Greedfall

Greedfall is an Action RPG from 2019 that responds predictably to settings changes, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 shows a clear performance hierarchy across its three tested resolutions. The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, providing a substantial frame rate uplift over High and Ultra settings while maintaining a playable minimum frame rate. At 1080p, Medium delivers 131 FPS average with a minimum of 112 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 119 FPS average on High and nearly double the 76 FPS average on Ultra. The pattern holds at 1440p, where Medium produces 91 FPS average with a 77 FPS minimum, compared to 83 FPS on High and 53 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, Medium still manages a respectable 54 FPS average with a 46 FPS minimum, while High drops to 49 FPS and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. The Low preset is available for maximum frame rates, but the step from Low to Medium costs only about 20% performance at each resolution while providing a visually richer experience, making Medium the sweet spot for this combination.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly identifies Medium as the optimal preset for this CPU-GPU combo across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves 131 FPS average, which is 12 FPS higher than High and 55 FPS higher than Ultra. The minimum frame rate of 112 FPS on Medium ensures smooth gameplay without significant dips, something that cannot be said for Ultra at 76 FPS average with no recorded minimum. Moving to 1440p, Medium again leads with 91 FPS average and a 77 FPS minimum, while High trails at 83 FPS and Ultra collapses to 53 FPS. The gap between Medium and High narrows at 1440p compared to 1080p, suggesting the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions, but Medium still provides a 10% improvement over High in average frame rate.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. Medium produces 54 FPS average with a 46 FPS minimum, which is the only preset that maintains a minimum above 45 FPS. High drops to 49 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS, which is likely to feel stuttery in combat. The data suggests that Medium is the highest preset that keeps the experience fluid at 4K, and even then, the 46 FPS minimum indicates some demanding scenes will stress the system. For players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, Low offers 167 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K, but the jump from Low to Medium delivers a much better visual experience for a moderate performance cost. Given that Greedfall is an action RPG where reaction time matters, the Medium preset appears to be the recommended choice for this hardware combination, balancing visual quality with performance consistency.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, which directly influences its performance in Greedfall. The GPU has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz, with 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs. The card's pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for the game's rendering demands. At 1080p, the GPU is clearly not the bottleneck, as even Ultra settings achieve 76 FPS average, indicating headroom in the graphics pipeline. However, the 8 GB VRAM capacity becomes a concern at higher resolutions and settings, particularly when the frame rates drop sharply from Medium to Ultra at 4K.

The benchmark data shows that the RX 9060's performance scales predictably with resolution, but the gap between Medium and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Medium and Ultra is 55 FPS, while at 1440p it is 38 FPS, and at 4K it is 23 FPS. This pattern suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are increasingly strained at higher resolutions, particularly with Ultra settings that likely require more texture memory. The card's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest for a modern GPU, and the 128-bit bus limits data throughput compared to wider-memory designs. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3322 and Passmark G3D score of 17631 place it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, indicating mid-range performance that aligns with the measured frame rates in Greedfall.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the RX 9060 handles increasing pixel counts. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 131 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction, and then to 54 FPS at 4K, a further 41% reduction. This scaling is roughly consistent with the increase in pixel count, suggesting the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the pattern is similar: 119 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper for High settings (41% reduction) compared to Medium (41% reduction), indicating that the higher texture quality demands more from the GPU's memory subsystem.

The Low preset shows the least dramatic scaling, with 167 FPS at 1080p, 116 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. This suggests that when the GPU is less stressed by graphics settings, the CPU can help maintain higher frame rates even at 4K. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, appears to provide ample headroom for the GPU to work at lower settings. However, the fact that 4K Low produces 69 FPS while 4K Medium drops to 54 FPS indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the limiting factor once settings increase. The Ultra preset at 4K, with just 31 FPS average, confirms that this combination is not suited for maximum quality at 4K, and players should either lower settings or resolution to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1672 out of 2938 tested combos for Greedfall, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This rank of 1672 out of 2938 means that roughly 57% of tested combinations perform better, which is consistent with the RX 9060's position as a mid-range GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-end part in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, suggesting the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing. The combo's performance in Greedfall reflects this imbalance, as the frame rates at 1080p are good but not exceptional, and the 4K results are limited.

The rank suggests that this combination is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K, and the measured data supports this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 131 FPS, which is smooth for an action RPG, while at 1440p Medium it still produces 91 FPS. However, the 4K results are below the 60 FPS threshold for most presets, with only Low reaching above 60 FPS. The combo's rank of 1672 out of 2938 indicates that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU limits the overall gaming experience, and players would see significant improvements by pairing the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with a stronger GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It has 36 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The Passmark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm its strong performance. In Greedfall, the CPU's role is evident in the frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 167 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the RX 9060's mid-range capabilities. The CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303, helps maintain high frame rates even at lower settings. The CPU's 24 cores do not necessarily translate to gaming performance gains, as most games use fewer threads, but the high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance. Compared to its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, the 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003 versus 83807, a 0.2% difference, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. The data suggests that the CPU provides more than enough headroom for the RX 9060, and any performance issues in Greedfall are attributable to the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU-GPU combo at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice at 1440p, delivering 91 FPS average with a 77 FPS minimum. High settings produce 83 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 53 FPS, making Medium the highest preset that maintains a comfortable frame rate.

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

A: At 4K, only the Low preset achieves a playable frame rate with 69 FPS average. Medium produces 54 FPS average with a 46 FPS minimum, which is borderline playable, while High drops to 49 FPS and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. Players should stick to 1440p for a consistently smooth experience.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, while the RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, a 0.7% difference. This indicates nearly identical performance between the two GPUs in general benchmarks, and the measured FPS in Greedfall reflects this mid-range positioning.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus a bottleneck for the RX 9060 in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not a bottleneck. The 290K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003, and its nearest rival, the Core Ultra 9 285K, scores only 0.2% lower. The GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 76 FPS average. This is playable but noticeably lower than the 131 FPS at Medium settings. The minimum frame rate for Ultra is not recorded, but the average suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS may occur.

Q: How much performance do I lose by switching from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 131 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p, a 31% reduction. The minimum frame rate also falls from 112 FPS to 77 FPS, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are increasingly taxed at higher resolutions.