Greedfall

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a performance profile in Greedfall that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings. The measured data shows a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, with frame rates dropping significantly as pixel count increases. This analysis breaks down the specific numbers, the role each component plays, and how this combo stacks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that remains playable across all tested resolutions, but with diminishing returns at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 191 FPS at 1920x1080 to 132 FPS at 2560x1440, a 31% reduction, and then to 79 FPS at 3840x2160, another 40% drop. This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, which is expected given the rendering load.

The Low settings preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the combo achieves 268 FPS, which drops to 186 FPS at 1440p and 111 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that even at the highest pixel density, the system does not become unplayable. However, the 58% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings highlights how much headroom is consumed by the increased pixel count.

Medium settings present a similar trend with 210 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K narrows compared to High settings, which suggests the Medium preset is less demanding on the GPU, allowing the CPU to maintain a more consistent frame delivery. The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline, starting at 122 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 84 FPS at 1440p, and finally 50 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating a hard limit for this combination.

The scaling data points to the RX 7900 XT as the bottleneck at 4K, particularly on Ultra settings. At 1080p, the high frame rates across all presets suggest the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately, but the rapid decline at 4K indicates the GPU's rendering throughput is the ceiling. The 1440p results sit in a comfortable middle ground, offering a balanced trade-off between visual fidelity and performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for Greedfall, a 2019 Action RPG that does not typically demand extreme VRAM capacities. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 50, the system does not appear to be memory-starved, as the frame rate decline aligns more with compute limitations than memory bandwidth constraints.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1387 MHz base and 2394 MHz boost, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. These clocks are relatively high, contributing to the strong performance at lower resolutions. The 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs provide ample pixel throughput, which is evident in the 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate. This explains why the card can push 268 FPS at 1080p Low, as the pixel workload is well within its capabilities.

However, the GPU's percentile rank of 55 among all GPUs is noteworthy, as it places the RX 7900 XT in the middle of the pack despite its high-end specifications. The benchmark scores reflect this: the PassMark G3D score is 29009, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5623. These numbers suggest that while the card is capable, it does not dominate the field, which is consistent with the 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS.

The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the AMD Radeon 660M with an average score of 13812 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile at 13821 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT at 13543 (1.5% lower). These close margins indicate that the RX 7900 XT's average benchmark score of 13745 is competitive but not exceptional. In Greedfall specifically, the GPU's performance at 4K Ultra suggests it is operating near its limits, while at 1080p it has significant headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in Greedfall is 551 out of 2938 tested combinations, placing it in the top 19% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, though not elite, and the ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU. The CPU's percentile rank of 89 among all CPUs is notably higher than the GPU's rank of 55, which suggests the processor is relatively stronger compared to its peers than the graphics card is.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 with an average score of 46030 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HX at 46098 (0.1% lower), and the AMD EPYC 4364P at 45970 (0.2% higher). These differences are negligible, indicating the Ultra 5 235 is well-positioned in its segment. The GPU's nearest rivals show similar tight margins, as mentioned previously, which means the combo's rank is more dependent on the game's specific demands than on raw component scores.

In the context of Greedfall, the 551st rank out of 2938 combos means there are 550 configurations that perform better, but also over 2300 that perform worse. This places the combo in the upper quartile of tested systems, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing playable frame rates at all resolutions except 4K Ultra. The rank likely benefits from the CPU's strong single-thread performance, as Greedfall is an Action RPG that may not fully utilize all cores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 268 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. Medium settings reduce the average to 210 FPS with a minimum of 179 and maximum of 242, showing a consistent frame delivery. High settings average 191 FPS, while Ultra drops to 122 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 146 FPS, which demonstrates the significant impact of graphical fidelity settings on performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear reduction. Low settings average 186 FPS, Medium averages 146 FPS with a range of 124 to 168, and High averages 132 FPS. Ultra falls to 84 FPS, which is still smooth for most displays. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% across all presets, which aligns with the 1.78x increase in pixel count, suggesting the GPU is scaling predictably.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops more sharply. Low settings average 111 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a range of 74 to 100, and High averages 79 FPS. Ultra is the outlier at 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The 4K results show that the combo is playable on Low through High settings, but Ultra requires a compromise. The Medium preset at 4K offers a 74 FPS minimum, which provides a reasonable safety margin for frame time spikes.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides a balanced experience across all resolutions, with the 1080p result of 210 FPS being particularly strong. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, exacts a heavy toll, especially at 4K where the 50 FPS average suggests the GPU is maxed out.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This configuration is notable for having no hyper-threading, meaning each core handles one thread, which can impact heavily threaded workloads. However, Greedfall is not a title that typically scales with many threads, so the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread capabilities: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4516. These numbers are competitive with the nearest rivals, as the average benchmark score of 46062 is within 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 7303 and 0.1% of the Intel Core i9-13900HX. The multi-core scores, such as Cinebench R23 multi-core of 14769 and PassMark multi-thread of 37816, are also solid for a 14-core part.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role becomes apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p Low, the 268 FPS result indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively, and the boost clock of 5.00 GHz likely plays a key role in maintaining high frame rates in single-threaded sections. The 14 cores provide ample headroom for background tasks and any multi-threaded game logic, but the lack of hyper-threading does not appear to hinder performance in this title.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient on-chip memory for game data, and the DDR5 dual-channel memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensures the CPU can access system memory quickly. The 65 W TDP is modest, which may contribute to sustained boost clocks during long gaming sessions, though this is not directly measured in the FPS data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 210 FPS with a minimum of 179, providing a high frame rate with a safety margin for demanding scenes. At 1440p, the 146 FPS average with a 124 FPS minimum is smooth for high-refresh-rate displays. At 4K, the 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum stays above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming.

The High preset is also viable, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where it delivers 191 FPS and 132 FPS respectively. However, at 4K, the 79 FPS average is close to the edge, and the lack of a minimum FPS figure in the data makes it less predictable than Medium. For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, High at 1440p is a strong option, but Medium at 4K provides better consistency.

The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, as the 50 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stuttering. At 1080p and 1440p, Ultra delivers 122 FPS and 84 FPS, which are playable, but the reduction from High is substantial. For users with high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p, the Low preset at 268 FPS may be tempting, but the visual trade-off is likely not worth the extra frames unless competitive play is the priority.

The Low preset is best reserved for maximum frame rates at 1080p or 1440p, where it achieves 268 FPS and 186 FPS respectively. At 4K, Low still provides 111 FPS, which is smooth, but the visual fidelity loss is significant. The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a good balance between performance and image quality across all resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 268, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, at 4K the combo averages 111 FPS on Low, 87 FPS on Medium, and 79 FPS on High, though Ultra drops to 50 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 551 out of 2938 tested combinations, placing it in the top 19% of all systems.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rival in benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13745, which is 1.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT but 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon 660M.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame rates?

A: The Medium preset shows the most consistency, with a minimum FPS of 179 at 1080p, 124 at 1440p, and 74 at 4K, all above the 60 FPS target.