Greedfall

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a solid, high-refresh-rate experience in Greedfall at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows a steep penalty when moving to 4K, particularly with Ultra settings. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is well-balanced for the game's lower resolutions, yet the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor as pixel count rises. The measured FPS values demonstrate a predictable scaling pattern that favors users with 1440p monitors, while 4K Ultra remains a challenge for this specific hardware configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K in Greedfall is significant and consistent across all settings presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 143.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 102 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 62.4 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 57% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial decline that points to the GPU being the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The scaling pattern is similar for Medium settings, where the average drops from 162.7 FPS at 1080p to 113.5 FPS at 1440p and finally to 66.8 FPS at 4K.

Low settings show the least dramatic scaling, with 205.2 FPS at 1080p, 141.9 FPS at 1440p, and 86.5 FPS at 4K. The relatively smaller percentage drop at Low settings suggests that the CPU is still providing ample headroom, and the GPU is the component being strained as resolution increases. The Ultra preset tells a different story: 94.8 FPS at 1080p drops to 67.7 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 41.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider playable, indicating that this combination is not suited for maximum settings at the highest resolution.

The resolution scaling data reveals that the sweet spot for this pairing is 1440p, where all settings except Ultra remain comfortably above the 100 FPS mark. The 4K results, while playable at Low and Medium settings, show that Greedfall at 4K demands more from the GPU than the RTX 3070 can deliver at higher presets. The gap between 1440p and 4K is the most pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops by nearly 26 frames, highlighting the exponential cost of rendering at 2160p.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth plays a crucial role in Greedfall's performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz, built on the Ampere architecture with 5888 shading units, provide the raw compute power necessary for the game's action RPG visuals. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present, though Greedfall's traditional rendering pipeline appears to benefit more from the standard shader throughput than from ray tracing acceleration.

At 4K Ultra, the 41.8 FPS average suggests that the GPU is running out of computational headroom, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity may also be a factor. The game's texture and geometry demands at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings could be pushing against the memory limit, though the data does not provide direct evidence of memory throttling. The fact that Low settings at 4K achieve 86.5 FPS indicates that the GPU can handle the resolution when the workload is reduced, meaning the ROPs and shading units are capable, but the overall throughput is insufficient for higher presets.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks places it at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28238. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, scores 27985, a delta of just 0.9%, which indicates that the RTX 3070 is competitively positioned in its class. The data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, where even Ultra settings achieve nearly 95 FPS, but it becomes increasingly dominant as the resolution scales upward.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 758th out of 1705 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is severely mismatched for the game's requirements. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70074, suggests that it is providing ample computational support, while the GPU's 72nd percentile ranking indicates that it is the more modest component in this duo.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700KF with an average score of 70104 and a delta of 0%, showing that the KF variant offers essentially identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420, which is 0.5% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69887, 0.3% lower. These tiny deltas confirm that the 14700K is well-positioned among high-end processors, and its 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for Greedfall's CPU demands.

For the GPU, the nearest rival data shows the AMD FirePro S7150 at 28409 with a delta of -0.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 27985 with a delta of 0.9%. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 27956, just 1% lower, which is remarkable given the generational gap. This ranking data suggests that the RTX 3070 is performing as expected for its class, and the combo's overall rank of 758 out of 1705 indicates that there is room for improvement by pairing the CPU with a more powerful GPU, but the current configuration is far from inadequate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings deliver an average of 205.2 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU and GPU are both operating well within their limits. Medium settings produce 162.7 FPS, High settings yield 143.5 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 94.8 FPS. The 1080p results suggest that users with high-refresh-rate monitors can comfortably enable High settings and still maintain frame rates above 140 FPS, while Ultra requires a more moderate refresh rate target.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 141.9 FPS at Low, 113.5 FPS at Medium, 102 FPS at High, and 67.7 FPS at Ultra. The 1440p data shows that the RTX 3070 starts to feel the pressure, but the results remain playable across all presets. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is only 11.5 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 34.3 FPS, highlighting the expensive nature of the Ultra preset's additional effects.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 86.5 FPS at Low, 66.8 FPS at Medium, 62.4 FPS at High, and 41.8 FPS at Ultra. The 4K results are the most telling: Low settings are smooth, Medium and High are playable but not ideal for competitive play, and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS line. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 44.7 FPS, which represents a 52% performance penalty for enabling the highest preset. This data confirms that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting either lower settings or a variable refresh rate display to smooth out the frame pacing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS values, the optimal experience for this combination depends heavily on the user's display resolution. At 1080p, the High preset at 143.5 FPS is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it provides a smooth experience on any monitor without the substantial frame rate cost of Ultra. For users with 1440p displays, the High preset at 102 FPS is the recommended choice, as it stays above the 100 FPS threshold while delivering solid image quality. The Medium preset at 113.5 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer higher frame rates over visual polish.

At 4K, the data suggests that Medium settings at 66.8 FPS offer the best playable experience, as they remain above the 60 FPS line while providing acceptable visuals. The High preset at 62.4 FPS is also playable, but the margin above 60 FPS is thin, and any demanding scene could cause dips. Low settings at 86.5 FPS are the safest choice for 4K users who prioritize smoothness above all else, but the visual compromise may be too great for some players. The Ultra preset at 41.8 FPS is not recommended at 4K, as the frame rate falls well below the playability threshold.

The pattern across all resolutions shows that the High preset is the best overall value for this hardware, providing strong performance at 1080p and 1440p while remaining acceptable at 4K. Users who own high-refresh-rate monitors should favor Medium at 1440p to push frame rates closer to the 120 FPS range, while those with standard 60 Hz displays can safely enable High at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K's specifications make it an exceptionally capable partner for the RTX 3070 in Greedfall. With 20 cores and 28 threads, a base clock of 3.40 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's physics, AI, and world-streaming demands. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the open-world environments that Greedfall presents. The CPU's performance in Cinebench R23 multicore, scoring 44534, and single-core, scoring 6287, demonstrates that it can handle both the multi-threaded background tasks and the primary game thread with ease.

The CPU's role in this combo becomes most apparent at lower resolutions, where the frame rates exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Low settings. These high numbers indicate that the CPU is not bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios, as the RTX 3070 is able to reach its full potential. The data shows that the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases, with the GPU taking over as the primary performance limiter at 1440p and 4K. However, the CPU's consistent performance ensures that frame times remain stable, preventing stutter even when the GPU is saturated.

The 14700K's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a flexible choice for enthusiasts, and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a top-tier processor. Its nearest rivals, including the 14700KF with a 0% delta and the Ryzen 9 9950X with a -0.5% delta, show that the CPU is at the forefront of desktop performance. For Greedfall specifically, the data indicates that the CPU is more than adequate, and users should focus their tuning efforts on the GPU settings rather than worrying about processor limitations.