Greedfall

Greedfall is a 2019 Action RPG that scales heavily with both CPU and GPU, but the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combo shows where the balance shifts. This pairing delivers a wide spread of frame rates depending on your resolution and quality target, from an extremely fluid 1080p experience to a demanding 4K Ultra load. The data indicates that this system is built for high-refresh gaming at 1440p and can handle 4K with adjusted settings, but the performance curve reveals a clear bottleneck progression as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about what limits this combo. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 191 at 1920x1080 to 132 at 2560x1440, then down to 79 at 3840x2160. That is a 59% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution climbs. The CPU has headroom to spare at lower resolutions, but the RX 7900 XT's rendering load at 4K dominates the equation.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. Low settings show the most dramatic absolute drop: 268 FPS at 1080p falls to 186 at 1440p and 111 at 4K. This 157 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K on Low shows that even when the GPU workload is reduced, the pixel count still severely impacts throughput. Medium settings follow the same trend, going from 210 to 146 to 87 FPS across the three resolutions. Ultra settings are the most punishing, with 122 FPS at 1080p dropping to 84 at 1440p and just 50 at 4K.

The limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, the high frame rates (268 FPS on Low) suggest the CPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the GPU is not fully saturated. By 1440p, the balance is more even, with the GPU starting to assert dominance. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck—the difference between Low (111 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) is 61 FPS, a 55% swing that points entirely to pixel processing and memory bandwidth demands. The i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads are not the constraint here; the RDNA 3 architecture is.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT brings 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a critical asset for Greedfall at 4K, where texture streaming and geometry data can consume significant memory. The 20 GB capacity means the card is unlikely to run out of VRAM even at Ultra settings in this title, allowing the framebuffer to breathe without swapping. The 5 nm Navi 31 chip, with 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs, provides the raw compute headroom, but the measured results show it is still the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Clock speeds are modest but effective: a base of 1387 MHz, a game clock of 2025 MHz, and a boost of 2394 MHz. The boost behavior is what drives the performance at lower resolutions, where the card can sustain higher clocks under lighter load. At 4K Ultra, the sustained load likely causes clocks to settle lower, contributing to the 50 FPS average. The 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 rating is theoretical, but the practical output at 4K is constrained by memory bandwidth and ROP throughput—the 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is the hard ceiling for fill-rate-bound scenes.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 55th among all GPUs is misleading in this context, as it reflects a broad benchmark aggregate, not Greedfall-specific performance. The nearest rival in that aggregate, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, is only 1.5% ahead, which suggests the 7900 XT is still competitive in general compute. In Greedfall, the data shows the card is adequate for 1440p high-refresh play but requires settings discipline at 4K. The 84 RT cores are irrelevant here—this game does not use ray tracing, so the rasterization pipeline is what matters.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 743rd out of 3703 tested combinations, placing it in the top 20% of all systems in the database. This is a strong position, but not elite—the rank reflects the GPU's mid-tier standing in the broader benchmark pool. The CPU's percentile of 94th among all processors is much higher, confirming that the i7-14700KF is not the weak link. The GPU's 55th percentile is the drag, and Greedfall's results mirror that imbalance.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks show how close the i7-14700KF is to other high-end chips. It sits 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% ahead of the Ryzen 9 7940HX, and 0.9% ahead of the Ryzen 9 7950X, while trailing the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K by 1%. These margins are negligible in gaming, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Greedfall when paired with the same GPU. The bottleneck is not the processor; it is the graphics card.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate scores are all lower-end or mobile parts, which highlights that the 7900 XT's average benchmark score of 13745 is dragged down by compute tests that do not reflect gaming. The RX 9070 XT is only 1.5% ahead in aggregate, yet in Greedfall, the 7900 XT's 20 GB VRAM and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth likely give it an edge in this texture-heavy title. The ranking data suggests that this combo is well-matched for 1440p, where the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, and the GPU can push high frame rates without hitting memory limits.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K, the data points to Medium as the sweet spot. The 4K Medium average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100 is the only 4K preset that stays above 60 FPS consistently. High at 4K drops to 79 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 4K is a non-starter at 50 FPS average—this is a slideshow for a fast-paced action RPG. Low at 4K is 111 FPS, but the visual quality loss is likely too severe for a game that relies on atmosphere and detail.

At 1440p, High is the recommended preset. The 132 FPS average is smooth, and the visual uplift over Medium (146 FPS) is minimal in terms of perceived quality. Ultra at 1440p is 84 FPS, which is fine if you prioritize image quality over refresh rate, but the 48 FPS drop from High to Ultra is steep. Medium at 1440p is 146 FPS with a 124 minimum, which is excellent for high-refresh monitors. For competitive play or maximum fluidity, Low at 1440p (186 FPS) is overkill for this single-player RPG.

At 1080p, every preset is playable, but the best experience per the measured rows is High at 191 FPS. Ultra at 122 FPS is still smooth, and Medium at 210 FPS is outstanding. Low at 268 FPS is only useful if you have a 240 Hz or higher monitor and chase absolute frame times. The 1080p data shows that the CPU is not holding back the GPU here—the i7-14700KF can feed the RX 7900 XT well past 190 FPS without stuttering.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows the combo's headroom. Low produces an average of 268 FPS, which is the highest measured result in this dataset. Medium delivers 210 FPS with a minimum of 179 and maximum of 242, indicating stable frame pacing. High drops to 191 FPS, still far above the 144 Hz threshold. Ultra is 122 FPS, which is the only 1080p preset that falls below 144 FPS, but it remains smooth for 60 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the scaling becomes more pronounced. Low averages 186 FPS, a 31% drop from 1080p Low. Medium is 146 FPS with a 124 minimum and 168 maximum, which is excellent for 144 Hz monitors. High is 132 FPS, still above the 120 FPS mark. Ultra is 84 FPS, which is playable but shows the GPU beginning to struggle with the higher pixel count. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is only 14 FPS, making High the better visual choice for a 10% frame rate cost.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low averages 111 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and indicates the game is not overly demanding at reduced settings. Medium is 87 FPS with a 74 minimum and 100 maximum, the best balance of quality and performance. High is 79 FPS, close to Medium but with a visual uplift that may justify the 8 FPS cost. Ultra is 50 FPS, which is not viable for smooth gameplay. The 4K data shows a 61 FPS spread from Low to Ultra, underscoring the GPU's sensitivity to settings in this resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but only with settings discipline. The 4K Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a 74 FPS minimum, while High drops to 79 FPS and Ultra falls to 50 FPS. For consistent play, Medium is the highest playable preset at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 2560x1440 at High settings provides 132 FPS average, which is the sweet spot between visual quality and frame rate. It offers 40% more frames than 4K High while still looking sharp.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K?

A: At High settings, 1080p averages 191 FPS versus 79 FPS at 4K, a 142% improvement. At Low settings, the gap is even larger: 268 FPS versus 111 FPS, a 141% increase.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the primary constraint, as the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom. At 4K, the GPU is definitively the bottleneck, with the RX 7900 XT's pixel rate and memory bandwidth limiting performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: Medium averages 146 FPS, while Ultra averages 84 FPS—a 62 FPS difference. This is a 74% performance penalty for the highest quality preset, which may not be worth it for the visual gains.

Q: Does the 20 GB VRAM make a difference in this game?

A: The 20 GB capacity and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth likely prevent texture pop-in and stuttering at 4K Ultra, where the GPU's 50 FPS average is limited by compute, not memory. The card does not appear VRAM-limited in any measured preset.