Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG, presents a surprisingly heavy load for modern hardware at its highest settings. Testing the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 shows a clear narrative: this pairing is capable of delivering smooth gameplay, but only when settings are managed carefully, particularly at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the RTX 5050 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, struggling to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, while the Arrow Lake CPU provides ample headroom to push frame rates at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution increases, clearly indicating that the graphics card is the limiting component in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 160 FPS. This high frame rate, which is more than double the 4K Ultra result, suggests the CPU is feeding the GPU effectively and the game is not heavily CPU-bound at this resolution. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 111 FPS, a 30.6% decrease, while 4K Low yields 66 FPS, a further 40.5% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the render resolution directly impacts the pixel fill rate demand.

The trend continues across all quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 114 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p, and then to 47 FPS at 4K. This represents a 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. The most demanding scenario, Ultra settings, shows the harshest scaling: 73 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and just 30 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is effectively unplayable, and even the 1080p Ultra score of 73 FPS suggests that the game's Ultra preset imposes a significant load that the RTX 5050's 8 GB frame buffer and 13.17 TFLOPS of compute power cannot consistently overcome.

The frame time data for the Medium preset reinforces this GPU-bound conclusion. At 1080p Medium, the average is 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. The consistency of the frame pacing, with minimums that are not drastically lower than the averages, suggests that the GPU is handling the workload steadily without sudden CPU-related hitches. The 4K Medium result of 52 FPS, while playable, is significantly below the 60 FPS target that many gamers aim for, and it shows that even a mid-range preset cannot make 4K a smooth experience on this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance data positions this specific hardware combination at a rank of 1776 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the 60th percentile, or the lower-middle to middle portion of the performance spectrum for this game. It is not a top-tier configuration, but it is also far from the bottom. This ranking suggests that while the combo can play the game, it will not do so with the highest levels of graphical fidelity at high resolutions that more powerful, higher-ranked combinations would achieve.

The ranking of 1776 is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance class. The RTX 5050 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, a mid-range standing that is reflected in its 4K and Ultra settings performance. The CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, is in the 90th percentile, which is a high standing. This disparity in class is evident in the frame rates: the CPU has the headroom to generate high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU cannot maintain those rates when the resolution and settings increase. If the combo were paired with a more powerful GPU, the rank would likely be significantly higher, as the CPU would not be the limiting factor. The data suggests that the 1776 rank is almost entirely determined by the RTX 5050's capabilities in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the decisive component in this benchmark analysis. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, appears to be a critical constraint in Greedfall. The game's Ultra preset likely textures and effects that exceed this 8 GB capacity, which would explain the dramatic drop in performance when transitioning from High to Ultra at any given resolution. For instance, at 1080p, the average FPS falls from 114 on High to 73 on Ultra, a 36% reduction. This is a more significant drop than the 21% reduction seen from Medium to High (126 to 114 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset introduces a memory or compute load that the GPU cannot handle efficiently.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, are not sufficient to overcome the memory and compute limitations. The card's 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores are present, but Greedfall is not a title that heavily utilizes ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data, so these features do not provide a significant advantage. The raw rasterization performance, measured at 13.17 TFLOPS, is the primary driver of the results. The average scores in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 17326, place the RTX 5050 in the 66th percentile, which aligns with its mid-range market position. The 4K High result of 47 FPS and the 4K Ultra result of 30 FPS clearly demonstrate that the GPU is overextended at this resolution, regardless of the CPU's capability.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Greedfall?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 160 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 the limiting factor for 4K performance?

A: The data strongly indicates the RTX 5050 is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 30 FPS, while at 4K Low it gets 66 FPS. This massive swing based on graphics settings shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's workload does not change as drastically with resolution.

Q: How does the combo's ranking compare to its component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 1776th out of 2938 in Greedfall. The CPU is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. The overall combo ranking is more aligned with the GPU's lower percentile, confirming the GPU is the performance limiter.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields an average of 79 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields an average of 50 FPS. This is a 37% reduction in average frame rate when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: Is it better to use the Medium or High preset at 1080p for a balance of performance and quality?

A: The Medium preset at 1080p achieves an average of 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS, while the High preset achieves an average of 114 FPS. The Medium preset provides a consistently higher frame rate with a comfortable margin above 100 FPS, making it a strong choice for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the CPU's high benchmark score translate to a high rank in this game?

A: No. Despite the CPU having a high average benchmark score of 48995 and being in the 90th percentile, the combo's rank in this game is 1776 out of 2938. This suggests that the game's performance is heavily dependent on the GPU, and the CPU's strength is not fully utilized due to the GPU bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear path for the optimal gaming experience with this hardware. For users with a 1080p display, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers a robust average of 126 FPS, with a minimum of 107 FPS, ensuring smooth and responsive gameplay. While the High preset also performs well at 114 FPS, the Medium preset offers a higher and more stable frame rate, which is often preferable for action-oriented titles. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 73 FPS, is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the significant performance cost over the High preset does not seem justified given the data.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. The High preset, achieving an average of 79 FPS, provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset is also viable at 87 FPS, but for users who want a better-looking game, High is the best choice, as it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS is noticeably less smooth and should be avoided for a consistent experience. For 4K gaming, this hardware combination is not well-suited for high-quality settings. The Medium preset is the only viable option, producing an average of 52 FPS. The High preset drops to 47 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 30 FPS. Users with 4K displays will need to accept the Medium preset, or significantly lower the resolution, to get a playable frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 serves as a robust foundation in this configuration. With 14 cores and 14 threads, it provides considerable multi-threaded processing power, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924. Its single-core performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, which is crucial for gaming workloads that often rely on a few fast threads. This processing power is reflected in its overall 90th percentile ranking, placing it in the top tier of desktop processors. In Greedfall, the CPU's role becomes apparent when the GPU is not overburdened. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 160 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach high frame rates.

However, the CPU's influence on the final frame rate is secondary to the GPU's. The data shows that the frame rate scales dramatically with resolution and settings, which is a hallmark of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's performance does not change with resolution, so the massive drops in FPS from 1080p to 4K are entirely attributable to the RTX 5050. While the Core Ultra 5 245 is a high-performing processor, its capabilities are effectively capped by the graphics card in this game. The benchmark results indicate that if a more powerful GPU were paired with this CPU, the combo's performance would likely improve significantly, as the CPU has ample headroom to support higher frame rates. The 3 nm process node and 65 W TDP also indicate an efficient processor, but these factors do not directly translate to a higher rank in a GPU-limited scenario.