Greedfall

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a formidable experience in Greedfall, securing the 993rd position out of 3703 tested combinations. This places the combo in the top 26.8% of all tested configurations, a strong result for a 2019 Action RPG that is more CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The data indicates a system capable of high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable frame rates at 4K. However, the performance scaling reveals a clear shift in bottleneck from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU as resolution increases to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s ranking of 993 out of 3703 is respectable, though not top-tier. This position is influenced by the game's age and the specific demands of Greedfall, which appears to favor high single-thread performance. The CPU, with an average benchmark score of 35287, sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a very capable processor. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600T (with a delta of -0.1%) and the Intel Core i7-12700KF (with a delta of -0.2%), show that the i7-12700K is essentially performance-equivalent to these other high-end chips in synthetic tests, with differences of less than half a percent.

The GPU, with an average benchmark score of 41187, is in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, is 2% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 0.8% slower. This suggests the RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end card that sits just below the latest generation's flagship offerings. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a balanced system for this title, but the rank shows that other, more modern combinations can push higher average frame rates, likely due to architectural improvements in newer GPUs that handle Greedfall's rendering more efficiently.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this hardware?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings provides an excellent balance, with an average FPS of 122. This resolution offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, the average FPS drops to 73 on High settings, which is still playable but shows the GPU is being pushed harder.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High settings across resolutions?

A: Selecting Ultra settings results in a substantial performance penalty. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 176 on High to 112 on Ultra. This penalty is consistent across resolutions, with a drop from 122 to 78 at 2560x1440, and from 73 to 46 at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset appears to be extremely demanding, halving the frame rate at 4K compared to High settings.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor for this game?

A: The limiting factor changes with resolution. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as evidenced by the massive FPS jump from 176 to 247 when lowering settings from High to Low. At 4K, the scaling reverses, and the system becomes GPU-bound, with a smaller FPS difference between High (73 FPS) and Low (102 FPS) settings, indicating the GPU is struggling to keep up with the pixel count.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: The jump from Low to Medium settings is relatively small, showing that the game is well-optimized for low-end settings. At 1080p, the average FPS only drops from 247 to 194, a decrease of 21.5% . At 1440p, it drops from 171 to 134, and at 4K, from 102 to 80. The Medium preset provides a significant visual improvement over Low with a manageable performance cost.

Q: How does this combo's CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K is nearly identical in performance to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks. It is 0.1% slower than the Intel Core i5-13600T, 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-12700KF, and 0.3% slower than the Intel Core i7-13700T. These differences are negligible and would not be noticeable in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the expected FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440?

A: The measured data shows an average FPS of 134 at 2560x1440 on Medium settings. The data also provides a minimum FPS of 114 and a maximum FPS of 155 for this specific configuration, showing a stable frame-time delivery.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic performance curve. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves an average of 176 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, this number drops to 122 FPS, a decrease of approximately 30.7% . The most significant drop occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K, where the average FPS falls to 73, a 40.2% reduction. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets.

This scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Core i7-12700K is the primary bottleneck. The GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly, but the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls limits the maximum output. This is confirmed by the Low settings data, where the FPS at 1080p (247) is dramatically higher than at 4K (102), showing the GPU becomes the limiting factor when the pixel fill rate demand is high. The transition point is around 1440p, where the load is more evenly balanced between the CPU and GPU, before becoming fully GPU-bound at 4K.

The results show that the RTX 3080 Ti is not powerful enough to maintain a stable 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings, but it is more than capable at 1440p. For players targeting 4K, the High preset appears to be the ceiling for this combo, while 1440p offers a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: The highest average FPS recorded for this combo is 247 FPS, indicating a severely CPU-limited scenario.
• Medium: The average FPS drops to 194, with a minimum of 165 and a maximum of 223 FPS.
• High: This setting yields an average of 176 FPS, still exceptionally smooth for competitive or high-refresh-rate play.
• Ultra: The demanding Ultra preset still produces an average of 112 FPS, well above the 60 FPS standard.

2560x1440:

• Low: The average FPS is 171, showing a significant drop from 1080p but still very high.
• Medium: The average FPS is 134, with a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 155 FPS, providing a stable experience.
• High: This is the recommended resolution for this preset, with an average of 122 FPS.
• Ultra: The average FPS drops to 78, which is still playable but begins to show the strain on the GPU.

3840x2160:

• Low: The average FPS is 102, the first time this combo drops below the 100 FPS mark.
• Medium: The average FPS is 80, with a minimum of 68 and a maximum of 92 FPS.
• High: The average FPS is 73, which is just above the 60 FPS target for a console-like experience.
• Ultra: The average FPS plummets to 46, which is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay and may result in noticeable stuttering.

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 L3 cache is 25 MB (shared). In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 19784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1850.5 in single-core, placing it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. This strong single-core performance is crucial for Greedfall.

The data shows that at 1080p, the game is heavily reliant on the CPU. The FPS difference between Low (247 FPS) and High (176 FPS) settings is 71 FPS, a 28.7% increase. This suggests that the CPU is the bottleneck, and the GPU is waiting for the CPU to feed it draw calls. The i7-12700K's high boost clock and modern architecture are what allow it to push these high frame rates. The performance is nearly identical to its closest rivals, such as the i7-12700KF, which is only 0.2% faster, indicating that the i7-12700K is performing at the expected level for its class.

The CPU's performance also has a direct impact on the frame rate consistency. While the data only provides minimum FPS for the Medium preset, the high average FPS at 1080p suggests that the CPU is not causing major frame-time spikes. The processor's 20 threads are more than sufficient for this game, which likely uses fewer than 8 cores, but the high clock speed is what truly matters for achieving high FPS in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is the High preset at 2560x1440. This configuration delivers an average of 122 FPS, which is more than enough for a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings, which only provides 134 FPS at the same resolution, making High a better choice for the marginal performance cost.

For players with 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is a viable option, with an average of 112 FPS. This allows for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. However, the jump from High to Ultra at this resolution costs 64 FPS, so players who prioritize competitive frame rates should stick with High or even Medium. The Medium preset at 194 FPS is ideal for those with 240Hz monitors.

At 4K, the High preset is the highest playable option, with an average of 73 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 46 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold and will likely cause noticeable stutter. The Medium preset at 80 FPS is also a good choice for 4K, providing a more stable frame rate with a minor reduction in visual fidelity compared to High. The Low preset is not recommended at any resolution, as the visual degradation is significant, and the performance gains are minimal for this high-end hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a powerhouse GPU based on the Ampere architecture, featuring 10240 shading units and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is a massive 912.4 GB/s , and it has a boost clock of 1665 MHz . This hardware is designed for high-resolution gaming, and the data confirms its strength in Greedfall.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rate drops significantly across all settings, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The difference between High (73 FPS) and Low (102 FPS) settings at 4K is only 29 FPS, a 28.4% increase, which is much smaller than the 28.7% increase seen at 1080p. This shows that at 4K, the GPU is saturated, and reducing settings only provides a modest boost.

The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Greedfall, even at 4K, as the game likely does not require more than that. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking shows it is a high-end card, but it is not the absolute fastest. Its performance is 2% slower than the newer GeForce RTX 5070, showing the generational gap. However, for this specific game, the RTX 3080 Ti provides a strong experience, and its performance is more than adequate for 1440p gaming, where it is not the primary bottleneck.