Greedfall

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a highly playable experience in Greedfall, with performance scaling predictably across the three tested resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this combination stacks up against other tested systems.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, indicating that the system transitions from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a GPU-bound state at 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system produces 136 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops the average to 94 FPS, a reduction of 42 frames. The gap widens further at 3840x2160, where the average falls to 56 FPS, representing a 58.8% decrease from the 1080p figure.

This scaling behavior is consistent with expectations for a modern action RPG. At 1080p, the frame rate is high enough that the CPU's ability to feed the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The jump from 136 FPS to 191 FPS when switching from High to Low settings at 1080p confirms this, as lowering graphical load has a substantial impact on output when the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 4K, however, the GPU workload dominates; the difference between High and Low settings shrinks to 23 FPS (56 vs. 79), showing that the Radeon RX 7700 is the primary constraint at this resolution.

The Medium preset provides the only complete dataset with minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 150 FPS with a minimum of 127 and a maximum of 172. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 104 FPS, with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 120. At 4K Medium, the average is 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 71. These figures show that the frame time consistency remains stable across resolutions, with the spread between minimum and maximum remaining relatively proportional as the average decreases.

The Ultra preset shows the most significant performance hit. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 87 FPS, which is 36% lower than High settings at the same resolution. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 60 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 36 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured scenario that drops below the 30 FPS threshold for playability, suggesting that this preset at this resolution is too demanding for the combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The processor features a 36 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253 and a single-core score of 2,439.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where the GPU is not fully saturated. The measured 191 FPS at Low settings suggests that the processor can handle the game's simulation and draw call overhead well beyond typical display refresh rates. The processor's single-thread performance, as indicated by the Passmark single-thread score of 5,068, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all tested CPUs places it in the top tier of processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6520P with an average score of 93,786 (0% delta), the AMD EPYC 4564P at 95,183 (-1.5% delta), the AMD EPYC 9175F at 95,615 (-1.9% delta), and the AMD EPYC 4565P at 95,764 (-2.1% delta). These comparisons show that the Ultra 7 270K Plus sits in a performance class with enterprise-grade server processors, though those chips are not typically used in gaming systems.

The 24 threads available in this processor are more than sufficient for Greedfall, which is a game from 2019 and does not have the multi-threading demands of newer releases. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1440p or 4K, as the frame rate drops consistently with increased resolution, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. Its memory operates at 2438 MHz, translating to 19.5 Gbps effective. The card includes 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, along with 40 ray tracing cores.

The GPU's performance in Greedfall is the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (136 to 94 FPS) and from 1440p to 4K (94 to 56 FPS) demonstrates the GPU's scaling limitations. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is ample for this game, as Greedfall is not known for high VRAM consumption at the tested settings.

In the Passmark G3D benchmark, the RX 7700 scores 20,974, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 370X with an average score of 15,862 (-0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 at 16,014 (-1% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15,679 (1.1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 (-1.7% delta). The RX 7700's score is notably higher than these rivals, yet its percentile ranking suggests that many GPUs outperform it in overall compute tasks.

The GPU's 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 393.4 GTexel/s texture rate are more than adequate for Greedfall's graphical demands. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with the game's rendering API. The measured frame rates indicate that the GPU can maintain smooth gameplay at 1440p with High settings (94 FPS) and at 4K with Medium settings (62 FPS), but struggles with Ultra presets at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1,307 out of 2,938 tested combos in Greedfall. This places the system in the upper-middle tier of all configurations, meaning it outperforms the majority of tested systems while being outclassed by the top performers.

This ranking is notable because the CPU is a high-end part with a 96th percentile ranking, while the GPU sits at a 58th percentile. The combination's overall rank reflects the GPU's relative position in the benchmark database, as Greedfall's performance is largely GPU-dependent at the resolutions tested. The system's rank of 1,307 suggests that there are 1,630 combos that perform worse, which includes systems with weaker GPUs or CPUs that bottleneck more severely.

The data shows that the CPU is not holding back the GPU in this game. The 24-core processor provides ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (191 FPS). The system's rank is therefore primarily determined by the RX 7700's absolute performance level. Users with this combination can expect performance that is competitive with mid-range to upper-mid-range gaming systems, but not with those featuring top-tier GPUs.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this system in Greedfall?

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 191 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus or the AMD Radeon RX 7700 the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The average frame rate drops from 94 FPS at 1440p High to 56 FPS at 4K High, with the CPU providing enough headroom since the performance scales with resolution.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 36 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93,785, which is effectively identical to the Intel Xeon 6520P's score of 93,786, resulting in a 0% delta.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 15,852.

Q: Does the system maintain a playable frame rate at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 60 FPS, which is above the commonly accepted threshold for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved with High or Medium settings. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 136 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 150 FPS, which is even higher, but the visual fidelity reduction may not be necessary given the already excellent performance.

For 2560x1440 displays, High settings are the recommended choice, yielding 94 FPS. This provides a solid experience for most users. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 60 FPS, which is still playable but may exhibit more noticeable frame rate dips in demanding scenes. Medium settings at 1440p offer 104 FPS, which could be preferred for competitive play or for users sensitive to frame rate fluctuations.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. High settings produce 56 FPS, which is marginally playable but may not be ideal for all users. Medium settings at 4K provide 62 FPS, which is a better option for maintaining smoother motion. The Low preset at 4K yields 79 FPS, offering the highest frame rate at this resolution, but with a significant visual quality trade-off. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 36 FPS average falls below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table and descriptions outline the exact measured frame rates for each resolution and settings combination.

1920x1080:

• Ultra: Average FPS 87
• High: Average FPS 136
• Medium: Average FPS 150, minimum FPS 127, maximum FPS 172
• Low: Average FPS 191

At 1080p, the system performs exceptionally well, with all presets except Ultra exceeding 136 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 127 FPS, indicating strong frame time consistency. The jump from Ultra (87 FPS) to High (136 FPS) is substantial, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU even at this resolution.

2560x1440:

• Ultra: Average FPS 60
• High: Average FPS 94
• Medium: Average FPS 104, minimum FPS 88, maximum FPS 120
• Low: Average FPS 132

At 1440p, the system maintains playable frame rates across all presets. The Medium preset's minimum of 88 FPS ensures that even the heaviest scenes stay above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset's 60 FPS average is exactly at the 60 FPS mark, which is adequate for most users. The transition from High (94 FPS) to Ultra (60 FPS) represents a 36.2% performance drop, indicating that the Ultra preset demands significantly more GPU resources.

3840x2160:

• Ultra: Average FPS 36
• High: Average FPS 56
• Medium: Average FPS 62, minimum FPS 53, maximum FPS 71
• Low: Average FPS 79

At 4K, the system's performance is constrained by the GPU. The Medium preset provides the best balance with a 62 FPS average and a 53 FPS minimum, keeping gameplay mostly smooth. High settings at 56 FPS are also viable for users who prioritize visual quality. The Low preset's 79 FPS is the most responsive option at this resolution. The Ultra preset's 36 FPS average is below the standard for smooth gameplay, and it is not recommended for general use.