Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents a demanding test for the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER pairing. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p, where the processor's strength allows the graphics card to stretch its legs. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to understand where this combo excels and where it hits its limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a smooth 60+ FPS experience?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings, with an average of 83 FPS on High and 117 FPS on Low. Dropping to 2560x1440 makes 60+ FPS difficult, as the High preset yields 58 FPS, indicating the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 12986, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940, making the GTX 1660 SUPER 0.4% faster. It is also 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928) but 0.7% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (13075).

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 48 FPS on Low to 22 FPS on Ultra. This is a steep decline of 26 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is too demanding for this GPU at 4K, while Low remains the only setting near playable levels.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a high-performance processor compared to others?

A: Yes, the CPU benchmark data shows it is a strong performer. It has an average benchmark score of 53620 and sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, scores 53701, which is only 0.2% higher, making the i7-14700F essentially an equal match.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for Medium settings?

A: For the Medium preset, the minimum FPS figures are 78 at 1920x1080, 54 at 2560x1440, and 32 at 3840x2160. These minimums show that even at 1080p, there can be brief frame dips, but they remain within a mostly smooth range.

Q: What is the overall rank of this specific CPU and GPU combination in Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 3167 out of 3703 total tested combinations for this game. This places it in the lower half of all configurations, which aligns with the GPU being an older, mid-range part that struggles at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing for Greedfall. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The benchmark results suggest that this bandwidth and the 1408 shading units are the primary factors limiting performance, especially as resolution increases.

The GPU's base clock is 1530 MHz and can boost up to 1785 MHz. While these clocks are fixed specifications, the data implies that the card is working at its limit during gameplay. At 1080p, the card manages a solid 83 FPS on High, but this drops to 58 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 35 FPS at 4K with the same settings. This pattern indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated by the game's demands at higher pixel counts.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is a likely point of concern. While it is sufficient for 1080p, the significant FPS drop at 4K—from 48 FPS on Low to 35 FPS on High—suggests that texture data might be exceeding the available memory, leading to performance penalties. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 53rd percentile ranking and its close scores to the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580 confirm its position as a capable 1080p card that is not designed for high-refresh 1440p or 4K gaming in a title like Greedfall.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is found at 1920x1080 resolution. The High preset provides an average of 83 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness. The Medium preset is also a strong option, offering a higher average of 92 FPS with minimums of 78 FPS, ensuring a very stable experience.

While the Ultra preset is playable at 53 FPS, the drop in minimum frame rates is not recorded, making High or Medium the safer choice for consistent performance. Low settings at 1080p yield 117 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal gain over High.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only setting that maintains a high frame rate at 81 FPS. The High preset averages 58 FPS, which is on the edge of playability, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS, making it a poor choice. For 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (48 FPS) is viable, but even this is not a smooth experience. The recommendation is to stick with 1080p and use the High or Medium presets for the best balance of image quality and performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3167 out of 3703 tested combos in Greedfall. This puts it in the 15th percentile of all configurations, indicating that the overall system performance is on the lower end. This is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a top-tier part.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and high benchmark scores (e.g., 35122 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) suggest it is not the bottleneck. The low combo rank is almost entirely attributable to the GTX 1660 SUPER's 53rd percentile position. In the context of Greedfall, this means the system will feel responsive and fast in CPU-bound scenarios, but the frame rate will be capped by the GPU's ability to render the game's graphics, leading to an overall ranking that reflects a mid-range gaming experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data from 1080p to 4K provides a clear picture of the system's scaling behavior. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average FPS drops from 83 to 58, a 30% decrease. The transition from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, with the High preset falling from 58 FPS to 35 FPS, a 40% drop.

This non-linear scaling is a classic sign of a GPU-bound system. As resolution increases, the number of pixels to render grows exponentially, and the GTX 1660 SUPER's fixed compute resources are overwhelmed. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is not the limiting factor. The data shows the i7-14700F can feed the GPU enough data at 1080p to achieve 117 FPS on Low, but the GPU simply cannot process the higher pixel counts of 1440p and 4K.

The gap between Low and Ultra also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 64 FPS (117 vs 53), but at 4K it narrows to 26 FPS (48 vs 22). This suggests that at 4K, even the lowest settings are bottlenecked by raw pixel throughput, while at 1080p, the settings have a more significant impact on the GPU's workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all tested scenarios.

1920x1080:

• Low: 117 FPS average
• Medium: 92 FPS average (78 min, 106 max)
• High: 83 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 81 FPS average
• Medium: 64 FPS average (54 min, 73 max)
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 48 FPS average
• Medium: 38 FPS average (32 min, 44 max)
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: performance is halved when moving from 1080p to 4K on the same settings. The Medium preset at 1440p (64 FPS) is the only sub-1080p scenario that approaches a smooth experience. The Ultra preset is not viable at any resolution above 1080p, with an average of 53 FPS at 1080p being the only time it breaks 40 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a powerhouse that is vastly more capable than what this GPU pairing requires. With 20 cores and 28 threads, it is built for heavy multi-threaded workloads. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2429.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI. The data shows that it performs this role without issue. The frame rates at 1080p Low (117 FPS) are likely near the ceiling of what the game engine allows, and the CPU's high single-thread performance (boost clock of 5.40 GHz) ensures that it is never the limiting factor. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with data-heavy tasks.

The fact that the combo ranks in the 15th percentile overall, despite the CPU being in the 91st percentile, reflects how unbalanced this pairing is. In a game like Greedfall, the i7-14700F is effectively idle, waiting for the GTX 1660 SUPER to catch up. This means the CPU has ample headroom for background tasks or streaming, but its potential is not realized in this specific gaming scenario. The processor's 65W TDP and 10 nm process node also mean it runs cool and efficient, but that efficiency is wasted when the GPU is the bottleneck.