Greedfall

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings 20 cores and 28 threads to Greedfall, a configuration that is dramatically overprovisioned for a 2019 Action RPG. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this Raptor Lake-R part sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested, and its benchmark scores reflect that positioning — Cinebench R23 multi-core hits 44,557, while single-core reaches 6,290. The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-14700K (deltaPct 0) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (deltaPct -0.4), meaning the 14700KF is effectively tied with the top of the desktop heap.

However, Greedfall's measured frame rates demonstrate that this CPU's theoretical headroom is not the constraint in this pairing. The data shows a CPU that is capable of far more than the AMD Radeon RX 580 can feed it. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 81.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result across any resolution or settings combination. The fact that this number does not climb higher — despite a CPU that scores 52,425 in Passmark multithread and 4,480 in Passmark single-thread — indicates the GPU is the limiting factor even at the lightest settings. The 14700KF's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support are entirely sufficient for Greedfall's demands; the game simply does not stress a 20-core processor. The CPU's 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform are irrelevant to the game's performance ceiling here, but they do place this chip in a performance class where Greedfall's engine is never the bottleneck on the processor side.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing — Intel Core i7-14700KF with AMD Radeon RX 580 — ranks 1,589 out of 1,705 tested combos in Greedfall. That places it in the bottom 7% of all combinations, which is a striking result given the CPU's top-tier status. The explanation is straightforward: the RX 580, which sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, drags the entire combo down. The GPU's average benchmark score is 13,559, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (deltaPct 0) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (deltaPct 0.1). This is a graphics card that trades blows with hardware from 2010-2015, while the CPU is trading blows with 2023-2024 flagship parts.

The rank of 1,589 reflects a fundamental imbalance: pairing a 96th-percentile CPU with a 53rd-percentile GPU creates a system where the GPU is the decisive factor in Greedfall. The CPU's percentile rank of 96 and the GPU's percentile rank of 53 tell the story — this combo is only as strong as its weakest link. Benchmark results confirm that the CPU is not the issue: in synthetic tests, the 14700KF scores 70,104 average, which is within 0.4% of the Ryzen 9 9950X. But in Greedfall, the measured FPS numbers are modest at best, and the combination rank reflects that the GPU is holding back an otherwise elite processor. For context, the CPU alone would rank far higher; the GPU is the anchor.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern in Greedfall reveals a GPU-bound system with clear limits. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 81.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 53.7 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 34.8 FPS, another 35% drop from 1440p. These are large percentage declines that scale almost linearly with pixel count, which is the classic signature of a GPU that is saturated at every resolution. The CPU is not stepping in to help because it has no need — the RX 580 is the bottleneck from 1080p all the way to 4K.

The settings scaling tells a similar story. At 1080p, going from Low to High costs 25% of the frame rate (81.8 to 61.0 FPS), while going from High to Ultra costs a further 43% (61.0 to 34.9 FPS). At 4K, the same Low-to-High progression drops from 34.8 to 21.9 FPS, a 37% loss, and Ultra collapses to 12.8 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus width are being overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and high settings. The RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is simply not enough to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the measured 12.8 FPS is a slideshow. This data indicates that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU — the CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock and 20 cores are never the constraint at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

Starting at 1920x1080, the combo achieves 81.8 FPS on Low, 65.2 FPS on Medium, 61.0 FPS on High, and 34.9 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is small (4.2 FPS), but the jump from High to Ultra is severe (26.1 FPS lost). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that the RX 580 cannot handle efficiently — likely heavy post-processing or shadow quality that taxes the 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs.

At 2560x1440, the measured results are 53.7 FPS on Low, 45.1 FPS on Medium, 38.0 FPS on High, and 26.9 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Medium drop is 8.6 FPS, Medium-to-High is 7.1 FPS, and High-to-Ultra is 11.1 FPS. The Ultra penalty becomes proportionally larger as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is a limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the results are 34.8 FPS on Low, 23.5 FPS on Medium, 21.9 FPS on High, and 12.8 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Medium drop is 11.3 FPS, which is the largest single settings penalty across all resolutions. This indicates that even the Medium preset at 4K overwhelms the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity and 256-bit bus. The Ultra result of 12.8 FPS is below playable thresholds by any standard. Across all 12 measured configurations, only the 1080p Low, Medium, and High presets exceed 60 FPS, and only 1080p Low exceeds 80 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost of 1340 MHz, and memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 8 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s, texture rate is 193.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS.

In Greedfall, these specifications translate to a GPU that is adequate for 1080p at Low-to-High settings but struggles beyond that. The 8 GB VRAM is not the primary constraint at 1080p, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth and 6.175 TFLOPS compute are. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (34.9) versus 1080p High (61.0) shows that the Ultra preset demands resources the RX 580 does not have. At 4K, the card is out of its depth entirely — even Low settings yield only 34.8 FPS. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 13,559 place it in the same class as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 950, both of which are more than a decade old. The RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS is the hard ceiling for this combo, and Greedfall's results reflect that ceiling consistently across all resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is 1080p High, which delivers 61.0 FPS. This is the highest settings preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average at 1080p. The 1080p Medium preset offers 65.2 FPS, which is only 6.9% faster than High, making the visual quality trade-off of dropping from High to Medium not worth the marginal frame rate gain. The 1080p Low preset hits 81.8 FPS, but the visual downgrade from Low to High is substantial, and 61.0 FPS is already smooth for an Action RPG.

At 1440p, the best measured result is 53.7 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but playable. However, the 1440p Medium preset drops to 45.1 FPS, and High falls to 38.0 FPS — both are noticeably less smooth. For 1440p, Low is the only reasonable choice, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal. At 4K, no preset is playable: Low yields 34.8 FPS, Medium 23.5, High 21.9, and Ultra 12.8. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not viable with this GPU in Greedfall. The recommendation is to run 1080p High for the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, or 1080p Medium if the user prefers a small FPS buffer. Avoid Ultra at any resolution — the penalty is severe (34.9 FPS at 1080p, 26.9 at 1440p, 12.8 at 4K) and the visual uplift is not justified by the measured performance collapse.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this CPU/GPU pairing in Greedfall?

A: The best measured result is 1080p High, which delivers 61.0 FPS. This is the highest settings preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average. 1080p Medium gives 65.2 FPS, and 1080p Low gives 81.8 FPS, but High offers the best visual quality at a smooth frame rate.

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 4K?

A: No playable 4K results were measured. The best 4K result is 34.8 FPS on Low settings, with Medium at 23.5, High at 21.9, and Ultra at 12.8. All are below playable thresholds.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF or the AMD Radeon RX 580 the bottleneck in Greedfall?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 53rd percentile. The measured FPS scales with resolution and settings in a pattern consistent with GPU saturation, not CPU limitation.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combinations in Greedfall?

A: This combo ranks 1,589 out of 1,705 tested combos. The low ranking is driven by the GPU's modest performance; the CPU alone scores 70,104 average benchmark, which is within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, High delivers 61.0 FPS and Ultra delivers 34.9 FPS. That is a 26.1 FPS loss from High to Ultra, representing a 43% drop in frame rate for the highest preset.

Q: Does the RX 580's 8 GB VRAM cause issues in Greedfall?

A: The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient at 1080p, but at 4K the GPU's overall capabilities are insufficient — the best 4K result is 34.8 FPS on Low. The GPU's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.175 TFLOPS compute are the limiting factors, not just VRAM capacity.