Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG from Spiders, presents an interesting performance profile on the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination. The measured data shows a system that is clearly capable of high frame rates, yet the scaling across resolutions and settings reveals a nuanced relationship between the CPU and GPU. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component roles, and settings recommendations for this specific pairing, drawing only from the provided benchmark information.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Greedfall shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, but the degree of that scaling is telling. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers 167 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 116 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. Stepping up to 4K High further reduces the average to 69 FPS, which is another 40% drop from the 1440p figure. This pronounced decline from 1080p to 4K indicates that the Radeon RX 9070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, with the CPU having less influence as pixel count rises.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this. At 1080p, Low settings produce 234 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 107 FPS. That is a 127 FPS spread, showing that the GPU is doing substantial work even at the lowest preset. At 1440p, the spread between Low (162 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) is 88 FPS, and at 4K it narrows to 53 FPS (Low at 97 FPS and Ultra at 44 FPS). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions is a hallmark of GPU limitation; when the GPU is saturated at 4K, the difference between settings becomes less about headroom and more about raw pixel throughput.

Looking at the 4K data specifically, the jump from Medium (76 FPS) to High (69 FPS) is a modest 7 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra (44 FPS) is a steep 25 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that are disproportionately expensive at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 44 FPS is below the 60 FPS target most gamers consider smooth, indicating that this preset is not viable at this resolution with this hardware. The 4K Medium result, with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS, is the first 4K setting that maintains a playable frame rate without dipping below 60 FPS.

The 1440p results show a similar pattern but with more headroom. High settings at 1440p produce 116 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. Even 1440p Ultra, at 74 FPS, remains playable, though it is nearly half the frame rate of the Low preset at the same resolution. The data suggests that at 1440p, the system is balanced between CPU and GPU demands, with neither component fully saturated at the mid-range settings. At 1080p, the CPU begins to show its influence, as the 234 FPS Low result is far beyond what most displays can show, indicating the GPU is not the bottleneck at this lower resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, is the central figure in Greedfall’s performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. In a game like Greedfall, which is an open-world Action RPG with large environments, this memory capacity and bandwidth are crucial for loading textures and geometry without stutter. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system does not appear to run into memory limitations, as the frame rates are consistent with GPU compute limits rather than memory swapping issues.

The GPU’s clock behavior is also relevant. The base clock is 1330 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The difference between game and boost clocks suggests that under sustained load, the card settles into a 2070 MHz range, with boost headroom available for lighter scenes. In Greedfall, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (234 FPS) likely allows the GPU to reach higher boost clocks, while at 4K Ultra, the sustained load may force the card to operate closer to its game clock. This is consistent with the observed scaling; the GPU has less boost headroom when fully utilized.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rivals in this database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which is 1.2% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 6800S, which is 0.8% slower. These rivals are older architectures, and the RX 9070’s position among them indicates it is a solid mid-range performer, not a flagship. In Greedfall, this translates to 4K High being playable at 69 FPS but 4K Ultra being too demanding at 44 FPS.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 benchmark score is notably low at 74, while its DirectX 11 score is 281. Greedfall was released in 2019 and likely runs on DirectX 11 by default, which may explain why the performance is better than the DirectX 12 score suggests. The PassMark G3D score of 25381 and the compute score of 14737 indicate strong overall throughput, but the game-specific results show that Greedfall is sensitive to certain rendering features. The 4K Ultra preset, which likely enables high-quality shadows, reflections, and post-processing, pushes the RX 9070 to its limits.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend heavily on the target resolution and frame rate. For 4K displays, the Medium preset is the clear choice. The 4K Medium result of 76 FPS average, with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS, provides a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High preset at 69 FPS is also acceptable, but it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. 4K Ultra at 44 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below playable thresholds and the visual difference from High is unlikely to justify the 25 FPS loss.

For 1440p, the High preset at 116 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a substantial improvement over the 4K experience and remains well above 60 FPS. The 1440p Ultra preset at 74 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, but the 42 FPS gap between High and Ultra suggests diminishing returns. The 1440p Medium preset at 127 FPS is nearly as fast as High and may be preferable for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the difference between 116 and 127 FPS is marginal. The 1440p Low preset at 162 FPS is only useful for competitive play, but Greedfall is not a competitive shooter.

At 1080p, the data shows that the system is rarely GPU-bound. The 1080p High preset at 167 FPS is excellent, and the 1080p Medium preset at 184 FPS is even better for high-refresh-rate displays. The 1080p Ultra preset at 107 FPS is the only setting that drops below 150 FPS, but it still maintains a playable frame rate. For most users, the 1080p High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the jump to Ultra costs 60 FPS for what is often a subtle visual improvement in a game from 2019.

The measured data also includes minimum and maximum FPS for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 156 FPS and the maximum is 211 FPS, showing a tight range that indicates consistent performance. At 1440p Medium, the range is 108 to 147 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 65 to 87 FPS. These ranges suggest that the Medium preset provides the most stable frame pacing across all resolutions, making it the safest choice for a consistent experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best 4K setting for Greedfall with this CPU and GPU?

A: The 4K Medium preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. The 4K High preset averages 69 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p produces 167 FPS, while 4K produces 69 FPS. This means 1080p is approximately 142% faster, or more than double the frame rate of 4K. At Low settings, the difference is even larger, with 234 FPS at 1080p versus 97 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Greedfall?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K and 1440p, as frame rates scale significantly with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 234 FPS result suggests the CPU may become more relevant, but the GPU remains the limiting factor for most settings.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The 1440p Medium preset has a minimum of 108 FPS, a maximum of 147 FPS, and an average of 127 FPS. This shows consistent performance with a 39 FPS spread.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest rivals in this database?

A: The RX 9070’s average benchmark score is 23877, which is 1.2% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and 0.8% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800S. It is 0.6% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset ever reach 60 FPS?

A: No, the 4K Ultra preset averages 44 FPS, with no minimum or maximum provided in the data. This is well below the 60 FPS target, making the preset unsuitable for this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This is a desktop CPU with a 65 W TDP, and its benchmark scores place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062. In Greedfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the measured FPS data shows that it is largely successful at this task.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which is 0.1% faster, and the Intel Core i9-13900HX, which is 0.1% slower. This puts the Ultra 5 235 in a competitive position, though its 14 cores and 14 threads are unusual; most modern CPUs with this core count support hyperthreading, but this one does not. The lack of extra threads may not matter for Greedfall, which is a 2019 title that likely uses fewer than eight threads effectively. The single-core performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085, is strong and should not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios.

The 1080p Low result of 234 FPS is the clearest evidence of CPU capability. At this resolution and settings, the GPU is underutilized, and the CPU is responsible for pushing as many frames as possible. The fact that the system reaches 234 FPS suggests the Ultra 5 235 can handle high draw call counts without issue. However, the gap between 1080p Low (234 FPS) and 1080p High (167 FPS) is 67 FPS, which indicates that the GPU begins to take over as settings increase, even at 1080p. This is a healthy balance; the CPU is not so fast that it wastes performance, nor so slow that it limits the GPU at higher settings.

The CPU’s memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Greedfall is not a memory-bandwidth-intensive game, so this figure is likely sufficient. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache is also adequate for a game of this era. The CPU’s integrated graphics, Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 24EU, are irrelevant for this analysis since the discrete RX 9070 is present, but they do indicate that the CPU includes a basic display output for troubleshooting.

The PassMark multithread score of 37816 and the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 show that the CPU is a solid all-around performer, but Greedfall’s engine is unlikely to scale perfectly with all 14 cores. The data shows that the system’s performance at 1440p and 4K is clearly GPU-limited, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops when resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is more involved, but the GPU still determines the final output at higher presets. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, such as game physics and AI, are handled quickly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Greedfall with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 is as follows, broken down by resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 234 FPS, with no minimum or maximum provided. The Medium preset averages 184 FPS, with a minimum of 156 FPS and a maximum of 211 FPS. The High preset averages 167 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 107 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 127 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant work to do even at this lower resolution. The Medium preset’s range of 156 to 211 FPS indicates a 55 FPS variance, which is the largest of any resolution, suggesting that the CPU and GPU are both active in pushing frames.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain high. The Low preset averages 162 FPS. The Medium preset averages 127 FPS, with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS. The High preset averages 116 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 88 FPS, narrower than at 1080p. The Medium preset’s range of 108 to 147 FPS is a 39 FPS variance, which is tighter than the 1080p Medium result, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly GPU-bound. The Low preset averages 97 FPS. The Medium preset averages 76 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 87 FPS. The High preset averages 69 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 44 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, the narrowest of all resolutions. The Medium preset’s range of 65 to 87 FPS is a 22 FPS variance, showing that the GPU is delivering consistent performance at 4K. The Ultra preset at 44 FPS is the only data point below 60 FPS, and it represents a 32 FPS drop from the High preset, which is a significant penalty for the highest settings.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 234 FPS at 1080p, 162 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K. This is a 58% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern: 107 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K, a 59% drop. This consistency indicates that the GPU’s performance scales predictably with pixel count, and the CPU does not introduce any unexpected bottlenecks. The Medium preset, which has full data, shows a 1080p average of 184 FPS, a 1440p average of 127 FPS, and a 4K average of 76 FPS, with the 4K minimum of 65 FPS being the lowest recorded frame rate outside of the Ultra preset.

The data also shows that the High preset is the most consistent in terms of average FPS across resolutions, with 167 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. This makes High a predictable choice for users who want to know what to expect. The Ultra preset, by contrast, shows a steep drop from 1440p to 4K, suggesting that the 4K Ultra settings are disproportionately demanding. The measured data confirms that Greedfall is a demanding title at 4K Ultra, but the system handles 4K Medium and 1440P High with ease, making those the recommended configurations for a balanced experience.