Greedfall

Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019, presents an interesting case study in hardware scaling. This analysis examines a specific configuration: the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. The data available for this pairing includes measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear picture of where the bottlenecks lie. The combination ranks 1672nd out of 2938 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, a position that suggests a system capable of smooth play at lower resolutions but one that will struggle at the highest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings is 119 FPS. This is a very playable level of performance for an action RPG, indicating the system has significant headroom at this resolution.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate drops to 31 FPS. This is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting that Ultra settings at 4K are not a viable option for this configuration.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate with Low settings is 116 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields an average of 53 FPS. This represents a significant 63 FPS drop, highlighting the substantial GPU load increase from the higher preset.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 151 FPS for the Medium preset at 1920x1080, with an average of 131 FPS. The narrow band suggests consistent performance without major stutters.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282. This places it 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.2% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, indicating it is a comparable performer to these models.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all tested processors?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus scores in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. This indicates that in terms of raw processing power, it is a top-tier component, far exceeding the demands of most games.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and utilizes the TU104 chip. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card's base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and its 2560 shading units are responsible for rendering the game's graphics. In the database's benchmark suite, it holds a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282. This places it in a competitive position relative to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc A750, which it trails by 1.5%.

The measured frame rates in Greedfall reveal a clear pattern: the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 167 FPS, a high number that suggests the CPU is feeding the GPU well. However, as the resolution scales up to 4K, the demands on the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units increase dramatically. The drop from 69 FPS at 4K Low to 31 FPS at 4K Ultra shows the card's performance ceiling. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, can become a constraint at 4K with higher texture quality presets, potentially contributing to the significant performance penalty seen at the Ultra setting. The data indicates that for smooth 4K gameplay, the settings must be kept to Low or Medium, where the average FPS is 69 and 54, respectively.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a formidable processor, featuring 24 cores and 24 threads. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, backed by a 36 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44253 and a single-core score of 2439. It sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785. This performance is so high that its nearest rivals are server-class processors like the AMD EPYC 4564P, which it trails by only 1.5%.

In the context of Greedfall, a game released in 2019, the CPU is unlikely to be a bottleneck. The evidence is in the frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 167 FPS. This high frame rate demonstrates that the CPU can process game logic and draw calls far faster than the RTX 2070 SUPER can render frames. The CPU's immense single-threaded performance, as shown by its Passmark single-thread score of 5068, is more than sufficient for the game's engine. The 24 cores provide massive headroom for background tasks and any future game updates, but for this specific title, the processor's role is to ensure a stable and high frame rate ceiling, which it clearly does. The bottleneck in this system is decisively on the GPU side, as evidenced by the FPS scaling with resolution changes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1672nd out of 2938 tested combinations for Greedfall. This ranking places it in the 43rd percentile of all combos, meaning more than half of the tested systems perform better in this specific game. This is a relatively low rank for a system with such a powerful CPU, which strongly suggests that the GPU is holding the entire configuration back in this title.

The disparity between the CPU's 96th percentile ranking and the combo's 43rd percentile ranking is stark. This indicates that the system is severely imbalanced for Greedfall. A CPU of this caliber would typically be paired with a much more powerful GPU to achieve a higher ranking. The data implies that the system's potential is capped by the RTX 2070 SUPER. While the CPU ensures the game runs without processor-related hitches, the overall performance is dictated by the GPU's ability to render the game's visuals. This combination is a clear example of a CPU-bound system where the processor's capabilities far exceed what the graphics card can utilize, resulting in a combo rank that underperforms what the CPU alone would suggest.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system's performance scales across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. For the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 119 FPS at 1920x1080 to 83 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 49 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 30% performance drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering load increases exponentially with pixel count.

The data shows that the system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1440p High, the 83 FPS average is smooth. However, the jump to 4K pushes the system to its limits. The 49 FPS average at 4K High is playable but not ideal, and the 31 FPS at 4K Ultra is not. This resolution scaling analysis confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of VRAM and memory bandwidth are sufficient for lower resolutions but become a bottleneck at 4K. The performance per pixel decreases as resolution increases, a clear sign that the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated at the higher resolutions. The system is a capable 1440p machine, but for 4K, significant compromises in settings are required to maintain a playable frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average frame rates for each resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080:

• Low: 167 FPS average
• Medium: 131 FPS average (min: 112, max: 151)
• High: 119 FPS average
• Ultra: 76 FPS average

At 1080p, the system performs exceptionally well. Even the Ultra preset, which demands the most from the GPU, produces an average of 76 FPS, which is smooth for an action RPG. The data shows a large gap between Low and Ultra, indicating the GPU is the main variable in performance.

2560x1440:

• Low: 116 FPS average
• Medium: 91 FPS average (min: 77, max: 105)
• High: 83 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

At 1440p, the system remains highly capable. The High preset delivers an 83 FPS average, which is ideal for a responsive experience. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is still playable, but it begins to show the GPU's strain. The performance difference between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS, a significant spread that highlights the impact of the visual settings.

3840x2160:

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 54 FPS average (min: 46, max: 63)
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 31 FPS average

At 4K, the system's limitations are fully exposed. Only the Low preset manages to stay above 60 FPS. The Medium preset is playable with a 54 FPS average, but the High preset drops to 49 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to an unplayable 31 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is only possible with significant settings reductions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this configuration depends heavily on the target resolution.

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice. With an average of 76 FPS, it provides a fully smooth and visually rich experience. The system has enough headroom to run the game at its highest visual quality without sacrificing frame rate.

For 2560x1440, the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 83 FPS. While the Ultra preset is playable at 53 FPS, the High preset provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, ensuring consistent smoothness. The Medium preset at 91 FPS is also viable, but the visual jump to High is worth the small FPS cost.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. The 54 FPS average is acceptable for a slower-paced RPG, and it provides a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset, which achieves 69 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended, as their average frame rates of 49 and 31 FPS, respectively, fall below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should prioritize the Medium preset to maintain a stable frame rate.