Greedfall

Greedfall, the 2019 action RPG, presents a demanding workload that clearly separates CPU and GPU responsibilities. With the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, the benchmark data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor provides ample headroom for high frame rates at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, placing the specific FPS numbers into context with the component's theoretical capabilities and its standing among other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and unequivocal, indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting factor in this pairing. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 108 FPS at 1920x1080 to 75 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 58% reduction in average FPS when moving from Full HD to 4K, a classic sign of pixel-pushing limits. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as the resolution increases, making the rendering pipeline the bottleneck rather than the CPU.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 152 FPS, but this plummets to 105 FPS at 1440p and 63 FPS at 4K. The fact that even the lowest graphical settings cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K underscores the GPU's limitations. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, with the average frame rate dropping from 69 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p and a barely playable 29 FPS at 4K. This consistent drop across all settings confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER's raw rasterization power, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS, is the ceiling for performance in this game.

What the data suggests is that this combo is not designed for 4K gaming in Greedfall. The 45 FPS average at 4K High is technically playable but far from smooth, while the 29 FPS at Ultra is a slideshow. The sweet spot for this pairing is clearly 1080p, where the CPU's immense power can be fully utilized. The 152 FPS at Low settings and 108 FPS at High indicate that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 5.80 GHz boost clock, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High (108 to 75 FPS) is a 30.5% drop, which is substantial but less severe than the 1440p to 4K drop (75 to 45 FPS, a 40% reduction), further highlighting the GPU's struggle as pixel count increases.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the extensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this specific pairing sits in the lower half of the rankings for Greedfall. The comboRankInGame places it at 2074 out of 2938 total combos, putting it in approximately the 70th percentile of all tested systems. This indicates that while the performance is not terrible, there are a significant number of other configurations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific title. The ranking suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER, despite being paired with a top-tier processor, holds the combo back from reaching higher echelons of the performance chart.

The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus score of 62 confirms this assessment. The RTX 2060 SUPER is positioned in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is better than a majority of graphics cards but far from the top tier. The nearest rivals for the GPU, based on average benchmark scores, include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (with a deltaPct of -0.4, meaning the RTX 2060 SUPER is 0.4% slower) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct of -0.5). These close margins indicate that the GPU's performance class is well understood, and in Greedfall, it translates to mid-range results. The combo's rank of 2074 is consistent with a GPU that is outclassed by many modern alternatives, even when paired with a top-tier CPU.

On the CPU side, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a powerhouse, with a percentileVsAllCpus of 96. This means it outperforms 96% of all processors in the database, making it a top-tier choice for compute-heavy tasks. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has a deltaPct of 0.2, meaning the 290K Plus is just 0.2% faster on average. This tiny margin of victory highlights that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. The rank of 2074, therefore, is almost entirely a consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing, not the CPU's capabilities. The data shows a classic bottleneck scenario: an elite CPU constrained by a competent but not exceptional GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its core configuration, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, provides exceptional single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 7,303 in Cinebench R23 single-core and a massive 51,731 in multi-core, demonstrating its capability to handle any game's CPU demands. Its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for game logic, while the 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on DDR5 support ensures fast data transfer.

In the context of Greedfall, this CPU is overkill. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most stressed, the combo achieves 152 FPS. This high frame rate is only possible if the CPU can process game logic and issue draw calls faster than the GPU can render them. The 24 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for the demands of this 2019 title, which was released before the trend of heavily multi-threaded game engines. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 60,860 and single-thread score of 4,823 reinforce that it will not be the source of frame rate drops in this game.

The data indicates that the CPU's role here is to provide headroom, not to be a limiting factor. The benchmark results show that the CPU is barely breaking a sweat in this pairing. At 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly overwhelmed (29 FPS), the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to catch up. The CPU's performance is so far ahead of the GPU's that it effectively guarantees that any performance issues in Greedfall will be attributable to the graphics card. The processor's high boost clock of 5.80 GHz is particularly beneficial for maintaining high minimum frame rates, ensuring that even in complex scenes, the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output demands, though the measured data does not include min FPS for most settings except Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable and often excellent frame rates. At Low settings, the average FPS is 152, a very high number that suggests the game is GPU-bound even at this resolution, as the CPU could theoretically push even higher. At Medium settings, the average drops to 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 and a maximum of 137, indicating a stable experience. High settings yield 108 FPS average, still very smooth. The Ultra preset, however, brings the average down to 69 FPS, which is playable but shows a significant performance cost for the highest visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the impact of the resolution increase is clear. Low settings drop to 105 FPS average, still a very playable number. Medium settings average 83 FPS, with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 95, showing good consistency. High settings yield 75 FPS, which is the threshold for smooth gameplay on many monitors. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 48 FPS, which begins to feel less fluid. This pattern continues at 3840x2160, where the GPU is severely tested. Low settings average 63 FPS, just above the 60 FPS target, but Medium drops to 49 FPS (with a minimum of 42 and a maximum of 57), and High drops to 45 FPS. The Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 29 FPS average.

The data shows that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience at each resolution, as it is the only one with min/max FPS data, suggesting it is the most representative of real-world variance. At 1080p Medium, the 101 FPS minimum ensures no significant stutters, while the 137 FPS maximum indicates headroom. At 1440p Medium, the 70 FPS minimum is still above 60, making it a viable option. At 4K Medium, the 42 FPS minimum can cause noticeable hitches, but the 49 FPS average is at the edge of playability. The Low preset is the only way to achieve a 60+ FPS average at 4K, with 63 FPS, but it requires sacrificing visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration for Greedfall. Based on the Turing architecture and built on a 12 nm process, it features 2,176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, its raw compute power is rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32. These specs place it as a solid mid-range card from its generation, but the data shows it struggles with the demands of Greedfall at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 62nd percentile standing among all GPUs is reflected in the measured FPS. The card's PassMark G3D score of 16,462 shows it is a competent performer, but its nearest rivals include the RTX 3060 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which are not exactly desktop powerhouses. In Greedfall, the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s appears to be a limiting factor at 4K, as the game's textures and effects consume the 8 GB VRAM quickly. The performance drop from 1080p High (108 FPS) to 4K High (45 FPS) is a 58% reduction, which is a stark illustration of the GPU hitting its memory and compute limits.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's ray tracing and tensor cores (34 and 272, respectively) are present, but Greedfall is not a title that heavily utilizes these features. The game's performance is more dependent on traditional rasterization, where the card's 64 ROPs and 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are responsible for the output. At 4K Ultra, the 29 FPS average suggests the card is overwhelmed by the pixel count and the game's visual effects. The card's 175 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its class, but the data shows that it is simply outclassed by the demands of 4K gaming in this title. The GPU is the clear reason why this combo ranks at 2074; a more powerful graphics card would significantly improve the ranking.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired smoothness. For a 1080p display, the High preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 108 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but not worth the 36% performance penalty for most users. The High preset strikes the best balance between visual fidelity and performance at 1080p, offering a high frame rate that fully utilizes the CPU's capabilities.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset is the most sensible option. At 83 FPS average, it provides a fluid experience, and the measured minimum of 70 FPS ensures that frame times remain consistent without major stutters. The High preset at 75 FPS is also viable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate (70 vs. unknown for High) suggests a more stable experience. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is below the 60 FPS target and should be avoided for competitive or fast-paced gameplay, but it could be used for slower, story-driven moments. The Low preset at 105 FPS is unnecessarily fast and sacrifices too much visual quality.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained, and the Low preset is the only one that achieves a playable average frame rate. At 63 FPS, it is just above the 60 FPS target, but the visual quality will be noticeably reduced. The Medium preset at 49 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 42 FPS that could cause noticeable hitches. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 45 FPS might be acceptable, but it is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS is not recommended for any scenario, as it fails to maintain a consistent frame rate. Ultimately, the data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU in Greedfall, and users should either lower the resolution to 1440p or accept the visual compromises of the Low preset.