Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 Action RPG, places the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B390 combination in a demanding position. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, resulting in a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings. This analysis walks through the benchmark results step by step, examining how the frame rate responds to resolution and settings changes, the specific roles of the GPU and CPU, and where this combo stands against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data for Greedfall shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, a classic indicator that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor in this pairing. Starting from the 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution, the average frame rates are already modest, and they fall dramatically when moving up to 2560x1440 (1440p) and then to 3840x2160 (4K).

At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 60 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same High settings, the average drops to 42 FPS, which is a 30% reduction. Scaling further to 4K at High settings yields just 25 FPS on average, a 58% drop from the 1080p figure and a 40% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern shows that the GPU's rendering throughput is being saturated well before the CPU becomes a concern. The load on the graphics processor scales with the number of pixels, and the Arc B390's performance collapses under the weight of 4K resolution.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced when looking at the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 84 FPS. At 1440p Low, this falls to 58 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops to 35 FPS. The consistent pattern across all settings presets—where the 4K result is roughly 40-60% lower than the 1080p result—confirms that the performance bottleneck is the pixel throughput of the GPU, not the CPU or memory subsystem. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate at lower resolutions would be more stagnant, as the CPU load per frame is relatively constant regardless of resolution.

The data suggests that the Intel Arc B390 is designed for much lighter workloads than rendering Greedfall at high resolutions. The 4K results, which hover in the 16-35 FPS range depending on settings, are not suitable for smooth gameplay. The 1440p results are more viable but still require a compromise on settings to maintain a playable frame rate. The only resolution where the combo consistently delivers above 60 FPS is 1080p, and even then, only at Low settings. This scaling analysis points directly to the GPU as the component that must be upgraded or have its workload reduced to improve performance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the central figure in this performance analysis, and its specifications from the FACT PACK explain why it struggles with Greedfall. The GPU is based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and operates as an integrated graphics processor (IGP), which is a fundamental limitation for a demanding title like this. Its memory configuration is "System Shared," with a bus width and bandwidth that are also system-dependent. This means the GPU relies on the main system memory for both its own operations and frame buffer, which is a significant bottleneck compared to a dedicated graphics card with its own high-speed VRAM.

The GPU's clock speeds are listed with a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz. While the boost clock is substantial, the architecture's raw throughput is limited by its other specifications. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 render output units (ROPs). The pixel rate is listed at 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. These figures, combined with the system-shared memory, cap the GPU's ability to fill the screen with detailed textures and effects at high resolutions. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, which is a measure of raw compute power, but in practice, the memory bandwidth constraints of a shared system memory configuration severely limit how much of that compute power can be utilized in a real-world game.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1482 places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, according to the FACT PACK. This is a very low standing, and it is corroborated by its nearest rivals, which include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. These are entry-level, older discrete GPUs, and the Arc B390's performance is comparable to them. This low benchmark percentile is a strong predictor of the poor frame rates seen at higher resolutions in Greedfall. The GPU's role is clearly the primary constraint, and any attempt to improve performance in this game must address this component's limitations, either by reducing the render resolution or by lowering the graphical settings to lessen the load on its limited processing and memory resources.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with the Ultra preset?

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with the Ultra settings preset is 38 FPS. This is the lowest average at that resolution, compared to 60 FPS at High, 66 FPS at Medium, and 84 FPS at Low.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The average frame rate at 1080p Low is 84 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it is 16 FPS. This represents a significant performance difference, with the 1080p Low preset being more than five times faster.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 or the Intel Arc B390 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor. This is evident from the significant frame rate drops when increasing resolution, which places a heavier load on the GPU. The CPU's performance is not the primary bottleneck in this scenario.

Q: What is the best average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 84 FPS, achieved at the 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Greedfall?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B390 combination is ranked 2595 out of 2938 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Does the combo achieve a stable 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 2560x1440 is 58 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. All other settings at 1440p yield average frame rates below 46 FPS, which are not consistently smooth for gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear map for which settings preset offers the best playable experience for this hardware combo in Greedfall. The primary goal for any user would be to achieve a frame rate that is consistently above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay, and the data shows that this is only feasible at the 1080p resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset is the only option that guarantees an average above 60 FPS, with a measured average of 84 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers an average of 66 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but with a lower minimum frame rate of 56 FPS recorded. This suggests that while the average is acceptable, there may be moments of noticeable stutter. The High preset at 1080p sits right at the 60 FPS average mark, which is technically playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes, and any drop would push it below the desired threshold.

Moving up to 2560x1440, no preset achieves a 60 FPS average. The Low preset comes closest with 58 FPS, but this is still not a guaranteed smooth experience. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 46 FPS, and the High preset yields 42 FPS, both of which are in a range that many players would find less fluid. At 4K, all results are below 35 FPS, which is generally considered unplayable for an action RPG that requires timely reactions.

Therefore, the best experience per the measured data is to run Greedfall at 1920x1080 with the Medium settings preset. This offers an average FPS of 66, which is above the 60 FPS target for most of the time, and provides a visual quality improvement over the Low preset. For users who prioritize absolute smoothness over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the safest choice, given its high average and presumably more stable frame delivery. Pushing to 1440p or 4K is not recommended, as the performance cost is too high for the visual gain on this GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact measured average frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B390 combination across all tested resolutions and settings in Greedfall.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• The Ultra preset yields an average of 16 FPS.
• The High preset yields an average of 25 FPS.
• The Medium preset yields an average of 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 32 FPS.
• The Low preset yields an average of 35 FPS.

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• The Ultra preset yields an average of 27 FPS.
• The High preset yields an average of 42 FPS.
• The Medium preset yields an average of 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS.
• The Low preset yields an average of 58 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• The Ultra preset yields an average of 38 FPS.
• The High preset yields an average of 60 FPS.
• The Medium preset yields an average of 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS.
• The Low preset yields an average of 84 FPS.

These numbers show a clear and consistent hierarchy. The frame rate is directly correlated with the resolution and inversely correlated with the graphical settings. The gap between the Low and Ultra presets is substantial at every resolution, highlighting the significant performance cost of the higher-fidelity options. The data also shows that the jump from 1080p to 1440p is a major hurdle for this GPU, as the average FPS drops by roughly 30% across most settings, and the jump from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-end desktop processor, and its specifications suggest it is more than capable of handling the CPU-side demands of Greedfall. The data in the FACT PACK shows it has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This processor is based on the Arrow Lake architecture and is built on a 3 nm process node. Its cache configuration includes a 30 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 5960 in single-core, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

Given this processing power, the CPU's role in the Greedfall's performance is to provide a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the GPU. The benchmark results indicate that this is indeed the case. When looking at the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K, the performance drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel count. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between resolutions, as the CPU load per frame is relatively constant, and a weak CPU would cap the frame rate at all resolutions.

The data suggests the CPU is not the source of the low frame rates. For instance, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 84 FPS, which is a relatively high frame rate for this GPU and indicates the CPU is capable of feeding it instructions quickly enough. If the CPU were weak, we would expect the frame rate to plateau at a lower value regardless of the resolution or settings. The Core Ultra 7 265's high single-thread and multi-thread performance, as evidenced by its benchmark scores, ensures that it can handle the game's logic, AI, and physics without introducing frame time spikes that would be visible in the minimum FPS data. The CPU's role is thus one of a capable enabler, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of the final frame rate, for better or for worse.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2595 out of 2938 tested combinations for Greedfall. This places the system in the bottom 12% of all tested configurations, indicating a very low level of overall performance for this specific game. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, which we have already established as the primary bottleneck.

The CPU itself is a high performer. The FACT PACK shows it is in the 93rd percentile vs. all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, with performance deltas of -0.3% and +0.3%, respectively. This shows the CPU is a top-tier part. In contrast, the GPU is in the 9th percentile vs. all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. The deltaPct values for the GPU's rivals are +1.3% and +1.5%, respectively, showing that the Arc B390 is only marginally faster than these very old, low-end parts.

This stark contrast between the CPU's high standing and the GPU's low standing explains the combo's poor rank. The system is a "high-end CPU with an entry-level GPU" pairing, which is heavily unbalanced for gaming. The comboRankInGame of 2595 out of 2938 is a strong indicator that most other systems, even those with more modest CPUs, will outperform this one in Greedfall because they are likely paired with a more capable dedicated graphics card. The benchmark data shows that the CPU's power is largely wasted in this configuration, as the GPU cannot translate the CPU's processing capability into higher frame rates. The system's overall performance is capped by the weakest link, and in this case, that is the Intel Arc B390.