Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

This combination pairs a high-end 20-core Intel processor with an older mid-range Turing GPU, creating a system where the graphics card is the clear performance bottleneck in Greedfall. The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality settings reveals a pattern consistent with GPU-bound rendering, as the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and 1785 MHz boost clock struggle to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings. The CPU's substantial headroom — with a 44167 multi-core Cinebench R23 score — ensures that frame pacing is dictated almost entirely by the GPU's capability rather than processor throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, confirming that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 83 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58 FPS at 2560x1440, a 30% reduction, and then further to 35 FPS at 3840x2160 — a 58% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling curve suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput, rated at 85.68 GPixel/s, becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases.

The Low preset shows a similar trajectory: 117 FPS at 1080p, 81 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 59%, nearly identical to the High preset's 58% reduction. This consistency indicates that resolution scaling is independent of quality settings — the GPU's raw fill rate limits performance regardless of how much shading work is being done. Interestingly, the gap between Low and High at 1080p is 34 FPS (117 vs 83), but at 4K that gap narrows to just 13 FPS (48 vs 35), suggesting that at higher resolutions the pixel count dominates over shading complexity.

Medium settings at 4K yield 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, while Ultra at 4K drops to 22 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p manages 53 FPS, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K for Ultra is a 58% reduction, matching the other presets. This uniform scaling behavior points to a GPU that operates at its compute ceiling across all settings, with the 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput being the binding constraint rather than memory bandwidth or CPU capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, provides 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs. Its boost clock of 1785 MHz and 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus deliver 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Greedfall, this configuration produces playable but not exceptional results. The GPU's percentile rank of 53 among all GPUs places it squarely in the mid-range, with an average benchmark score of 12986.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity becomes a notable factor at 4K Ultra, where the 22 FPS average suggests the GPU is both compute-limited and potentially VRAM-constrained. While the data doesn't explicitly show memory capacity issues, the steep drop from Medium (38 FPS) to Ultra (22 FPS) at 4K — a 42% reduction — is larger than the 1080p drop from Medium (92 FPS) to Ultra (53 FPS) at 42%, indicating that higher resolution amplifies the cost of Ultra settings. The GPU's nearest rivals include the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.4% ahead) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 (0.4% ahead), showing that this card sits in a competitive but aging segment.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 50 and DirectX 11 score of 104 indicate modest API performance, though Greedfall's engine appears to scale predictably with the GPU's capabilities. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and the 192-bit bus provide sufficient bandwidth for 1080p gaming, but at 4K the 336.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor. The GPU's texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s are the hardware specs that explain the resolution scaling observed in the FPS data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF presents a stark contrast to the GPU's modest capabilities. With 20 cores and 28 threads, a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this Raptor Lake Refresh processor is an absolute powerhouse. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core provide ample on-chip storage for game data.

In Greedfall, the CPU is never the bottleneck. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed and the frame rate reaches 117 FPS, the processor's single-thread performance — a Geekbench single-core score of 2578 — is more than sufficient. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% ahead in average score) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (1% behind), demonstrating that this chip competes at the top tier. However, the measured FPS in Greedfall never approaches levels where CPU threading would matter; the highest observed average is 117 FPS, well below the thresholds where a 20-core processor would show any strain.

The CPU's launch MSRP is $384, and its 125 W TDP indicates a high-power part, but the game performance is overwhelmingly GPU-limited. The Passmark multi-thread score of 52425 and physics score of 2961 further confirm that the processor has abundant headroom for any game logic or physics calculations Greedfall might require. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU produces only 22 FPS, the CPU's utilization would be minimal — the frame rate is constrained by the GPU's ability to shade pixels, not by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1660 SUPER delivers playable frame rates across most settings. Low settings produce 117 FPS average, which is smooth for any display. Medium settings yield 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS, providing a comfortable experience. High settings drop to 83 FPS, still well within playable territory. Ultra settings, however, fall to 53 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter on high-refresh displays but remains playable on standard 60 Hz monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings maintain 81 FPS, but Medium drops to 64 FPS (minimum 54, maximum 73), High falls to 58 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 37 FPS. The 1440p Medium and High presets are borderline playable, but the Ultra preset at 37 FPS would likely feel sluggish in combat-heavy action RPG scenarios. The minimum FPS of 54 at Medium suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unsuitable for smooth gameplay. Low settings produce 48 FPS, Medium drops to 38 FPS (minimum 32, maximum 44), High falls to 35 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22 FPS. Even the best 4K result — 48 FPS at Low — barely approaches the 60 FPS target. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this GPU requires significant compromises: Low settings for near-playable frame rates or Medium for a visually richer but less smooth experience.

The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution reveals the GPU's scaling efficiency: 64 FPS at 1080p, 44 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. This narrowing delta suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU's raw throughput is so taxed that even reducing settings cannot fully compensate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3167 out of 3703 combos. This places it in the bottom 15% of all tested configurations, reflecting the significant mismatch between the high-end CPU and the older mid-range GPU. The rank is determined by measured FPS performance, which is dominated by the GPU's capability in this title.

The CPU's top-tier status — 94th percentile among all CPUs — does not translate to a high combo rank because Greedfall is not CPU-intensive. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of the combo's position. The nearest GPU rivals — the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580, both within 0.4% of the GTX 1660 SUPER's average score — would likely produce similar frame rates, while pairing this CPU with a higher-tier GPU would dramatically improve the combo's rank.

The 3703 total combos in the database include a wide range of CPU-GPU pairings, and this particular configuration sits near the bottom due to the GPU's age and performance class. The measured FPS data confirms that the combo's rank accurately reflects its real-world performance in Greedfall, with the GPU being the sole limiting factor across all tested scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p in Greedfall?

A: Yes, at Low, Medium, and High settings. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 is 117 for Low, 92 for Medium, and 83 for High. Ultra settings fall short at 53 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable configuration for this combo?

A: Based on the data, 1920x1080 with High settings (83 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, Medium settings (64 FPS) are the highest playable option, while 3840x2160 requires Low settings (48 FPS) for near-playable frame rates.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest competitors?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, placing it 0.4% behind the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and 0.4% ahead of the RX 580. The Tesla M2090 is 0.7% ahead, and the Radeon 740M is 0.9% behind.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (3167 out of 3703) despite having a top-tier CPU?

A: The CPU is in the 94th percentile of all processors, but Greedfall's performance is GPU-bound. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking and the measured FPS data show that the graphics card limits frame rates, dragging down the overall combo rank.

Q: What happens to frame rates when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 83 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p and 35 at 4K — a 58% reduction from 1080p to 4K. Low settings show a similar 59% drop, from 117 to 48 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU's performance relevant to this game's results?

A: No, the data shows the CPU is never the limiting factor. Even at 1080p Low (117 FPS), the processor has substantial headroom, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 that far exceed the demands of Greedfall's engine.