Greedfall

Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with resolution and graphical presets. When paired with the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, the measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but one that must make concessions at 4K to maintain playability. The data indicates a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases, moving from a CPU-bound scenario at lower settings to a heavily GPU-bound one at higher resolutions and presets.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and follows a predictable pattern, but the magnitude of the drop varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 159.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111.2 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 62.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 44% performance loss, indicating that even at the lowest settings, the Radeon RX 7600 XT is being pushed hard by the pixel count.

The High preset shows a similar trend, with frame rates dropping from 114.5 FPS at 1080p to 79.0 FPS at 1440p and 45.4 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1440p to 4K here results in a 43% decrease in performance, almost identical to the Low preset's scaling. This suggests that the resolution is the primary factor limiting performance at 4K, regardless of the visual complexity. However, the Ultra preset tells a different story. Here, performance drops from 72.2 FPS at 1080p to 50.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 32.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 36%, which is less severe than at other presets. This is because at Ultra settings, the GPU is already saturated at 1440p, so the additional pixel workload at 4K has a proportionally smaller impact.

The data suggests that at 1080p and Low settings, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as the 159.5 FPS figure is likely beyond what the GPU can efficiently render when unshackled from complex pixel work. As resolution increases to 4K, the RX 7600 XT becomes the definitive limiting component. The fact that the 4K Low preset (62.5 FPS) is faster than the 4K High preset (45.4 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, as reducing its workload directly translates to higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080 displays, the High preset offers an excellent balance, delivering 114.5 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset's 126.8 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 72.2 FPS, is also playable and offers the highest fidelity, but the 37% performance cost over High might not be worth it for the marginal visual gains, especially on a 1080p panel.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the sweet spot, achieving 79.0 FPS. This is an ideal frame rate for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset, at 88.6 FPS, is also viable if you prefer higher frame rates, but the step up to High provides a more substantial visual improvement. The Ultra preset is not recommended here, as its 50.8 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target that many gamers consider the baseline for a good experience.

For 3840x2160, the choices are limited. The Low preset is the only option that consistently hits above 60 FPS, with an average of 62.5 FPS. The Medium preset, at 49.6 FPS, and High preset, at 45.4 FPS, are playable but will be noticeably less smooth. The Ultra preset, at 32.6 FPS, is not recommended for a playable experience. Therefore, for 4K, users should prioritize the Low preset to maintain a playable frame rate, or accept the visual compromise of Medium or High for a more cinematic, albeit slower, experience.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is a 6 nm RDNA 3.0 part with a 204 mm² die size containing 13,300 million transistors. Its performance in Greedfall is defined by its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2755 MHz, with a game clock of 2470 MHz. The benchmark data positions this card in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20146. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600, which scores 20258, a delta of -0.6%, making the XT variant essentially a peer in raw compute.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The 4K results demonstrate that the 16 GB frame buffer is not a limiting factor at these settings, as even the Ultra preset's low frame rate (32.6 FPS) suggests the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-capacity-bound. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K (62.5 FPS down to 32.6 FPS) shows a 48% performance penalty for the highest preset, which is a massive cost. This is likely due to the increased shader complexity and texture filtering demands, which tax the 2048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units. The card's pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s are clearly insufficient for the demands of 4K Ultra in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates offers a comprehensive view of the configuration's behavior. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are: 159.5 FPS on Low, 126.8 FPS on Medium, 114.5 FPS on High, and 72.2 FPS on Ultra. This shows a 45% drop from Low to High, and a 55% drop from Low to Ultra. The system is clearly capable of high refresh-rate gaming at this resolution, even on the High preset.

At 2560x1440, the results are: 111.2 FPS on Low, 88.6 FPS on Medium, 79.0 FPS on High, and 50.8 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 54%, which is consistent with the 1080p scaling. This resolution represents the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the High preset maintaining a healthy margin above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are: 62.5 FPS on Low, 49.6 FPS on Medium, 45.4 FPS on High, and 32.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 48%, which is slightly less than at lower resolutions. This is because the pixel workload is so high that the relative cost of the additional settings features is proportionally smaller. This resolution is only viable on the Low preset for a consistent 60+ FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only if you are willing to lower settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers an average of 62.5 FPS, which is playable. The Medium and High presets average 49.6 and 45.4 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable on many displays.

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on the High preset is the optimal balance, delivering 79.0 FPS. This provides a high frame rate and significant visual improvements over the Low or Medium presets.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 7600 XT compare to its closest rival, the RX 7600?

A: Benchmark results indicate they are essentially tied. The RX 7600 XT has an average score of 20146, while the RX 7600 scores 20258, a delta of -0.6%. In practical terms, there is no measurable difference in Greedfall performance.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RX 7600 XT enough for Greedfall?

A: Yes, the measured data does not indicate any VRAM capacity limitations. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is compute-bound (32.6 FPS), not memory-bound, which would typically manifest as stuttering or texture pop-in, not just a low average frame rate.

Q: Will the Intel Core i7-14700KF bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: At lower resolutions and settings, yes. The 159.5 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient.

Q: What is the performance cost of the Ultra preset over High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 114.5 FPS, while Ultra averages 72.2 FPS. This represents a 37% performance reduction for the Ultra preset, which is a significant cost for the additional visual effects.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 33 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44557 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6290 in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 70104, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K (70074, delta 0%).

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. The jump from 1080p Low (159.5 FPS) to 1080p High (114.5 FPS) is a 28% decrease, which is a smaller drop than what is seen at higher resolutions. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU with enough frames to hit high numbers, but the GPU's workload still limits the final output. However, the fact that the 1080p Low result is so high suggests that the i7-14700KF's strong single-thread performance (6290 in Cinebench R23) is not a limiting factor. The processor's high core count and boost clock ensure that there is ample headroom for the game's AI and physics computations, preventing any CPU-side stutters or frame drops even when the GPU is fully saturated at 4K. The data confirms that this CPU is a capable partner for the RX 7600 XT, only becoming the primary bottleneck in scenarios where the GPU's workload is minimal.