Greedfall

Greedfall on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT presents a clear performance profile across its four settings presets and three resolutions. The measured data shows a title that is demanding at its highest settings but scales predictably, making the choice of preset highly dependent on the target display resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the High preset provides the most balanced experience overall, offering a significant jump in visual fidelity over Medium settings while maintaining playable frame rates at all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers 114 FPS average, which is 89 frames above the 25 FPS gap down to Ultra's 73 FPS, making it the optimal choice for high-refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, High maintains a strong 79 FPS average, keeping the experience fluid even on 144Hz monitors. The 3840x2160 High result of 47 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold but remains playable for slower-paced action RPG gameplay.

For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Low preset is the only configuration that consistently exceeds 60 FPS at 4K, achieving 66 FPS average. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 4K (66 to 52 FPS) costs only 14 FPS while providing substantially better visual quality. At 1080p, Low pushes 159 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration to approach 160 FPS, making it suitable for competitive play if this title were used in that context, though the visual compromise is substantial.

The Ultra preset is effectively reserved for 1080p gaming, where it manages 73 FPS. At 1440p it drops to 50 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 30 FPS, which is the minimum acceptable for console-like performance. The data suggests that Ultra is not a viable option for resolutions above 1080p with this combination. Medium serves as a reliable middle ground, providing 125 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result being the only Medium configuration below 60 FPS. For the best experience per the measured rows, High at 1080p or 1440p offers the strongest combination of visual quality and frame rate headroom.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the primary determinant of frame rates in Greedfall, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns across settings. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 6 nm process at TSMC, includes 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The boost clock reaches 2755 MHz, with a game clock of 2470 MHz, delivering 22.57 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The memory configuration is particularly relevant for Greedfall, an open-world action RPG where texture streaming and large environments can pressure VRAM. The 16 GB capacity is ample for this title, as evidenced by the consistent performance scaling from Low to Medium to High settings. The 128-bit bus width, however, limits memory bandwidth to 288.0 GB/s, which may contribute to the substantial FPS drops at 4K resolution where memory bandwidth demands increase. The GPU's pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s provide adequate fill rates for the game's visuals at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 30 FPS suggests the GPU's compute and bandwidth resources become saturated.

The GPU's benchmark scores confirm its mid-range positioning: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348 and a Passmark G3D score of 17132 place it at the 60th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, scores 17208 on average (a -0.7% delta), indicating the RX 7600 XT is competitive with that higher-tier card in synthetic tests. The 190 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin connector suggest power delivery is not a limiting factor in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario across all settings. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 114 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p (a 30.7% reduction) and then to 47 at 4K (a 40.5% reduction from 1440p). The Low preset shows similar scaling: 159 FPS at 1080p, 111 at 1440p (down 30.2%), and 66 at 4K (down 40.5%). This consistent ~30% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~40% drop from 1440p to 4K across settings indicates the GPU is the limiting component throughout.

The Medium preset demonstrates slightly different scaling characteristics. From 1080p (125 FPS) to 1440p (87 FPS), the drop is 30.4%, and from 1440p to 4K (52 FPS), it is 40.2%. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 73 FPS at 1080p dropping to 50 FPS at 1440p (31.5% reduction) and then to 30 FPS at 4K (40% reduction). The 4K Ultra result of 30 FPS is exactly half the 1080p Ultra figure, reflecting the 4x pixel count increase that this GPU cannot fully compensate for.

The data suggests that the RX 7600 XT's 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for all settings at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results indicate that the GPU's compute throughput and memory bandwidth become the bottleneck. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely insufficient for 4K Ultra textures and effects, explaining the 47 FPS High result and the 30 FPS Ultra result. The 1440p results are the sweet spot for this combination, with High at 79 FPS providing a smooth experience without the visual compromises of Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings is playable. Low averages 159 FPS, representing the maximum measured frame rate in this dataset. Medium achieves 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 144 FPS, showing good consistency. High reaches 114 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 73 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is 41 FPS, the largest single-settings gap in the dataset, indicating that Ultra's additional effects have a significant cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains intact but compresses. Low averages 111 FPS, Medium 87 FPS (minimum 74, maximum 100), High 79 FPS, and Ultra 50 FPS. The High to Ultra gap narrows to 29 FPS, while the Low to High gap is 32 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 87 FPS is particularly notable, as it provides a 8 FPS advantage over High while presumably reducing visual quality, making it a viable alternative for users who prefer higher frame rates.

At 3840x2160, only Low (66 FPS) and Medium (52 FPS, minimum 44, maximum 60) approach playable levels. High drops to 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 52 FPS with a 44 FPS minimum shows occasional dips below the 45 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable during combat sequences. The 4K Low setting at 66 FPS is the only 4K configuration that maintains a consistent 60+ FPS experience. The data reveals that Greedfall at 4K with this GPU requires Low settings for smooth gameplay, while Medium is acceptable for users tolerant of occasional frame rate drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 1840 out of 2938 tested combos in Greedfall, placing it in the 37th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than the CPU's high-end capabilities. The RX 7600 XT's 60th percentile standing among all GPUs is dragged down by the game's demanding nature at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 96th percentile performance does not compensate for the GPU bottleneck.

The combo rank suggests that this pairing is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming than for 4K, which aligns with the measured FPS data. At 1080p High, the 114 FPS result would place this combo in the upper tier of configurations for that specific setting, but the 4K results pull the overall rank down. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807 on average (a 0.2% delta), indicating the 290K Plus offers marginal performance improvement, but this does not translate to meaningful FPS gains in Greedfall due to the GPU limitation.

The GPU's nearest rival data shows the RX 7600 XT is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (17208 average score, -0.7% delta) and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019 average score, 0.4% delta). This positioning explains the combo's rank: it competes with configurations using last-generation high-end GPUs but falls short of current-generation high-end cards. Users seeking higher rankings in this game would need to pair the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with a more powerful GPU, as the current RX 7600 XT limits the system's overall gaming performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Arrow Lake Refresh generation, built on a 3 nm TSMC process with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, and it features a 36 MB shared L3 cache with 3 MB L2 and 192 KB L1 per core. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth and PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes.

In Greedfall, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns. The processor's Cinebench R23 scores of 51731 multi-core and 7303 single-core, along with a Passmark single-thread score of 4823, indicate ample processing power for the game's logic and AI. The 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms this is not a bottleneck in this configuration. The nearest CPU rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807 average score, 0.2% delta) and AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090 average score, 1.1% delta), show that the 290K Plus is competitive with other high-end processors.

The game's performance at 1080p Low (159 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively even at high frame rates, with no indication of CPU-limited behavior. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings further confirm that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 24 threads are more than sufficient for Greedfall's threading model, which is unlikely to utilize more than 8-16 threads effectively. The processor's 125 W TDP and efficiency on the 3 nm node suggest thermal headroom is not a concern for sustained gaming sessions, though the game's performance would not change meaningfully with a different CPU due to the GPU constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Greedfall with this hardware combination?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings provides the best balance, achieving 79 FPS average. This is 35 FPS higher than the 4K High result of 47 FPS while maintaining visual quality comparable to higher resolutions.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Greedfall?

A: Only with Low settings, which averages 66 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 52 FPS with a 44 FPS minimum, while High and Ultra fall to 47 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, so 60 FPS at 4K requires significant visual compromises.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to the RTX 3070 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 17083, while the RTX 3070 scores 17208, a -0.7% delta. This indicates the two GPUs are virtually equivalent in synthetic performance, with the RTX 3070 holding a negligible advantage.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows GPU-bound patterns. The 1080p Low result of 159 FPS shows the CPU can sustain high frame rates without limiting the GPU.

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

A: The Ultra preset averages 73 FPS while High averages 114 FPS, a 41 FPS difference. This is the largest single-settings gap in the dataset, suggesting Ultra's visual enhancements carry a significant performance penalty at this resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings across all resolutions?

A: The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 106 at 1080p, 74 at 1440p, and 44 at 4K. The 4K minimum of 44 FPS is the lowest measured value for any Medium configuration, indicating occasional frame drops below playable thresholds.