Greedfall

# Greedfall Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers strong performance in Greedfall, placing 188th out of 2,938 tested combinations. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, with playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. The measured results across twelve resolution/settings pairings provide a comprehensive picture of how this hardware scales under varying graphical loads in this 2019 Action RPG.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 brings 20 cores and 20 threads to the table, running at a base clock of 2.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture processor, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, features a 30 MB shared L3 cache alongside 3 MB L2 per core. For Greedfall, an Action RPG that primarily relies on single-thread performance for game logic and NPC AI, the high boost clock is particularly relevant.

The CPU's benchmark data shows a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42,216 and a single-core score of 5,960. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,689 reinforces strong single-core capability. These figures matter because Greedfall's engine tends to scale with single-core throughput in many scenarios. The processor's percentile ranking of 93 against all CPUs indicates it sits comfortably above most processors available on the market.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 265's average benchmark score of 64,640 places it 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202). The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64,438, which is 0.3% lower than the 265 in this comparison. The AMD EPYC 9124 at 65,104 runs 0.7% ahead. These deltas are minimal, indicating the 265 performs essentially on par with its closest competitors in general compute workloads.

In Greedfall specifically, the 20-core configuration provides ample headroom for background tasks and streaming assets while gaming. The 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures that the game's primary thread has access to high clock speeds when needed. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, where CPU load is proportionally higher relative to GPU load, the system still achieves 329 FPS average, demonstrating that the processor is not a bottleneck even in CPU-favorable conditions.

The L3 cache configuration of 30 MB shared across all cores helps with data locality in games that stream large world assets. Greedfall's open-world environments benefit from this cache structure, reducing the frequency of memory accesses. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient data throughput for the game's asset streaming requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the primary driver of visual performance in this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card offers 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The base clock of 2295 MHz boosts up to 2617 MHz, with memory running at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, contains 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs.

The RTX 5080's benchmark results show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637 and a Passmark G3D score of 36,565. The GPU compute score of 21,789 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 235,901 indicate strong compute capabilities. The percentile ranking of 87 against all GPUs places this card in the upper tier of available graphics hardware.

The nearest rival comparisons show the RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698). The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 2.3% at 54,828, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE runs 2.2% ahead at 57,367. These tight margins suggest similar performance envelopes among these GPUs in synthetic benchmarks.

For Greedfall, the 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for the game's texture and geometry requirements, even at 4K Ultra settings. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming remains fluid during exploration. The RTX 5080's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores provide hardware support for ray tracing and DLSS technologies, though the measured data does not specify whether these features were enabled during testing.

The GPU's pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s indicate substantial fill-rate capabilities. At 4K resolution (3840x2160), the card maintains 97 FPS average on High settings, showing that the GPU handles the increased pixel count without significant frame rate degradation compared to lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals distinct scaling patterns across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, the system delivers 329 FPS at Low, 259 FPS at Medium, 235 FPS at High, and 150 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, frame rates drop to 228 FPS at Low, 179 FPS at Medium, 163 FPS at High, and 104 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the numbers fall further to 136 FPS at Low, 107 FPS at Medium, 97 FPS at High, and 62 FPS at Ultra.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of approximately 30-31% across all settings. This consistent percentage suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor in this resolution transition, as the additional pixel count directly impacts GPU workload. From 1440p to 4K, the reduction is more pronounced: Low drops from 228 to 136 FPS (40% reduction), Medium from 179 to 107 (40% reduction), High from 163 to 97 (40% reduction), and Ultra from 104 to 62 (40% reduction).

The uniform percentage drops across settings indicate that Greedfall's rendering pipeline scales linearly with resolution rather than exhibiting non-linear bottlenecks. The 4K Ultra setting at 62 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, though with less headroom than lower settings. The 1080p results, particularly the 329 FPS at Low, demonstrate that this combination has substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors at lower resolutions.

The data suggests that the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution, as the frame rate drops are consistent with pure pixel-count scaling. If VRAM capacity were insufficient, the 4K results would show disproportionately larger drops compared to 1440p. The consistent 40% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings confirms the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth scale appropriately with resolution demands.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the High preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 235 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors while maintaining superior visual fidelity compared to Medium's 259 FPS or Low's 329 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs 85 FPS (from 235 to 150) at 1080p, a 36% performance penalty that may not justify the visual improvements.

At 1440p, High provides 163 FPS, comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common at this resolution. Medium offers 179 FPS, but the 16 FPS difference between Medium and High is relatively small compared to the 75 FPS drop from High to Ultra (163 to 104 FPS). The Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 104 FPS, which remains playable but sacrifices significant frame rate headroom.

The 4K resolution presents a different calculus. High settings achieve 97 FPS, which is excellent for 4K gaming and provides smooth gameplay on 60 Hz displays with room to spare. Medium offers 107 FPS, while Low reaches 136 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 62 FPS, which is technically above 60 FPS but leaves minimal margin for frame time spikes. The measured Medium settings at 4K show a minimum FPS of 91 and maximum of 123, indicating reasonable frame pacing stability.

The High preset appears to be the optimal choice for most users, as it maintains high frame rates across all resolutions while providing substantial visual improvements over Medium and Low. The gap between High and Ultra—35 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K—suggests that Ultra settings impose a significant rendering cost that may not translate to proportionate visual gains in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 188 out of 2,938 tested combinations in Greedfall. This places the system in the top 6.4% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating excellent overall performance for this title. The ranking reflects the combined capabilities of both components working together in this specific game.

Given that the CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs and the GPU ranks in the 87th percentile against all GPUs, the combo's top 6.4% ranking suggests synergistic performance where neither component significantly bottlenecks the other. The CPU's strong single-thread performance complements the GPU's high frame rate capabilities, allowing the system to achieve the measured FPS numbers without obvious CPU limitations.

The ranking also implies that most of the 2,750 combinations ranked above this system feature more powerful GPUs, CPUs, or both. However, the measured FPS data shows this combination delivers excellent real-world performance, particularly at 1440p where it maintains 163 FPS on High settings. The 4K Ultra result of 62 FPS demonstrates that the system can handle demanding configurations, even if it doesn't top the rankings.

The delta between this combo's rank and its component percentiles suggests that Greedfall's engine responds well to the balance of CPU and GPU power this pairing offers. The 20-core CPU with high boost clocks provides consistent frame delivery, while the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth handle the game's visual complexity without memory-related stuttering.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 329 FPS, Medium reaches 259 FPS with a minimum of 220 and maximum of 297, High delivers 235 FPS, and Ultra drops to 150 FPS. The Medium settings show a 77 FPS range between minimum and maximum, indicating some frame time variability even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates remain high but show expected reductions. Low averages 228 FPS, Medium achieves 179 FPS with a range of 152 to 206, High reaches 163 FPS, and Ultra settles at 104 FPS. The Medium range at 1440p spans 54 FPS, showing tighter frame pacing than at 1080p despite lower average FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes significantly. Low produces 136 FPS, Medium averages 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 and maximum of 123, High delivers 97 FPS, and Ultra drops to 62 FPS. The Medium range at 4K is 32 FPS, the narrowest of all tested settings, suggesting more consistent frame delivery at this resolution.

The complete dataset shows that Medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete picture of frame time variability, with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the 77 FPS range indicates occasional frame drops despite the high average. At 1440p Medium, the 54 FPS range shows improved consistency. At 4K Medium, the 32 FPS range demonstrates the most stable frame delivery in the entire test suite.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Greedfall?

A: The 1440p resolution offers the best balance, with High settings achieving 163 FPS average. This provides 75 FPS more headroom than 4K High (97 FPS) while maintaining excellent visual quality, and the 1440p Ultra setting still delivers 104 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any settings?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, where CPU load is highest relative to GPU, the system achieves 329 FPS, showing the Core Ultra 7 265's 5.30 GHz boost clock handles the game's CPU demands without limiting frame rates.

Q: How much performance is lost between Medium and High settings?

A: The difference is modest at all resolutions. At 1080p, High is 24 FPS lower than Medium (235 vs 259 FPS). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 16 FPS (163 vs 179 FPS). At 4K, High is 10 FPS lower than Medium (97 vs 107 FPS).

Q: Is the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K in this game?

A: Yes, the 16 GB capacity is sufficient. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows consistent 40% frame rate reductions across all settings, indicating no VRAM-related performance cliffs or texture streaming issues at 4K resolution.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 7 265 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 scores 64,640 average, which is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202). It trails the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% (64,823) and the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7% (65,104).

Q: What frame rates can be expected with Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The measured average is 62 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. This is only 5 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, providing limited headroom for demanding scenes, so players may prefer High settings at 97 FPS for more consistent performance.