Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a high-performance Greedfall experience characterized by strong 1080p and 1440p throughput, with 4K requiring some settings adjustments to maintain fluid motion. Benchmark measurements indicate this pairing ranks 127th out of 2,938 tested combos for this Action RPG, placing it comfortably in the top 5% of all configurations. The system demonstrates the RTX 4090's raw compute power while revealing CPU limitations at lower resolutions and GPU bandwidth constraints at extreme settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 160 FPS, but this falls to 111 FPS at 1440p Ultra and further to 66 FPS at 4K Ultra. This represents a 58.75% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting factor at higher resolutions with maximum graphical load.

The scaling behavior differs notably across settings presets. At Low settings, the 1080p average of 351 FPS drops to 243 FPS at 1440p (a 30.8% reduction) and then to 145 FPS at 4K (a 40.3% reduction from 1440p). This steeper decline at 4K Low compared to the 1440p transition suggests the memory bandwidth and pixel throughput of the RTX 4090 are being taxed even at minimal graphical complexity, though the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high. At Medium settings, the progression from 276 FPS (1080p) to 191 FPS (1440p) to 114 FPS (4K) shows a more consistent ~30% drop per resolution step, reflecting a balanced workload between CPU and GPU.

High settings produce the smoothest scaling curve: 250 FPS at 1080p, 174 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K. This translates to reductions of 30.4% and 40.2% respectively. The data suggests that at High preset, the system maintains a more uniform bottleneck profile across resolutions, whereas Ultra settings disproportionately penalize 4K performance due to the RTX 4090's shader and ROP throughput being saturated. The 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS is particularly notable, as it falls below the 97 FPS minimum observed at 4K Medium, indicating that the Ultra preset introduces rendering paths that are significantly more demanding on the GPU's 176 ROPs and 512 TMUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the AD102 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, is the dominant component in this configuration for Greedfall. Its factory boost clock of 2520 MHz and base clock of 2235 MHz provide the computational backbone, with 16,384 shading units delivering an FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU's memory subsystem is equally imposing: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus yields 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 21 Gbps effective memory speed, which proves critical for the 4K Ultra scenario where texture streaming and geometry loads spike.

The RTX 4090's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are relevant for Greedfall's modern rendering features, though the benchmark data does not isolate ray tracing effects. The measured scores place this GPU at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% faster), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% slower), which contextualizes its position relative to professional and workstation cards rather than gaming-focused alternatives.

In Greedfall specifically, the GPU's role becomes most apparent at 4K Ultra, where the 66 FPS average suggests the card is operating near its limits. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are the likely constraints at this resolution, as the fill-rate demands of 8.3 million pixels per frame at 60+ FPS approach the GPU's theoretical maximum. At 1080p Low, the 351 FPS result demonstrates that the RTX 4090 has ample headroom when pixel throughput is not the bottleneck, shifting the performance limit to the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 127 out of 2,938 tested configurations places this pairing in the top 4.3% of all systems evaluated for Greedfall. This rank reflects a synergistic match between the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the RTX 4090, where neither component consistently bottlenecks the other across the tested resolution spectrum. The ranking is particularly impressive given that the CPU itself sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU achieves only the 88th percentile — suggesting the combined performance exceeds what either component's individual percentile would predict.

The CPU's nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% slower), Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (0.6% faster), and Intel Core i5-14600K (0.8% faster). These small deltas indicate that the Ultra 5 245 performs within a tight band around its expected position, yet the Greedfall combo ranking benefits from the pairing with a top-tier GPU. The GPU's nearest rivals by average score are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% faster), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% faster), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% slower), though these comparisons use synthetic benchmarks rather than game-specific results.

Within the context of Greedfall's 2,938 combos, the 127th rank indicates that approximately 4.3% of tested systems outperform this configuration. Given the RTX 4090's end-of-life production status and the CPU's recent release date of 2025-01-06, this rank reflects a current-generation pairing that will likely face stiff competition from newer hardware. The rank also suggests that higher-tier CPUs paired with the RTX 4090 could achieve better results, as the Ultra 5 245's 14 cores and 14 threads may limit frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 351 FPS, Medium averages 276 FPS with a minimum of 234 FPS and maximum of 317 FPS, High averages 250 FPS, and Ultra averages 160 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 54.4% reduction in average FPS, indicating that Greedfall's Ultra preset imposes significant additional GPU load even at this resolution. The Medium preset's 234 FPS minimum ensures no perceptible stutter, while the 317 FPS maximum shows the system can burst well above its average during less demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop predictably: Low produces 243 FPS, Medium 191 FPS (min 163, max 220), High 174 FPS, and Ultra 111 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 163 FPS remains well above typical 144Hz display refresh rates, making this an excellent choice for high-refresh gaming. The Ultra preset's 111 FPS average represents a 30.6% reduction from High, a steeper drop than the 9.7% reduction from Medium to High, suggesting that Ultra settings at 1440p begin to tax the GPU's fill-rate capabilities. The 4K results show the most pronounced settings sensitivity: Low averages 145 FPS, Medium 114 FPS (min 97, max 131), High 104 FPS, and Ultra 66 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 36.5%, the largest percentage difference across all resolution-settings combinations, highlighting that Ultra settings at 4K are the only scenario where this combo dips below 100 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 144 FPS average?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 191 FPS average and High delivers 174 FPS, both exceeding 144 FPS. At 4K, no preset achieves 144 FPS, with Low being the closest at 145 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's memory configuration impact 4K performance?

A: The 24 GB GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 21 Gbps effective speed supports the 4K Medium result of 114 FPS average, but the 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS suggests memory bandwidth is a limiting factor at maximum settings.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 245 sufficient for this GPU in Greedfall?

A: Based on the 1080p Low result of 351 FPS, the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates. The 14 cores and 14 threads with a 5.10 GHz boost clock provide adequate single-thread performance for this game's engine.

Q: What is the combo's relative standing among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 127th out of 2,938 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.3% of all configurations for Greedfall.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most consistent frame times?

A: The Medium preset provides the only measured minimum FPS values across all resolutions (234 at 1080p, 163 at 1440p, 97 at 4K), indicating more consistent frame pacing compared to other presets.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic benchmark position relate to its Greedfall performance?

A: The CPU's 90th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 48,995, with nearest rivals within 0.8% delta, suggest it performs as expected, but the combo's top-4.3% rank indicates the GPU pairing amplifies its effectiveness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, part of the Core Ultra Series 2 and built on Arrow Lake-S architecture, contributes meaningfully to Greedfall's performance, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU throughput becomes more relevant. Its 14 cores and 14 threads operate at a base clock of 3.50 GHz, boosting to 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for the game's asset streaming, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory interface delivers 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's 3 nm process node and 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die reflect a modern design that balances efficiency with responsiveness.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,924 and single-core score of 4,648, along with a Passmark multithread score of 38,706 and single-thread score of 4,394. These results place it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,995. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, scores 49,196 (0.4% faster), while the Intel Core i5-14600K scores 48,618 (0.8% slower). The data compression score of 400,942 and floating-point math score of 120,548 indicate strong integer and FP workloads, though Greedfall's performance is more dependent on single-thread speed.

The CPU's role becomes evident when comparing 1080p Low (351 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (160 FPS). The 191 FPS gap suggests that at Low settings, the CPU can issue draw calls faster than the GPU can render, while at Ultra, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The 5.10 GHz boost clock is critical for maintaining high frame rates, as Greedfall's engine likely relies on a few primary threads for game logic and scene management. The CPU's 14 threads, while not as numerous as some high-end parts, provide sufficient parallelism for background tasks without introducing scheduling overhead.

Settings Recommendations

For this combination, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced choice across all resolutions, offering the only complete minimum FPS data and consistent frame pacing. At 1080p, Medium delivers 276 FPS average with a 234 FPS minimum, which is overkill for most displays but ensures zero perceptible frame drops. At 1440p, Medium's 191 FPS average and 163 FPS minimum comfortably exceed 144 Hz refresh rates, making this the recommended resolution-preset pairing for competitive or high-refresh gameplay. The 4K Medium result of 114 FPS average with a 97 FPS minimum provides a playable experience on 4K displays, though users with 120 Hz+ panels would need to accept occasional dips below their refresh ceiling.

The High preset offers a reasonable alternative for users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate. At 1440p, High averages 174 FPS, which still exceeds 144 Hz, while at 4K it averages 104 FPS — suitable for 100 Hz displays but not ideal for 120 Hz panels. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where the 160 FPS average remains smooth, but at 4K the 66 FPS average falls below the 70 FPS threshold many consider minimum for fluid action RPG gameplay. The Low preset, while producing the highest frame rates (351 FPS at 1080p, 243 FPS at 1440p, 145 FPS at 4K), sacrifices visual quality that Greedfall's art direction benefits from, making it suitable only for esports-style play or extreme refresh rate displays.

The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best overall experience, balancing the 191 FPS average with the tightest reported frame time variance (163-220 FPS range). For 4K users, dropping from Ultra to High yields a 57.6% FPS increase (from 66 to 104 FPS) with minimal visual impact, while the step from High to Medium at 4K adds only 10 FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize Medium at 1440p for competitive play, High at 4K for cinematic quality, and Ultra only at 1080p where the GPU has sufficient headroom.