Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that still presents a meaningful challenge to modern mobile hardware, and the pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a dataset worth examining. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is clearly capable of high-refresh-rate play at conventional resolutions, yet also exposes the limits of the GPU when pushing 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes them against the hardware’s broader benchmark standing, and offers guidance on how to configure the game for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The data is measured, not estimated, and every figure cited below comes directly from the provided fact pack.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component is doing the heavy lifting. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 180 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 125 FPS, a reduction of 55 FPS or roughly 30.6% from the 1080p figure. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 74 FPS, which is 41% lower than the 1440p result and about 59% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern—where each resolution step costs a substantial fraction of the previous performance—indicates a GPU-bound scenario at lower settings, because the CPU is not the limiting factor when the workload is light.

The same trend holds for High settings, but with slightly different magnitudes. At 1080p High, the average is 128 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 89 FPS, a 30.5% decrease. At 4K High, the average falls to 53 FPS, which is 40.4% lower than 1440p and 58.6% lower than 1080p. The consistency of these percentage drops—around 30% for the first step and 40% for the second—strongly suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the dominant constraint. The CPU, a 24-core, 24-thread Arrow Lake-HX part with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, is not the bottleneck here; if it were, the frame rate would not scale so linearly with resolution.

Ultra settings amplify the GPU dependency even further. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 82 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 57 FPS, a 30.5% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 34 FPS, which is 40.4% below 1440p and 58.5% below 1080p. The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across Low, High, and Ultra presets—despite the absolute FPS values being very different—confirms that resolution scaling is consistent and predictable for this game and this hardware. The limiting component is the GPU, specifically its ability to fill pixels and process shaders at higher resolutions.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low delivers 180 FPS versus 82 FPS for Ultra, a 98 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap is 125 FPS versus 57 FPS, a 68 FPS difference. At 4K, Low gives 74 FPS while Ultra gives 34 FPS, a 40 FPS difference. This narrowing absolute gap at higher resolutions is typical of a GPU-bound scenario: when the GPU is saturated, the relative cost of extra visual features (shadows, textures, post-processing) becomes smaller in absolute terms because the baseline render cost is already so high. The takeaway is that the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX has ample headroom; the RTX 4070 is what determines the playable envelope.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is an Ada Lovelace part built on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. For a game like Greedfall, which is not particularly VRAM-hungry at 1080p or 1440p, this memory configuration is more than adequate. The fact that the Low preset at 1080p reaches 180 FPS and the Medium preset at 1080p holds a minimum of 120 FPS with an average of 141 FPS indicates that neither memory capacity nor bandwidth is a limiting factor at those settings.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz contribute to its raw compute throughput, rated at 29.15 TFLOPS for FP32. This figure helps explain why the card can maintain over 60 FPS at 1440p High (89 FPS average) and even at 4K Low (74 FPS average). The 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present, but Greedfall’s measured results do not show ray tracing-specific data, so their impact cannot be quantified from this dataset. What the data does show is that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate differences across settings, as the CPU’s performance is consistent regardless of resolution.

The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score is 37,648, with a percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (score 37,628, delta 0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (score 37,507, delta 0.4%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (score 38,135, delta -1.3%). The fact that the RTX 4080 Mobile scores about 1.3% higher on average suggests that the desktop-class RTX 4070 in this laptop is very close to a higher-tier mobile part in synthetic benchmarks, yet the measured FPS in Greedfall still shows the GPU struggling at 4K Ultra (34 FPS average). This reinforces that Greedfall’s Ultra preset is particularly demanding, likely due to heavy post-processing and texture filtering that stress the ROPs and memory subsystem.

The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is a key spec to consider when evaluating the 4K results. At 3840x2160, the pixel count is 8.3 million, and the GPU must fetch textures and write framebuffer data at a much higher rate than at 1920x1080 (2.1 million pixels). The fact that 4K High yields 53 FPS and 4K Medium yields 58 FPS suggests that the GPU is not completely bandwidth-starved, but the drop to 34 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates that the additional settings push the memory subsystem and shader array to their limits. The 12 GB VRAM is not the issue; the 192-bit bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are the constraining factors at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Greedfall, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a rank of 1,555 out of 2,938 total combos. That places it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 47% of all CPU-GPU pairings tested in this game perform better, and 53% perform worse. This is a middle-of-the-pack ranking, which might surprise given the hardware’s individual credentials, but it makes sense when considering that the database includes desktop parts and higher-end mobile GPUs that can outperform the RTX 4070 in a 2019 title that is not heavily multithreaded.

The CPU itself is a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks. Its average benchmark score is 67,469, with a percentile of 94 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (score 67,673, delta -0.3%), the AMD EPYC 4484PX (score 67,822, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX (score 67,868, delta -0.6%). The fact that the Core Ultra 9 275HX scores within 0.6% of these workstation-class parts shows that its 24 cores and 24 threads are competitive in multi-threaded workloads. However, Greedfall’s engine does not appear to scale perfectly with thread count, which is why the combo rank is not higher.

The GPU’s individual ranking is percentile 81, which is high, but the combo rank of 1,555/2,938 suggests that the RTX 4070 is not the top-tier choice for this specific game. The gap between the GPU’s 81st percentile and the combo’s 47th percentile implies that other combos with slightly slower GPUs but faster CPUs (or better memory configurations) achieve higher FPS in Greedfall. The measured data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 180 FPS, which is excellent, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 34 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider smooth. The ranking reflects this inconsistency across settings.

Compared to the RTX 4070’s nearest GPU rival, the RTX 4080 Mobile (which scores 1.3% higher on average), this combo would likely rank lower if paired with other CPUs. The data does not provide direct FPS comparisons for other combos, but the percentile difference between the GPU’s 81 and the combo’s 47 indicates that the CPU is not improving the system above its GPU class. The Core Ultra 9 275HX is certainly capable—its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35,589 and Geekbench multicore score of 20,795 are strong—but Greedfall is not a CPU-bound title at the settings tested. The combo rank is therefore a reflection of the GPU’s mid-tier standing in this game’s benchmark database.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the most balanced experience is at 2560x1440 with High settings. At this resolution and preset, the average FPS is 89, which is comfortably above 60 and leaves headroom for dips. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 98 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS, which is even smoother, but the jump from Medium to High only costs 9 FPS on average, so High is the better visual value. The 1440p High result also shows that the GPU is not overtaxed, as the frame rate is 68% higher than the 4K High result of 53 FPS.

For players with 1080p displays, the High preset at 128 FPS average is the clear choice. The Medium preset offers 141 FPS average with a minimum of 120 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is substantial in most games, and the 13 FPS cost is minor. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 82 FPS average, which is still playable but not worth the visual gain over High, especially since High already hits 128 FPS. The Low preset at 180 FPS is only useful for competitive play, which is not a typical use case for an Action RPG.

At 4K, the recommendations are more constrained. The Low preset delivers 74 FPS average, which is playable but visually sparse. The Medium preset delivers 58 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS, which is borderline smooth but may show stutter during heavy scenes. The High preset drops to 53 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for many players. The Ultra preset at 34 FPS average is not recommended for any scenario. If 4K is the target resolution, the data suggests using Medium settings, as it offers the best compromise between the 58 FPS average and the 50 FPS minimum, which keeps the experience mostly fluid.

The measured rows also show that the minimum FPS figures are only available for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 120 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 83 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 50 FPS. These minimums are 85% of the average at 1080p, 84.7% at 1440p, and 86.2% at 4K, indicating that frame pacing is consistent and that the GPU does not experience severe hitches. For other presets, the absence of minimum FPS data means we cannot assess worst-case performance, but the averages are stable enough to guide decisions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings produce an average of 180 FPS. Medium settings produce 141 FPS average, with a minimum of 120 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS. High settings produce 128 FPS average. Ultra settings produce 82 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra is 180, 141, 128, 82, which shows that the largest single drop occurs when moving from High to Ultra (128 to 82, a 46 FPS or 35.9% reduction). The drop from Medium to High is only 13 FPS (141 to 128), while the drop from Low to Medium is 39 FPS (180 to 141). This suggests that Ultra is disproportionately expensive at 1080p, likely due to shadow quality and ambient occlusion effects.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 125 FPS for Low, 98 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 83 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS), 89 FPS for High, and 57 FPS for Ultra. The percentage drops are similar to 1080p: from Low to Medium is a 21.6% reduction (125 to 98), from Medium to High is a 9.2% reduction (98 to 89), and from High to Ultra is a 35.9% reduction (89 to 57). The consistency of the High-to-Ultra drop across resolutions (35.9% at 1080p, 35.9% at 1440p) indicates that Ultra settings add a fixed computational cost that scales with resolution, further confirming GPU-bound behavior.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 74 FPS for Low, 58 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 67 FPS), 53 FPS for High, and 34 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Medium to High is only 5 FPS (58 to 53), which is a modest 8.6% reduction. The drop from High to Ultra is 19 FPS (53 to 34), a 35.8% reduction, mirroring the pattern seen at lower resolutions. The Low-to-Medium drop is 16 FPS (74 to 58), a 21.6% reduction. This uniformity across all three resolutions—with the same approximate percentage drops for each preset step—demonstrates that Greedfall’s settings scale linearly with pixel count, making the GPU the sole determinant of performance.

The maximum FPS values are only provided for Medium settings. At 1080p, the maximum is 163 FPS; at 1440p, it is 113 FPS; at 4K, it is 67 FPS. These maximums are 15.6% above the averages at 1080p, 15.3% above at 1440p, and 15.5% above at 4K, indicating that frame rate variability is consistent across resolutions. The minimums, as noted, are 120, 83, and 50 FPS respectively, showing that the GPU can sustain near-average performance even in demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Greedfall?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance. High settings at 1440p deliver 89 FPS average, which is smooth, while Medium at 1440p provides 98 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS. At 1080p, the combo can reach 180 FPS on Low and 128 FPS on High, but 1440p High is the sweet spot for visual quality without sacrificing fluidity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Greedfall?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 58 with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 53 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 34 FPS, which is not recommended. For 4K, use Medium settings for the best experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37,648. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37,628 (0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135 (1.3% higher). The RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 67,469, ranking at the 94th percentile, and its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon w5-3525, scores 67,673 (0.3% higher). The frame rate scaling across resolutions follows a consistent pattern that indicates GPU-bound performance, not CPU limitation.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and High settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 82. At 1080p High, it is 128 FPS. This is a 46 FPS difference, or roughly a 35.9% reduction in performance when moving from High to Ultra. The same percentage reduction appears at 1440p and 4K, making Ultra the most expensive preset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Greedfall?

A: The combo ranks 1,555 out of 2,938 tested combinations, placing it in the 47th percentile. This is lower than the GPU’s individual 81st percentile ranking, indicating that other combos with faster GPUs or better memory configurations achieve higher frame rates in this specific game.