Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, presents a unique challenge for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination. The benchmark data reveals a system with immense raw power, yet the game's engine and settings scaling create a performance profile that is heavily dependent on the graphics configuration. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers say about the limiting components in this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data demonstrates a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 226 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that average to 157 FPS, a reduction of approximately 30%. The jump to 3840x2160 further reduces performance to 94 FPS, another 40% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep decline as pixel count rises indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 providing ample headroom.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system pushes an average of 318 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate. At 1440p Low, it drops to 220 FPS, and at 4K Low, it settles at 131 FPS. The fact that even at 4K Low the frame rate remains above 130 FPS suggests that the GPU is still managing the load effectively, but the 1080p to 4K delta of 187 FPS reveals how much work the RTX 4080 is doing. The data indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU's role becomes more significant, but the sheer speed of the Core Ultra 7 265 prevents it from becoming a hard limit.

The most telling information comes from the Ultra preset scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 145 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 100 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it hits 60 FPS. This progression shows that the Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU, with the 4K Ultra result being exactly 60 FPS. This suggests that the game's Ultra preset is particularly demanding, and the RTX 4080 is working at its limit to maintain that frame rate. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 34 FPS, which is a larger drop than the 27 FPS difference seen between Medium and High at the same resolution, indicating a non-linear cost for the highest settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. These numbers place it in the 93rd percentile of 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 level of processing power suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lightest, the system achieves 318 FPS. This high frame rate could be interpreted as the CPU's maximum throughput for this game, but it is still a very high number that prevents any noticeable bottleneck. The Core Ultra 7 265's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide a solid foundation for feeding the RTX 4080 with data, and the 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's needs.

The lack of min FPS data for most settings makes it difficult to assess frame pacing, but the available data for Medium settings shows min FPS values of 212 at 1080p, 147 at 1440p, and 88 at 4K. These minimums are relatively close to the averages, suggesting that the CPU is delivering consistent frames without major hitches. The data indicates that the Core Ultra 7 265 is a capable gaming processor that will not hold back the RTX 4080 in Greedfall, regardless of the resolution or settings chosen.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the system averages 226 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 94 FPS. This represents a 132 FPS reduction, or roughly a 58% decrease in performance when moving to 4K.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a significant visual benefit over High?

A: The data shows a large performance cost. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS, while High averages 94 FPS. This 34 FPS difference indicates that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding, and the visual upgrade may not justify the performance hit for all users.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in terms of overall GPU benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has a score of 54209, which is a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% higher with a score of 54828.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p Medium?

A: At 1440p Medium, the system achieves an average of 173 FPS with a min of 147 FPS. Given the high frame rate, the GPU is likely the primary limiter. The CPU, with its high single-core performance, is unlikely to be a bottleneck at this resolution and setting.

Q: What are the min and max FPS recorded at 4K Medium?

A: At 4K Medium, the system recorded an average FPS of 103, with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 119. This shows a relatively stable performance window.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 7 265 rank compared to the AMD EPYC 7343?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640. The AMD EPYC 7343 has a score of 64202, which is 0.7% lower. The Core Ultra 7 265 is also 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 holds a rank of 254 out of 3703 combos. This places it in the top 7% of all tested systems, which is a strong result. The high rank reflects the raw performance of both components, but it also reflects the game's engine's ability to utilize the hardware effectively.

The rank indicates that while this is a high-performing combination, there are 253 other combos that achieve higher average frame rates in Greedfall. These could include systems with newer or more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4090, or possibly configurations with CPUs that have higher single-threaded performance. The data suggests that the RTX 4080, while powerful, is not the absolute fastest GPU available, and the game's performance can scale further with more powerful hardware.

Despite not being the top-ranked combo, the 254th position out of 3703 is a very respectable placement. It demonstrates that users with this setup can expect a smooth and high-frame-rate experience in Greedfall at most settings. The combo's performance is likely limited by the GPU's capabilities at high resolutions, but the overall system balance is good, with the CPU providing sufficient support to avoid being a major bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2505 MHz, and it has 9728 shading units. These specifications make it a high-end GPU, as reflected by its 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The data shows it is closely matched with the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a performance delta of only 0.1%.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role is dominant. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly shows that the RTX 4080 is the primary driver of frame rates. The 16 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game's textures and assets at all tested settings, as there is no indication of memory-related stuttering or performance drops. The high memory bandwidth ensures that the GPU can quickly access textures, contributing to the high average FPS seen at lower resolutions.

The GPU's performance is demonstrated by its ability to maintain high frame rates even at 4K. At 4K High, it averages 94 FPS, which is a playable and smooth experience. However, the Ultra preset at 4K brings the average down to exactly 60 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario for the card in this game. The RTX 4080's compute capabilities, with 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, are more than adequate for Greedfall, and the data suggests that the card is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions, where the CPU or game engine may be the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across all major resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. With Low settings, it averages 318 FPS. Medium settings reduce the average to 249 FPS, with a min of 212 and a max of 287. High settings yield an average of 226 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 145 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of running the game at very high refresh rates, even with the most demanding settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. Low settings average 220 FPS, while Medium settings average 173 FPS, with a min of 147 and a max of 199. High settings produce an average of 157 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to an average of 100 FPS. The 1440p results show a clear step down from 1080p, but the frame rates are still high enough for a smooth gaming experience on high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the defining factor. Low settings average 131 FPS, which is still a high frame rate for 4K. Medium settings average 103 FPS, with a min of 88 and a max of 119. High settings average 94 FPS, and Ultra settings are the most demanding, averaging exactly 60 FPS. The 4K data shows a clear progression: the higher the settings, the closer the system gets to the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset landing right on it. This suggests that for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings are the optimal choice, while Ultra may require adjustments if a higher frame rate is desired.