Greedfall

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K brings 20 cores and 20 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip, built on a 3 nm process, sits in the 97th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that its raw compute headroom is far beyond what a 2019 action RPG typically demands. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50,009 and single-core score of 7,060 reinforce this picture: Greedfall's world simulation, NPC logic, and quest scripting are unlikely to stress a processor that outperforms its nearest rivals by a wide margin.

Benchmark results show the Core Ultra 7 265K trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF by only 0.2% in average score, while the Intel Core i9-14900KF sits 0.2% ahead and the Intel Core i9-14900K leads by 0.9%. The AMD EPYC 7413, a server part, is 1.2% ahead. These tiny deltas suggest that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 265K is essentially interchangeable with its closest competitors. For Greedfall specifically, the measured FPS patterns reveal that even at 1080p Low — the most CPU-favorable configuration in this dataset — the system reaches 153.4 FPS, which is well above any frame rate that would expose a CPU bottleneck. The 20 threads handle background tasks without contention, and the 30 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample room for the game's streaming assets.

The question is whether this processor's headroom matters in a game that appears GPU-limited across most settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 29.9 FPS, a figure far below what the CPU could theoretically feed. This suggests the Core Ultra 7 265K is not the limiting component in demanding configurations; rather, it is waiting on the GPU to deliver frames. The Passmark multi-thread score of 58,838 and single-thread score of 4,904 further indicate a processor that excels at both bursty single-threaded work and sustained multi-threaded loads, making it a robust foundation for a game that occasionally needs to load new zones or handle combat with multiple enemies.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, provides 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1470 MHz boosts to 1650 MHz, and the card houses 2,176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. This GPU sits in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,774. Notably, the RTX 2060 SUPER only edges out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN by 0.3%, while the RTX 2070 is 0.5% ahead — a tight cluster that places this card squarely in mid-range territory.

For Greedfall, a title from 2019, the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM appears sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the measured FPS at 4K tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers just 29.9 FPS, and even at 4K High it only reaches 47 FPS. The 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are clearly stretched when rendering at 3840x2160 with high detail. The GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 61 in Passmark, though a synthetic measure, hints at architectural limitations that manifest in demanding scenes.

The data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary constraint in this pairing for most configurations. At 1080p Low, the system hits 153.4 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it falls to 69.5 FPS — a drop of over 54% from lowering settings alone. This pattern, where settings changes produce dramatic FPS swings, is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 8 GB capacity are enough for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K textures and effects likely exceed the memory bandwidth or capacity, causing the steep performance cliff observed at 2160p.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear scaling pattern that identifies the bottleneck. At Low settings, the system delivers 153.4 FPS at 1080p, 102.4 FPS at 1440p, and 59.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. Such consistent degradation with increasing pixel count is the hallmark of GPU-limited performance — the CPU's frame production capability is not the ceiling, since the FPS falls proportionally with the number of pixels.

At High settings, the pattern shifts slightly. The system achieves 110.1 FPS at 1080p, 74.2 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 33% and 37% respectively, again indicating a GPU-bound scenario. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 69.5 FPS at 1080p, 45.9 FPS at 1440p, and 29.9 FPS at 4K — drops of 34% and 35%. The consistency of these scaling factors across settings suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering throughput, not memory or CPU limits, governs performance.

The 4K Ultra result of 29.9 FPS is particularly telling. It falls just below the 30 FPS threshold, making the game borderline unplayable at maximum settings. The 4K Low result of 59.9 FPS is nearly identical to the 1440p High result of 74.2 FPS, implying that resolution scaling and settings scaling trade off almost linearly. This behavior confirms that the GPU is the limiting component in every measured configuration, with the Core Ultra 7 265K providing ample headroom that remains untapped.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1,203 out of 1,705 tested combos in Greedfall. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all configurations, which makes sense given that the GPU sits in the 63rd percentile while the CPU is in the 97th percentile. The rank reflects the combo's actual measured performance, not the potential of either component in isolation.

The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's middling rank underscores the GPU-bound nature of this pairing. In Greedfall, the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth determine the outcome, not the 20-core processor. Combos ranked above this one almost certainly pair the RTX 2060 SUPER with faster GPUs or pair more powerful graphics cards with comparable CPUs. The data implies that swapping the 265K for a weaker CPU would barely change the rank, while upgrading the GPU would yield substantial improvements.

The rank of 1,203 out of 1,705 means roughly 70% of tested combos perform better, which is a sobering statistic for a CPU that ranks in the top 3% of all processors. This mismatch highlights that Greedfall's engine does not reward high-end CPUs proportionally. The game's 2019 release date and action RPG genre suggest it was designed for the hardware of that era, and the RTX 2060 SUPER — also from 2019 — is a natural fit for the game's era, but the modern CPU adds little benefit.

# FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K overkill for Greedfall?

A: Yes. The CPU ranks in the 97th percentile among all processors, yet the combo ranks 1,203 out of 1,705 in this game. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (29.9 FPS) versus 1080p Low (153.4 FPS) shows the GPU is the bottleneck, meaning the 265K's power is largely unused.

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 4K?

A: At 4K with Low settings, it achieves 59.9 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, it drops to 47 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 29.9 FPS — below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth play. Medium settings at 4K yield 51.3 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19,774, which is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19,706), 0.5% behind the RTX 2070 (19,680), and 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19,623).

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

A: At 1080p, the combo delivers 110.1 FPS on High and 122.6 FPS on Medium, making it the ideal resolution for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, High settings still achieve 74.2 FPS, which is acceptable for most players.

Q: Does lowering settings help more at 4K than lowering resolution?

A: No. Going from 4K Ultra (29.9 FPS) to 4K Low (59.9 FPS) doubles the frame rate, but going from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra (45.9 FPS) only improves by 53%. Lowering resolution to 1080p Ultra (69.5 FPS) provides a larger gain than lowering settings at 4K.

Q: What does the combo rank reveal about the GPU's age?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER, released in 2019, ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. In Greedfall, the combo's rank of 1,203 out of 1,705 suggests the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p but struggle at higher resolutions, consistent with a mid-range card from its generation.

# Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo shows consistent scaling across settings. Low settings produce 153.4 FPS, Medium delivers 122.6 FPS, High achieves 110.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69.5 FPS. The gap from Low to Medium is 30.8 FPS, from Medium to High is 12.5 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 40.6 FPS. The Ultra setting imposes a severe penalty, likely due to advanced effects that tax the RTX 2060 SUPER's 2,176 shading units.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low settings yield 102.4 FPS, Medium reaches 84.3 FPS, High delivers 74.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45.9 FPS. The percentage drops from Low to Medium (17.7%), Medium to High (12.0%), and High to Ultra (38.1%) show that Ultra remains disproportionately expensive. The 1440p results are roughly 33-34% lower than 1080p across all settings, reflecting the pixel count increase.

At 3840x2160, the results are more constrained. Low settings reach 59.9 FPS, Medium hits 51.3 FPS, High achieves 47 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29.9 FPS. The difference between Low and High is only 12.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is nearing its limits at 4K. The Ultra setting pushes the card below playable thresholds, while Low settings barely maintain 60 FPS. The 4K results are 61-62% lower than 1080p and 41-42% lower than 1440p across matching settings.

# Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, 1080p is the only resolution where this combo consistently exceeds that threshold. At 1080p High, the system delivers 110.1 FPS, which is well above the target with substantial headroom. Even 1080p Ultra, at 69.5 FPS, remains playable, so players with 60 Hz monitors can comfortably select Ultra at this resolution.

At 1440p, the data suggests High settings (74.2 FPS) offer the best balance. Medium settings at 84.3 FPS provide extra smoothness but sacrifice visual fidelity, while Ultra drops to 45.9 FPS, which may feel less fluid. For players with 144 Hz displays, Medium or Low settings (102.4 FPS) would be necessary to approach higher refresh rates, but the visual trade-off is significant.

At 4K, the measured results indicate that Low settings (59.9 FPS) are the only viable option for near-60 FPS gameplay. Medium (51.3 FPS) and High (47 FPS) are playable but not smooth, while Ultra (29.9 FPS) falls below the 30 FPS threshold and is not recommended. The steep drop from Low to Medium at 4K suggests the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM or memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor when higher-quality textures are enabled.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Ultra (69.5 FPS) for maximum visual quality, or 1440p High (74.2 FPS) for a balance of resolution and detail. If 4K is a priority, players must accept Low settings, which still deliver a playable 59.9 FPS but compromise the game's visual presentation. The data clearly shows that this combo shines at 1080p and is adequate at 1440p, but 4K requires significant compromises.