Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 action RPG from Spiders, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and image quality settings. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, using data captured across three resolutions and four quality presets. The dataset provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies, how the hardware responds to different loads, and which settings deliver the most balanced experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the RTX 4060 delivers an average of 128.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that average to 90.6 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. Stepping up to 3840x2160 further reduces the average to 54.1 FPS, which is another 40% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become increasingly taxed.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all four quality presets. For Low settings, the averages go from 178.8 FPS at 1080p, to 125.5 FPS at 1440p, down to 74.4 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory: 140.1, 95.6, and 58.9 FPS respectively. Ultra settings show the most dramatic falloff, with averages of 81.6 FPS at 1080p, 55.3 FPS at 1440p, and a barely playable 32.3 FPS at 4K. The fact that the delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is over 97 FPS, while at 4K it narrows to just over 42 FPS, confirms that resolution scaling dominates the performance equation.

This behavior strongly suggests that Greedfall is heavily GPU-limited, particularly at 4K. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is unlikely to be the constraint at these frame rates. The data indicates that players targeting 4K should expect significant performance drops, while 1080p and 1440p offer much more headroom. The RTX 4060’s 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus appear sufficient for the lower resolutions but become stressed at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS falls below 33.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 128.7 FPS. This is a strong result that indicates smooth gameplay for most display scenarios.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 capable of 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average is 74.4 FPS, which is playable. However, at High settings it drops to 54.1 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 32.3 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which puts it 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and 1.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D. It is 1.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 and 1.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 125.5 FPS, while Ultra averages 55.3 FPS. This represents a performance drop of over 70 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score position it against similar cards?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6600M by 0.6% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti by 0.7%, while leading the Intel Arc B580 by 0.7% and the AMD Radeon 760M by 0.8%.

Q: What does the measured data suggest about the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s high core count and strong synthetic scores do not translate to higher frame rates at 4K, where the graphics card is saturated.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. Its base clock is 1830 MHz with a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The card has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. These specifications place the RTX 4060 in the mid-range tier, and its benchmark data reflects this positioning.

In Greedfall, the GPU’s role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows that the card’s performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, but it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The card’s 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit memory interface are likely contributing factors to the sharp decline at 3840x2160, where the higher pixel count and texture detail demand more memory bandwidth. The GPU’s pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K these rates become limiting.

The RTX 4060’s average benchmark score of 23181 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a solid performer for its class. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, is 0.6% faster, while the Intel Arc B580 is 0.7% slower. These margins are small, suggesting that the RTX 4060 sits in a tightly contested performance tier. In Greedfall, this translates to playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across most settings, but 4K requires significant compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 delivers strong performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 178.8 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. Medium averages 140.1 FPS, High averages 128.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 81.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, but even the lowest result remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 125.5 FPS for Low, 95.6 FPS for Medium, 90.6 FPS for High, and 55.3 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is over 70 FPS, and Ultra is the first preset to fall below 60 FPS at this resolution. This suggests that 1440p Ultra is demanding for the RTX 4060, and users may need to adjust settings to maintain higher frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the performance degrades significantly. Low averages 74.4 FPS, Medium averages 58.9 FPS, High averages 54.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 32.3 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains an average above 60 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset’s 32.3 FPS average is barely playable and indicates that the GPU is heavily overburdened. This data confirms that 4K gaming with this hardware requires substantial compromises in image quality.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset at 1920x1080 provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 128.7 FPS. This is a significant margin above the 60 FPS baseline and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers 178.8 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra 50 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, averaging 95.6 FPS. This provides a smooth experience while still delivering decent visual fidelity. The High preset at 1440p is also viable at 90.6 FPS, but Medium offers a more comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 1440p is not recommended, as the 55.3 FPS average is below the smoothness target.

For 3840x2160, the only viable option is the Low preset, which averages 74.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 58.9 FPS is borderline, and High (54.1 FPS) and Ultra (32.3 FPS) are too demanding for consistent gameplay. Players targeting 4K should stick with Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory and features a 33 MB shared L3 cache. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 and a single-core score of 5003. It also achieves a Geekbench multicore score of 16571 and a single-core score of 2711.

In Greedfall, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the average is 178.8 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game engine. However, the performance scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (a drop of over 97 FPS) indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. At higher resolutions, the CPU has even less influence, as the GPU is saturated.

The Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, is only 0.6% faster, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% faster. The CPU’s high core count and boost clock are well-suited for modern games, but Greedfall does not appear to utilize all 20 cores effectively, as the frame rates are primarily constrained by the graphics card.

The data suggests that the Core i7-14700F is more than adequate for this game, and upgrading the CPU would not yield significant FPS gains. Instead, the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate an efficient processor that should not cause thermal throttling in most systems, allowing the GPU to remain the primary performance driver.