Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG released in 2019, presents a demanding workload that varies significantly across resolutions and quality presets. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700, using benchmark data to characterize the experience. The data is measured and covers 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings, providing a comprehensive view of this combination's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for a balance of visual quality and performance?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 with High settings provides an average FPS of 94, which is a strong experience. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 136, while at 3840x2160 with High settings, it drops to 56. Therefore, 1440p High offers a good middle ground between the high fidelity of 4K and the high frame rates of 1080p.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average FPS of 94, while the Ultra preset delivers an average FPS of 60. This represents a significant performance cost of 34 frames per second for the increased visual fidelity that Ultra provides.

Q: At which resolution and settings combo does the system achieve the highest average FPS?

A: The highest average FPS recorded in the data is 191, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is followed by 150 FPS at 1080p Medium and 136 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this hardware?

A: No, the data shows that at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is only 36. This is below the common 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay and suggests the setting is too demanding for this combination.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p, and how does it affect the experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 88, with an average of 104 and a maximum of 120. This minimum frame rate is still quite high, indicating a stable and smooth experience without severe dips.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination ranks 1307 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, indicating a capable but not top-tier performance level.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets. The Ultra preset is consistently the most demanding, yielding the lowest average FPS at every resolution. At 3840x2160, Ultra produces an average of 36 FPS, which is best avoided for a comfortable gameplay experience. The High preset offers a step up, with 56 FPS at 4K, but this is still below the 60 FPS threshold that many players target. For the best experience at 4K, the Medium preset, with an average of 62 FPS and a minimum of 53, is the most viable option, though it requires accepting lower visual fidelity. The Low preset at 4K reaches 79 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the picture improves considerably. The High preset delivers an average of 94 FPS, which is a strong, smooth experience that balances visual quality and performance. The Medium preset provides a higher average of 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS, making it the most consistent performer for high frame rates. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 60 FPS average, which is playable but represents a significant performance hit (34 FPS less than High) for the extra visual effects. For most users, the High preset at 1440p is the recommended starting point, as it offers excellent visual quality with a comfortable frame rate margin.

At 1920x1080, all presets are highly playable. The High preset achieves 136 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. The Medium preset is even faster at 150 FPS, and the Low preset tops out at 191 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 87 FPS, which is still perfectly playable and provides the best image quality at this resolution. Given the high frame rates available, users with high refresh rate monitors can comfortably use the High or even Ultra preset at 1080p. The data suggests that for the best overall experience, users should prioritize 2560x1440 with High settings, as it offers a robust frame rate while taking advantage of the GPU's capabilities beyond 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary driver of graphical performance in this combination. Its specifications include a Navi 32 chip built on a 5 nm process, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz. These specifications contribute to its measured performance, which shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions.

The data shows that the GPU's performance is heavily taxed at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the average FPS for the High preset is 56, while at 2560x1440 it is 94, and at 1920x1080 it is 136. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases. The memory capacity of 16 GB is ample for this game, as no data suggests memory-related bottlenecks at any tested setting. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 and a Passmark G3D score of 20974, place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which is 1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which is 1.7% faster, indicating the RX 7700 is a solid mid-range performer.

The relationship between the GPU's clock speeds and the in-game results is evident in the frame rate scaling. The boost clock of 2459 MHz allows for high sustained performance when thermal and power limits permit. The data shows that the GPU is capable of producing very high frame rates at 1080p, with a maximum of 191 FPS on Low settings, but its performance drops as the pixel count increases. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM buffer ensures that texture quality and other memory-intensive settings do not cause performance degradation, as evidenced by the consistent scaling between settings at each resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 in Greedfall places it at rank 1307 out of 2938 tested combinations. This position, roughly in the 44th percentile of all combos, indicates that while this system is not at the top of the performance charts, it is far from the bottom. It is a capable setup that handles the game well, particularly at 1080p and 1440p resolutions.

This ranking is a result of the GPU's mid-range standing. The RX 7700's percentile of 58 among all GPUs suggests it is a slightly above-average performer overall. However, its nearest rivals, such as the RX 9060 and RTX 3060 Ti, are within a 2% performance delta, meaning the GPU is in a highly competitive segment. The CPU, on the other hand, is a high-end part, ranking in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The fact that the combo ranks in the upper-middle tier indicates that the GPU is the constraining factor for overall gaming performance in this specific title, rather than the CPU.

The combo's rank of 1307 out of 2938 suggests that many other systems are faster, but a significant number are also slower. The data implies that with this combination, users can expect a solid 1080p and 1440p experience, but will need to make compromises at 4K, particularly with higher settings. The ranking provides context, showing that this setup is a balanced mid-to-high-range configuration, where the CPU has headroom to support a more powerful GPU if an upgrade were considered in the future.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K provides the processing foundation for this system. It is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features 33 MB of shared L3 cache and is built on a 10 nm process. Its benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, which is 0.2% slower, and the AMD EPYC 9115, which is 0.1% faster.

In the context of Greedfall, the CPU's role is evident in the frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 87 on Ultra to 191 on Low. The high single-core performance of the i7-14700K ensures that the game's logic and rendering threads are well-fed, allowing the GPU to operate near its full potential. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as even the most demanding preset achieves 87 FPS.

However, as the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor. The CPU's performance remains constant, but the GPU's workload increases, leading to lower frame rates. The i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom for gaming and background tasks, ensuring that the CPU does not hinder performance in this title. The processor's high boost clock of 5.60 GHz is particularly beneficial for gaming, as it can rapidly respond to single-threaded workloads. The data indicates that this CPU is more than capable of supporting the RX 7700, and any performance limitations observed in the game are attributable to the GPU rather than the processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: the Low preset averages 191 FPS, the Medium preset averages 150 FPS with a minimum of 127 and a maximum of 172, the High preset averages 136 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 87 FPS. This shows a clear and consistent drop in performance as visual quality increases, with a difference of 104 FPS between the Low and Ultra presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance profile shifts. The Low preset averages 132 FPS, the Medium preset averages 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 120, the High preset averages 94 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p provides the highest minimum FPS of 88, indicating excellent frame time consistency.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 79 FPS, the Medium preset averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 71, the High preset averages 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 36 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 43 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls below 60 FPS on average, making it the least playable option.

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently offers the best frame time consistency, as it is the only setting with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 4K, the Medium preset's minimum of 53 FPS is close to the 60 FPS target, while at 1440p, the minimum of 88 FPS is very high. The High preset does not have recorded minimum FPS values, but its averages are slightly lower than Medium at each resolution. The Ultra preset shows the largest performance cost, with a 34 FPS drop from High at 1440p and a 20 FPS drop at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a significant impact on frame rates. For the High preset, the average FPS drops from 136 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p, a reduction of 42 FPS (or 30.9%). From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 94 to 56, a further reduction of 38 FPS (or 40.4%). This indicates that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear, with the largest relative drop occurring between 1440p and 4K.

For the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 191 at 1080p to 132 at 1440p, a reduction of 59 FPS (30.9%). From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 132 to 79, a reduction of 53 FPS (40.2%). This pattern is very similar to the High preset, showing a consistent relative drop. The Medium preset follows the same trend, dropping from 150 FPS at 1080p to 104 FPS at 1440p (a 30.7% reduction) and then to 62 FPS at 4K (a 40.4% reduction from 1440p).

The Ultra preset shows a different scaling pattern. From 1080p to 1440p, the average drops from 87 to 60, a reduction of 27 FPS (31.0%). From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 60 to 36, a reduction of 24 FPS (40.0%). While the percentage reductions are similar to other presets, the absolute frame rates at 4K are much lower, making the experience less smooth.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the limiting component as resolution increases. The consistent relative drops of roughly 31% from 1080p to 1440p and 40% from 1440p to 4K across all presets are characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU, with its high performance and 94th percentile ranking, is not the cause of these frame rate reductions. The data shows that the GPU's rendering capabilities are exhausted at higher resolutions, leading to the observed FPS decreases. Users looking to maintain high frame rates at 4K would need to use lower settings or consider a more powerful GPU.