Greedfall

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

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2 family, built on Arrow Lake Refresh architecture using TSMC's 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz position it as a high-frequency desktop part, while the 36 MB shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide the memory subsystem headroom that an action RPG like Greedfall can leverage during scene transitions and asset streaming.

In Greedfall specifically, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions where frame rates climb well beyond what the GPU alone would typically sustain. At 1080p Low settings, the combo produces 383 FPS average, which is a figure that demands strong per-core performance and efficient thread scheduling. The 24 threads, while not as numerous as some server-class parts, are enough to feed the game's simulation and AI routines without becoming the primary constraint at any measured settings level.

The processor's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Xeon 6520P at a 0% deltaPct, the AMD EPYC 4564P at -1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F at -1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P at -2.1%. These comparisons show the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus sits in a tight cluster of high-end parts, with the Xeon 6520P essentially matching its average score of 93,785. However, the Core Ultra 7's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that in general-purpose compute, it outperforms the vast majority of processors, which translates to consistent frame pacing in Greedfall's open-world environments.

The 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die with a 125 W TDP suggest a power-efficient design that can maintain boost clocks during sustained gaming loads. For Greedfall, which is not particularly thread-hungry compared to modern strategy titles, the high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,439) is arguably more relevant than the multi-core throughput (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253). The game's combat and dialogue systems rely on predictable frame times, and the CPU's ability to deliver high clocks under load helps avoid micro-stutter.

# FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Greedfall?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 1st out of 2,938 tested combos in Greedfall. This top placement indicates that no other combination of CPU and GPU in the database achieves higher measured frame rates in this title.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Xeon 6520P has an average benchmark score of 93,786, which is a 0% deltaPct from the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's score of 93,785. The AMD EPYC 4564P trails by 1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P by 2.1%. These margins are small enough that in gaming workloads, the Core Ultra 7's higher boost clock likely provides a practical advantage that synthetic averages do not fully capture.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the CPU support, and why does it matter for this game?

A: The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Greedfall's open-world design requires streaming textures and geometry as the player moves through environments, and adequate memory bandwidth reduces hitches during these transitions. The measured FPS data shows no anomalous dips at any resolution, suggesting the memory subsystem is sufficient.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs, and what does that imply?

A: The RTX 5090 D ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. This places it in the top 8% of graphics cards, and in Greedfall it delivers playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra settings, which is consistent with a high-end Blackwell architecture part.

Q: What are the measured FPS values at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 209 FPS, with a minimum of 178 FPS and a maximum of 240 FPS. The 62 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates some scene-to-scene variability, but the minimum remains well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

Q: How does the GPU's nearest rival compare in synthetic performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT has an average score of 76,904, which is 1.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D's score. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.6%, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 2.1%, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 2.4%. Despite being a desktop flagship, the RTX 5090 D's synthetic scores are closely matched by these parts, though in Greedfall the measured FPS demonstrates its real-world gaming strength.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low settings, the combo produces 383 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 266 FPS, a reduction of 117 FPS (approximately 30.5%). At 4K Low, the average falls further to 159 FPS, which is 224 FPS below the 1080p figure. This progression from 383 to 266 to 159 FPS shows that even at Low settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The High settings curve tells a similar story. At 1080p High, the average is 273 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 190 FPS, a 30.4% reduction. At 4K High, the average is 113 FPS, which is 58.6% lower than the 1080p result. These consistent percentage drops across resolution steps indicate that Greedfall's rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count, and the RTX 5090 D's compute resources are the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Medium settings show the most complete dataset, with minimum and maximum FPS values recorded for each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 301 FPS with a range of 256 to 346 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 209 FPS with a range of 178 to 240 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 125 FPS with a range of 106 to 143 FPS. The minimum FPS values at each step — 256, 178, and 106 — demonstrate that even in the most demanding scenes, the GPU maintains playable performance.

The Ultra settings results show the steepest scaling curve. From 175 FPS at 1080p Ultra, the average falls to 121 FPS at 1440p Ultra, a 30.9% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average is 72 FPS, which is 58.9% below the 1080p figure. This near-identical percentage drop to the High settings curve suggests that the GPU's fill rate and shading units are the determining factor, rather than any CPU-side bottleneck.

Data indicates that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides sufficient headroom at all resolutions. The FPS differences between 1080p and 1440p at any given settings level are proportionally consistent, which would not be the case if the CPU were constraining performance at lower resolutions. The 383 FPS peak at 1080p Low is high enough that even a slightly slower CPU would likely produce similar results, but the fact that the scaling remains smooth across all settings levels points to a balanced pairing.

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

For players targeting 4K on a high-refresh-rate display, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS. This is the only 4K settings level where the minimum FPS stays above 100, which ensures smooth gameplay during combat sequences with multiple enemies and particle effects. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 72 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes, while the High preset at 113 FPS average and the Low preset at 159 FPS average are also viable depending on visual preferences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers an average of 209 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors. The High preset at 190 FPS average is also suitable for high-refresh displays, while the Ultra preset at 121 FPS average provides a more visually rich experience that still clears the 120 FPS threshold. For players with 240 Hz monitors, the Low preset at 266 FPS average is the only option that fully saturates the display, though the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for a game like Greedfall that emphasizes atmospheric environments.

At 1080p, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with the Low preset at 383 FPS average being the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 301 FPS average and the High preset at 273 FPS average both provide substantial headroom above 240 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 175 FPS average is the only setting that drops below 200 FPS, but it still maintains a minimum of 175 FPS which is well above typical 144 Hz refresh rates.

The data suggests that the Medium preset represents the best balance between visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions. At 4K, it offers a 10.6% improvement over High in average FPS (125 vs 113) and a 42.4% improvement over Ultra (125 vs 72). At 1440p, Medium's 209 FPS average is 10% higher than High and 42.1% higher than Ultra. At 1080p, Medium's 301 FPS average is 10.3% higher than High and 41.9% higher than Ultra. This consistent pattern indicates that Medium provides a significant performance uplift over higher presets while maintaining acceptable visual quality for an action RPG.

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

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 1 out of 2,938 tested combos in Greedfall. This top ranking means that no other CPU-GPU pairing in the database produces higher measured frame rates in this game, regardless of settings or resolution. The rank is particularly notable given the game's 2019 release date, as newer titles often favor more recent hardware, but Greedfall's engine appears to respond well to both this processor's high clocks and the GPU's substantial compute resources.

Being ranked first out of 2,938 combinations places this combo in the top 0.03% of all tested configurations. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs combine to create a system that excels in Greedfall's specific rendering workload. The fact that the CPU's nearest rivals are server-class EPYC and Xeon parts suggests that the Core Ultra 7's gaming-oriented design — with its high boost clock of 5.50 GHz — provides an advantage that synthetic benchmark averages do not fully reflect.

The measured FPS values at each resolution and settings combination are the highest in the database, which means that players looking to maximize frame rates in Greedfall would need no other hardware combination to achieve better results. The gap between this combo and the second-place configuration is not quantified in the data, but the rank of 1 indicates that no other tested setup matches these numbers.

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

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 383 FPS average
• Medium: 301 FPS average, 256 FPS minimum, 346 FPS maximum
• High: 273 FPS average
• Ultra: 175 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 266 FPS average
• Medium: 209 FPS average, 178 FPS minimum, 240 FPS maximum
• High: 190 FPS average
• Ultra: 121 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 159 FPS average
• Medium: 125 FPS average, 106 FPS minimum, 143 FPS maximum
• High: 113 FPS average
• Ultra: 72 FPS average

The Medium settings at each resolution are the only rows with complete minimum and maximum data. At 1080p Medium, the spread from minimum to maximum is 90 FPS, indicating a 35.2% variation between the most demanding and least demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 62 FPS, or 34.8% variation. At 4K Medium, the spread is 37 FPS, or 34.9% variation. This consistent relative spread suggests that Greedfall's scene complexity varies by a similar factor regardless of resolution.

The Low settings row at each resolution shows the highest FPS values, with 383 FPS at 1080p, 266 FPS at 1440p, and 159 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings at each resolution show the lowest values, with 175 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The ratio between Low and Ultra at each resolution is 2.19 at 1080p, 2.20 at 1440p, and 2.21 at 4K, which indicates that the performance cost of Ultra settings scales proportionally with resolution.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Greedfall's texture streaming requirements at 4K resolution. The GPU's base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs, deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In Greedfall, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the 383 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls, but at 4K Ultra the 72 FPS average reflects the GPU's raw compute limits. The RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than enough to handle the game's DirectX 12 rendering path, and the 170 ray tracing cores suggest that even if ray-traced effects were enabled, the GPU would have substantial headroom.

The GPU's 32 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant at 4K Ultra settings, where high-resolution textures and anti-aliasing can consume significant memory. The fact that the combo maintains 72 FPS average at 4K Ultra without any reported frame drops indicates that the VRAM allocation is not causing paging or texture thrashing. The 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth also helps maintain consistent frame times during fast camera movements across Greedfall's detailed environments.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 is closely matched by the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76,904 (1.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (-1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants at 79,396 and 79,605 (-2.1% and -2.4%). These synthetic scores, however, do not reflect the RTX 5090 D's gaming-specific advantages in Greedfall, where the measured FPS ranks 1st among all combos. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier of graphics hardware, and the measured results confirm that it delivers exceptional performance in this title.