Greedfall

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

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on a 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, which places it among the highest-clocking desktop CPUs in the database. The chip carries 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface, and its PCIe interface is Gen 5 with 16 lanes available from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, this processor posts strong numbers: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. Geekbench results show 21697 multi-core and 2655 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 58674, with a single-thread score of 4697. The CPU sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which scores 79371 (a delta of -0.3% relative to the i9-14900K), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at 79574 (-0.6%). The AMD EPYC 7413 is 1.2% ahead at 80041, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 trails by 1.7% at 77740.

For Greedfall, an Action RPG released in 2019, the CPU's high single-thread performance is relevant for game logic, AI, and physics that often rely on fewer cores. The 24-core configuration ensures that background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems do not bottleneck. However, the measured FPS data in this combo shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 84 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the dataset. The jump from Low to Ultra at the same resolution drops the average to 38 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU, not the CPU, is governing performance. The i9-14900K's 6.00 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom for the game's single-threaded workloads, but the data indicates that the GPU's output ceiling is reached well before the CPU's capacity is strained.

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

The measured rows cover four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 84 FPS average, Medium drops to 66 FPS, High to 60 FPS, and Ultra to 38 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS, indicating a playable range with some variance. High at 1080p holds 60 FPS average, which is acceptable for many users but leaves no headroom for dips. Low at 1080p offers the smoothest experience with 84 FPS, but the visual compromise may be unnecessary given the game's age.

At 2560x1440, Low provides 58 FPS average, Medium 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), High 42 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is the most balanced option, staying above 39 FPS even in minimum frames. At 3840x2160, Low drops to 35 FPS, Medium to 27 FPS (min 23, max 32), High to 25 FPS, and Ultra to 16 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach 60 FPS, and even the Low preset falls short of a smooth 30 FPS threshold.

The best experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1920x1080, which delivers 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target while maintaining a moderate visual quality. For users willing to accept lower fidelity, Low at 1080p offers 84 FPS, but the medium preset's balance of frame rate and image quality is superior. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it stays above 39 FPS minimum and delivers 46 FPS average. Ultra presets are not recommended at any resolution, as they produce average FPS below 40 even at 1080p.

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

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance cliff that points directly to the GPU as the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 84 at 1920x1080 to 58 at 2560x1440, then to 35 at 3840x2160. That is a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 40% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 66, 46, and 27 FPS respectively—a 30% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. High settings follow a similar pattern: 60, 42, and 25 FPS, with 30% and 40% reductions. Ultra settings produce 38, 27, and 16 FPS, representing 29% and 41% declines.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is telling. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat when resolution increases, because the CPU's workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the FPS falls by roughly 30% from 1080p to 1440p and another 40% from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the graphics preset. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the render resolution directly impacts the frame rate.

The Intel Arc B390's performance characteristics support this interpretation. The GPU has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). These are entry-level or legacy parts, indicating that the Arc B390's absolute performance is very low. The FPS scaling data confirms that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU's strong single-thread and multi-thread scores never come into play at any resolution above 1080p Low.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2595 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the bottom 12% of all combinations, a poor showing that is directly attributable to the GPU's low performance. The CPU alone sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, so the processor is not the reason for this low rank. The GPU, however, sits at the 9th percentile, and its benchmark score of 1482 is near the bottom of the database.

The rank of 2595 out of 2938 means that 343 combos perform worse than this pairing. Given that the GPU's nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts from the GT 500/600/700 series and the 800M mobile line, the Arc B390 is in the company of very old, low-end hardware. The CPU's high percentile does not rescue the combo because Greedfall's performance at the measured settings is overwhelmingly GPU-bound. The rank reflects the system's actual in-game FPS, not the theoretical capabilities of the individual components.

For context, the i9-14900K's nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are all within 1.7% of its average score, showing that the processor is competitive with the best available. But the combo rank in Greedfall is determined by the measured FPS, which is capped by the GPU. This disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low rank underscores the importance of pairing components appropriately. A user who invested in the i9-14900K would see almost no benefit in this game from the CPU's power, as the Arc B390 holds the system back.

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

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution built on the Xe3-LPG architecture, using Intel's 3 nm process. It is part of the Arc Graphics-M generation for Panther Lake. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output units, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means the GPU's memory performance depends on the host system's RAM configuration.

The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and the FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. FP16 performance is 15.36 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio. The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it has no power connectors because it is an IGP (integrated graphics processor). It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," indicating this is designed for mobile or embedded use.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it at the 9th percentile. The nearest rivals are all NVIDIA GPUs from the GT 500/600/700 series and the 800M mobile line, with deltaPct values ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%. These are extremely low-end parts, and the Arc B390's performance is comparable to them. In Greedfall, the GPU's limited compute and memory bandwidth result in the low FPS numbers measured. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is high, but the small number of shading units (1536) and the shared memory system limit its real-world throughput. The GPU's lack of dedicated VRAM means that texture-heavy scenes at high resolutions will suffer from memory bandwidth contention with the CPU, further reducing performance.

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

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 84 for Low, 66 for Medium, 60 for High, and 38 for Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS, providing the only complete frame time data at this resolution. Other presets do not have min/max values listed.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 58 for Low, 46 for Medium, 42 for High, and 27 for Ultra. The Medium preset again has the only min/max data, with 39 FPS minimum and 53 FPS maximum.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 35 for Low, 27 for Medium, 25 for High, and 16 for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 32 FPS.

The data reveals a few notable trends. First, the difference between Low and High at 1080p is 24 FPS (84 vs 60), which is a 29% reduction. At 1440p, the difference between Low and High is 16 FPS (58 vs 42), a 28% reduction. At 4K, the difference between Low and High is 10 FPS (35 vs 25), a 29% reduction. The consistent percentage gap suggests that the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings, and the absolute FPS values are low enough that even the most forgiving preset cannot achieve smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings are particularly punishing. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for most users. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 27 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 16 FPS. These numbers indicate that Ultra presets should be avoided entirely for this combo. The Medium preset at 1080p is the only configuration that reliably stays above 55 FPS, and even then, the minimum of 56 FPS leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at Low or Medium settings, with any higher resolution or preset resulting in sub-optimal frame rates.

# FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 84. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 66 FPS, which is still above 60, but the minimum of 56 FPS means it can dip below the target. At 1440p or higher, no preset achieves a 60 FPS average.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with an average of 46 FPS and a minimum of 39 FPS. Low at 1440p offers 58 FPS average, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. Ultra at 1440p is not viable, with an average of 27 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all very low-end parts, and the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Why is the CPU's high performance not reflected in the game FPS?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K is at the 95th percentile among CPUs, but the combo ranks 2595 out of 2938 in Greedfall. The GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K. The FPS drops by roughly 30% from 1080p to 1440p and another 40% from 1440p to 4K, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: Is the Ultra preset usable at any resolution?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 38. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 27. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 16. None of these are close to a playable 60 FPS target, and even the 30 FPS console-like threshold is only met at 1080p.

Q: What does the Medium preset's min/max data tell us?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 56 FPS and the maximum is 76 FPS, showing a 20 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the range is 39 to 53 FPS, a 14 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 23 to 32 FPS, a 9 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, reducing frame time variance but also capping the average FPS.