Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 action RPG from Spiders, presents an interesting scalability profile when paired with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet demonstrates the raw ceiling of the CPU at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings to determine where the bottleneck lies and what the optimal experience is.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K exposes a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 235 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 163 FPS, a 30.6% reduction. The jump to 4K High further reduces the average to 97 FPS, which is a 40.5% drop from 1440p and a 58.7% drop from 1080p. This steep decline with each resolution step indicates that the rendering load is scaling aggressively, and the RTX 5080 is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 329 FPS at 1080p to 228 FPS at 1440p (a 30.7% drop) and then to 136 FPS at 4K (a 40.4% drop from 1440p). This uniform scaling ratio suggests that the workload is purely pixel-bound; the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions, but the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity dictate the final output. The data shows that the RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are the constraining factors at 4K, where the 8,294,400 pixels per frame demand immense throughput.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and High settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, High is 28.6% slower than Low (235 vs 329 FPS). At 4K, High is 28.7% slower than Low (97 vs 136 FPS). This consistency implies that Greedfall's settings load the GPU evenly across the board, with no single setting causing a disproportionate spike. The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are far from saturated when the frame rate is below 100 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are formidable: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. In Greedfall, however, the CPU's role is more about maintaining a high floor than pushing the ceiling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 329 FPS, which is indicative of the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic at very high rates.

The data suggests that the i9-14900K is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. Even at 1080p Ultra, which produces 150 FPS, the CPU has sufficient headroom. The percentile rank of 95 versus all CPUs confirms its top-tier status. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the i9-14900K is 0.3% behind the Core i9-14900KF and 1.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in average benchmark score. This indicates that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for high-end gaming.

The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4, DDR5) provide ample bandwidth for game assets. In Greedfall, which is not a multi-threaded heavy title, the CPU's single-core performance is more relevant. The Geekbench single-core score of 2655 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2935 suggest that the per-core strength is more than adequate to keep up with the RTX 5080's output at lower resolutions. The data shows no scenario where the CPU's limitations would cap the frame rate below what the GPU can deliver.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the star of this show. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. Its benchmark results are strong, with a Passmark G3D score of 36565 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 255450. The percentile rank of 87 versus all GPUs places it in the upper echelon, though its nearest rivals show it is not the absolute fastest.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is decisive. At 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 62 FPS, which is the lowest measured result. This represents a 35.1% drop from 4K High (97 FPS) and a 54.4% drop from 4K Medium (107 FPS). The Ultra preset clearly imposes a massive load on the GPU, likely through high-quality shadows, textures, and post-processing effects that tax the shading units and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for 4K, but the compute demands of Ultra settings exceed what the GPU can handle at a smooth 60+ FPS.

Comparatively, the RTX 5080 is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark score. However, it is 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 5080 is competitive but not dominant in raw synthetic tests. In Greedfall, the measured data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving from High to Ultra. The GPU's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the key metric here, as Greedfall's rendering pipeline appears to be heavily shader-bound at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Greedfall?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 329, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 62, which does not comfortably exceed the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 56083, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S and 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, but 2.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K a bottleneck in Greedfall?

A: No. Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, suggesting a GPU-bound workload.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 235 at 1920x1080 to 97 at 3840x2160, a 58.7% decrease.

Q: Does the combo provide a playable experience at 1440p Medium?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 179, with a minimum FPS of 152, ensuring a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance is achieved at Medium settings. At 1440p Medium, the combo delivers an average of 179 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS, which is well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate monitors and provides a consistent frame pacing. The 4K Medium setting also performs admirably at 107 FPS average with a minimum of 91 FPS, making it viable for 4K gaming.

High settings are a reasonable choice for 4K, as the 97 FPS average is still above 60 FPS, but the margin is thinner. The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K, as the 62 FPS average is too close to the 60 FPS minimum for comfort, and frame drops could be noticeable. For competitive play or maximum frame rates, Low settings at 1080p yields 329 FPS, but this sacrifices visual quality. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a 10.3% FPS improvement over High at 1440p (179 vs 163) and a 23.7% improvement at 4K (107 vs 97), while likely maintaining most of the visual features that matter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its full potential. Low settings produce an average of 329 FPS. Medium settings yield 259 FPS, with a minimum of 220 FPS and a maximum of 297 FPS. High settings drop to 235 FPS average. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average of 150 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 179 FPS, showing the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates even with reduced GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the FPS scales down proportionally. Low settings average 228 FPS. Medium settings average 179 FPS, with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 206 FPS. High settings average 163 FPS. Ultra settings average 104 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU is starting to become more influential, but the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 136 FPS. Medium settings average 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS. High settings average 97 FPS. Ultra settings average 62 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one below 60 FPS, highlighting the extreme demands of the Ultra preset at this resolution. The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings offer the best balance of frame rate and stability across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks at position 220 out of 3703 combinations. This places it in the top 5.9% of all tested configurations, indicating a very high-performing setup. The rank reflects the combined strength of the CPU and GPU, with the CPU's 95th percentile performance and the GPU's 87th percentile performance contributing to a system that excels in this game.

The ranking is not surprising given the hardware. The i9-14900K's 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock provide a strong foundation, while the RTX 5080's 16 GB of VRAM and high bandwidth ensure that the GPU can handle the game's demands. The rank of 220 suggests that there are 219 combinations that perform better, likely including configurations with higher-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 or possibly multi-GPU setups. However, for a single-GPU, mainstream high-end configuration, this combo is exceptionally well-positioned.

The data indicates that the bottleneck in Greedfall is the GPU at higher resolutions, so users seeking to improve this rank would need to upgrade the GPU rather than the CPU. The CPU's performance is more than sufficient, as evidenced by the 1080p results where the GPU is the limiting factor even at Low settings. This rank solidifies the i9-14900K + RTX 5080 as a top-tier choice for Greedfall, offering excellent performance across all resolutions and settings.