the performance bottleneck resides, and how the hardware scales under different presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced and predictable drop in performance as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 53.3 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average falls to 38.7 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27%. The most severe drop occurs when pushing to 3840x2160, where the average plummets to 21.8 FPS. This represents a 59% decrease from the 1080p result, indicating that the GTX 1650 is overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K.

This scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. For instance, at Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (72.3 FPS) to 2560x1440 (52.5 FPS) shows a 27% loss, and then to 3840x2160 (31.8 FPS) shows a further 39% loss from the 1440p figure. The consistency of these percentage drops points to a single limiting factor: the GPU's rendering throughput. The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the constraint here. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241, indicate a processor with substantial headroom that is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher.

The data suggests that even at 1080p, the system is not fully CPU-bound. The jump from High (53.3 FPS) to Low (72.3 FPS) at 1080p is a 36% increase, which would be smaller if the CPU were the bottleneck. Instead, the frame rate responds strongly to GPU-related settings, confirming that the GTX 1650's architectural limits—its 896 shading units and 32 ROPs—are the primary determinant of performance. The 4K results, which hover between 15.3 and 31.8 FPS, are simply not playable for a smooth experience, while 1440p offers a marginal improvement but still struggles to maintain 60 FPS on any preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650's role in this pairing is defined by its memory and clock specifications, which directly correlate with the measured performance. The GPU has a 4 GB GDDR5 memory pool on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. This is a modest allocation by modern standards. In Greedfall, an open-world RPG with dense environments, this memory size and bandwidth are likely significant factors in the frame rate drops at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the demand for texture data and geometry exceeds what the 128.1 GB/s bandwidth can efficiently feed to the processing cores, contributing to the low average FPS figures.

The clock speeds are also a relevant factor. The GTX 1650 has a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power, define its raw processing capability. The benchmark results show that this compute power is insufficient for Greedfall's Ultra preset at any resolution above 1080p. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 35.8, which is a 34% drop from the Medium preset’s 54.7 FPS at the same resolution. This significant penalty for the Ultra settings—likely due to increased draw distances and shadow quality—highlights that the GPU's execution resources are saturated.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, which is remarkably close to the AMD Radeon 550X (8749, deltaPct -0.4) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, deltaPct -0.4). This places the GPU in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating entry-level performance. In practice, this means the card is best suited for 1080p gaming with adjusted settings. The data supports this: the only configuration that achieves a comfortable frame rate is 1920x1080 with Low settings, resulting in 72.3 FPS. Every other tested setting at 1080p falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with High at 53.3 FPS and Medium at 54.7 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 72.3 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds the 60 FPS mark.

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

A: No, the data shows it cannot. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 15.3 FPS on Ultra to 31.8 FPS on Low. These figures are far below what is considered playable for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its closest competitors?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 550X (8749) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746). The performance deltas are -0.4% for both, indicating that these cards are effectively peers in raw compute benchmarks.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests it is not. The CPU has a multi-core score of 29241 in Cinebench R23 and an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The frame rates scale significantly with GPU settings and resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck rather than a CPU limitation.

Q: What is the performance impact of switching from High to Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 38.7 on High settings to 23.7 on Ultra settings. This is a reduction of 38.8%, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a substantial load on the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, the optimal configuration is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average of 72.3 FPS. If visual fidelity is preferred, 1920x1080 with High settings (53.3 FPS) or Medium settings (54.7 FPS) are the next best options, though they will not maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination ranks 1597th out of 1705 tested combos for Greedfall. This places it in the bottom 6% of all configurations in the database, which is a low standing that aligns with the measured frame rates. The ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited capabilities, as the processor is a high-end part that would typically be paired with a much stronger graphics card. The CPU's average benchmark score of 35684 places it in the 89th percentile, while the GPU's score of 8713 places it in the 43rd percentile.

This mismatch is evident in the performance data. The combo's rank of 1597 reflects that the GPU is holding back the system. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (deltaPct -0.3) and the Intel Core i5-14500HX (deltaPct -0.7), all of which have similar compute scores. However, their performance in Greedfall would be equally constrained by the GTX 1650. The low ranking is not a reflection of the CPU's gaming potential but rather a signal of the importance of the GPU in this specific title. The data indicates that to improve this combo's rank, a GPU upgrade is the necessary path forward, as the processor has substantial headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact average frame rates measured for this combination in Greedfall, organized by resolution and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

|:--------- |:------- | ----------: |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 72.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 54.7 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 53.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 35.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 52.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 43.0 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 38.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 23.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 31.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 24.4 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 21.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 15.3 |

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution where the combo approaches playable performance, and even then, only on lower presets. The 1440p results are borderline, with the Low preset being the only one that stays above 50 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, confirming the GPU's inability to handle high pixel counts. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 36.5 FPS, demonstrating that the quality preset has a massive impact on the GTX 1650's ability to render the game. The progression from 1080p to 1440p on High settings shows a 14.6 FPS drop, and the further drop to 4K is another 16.9 FPS, illustrating the steep cost of resolution scaling for this hardware.