Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG released in 2019, presents a demanding workload that scales dramatically across resolutions and presets. This analysis focuses on the specific combination of an Intel Core i7-13700K processor with an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card, using measured FPS data to interpret the balance between CPU and GPU limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 290.9 FPS, but at 4K with Low settings, the average falls to 116.9 FPS—a reduction of 60%. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate. The data shows that the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, with its 24 GB of memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes increasingly saturated as pixel count rises.

Examining the High preset, the scaling is even more telling. At 1440p, the average is 140.5 FPS, which drops to 84.7 FPS at 4K—a 40% decline. This steep curve suggests that the GPU's compute resources are heavily taxed by the higher resolution, while the CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads remain underutilized. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is 67.6 FPS (208.1 to 140.5), while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 55.8 FPS (140.5 to 84.7). The consistent degradation points to a GPU-bound scenario as resolution increases, with the RX 7900 XTX's 61.39 TFLOPS and 479.6 GPixel/s pixel rate working harder to fill the larger frame buffer.

Interestingly, the Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling. At 1080p, the average is 132.2 FPS, but at 4K it plummets to 52.2 FPS—a 60.5% loss. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce additional effects that disproportionately impact the GPU, likely related to the 96 ray accelerators in the RDNA 3.0 architecture. The data indicates that at 4K Ultra, the system is firmly GPU-limited, with the CPU's performance headroom (as evidenced by its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs) being irrelevant to the final frame rate.

The scaling pattern across all presets shows that 1080p results exceed 130 FPS even at Ultra, while 4K results range from 52.2 FPS at Ultra to 116.9 FPS at Low. This wide spread—from playable to barely playable—demonstrates that resolution choice is the primary determinant of performance for this combo in Greedfall.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Greedfall?

A: The highest average FPS is 290.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to Low at 4K?

A: Ultra at 4K delivers 52.2 FPS, while Low at 4K delivers 116.9 FPS. This represents a performance gap of 64.7 FPS, or a 55% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1440p High?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 140.5. Given that the RX 7900 XTX's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, has an average benchmark score 2% lower, the GPU is likely the primary constraint, though the CPU's high multi-threaded scores (39000 in Cinebench R23) suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Medium produces 227.7 FPS while High produces 208.1 FPS. The difference is 19.6 FPS, with Medium being about 9% faster.

Q: Does the 24 GB VRAM provide any advantage at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the VRAM capacity is likely not a limiting factor, as frame rates are high (exceeding 90 FPS even at Ultra). The GPU's bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is more relevant at 4K, where the memory bus width of 384 bit is fully utilized.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 279th out of 1705 total combos in Greedfall, placing it in the top 16% of all tested systems.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it features 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark data shows exceptional multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 17731. Single-thread performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low, the 290.9 FPS result suggests the CPU can drive frame rates well above 200 FPS. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 and max-thread score of 12412 indicate that the CPU has sufficient parallel throughput for modern game engines. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-13700K is nearly identical in average benchmark score: it is 0.1% behind the 13700KF, 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 4K, as the FPS drops consistently across presets regardless of CPU load. At 1080p Ultra, the 132.2 FPS result still shows the CPU handling the rendering pipeline efficiently. The processor's 125 W TDP and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provide a solid foundation, but the measured FPS data shows that Greedfall's performance ceiling is dictated by the GPU at 4K and by the CPU's single-thread capabilities at 1080p.

The percentile ranking of 93rd among all CPUs confirms that the i7-13700K is a high-end part, but its nearest rivals show that performance differences are minimal—within 0.5% across all four compared CPUs. This suggests that in Greedfall, the choice of CPU among these top-tier parts would have negligible impact on the measured FPS, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the game at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers consistently high frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 290.9 FPS, Medium produces 227.7 FPS, High produces 208.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 132.2 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 63.2 FPS drop, while the step from High to Ultra is a 75.9 FPS drop, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear resolution penalty. Low settings yield 197.5 FPS, Medium yields 154.7 FPS, High yields 140.5 FPS, and Ultra yields 90.7 FPS. The 1440p results are roughly 32% lower than their 1080p counterparts across presets, which aligns with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops below 100 FPS, suggesting that this resolution and preset combination begins to strain the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes dramatically. Low settings produce 116.9 FPS, Medium produces 94.1 FPS, High produces 84.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 52.2 FPS. The 4K results are significantly lower, with even Low settings failing to reach 120 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 9.4 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 32.5 FPS—the largest single-preset drop in the entire dataset. This suggests that Ultra at 4K includes effects that are disproportionately expensive for the GPU.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution upgrade reduces frame rates by approximately 30-35% for the same preset, with the exception of Ultra, which shows a steeper decline. The 1080p Ultra result of 132.2 FPS is higher than the 4K Low result of 116.9 FPS, demonstrating that resolution has a more significant impact on performance than preset level in this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 6144 shading units, 384 texture mapping units, and 192 render output units, along with 96 ray accelerators. The GPU's boost clock is 2498 MHz with a game clock of 2365 MHz, and it has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is dominant at 4K resolutions, where the measured FPS drops below 120 even at Low settings. The GPU's compute capabilities—61.39 TFLOPS FP32 and 479.6 GPixel/s pixel rate—are the primary drivers of performance at higher resolutions. The 24 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the FPS is limited by compute throughput rather than memory capacity.

The GPU's benchmark scores show strong raw performance: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841, a Geekbench Vulkan score of 192597, and a Passmark G3D score of 31238. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 131 is relatively low compared to DirectX 11 (356), which may indicate driver overhead or architectural differences, but the measured FPS in Greedfall suggests the game is well-optimized for this GPU.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score 2% lower than the RTX 4070 Ti, 0.8% higher than the RTX 4090 Mobile, and 1.6% higher than the Quadro M6000. These small deltas indicate that the GPU is competitive with other high-end parts, but the measured FPS in Greedfall shows that it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but not at the very top.

The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where the 52.2 FPS Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, the GPU still provides adequate performance, with all presets exceeding 90 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates exceed 200 FPS at Low and Medium settings, suggesting that the CPU or game engine limits performance at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K displays, the Low preset at 116.9 FPS provides the smoothest experience, while Medium at 94.1 FPS offers a balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset at 84.7 FPS is still playable, but Ultra at 52.2 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is likely to feel less responsive.

For 1440p users, the High preset at 140.5 FPS offers an excellent balance, providing solid visual fidelity while maintaining high frame rates. The Ultra preset at 90.7 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, as it remains above 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 154.7 FPS and Low at 197.5 FPS are options for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with the Ultra preset at 132.2 FPS being the most visually demanding option that still exceeds 120 FPS. The High preset at 208.1 FPS and Medium at 227.7 FPS are ideal for 144 Hz or 240 Hz displays, while Low at 290.9 FPS approaches the limits of most monitors.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is achieved at 1440p with High settings, as this configuration provides 140.5 FPS with a reasonable balance between visual quality and performance headroom. For 4K users, Medium at 94.1 FPS is recommended, as it offers a 55% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a steady frame rate above 90 FPS. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K due to the steep performance penalty, but it remains a viable choice at 1440p and 1080p for those who prioritize graphical fidelity over raw frame rate.