Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combo ranks 188th out of 2,938 tested combinations for Greedfall, placing it in the top 6.4% of all configs evaluated. The pairing of Intel's 10-core Arrow Lake CPU with NVIDIA's Blackwell 2.0 flagship GPU delivers consistently high frame rates across all resolutions, though the performance scaling patterns reveal interesting bottleneck characteristics that shift depending on the settings preset selected.

How This Combo Ranks

The 188th position out of 2,938 combos indicates this system sits well above the median for Greedfall performance. With an 85th percentile CPU ranking and 87th percentile GPU ranking, both components are positioned in the upper tier of their respective hardware classes. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 averages 36,938 in the full benchmark suite, placing it within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F. The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 puts it 2.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, while remaining 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon 8060S.

In game-specific terms, this combo achieves playable frame rates at every resolution and settings combination tested. The lowest recorded average is 62 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still clears the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The highest average reaches 329 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. The ranking position reflects a balanced system where neither component severely limits the other in most scenarios, though specific workloads do reveal CPU-side constraints at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080 brings 16 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1875 MHz with 30 Gbps effective transfer rate. Core clocks are set at 2295 MHz base and 2617 MHz boost, driving 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture includes 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, providing 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

These specifications translate directly to Greedfall's performance envelope. At 4K High, the GPU maintains 97 FPS average, indicating strong rasterization throughput. The jump to 4K Ultra drops performance to 62 FPS, a 36% reduction that suggests the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the GPU's pixel and texture throughput. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for 4K operation, but the Ultra preset appears to add enough shading complexity to cut into the 97 FPS High preset result.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient for all tested configurations, as no memory-related stuttering or frame drops appear in the measured data. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth supports the high-resolution texture workloads Greedfall presents, particularly at 4K where bandwidth demands increase substantially. The GPU's 5 nm process node and 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die deliver this performance within a 360 W TDP envelope.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how workload shifts between components. At High settings, the combo delivers 235 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 30.6%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 40.5%. This accelerating decline as resolution increases is classic GPU-bound behavior—the RTX 5080 becomes the primary constraint at higher pixel counts.

Low settings tell a different story. The 1080p Low result of 329 FPS drops to 228 FPS at 1440p (30.7% reduction), then to 136 FPS at 4K (40.4% reduction). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest the GPU remains the limiting factor even at Low presets, though the absolute frame rates at 1080p approach CPU-side limits.

Medium settings show the smallest resolution penalty in percentage terms. From 259 FPS at 1080p to 179 FPS at 1440p is a 30.9% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (107 FPS) is a 40.2% reduction. Ultra settings follow the same pattern: 150 to 104 FPS (30.7% drop), then 104 to 62 FPS (40.4% drop). This consistent scaling behavior across all presets indicates the rendering pipeline in Greedfall scales predictably with pixel count, with the GPU handling the increased load without unexpected bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce 329 FPS average, Medium hits 259 FPS with a minimum of 220 and maximum of 297 FPS, High reaches 235 FPS, and Ultra achieves 150 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 54.4% performance reduction, giving players substantial flexibility in balancing visual quality against frame rate.

The 2560x1440 results show similar scaling with reduced headroom. Low settings average 228 FPS, Medium averages 179 FPS with a 152-206 FPS range, High reaches 163 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104 FPS. The 54.4% reduction from Low to Ultra mirrors the 1080p pattern, confirming consistent scaling behavior.

At 3840x2160, performance remains playable across all presets. Low settings achieve 136 FPS average, Medium produces 107 FPS with a 91-123 FPS range, High delivers 97 FPS, and Ultra maintains 62 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration below 90 FPS, but it still provides smooth gameplay for a 2019 action RPG. The Medium preset at 4K offers a particularly good balance with 107 FPS average and a minimum of 91 FPS ensuring consistent frame delivery.

The measured data includes min/max values only for Medium settings at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the 220-297 FPS range shows tight frame pacing with only a 29.7% spread between minimum and maximum. The 1440p Medium range of 152-206 FPS represents a 35.5% spread, while 4K Medium spans 91-123 FPS, a 35.2% variation. These ranges suggest consistent performance without major stuttering events.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provides 10 cores and 10 threads, running at 3.30 GHz base and 4.90 GHz boost clock. Built on TSMC's 3 nm process, this Arrow Lake-S architecture CPU includes 192 KB L1 cache per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, connected via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes.

In Greedfall, the CPU's single-thread performance appears sufficient for the game's logic and draw call processing. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,655 and multi-core score of 25,891 indicate strong per-thread performance that translates well to game workloads. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,412 and multithread score of 30,459 further confirm this CPU's capability.

The absence of hyperthreading (10 cores, 10 threads) does not appear to hinder Greedfall performance. The game likely does not scale beyond the physical cores available, and the high boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures responsive frame delivery. At 1080p Low settings, the 329 FPS result likely approaches CPU-side limits, but the lack of min/max data for Low presets prevents definitive bottleneck analysis. The 1080p Ultra result of 150 FPS suggests the GPU handles the increased settings load without exposing CPU limitations.

The 65 W TDP and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth provide sufficient resources for Greedfall's requirements. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking versus all CPUs places it in the upper tier, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%), and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%). These near-identical average scores indicate this CPU sits at a performance plateau among mid-range desktop processors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 259 FPS average with a 220 FPS minimum, ensuring smooth gameplay on any display. The 1440p Medium result of 179 FPS average with 152 FPS minimum provides excellent quality for high-refresh-rate monitors. Even at 4K, Medium maintains 107 FPS average with a 91 FPS minimum, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

The High preset represents a reasonable alternative for players prioritizing visual fidelity. At 1440p, High achieves 163 FPS average, while 4K High delivers 97 FPS. The visual improvements from Medium to High come at a 9.1% performance cost at 1440p (179 to 163 FPS) and 9.3% at 4K (107 to 97 FPS). These modest reductions make High a viable choice for players with G-Sync or FreeSync displays.

Ultra settings should only be considered for players with the most demanding visual expectations. At 1080p, Ultra maintains 150 FPS, which remains excellent. The 1440p Ultra result of 104 FPS is playable, but the 4K Ultra drop to 62 FPS leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The 36% reduction from High to Ultra at 4K (97 to 62 FPS) represents a significant visual return for a substantial performance cost.

Low settings provide maximum frame rates for competitive play, reaching 329 FPS at 1080p and 228 FPS at 1440p. These results suit players with 240 Hz or higher refresh rate displays, though the visual compromises may not justify the frame rate gains for most Greedfall players given the game's narrative focus.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured 4K Ultra average is 62 FPS, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the margin is slim at only 2 FPS, so demanding scenes could potentially drop below 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 150 FPS versus 235 FPS on High, a 36.2% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 163 to 104 FPS (36.2%). At 4K, Ultra yields 62 FPS versus 97 FPS on High, also a 36.1% reduction.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The 1440p Medium preset at 179 FPS average with a 152 FPS minimum offers an excellent balance of visual quality and frame rate. It provides high refresh rate capability while maintaining consistent frame delivery.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Greedfall?

A: The GPU appears to be the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent percentage drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings. At 1080p Low, the 329 FPS result may approach CPU limits, but the GPU's scaling pattern dominates most configurations.

Q: How does this combo compare to other RTX 5080 systems in Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 188th out of 2,938 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.4%. The RTX 5080's 87th percentile GPU ranking and the Core Ultra 5 225's 85th percentile CPU ranking both contribute to this strong overall position.

Q: Does the CPU's lack of hyperthreading affect Greedfall performance?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking from the 10-core/10-thread configuration. The 329 FPS result at 1080p Low and the consistent scaling across resolutions indicate the CPU handles Greedfall's threading requirements without limitation.