Greedfall

Greedfall is a 2019 Action RPG that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on resolution. The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a wide range of frame rates across the measured settings, from 47 FPS at 4K Ultra to 248 FPS at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the measured data to explain where the bottleneck lies, what the components contribute, and which settings yield the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, but the rate of decline is steeper than typical because the CPU is exceptionally strong. At 1080p High, the combo produces 177 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 123 FPS, a 30.5% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K High drops the average from 123 FPS to 73 FPS, a 40.7% reduction. The 4K Ultra setting, which is the most demanding measured, produces just 47 FPS.

These percentages reveal that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the frame rate is very high (177 FPS on High), suggesting the CPU is doing most of the work to feed frames quickly, but the GPU still has overhead. At 1440p, the GPU becomes more stressed, evidenced by the 40.7% drop from 1440p to 4K, which is a larger relative loss than the 30.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p. The 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS is a clear sign that the RTX 4070’s rendering capacity is the primary constraint at that resolution and preset.

The data shows that Low settings at 4K yield 103 FPS, which is 40% higher than High at the same resolution. This indicates that the GPU has headroom if visual effects are reduced, but the CPU is not the bottleneck even at 4K Low, given the high frame count. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent: at 1080p, Low produces 248 FPS while Ultra produces 113 FPS, a 54.4% drop. At 1440p, the drop is from 172 FPS to 78 FPS (54.7%). At 4K, the drop is from 103 FPS to 47 FPS (54.4%). This uniformity suggests the GPU’s workload scales linearly with the preset, independent of resolution, and the CPU is never the limiting factor in these measurements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 5888 shading units. Its benchmark percentile is 81 against all GPUs, placing it above most cards but not in the top tier. The nearest rival data shows a delta of 0.1% against the NVIDIA Tesla P4, indicating the RTX 4070’s average benchmark score of 37648 is nearly identical to that older card, which is a surprising comparison given the architectural differences.

In Greedfall, the GPU’s role is dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS is the clearest indicator: this is a demanding scene for the 12 GB frame buffer and the 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The card’s 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs handle texture and pixel work, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is saturated. The 4K High result of 73 FPS is more playable, and 4K Medium at 81 FPS (with a minimum of 69 FPS) shows the card can handle 4K with moderate settings.

The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is a key factor. At 4K, the larger frame sizes require this bandwidth, and the measured 103 FPS at 4K Low suggests the bandwidth is sufficient when the shading load is reduced. The 12 GB capacity is not a limiting factor in these measured rows, as the game does not appear to exceed it at any tested setting, given the frame rates remain consistent with compute-bound behavior rather than memory swapping. The GPU’s 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present, but Greedfall does not appear to use them heavily based on the data, as the frame rate scaling is linear with preset rather than showing any ray tracing impact.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh codename, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark percentile is 96 against all CPUs, placing it in the top 4% of tested processors. The average benchmark score of 93785 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon 6520P (delta 0%), and it is 1.5% behind the AMD EPYC 4564P and 2.1% behind the AMD EPYC 4565P.

In Greedfall, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU, and the data shows it does this flawlessly at 1080p and 1440p. The 1080p Low result of 248 FPS is a strong indicator of CPU capability, as this is a frame rate that would strain many processors. The 24 threads are more than enough for Greedfall, which is not a heavily threaded title, but the high single-core boost of 5.50 GHz likely contributes to the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2439 and multi-core score of 44253 confirm strong per-core performance.

The CPU’s 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support are sufficient for this game. The measured frame rates at 1080p High (177 FPS) and 1440p High (123 FPS) show that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is the primary limiter at those settings. However, at 1080p Low, the 248 FPS result suggests the CPU is reaching its practical limit for this game, but it is still above the refresh rate of most displays. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking versus all CPUs means that in games like Greedfall, this processor will rarely be the limiting factor, and the data supports that with the uniform scaling pattern across presets at each resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K, the Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 47 FPS average falls below smooth gameplay thresholds. The High preset at 4K produces 73 FPS, which is acceptable for many players, but the Medium preset at 4K yields 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, offering a better margin for frame time consistency. The data suggests 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this resolution, balancing visual quality with a playable frame rate.

For 1440p, the High preset at 123 FPS is an excellent choice, providing high visual fidelity and smooth motion. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is playable but not as fluid, while Medium at 135 FPS (minimum 115 FPS) offers a higher refresh rate experience. The Low preset at 172 FPS is excessive for most displays, so High or Medium is preferable. For 1080p, the High preset at 177 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the Medium preset at 195 FPS (minimum 166 FPS) is even smoother, but the visual difference is minor. The Ultra preset at 113 FPS is still smooth, but the drop from High is significant (36% reduction), so High is the better trade-off.

The data indicates that the Medium preset across all resolutions provides the most consistent experience, as it is the only setting with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a stable frame delivery. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 69 FPS ensures no major drops below 60 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 166 FPS means the frame rate rarely dips below that threshold. For players prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, the High preset is the best balance, as it performs well at all resolutions without the steep cost of Ultra. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it provides diminishing returns in visual quality for a 40-50% frame rate penalty compared to High.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Greedfall at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, and at High settings the average is 73 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 47 FPS, which is not smooth.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: The High preset delivers 123 FPS, while Medium delivers 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS. High is recommended for visual quality, but Medium offers a higher and more consistent frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average is 248 FPS, which suggests the CPU is near its limit for this game. At 1080p High (177 FPS) and Ultra (113 FPS), the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops with increased graphics load.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmarks?

A: The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93785, which is 0% different from the Intel Xeon 6520P, 1.5% behind the AMD EPYC 4564P, and 2.1% behind the AMD EPYC 4565P.

Q: What is the measured frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: Low produces 172 FPS, while Ultra produces 78 FPS. This is a 54.7% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra at 1440p.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 have enough memory for Greedfall?

A: The card has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. The measured frame rates do not indicate memory capacity issues, as the scaling between presets is consistent with compute load rather than memory swapping.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low 248 FPS, Medium 195 FPS (minimum 166 FPS, maximum 224 FPS), High 177 FPS, and Ultra 113 FPS. The Medium setting is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, showing a range of 58 FPS between min and max.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 172 FPS, Medium 135 FPS (minimum 115 FPS, maximum 155 FPS), High 123 FPS, and Ultra 78 FPS. The Medium setting again has the only range data, with a 40 FPS spread between minimum and maximum.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 103 FPS, Medium 81 FPS (minimum 69 FPS, maximum 93 FPS), High 73 FPS, and Ultra 47 FPS. The Medium setting shows a 24 FPS range, indicating tighter frame pacing at 4K.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings provide the most stable frame delivery across all resolutions, as evidenced by the recorded minimum and maximum values. The gap between High and Ultra is significant at every resolution: at 1080p, High is 64 FPS higher than Ultra; at 1440p, High is 45 FPS higher; at 4K, High is 26 FPS higher. The gap between Low and Medium is smaller: 53 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual fidelity, as the step from Low to Medium is less costly than the step from High to Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combo ranks 694 out of 2938 tested combinations in Greedfall, placing it in the top 23.6% of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the strong CPU performance (96th percentile) and the solid but not top-tier GPU performance (81st percentile). The rank of 694 means there are 693 combos that perform better in this specific game, which is expected given that the RTX 4070 is not the highest-end GPU in the database.

The CPU’s high benchmark percentile (96) and the GPU’s moderate percentile (81) suggest that this combo is somewhat CPU-heavy, meaning the processor has more headroom than the graphics card. In Greedfall, this manifests as the GPU being the limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions, as shown by the 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS. The combo’s rank of 694 out of 2938 is respectable, but it indicates that for players seeking maximum frame rates at 4K Ultra, a more powerful GPU would be needed. The measured data shows this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it can push high frame rates, but it is not optimized for extreme 4K settings. The rank also suggests that the CPU’s 24 cores are not fully utilized by this game, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck before the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are stretched.