Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

The combination of Intel's Core Ultra 5 245 processor and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card produces a system that ranks 2844 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the bottom 3% of all configurations measured. This pairing pairs a modern 14-core Arrow Lake desktop CPU with an end-of-life Turing-based GPU, and the benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics side of the equation at every resolution tested. The measured frames per second range from a playable 73 FPS at 1080p Low down to a slideshow-like 14 FPS at 4K Ultra, telling a clear story about where the bottleneck lives and what settings users must accept for a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K in Greedfall is severe and nonlinear, revealing a GPU-bound scenario at every step. At High settings, the system delivers 52 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 36 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls to 21 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 31% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 42% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total loss from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 31 FPS, or roughly 60% of the starting performance.

The scaling pattern at Low settings is even more telling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 73 FPS, which drops to 50 FPS at 1440p and 30 FPS at 4K. The 23 FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p is identical to the loss from 1440p to 4K, suggesting a consistent pixel-throughput limitation rather than a memory or bandwidth cliff. This linear degradation pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is saturated even at lower settings, where the render resolution becomes the dominant variable.

Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 57 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS recorded at Medium settings also scales predictably, with 48 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. These minimums sit roughly 16-20% below the averages, indicating some frame-time variance but no catastrophic stuttering events in the measured data.

Ultra settings produce the most dramatic degradation, with 33 FPS at 1080p collapsing to 23 FPS at 1440p and finally 14 FPS at 4K. The step from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra costs 10 FPS, and the step to 4K costs another 9 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the system is running at less than half the frame rate of 1080p High, and the 14 FPS average makes the game effectively unplayable at that configuration.

The data strongly implies that the GTX 1650's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit memory bus are the limiting factors. The consistent proportional scaling across settings — where each resolution increase costs roughly the same percentage regardless of quality preset — points to raw pixel throughput as the constraint, not CPU-side game logic or draw call overhead.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 14 cores and 14 threads running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU's benchmark results place it in the 90th percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 48995. In synthetic tests, it achieves 32924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4648 in single-core, numbers that place it within 1% of processors like the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and AMD Ryzen 9 7900, while edging out the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%.

In Greedfall specifically, the CPU's role appears minimal based on the measured FPS data. The game's frame rates at 1080p Low — 73 FPS — represent the highest measured result across all configurations, and this is far below what a CPU in the 90th percentile should be capable of delivering in a 2019 Action RPG. The game's release date of 2019-09-09 predates the CPU's 2025-01-06 release by over five years, meaning the title's engine was never designed to leverage the Core Ultra 5 245's architecture or its 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

The CPU's 14 threads and DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for Greedfall's threading model, which is unlikely to scale beyond a handful of cores. PassMark's multi-thread score of 38706 and physics score of 2569 suggest strong computational throughput, but the game's measured FPS never exceeds 73 even at the lowest settings, indicating that the GPU becomes the constraint long before the CPU's limits are reached.

The fact that FPS scales so consistently with resolution — with 1080p to 1440p and 1440p to 4K both producing similar percentage losses — confirms that the CPU is not introducing variable bottlenecks at higher resolutions. If the CPU were struggling, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at lower resolutions or exhibit inconsistent scaling patterns. Instead, the data shows clean, predictable degradation that is characteristic of a pure GPU limitation.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the clear performance ceiling in this system. This Turing-architecture GPU, built on TSMC's 12 nm process, features 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory operates on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s, and the card boosts to 1665 MHz with a base clock of 1485 MHz. The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 40th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average score of 7472 in PassMark G3D testing.

The nearest rivals to the GTX 1650 in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (0.3% higher), the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R7 350 (0.6% higher), while the Intel Arc A310 sits 1% below. This positioning in the lower-middle tier of GPU performance explains why the system ranks so poorly in Greedfall specifically — the game's measured FPS at 4K Ultra (14 FPS) and even 1080p Ultra (33 FPS) reflect a GPU that is fundamentally outclassed by the rendering demands of a 2019 title at high quality settings.

The GTX 1650's 4 GB memory capacity is particularly problematic for Greedfall at higher resolutions. While the game's textures at 1080p Medium (57 FPS) and High (52 FPS) fit within the memory budget, the jump to 4K at any setting produces frame rates that suggest the GPU is both bandwidth-limited and capacity-limited. The 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth is roughly one-third of what modern mid-range GPUs offer, and this becomes the hard ceiling for pixel throughput at 4K.

The GPU's PassMark DirectX scores are revealing: 58 for DirectX 11, 35 for DirectX 12, and 39 for DirectX 10, with a DirectX 9 score of 124. Greedfall's engine, released in 2019, would primarily leverage DirectX 11, and the modest score there aligns with the measured FPS data showing playable but not impressive performance at 1080p. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p gaming but insufficient for the pixel counts required at 1440p and 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this system is 1080p with Low settings, which delivers 73 FPS average. This is the only measured configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold comfortably, and it provides the smoothest experience available with this hardware combination. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which remains playable but introduces frame dips that could be noticeable in combat-heavy sequences typical of Action RPGs.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, 1080p High at 52 FPS is a reasonable compromise, though the lack of minimum FPS data for this setting means frame consistency is unknown. The 1080p Ultra setting at 33 FPS is not recommended, as the visual improvements over High are typically marginal while the performance cost is substantial — a 19 FPS drop that makes the game feel sluggish.

At 1440p, only Low settings (50 FPS) remain playable. Medium at 1440p delivers 40 FPS average with a 34 FPS minimum, which may be acceptable for slower-paced exploration but will struggle during combat. High at 1440p (36 FPS) and Ultra at 1440p (23 FPS) are both below the threshold for enjoyable action gameplay.

4K resolution is effectively unusable with this GPU. Even at Low settings, the 30 FPS average is marginal, and the step to Medium (24 FPS) and High (21 FPS) produces stutter-prone experiences. Ultra at 4K (14 FPS) is unplayable by any reasonable standard.

The data suggests that users should treat 1080p as the target resolution and choose between Low for maximum frame rate or Medium for a balance of quality and performance. The measured minimum FPS data at Medium (48 FPS at 1080p) indicates that this setting maintains acceptable frame pacing, making it the best choice for most players who want Greedfall to look decent while remaining responsive.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 2844 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the bottom 3.2% of all systems measured. This rank is striking when considering the CPU's strong benchmark performance — the Core Ultra 5 245 sits in the 90th percentile of all processors — but the GPU's 40th percentile ranking drags the overall system performance down dramatically.

The disconnect between CPU capability and in-game rank highlights how GPU-bound this pairing is. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core i5-14600K, would likely produce nearly identical Greedfall results when paired with the same GTX 1650, because the graphics card is the determining factor at every resolution and settings combination tested.

The combo rank of 2844 suggests that the overwhelming majority of tested systems in the database outperform this pairing in Greedfall. The 14 FPS difference between 1080p Low (73 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (33 FPS) represents the full range of playable performance available to users, which is a narrow band compared to systems with more capable GPUs.

This rank also implies that the GTX 1650, despite being a dedicated graphics card, performs closer to integrated graphics solutions in this title. The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel UHD Graphics 750, and while the GTX 1650 does deliver playable frame rates at 1080p Low, its overall positioning in the 40th percentile explains why the combo rank falls so low. Users with this system should understand that Greedfall will never deliver high-refresh-rate experiences, and the measured data confirms that even 60 FPS is only achievable at the lowest quality preset at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Greedfall?

A: The measured data shows 1080p Low at 73 FPS is the smoothest configuration, with 1080p Medium at 57 FPS (minimum 48 FPS) offering the best balance of visual quality and playability. Higher resolutions or quality presets produce frame rates below 52 FPS.

Q: Why does the system rank so poorly (2844 out of 2938) despite having a modern 14-core CPU?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The GTX 1650 sits in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 245 ranks in the 90th percentile of CPUs. In Greedfall, the GPU becomes saturated at all resolutions tested, preventing the CPU's capabilities from being utilized.

Q: Can this system run Greedfall at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not playably. The measured 4K frame rates are 30 FPS at Low, 24 FPS at Medium, 21 FPS at High, and 14 FPS at Ultra. Only the Low setting approaches playability, and even that is marginal.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 7472 is within 1% of the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7447), Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441), and AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425), while the Intel Arc A310 (7550) is 1% higher. This clustering places the GPU in the lower tier of tested graphics hardware.

Q: What is the frame consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS at Medium settings is 48 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. These minimums are roughly 16-20% below the averages, indicating moderate frame-time variance but no severe stuttering in the measured data.

Q: Does the CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache or 5.10 GHz boost clock help Greedfall performance?

A: The data does not indicate any CPU-side benefit in this game. Greedfall was released in 2019, and the measured FPS scales purely with resolution and settings, showing no evidence of CPU bottleneck relief from the Core Ultra 5 245's specifications.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 73 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS, providing consistent frame delivery. High settings reduce the average to 52 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 33 FPS — a 40 FPS gap between the lowest and highest quality presets at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably across all settings. Low settings average 50 FPS, maintaining playability but with a 23 FPS loss compared to 1080p. Medium settings average 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS, while High settings drop to 36 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p average 23 FPS, which is marginal for gameplay. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs between 10 and 15 FPS depending on the quality preset.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at any setting. Low settings average 30 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that approaches playability. Medium settings average 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and maximum of 27 FPS. High settings drop to 21 FPS, and Ultra settings average 14 FPS — the lowest measured result in the entire dataset. The total range at 4K spans only 16 FPS from Low to Ultra, confirming that the GPU is completely saturated at this resolution regardless of quality settings.

The measured data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step (1080p to 1440p to 4K) costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate at any given settings level, with Ultra settings showing the largest absolute drops. The system's practical performance envelope is 1080p at Low through High settings, with everything above that requiring significant compromises in visual quality or accepting sub-30 FPS gameplay.