Greedfall

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination delivers an extremely powerful experience in Greedfall, with the data showing a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The combination ranks in the 97th percentile of all tested configurations, placing it firmly in the top tier for this title. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interprets the scaling behavior, and provides specific recommendations based on the benchmark data.

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

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. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and can boost up to 5.80 GHz. The processor features a substantial cache hierarchy, including 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 cache. This configuration is more than sufficient for Greedfall, an Action RPG from 2019 that does not demand extreme multi-threading.

The benchmark data confirms the CPU's strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51,731 in multi-core and 7,303 in single-core tests. Its PassMark multithread score is 60,860, and its single-thread score is 4,823. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807, a delta of just 0.2%, indicating the 290K Plus is effectively a marginal upgrade.

For Greedfall specifically, the CPU's high single-thread performance is the critical factor. The game's engine relies heavily on a few primary threads for game logic and draw calls. The 5.80 GHz boost clock ensures that these threads are processed with minimal latency, preventing the CPU from becoming a limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination achieves 359 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can feed the GPU at high frame rates. The 24 cores are largely underutilized in this title, but the sheer clock speed and per-core performance ensure that frame pacing remains consistent. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface is also adequate for the game's data streaming needs, though it is not a bottleneck in the measured results.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its core clocks are set at a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, containing 92,200 million transistors. With 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the RTX 5090 is an absolute powerhouse.

In terms of compute capability, the GPU delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s. The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its dominance, with a PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,728. It sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 79,842. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, scores 79,605, a delta of 0.3%, though that comparison is based on synthetic averages and does not reflect gaming performance accurately.

For Greedfall, the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM is vastly more than the game requires. This ensures that texture loading and memory swapping are non-issues, even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings. The GPU's high clock speeds and massive shader count are what drive the frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the combination hits 68 FPS, which is playable but not exceptionally high. This suggests that the game's engine has rendering overhead that even this GPU cannot fully overcome at the highest preset. The GPU's memory bandwidth is crucial for high-resolution rendering, and the 1.79 TB/s ensures that the 512-bit bus is not starved, allowing for smooth texture streaming in dense environments.

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

The measured FPS data shows a classic resolution scaling curve, but with an interesting twist that reveals the GPU as the primary limiter at higher resolutions. Starting at 1080p Low, the combination achieves 359 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 249 FPS, a 30.6% decrease. At 4K Low, the average is 149 FPS, which is 58.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, 1080p yields 256 FPS, 1440p yields 178 FPS (a 30.5% drop), and 4K yields 106 FPS (a 58.6% drop from 1080p). Medium settings show 282 FPS at 1080p, 196 FPS at 1440p, and 117 FPS at 4K. The proportional drops are nearly identical across presets, which is a strong signal that the GPU's raw pixel throughput is the bottleneck, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

When comparing Low to Ultra at the same resolution, the impact of settings is clear. At 1080p, the jump from Low (359 FPS) to Ultra (164 FPS) represents a 54.3% reduction in frame rate. At 1440p, Low (249 FPS) to Ultra (113 FPS) is a 54.6% reduction. At 4K, Low (149 FPS) to Ultra (68 FPS) is a 54.4% reduction. This consistency suggests that the Ultra preset scales the same rendering features regardless of resolution, and the performance cost is linear.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is still capable of keeping up, but the GPU is already working hard to maintain 359 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as the frame rates drop to levels that are much closer to what a mid-range GPU would produce. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases, and the RTX 5090's raw power becomes the deciding factor. The fact that 4K Ultra only produces 68 FPS indicates that Greedfall has a rendering path that is not fully optimized for modern GPUs, causing a significant performance hit at the highest preset.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 83rd out of 2,938 tested combinations in Greedfall. This places it in the top 2.8% of all configurations, which is an exceptional result. While it is not the absolute fastest combination tested, it is firmly in the upper echelon of gaming performance.

The rank of 83 out of 2,938 is notable because it indicates that there are 82 other combinations that perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 5090 is the flagship consumer GPU and the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a top-tier desktop processor, this rank suggests that the game's performance is more sensitive to other factors, such as memory latency or specific CPU optimizations, which may favor different hardware configurations. However, the delta between this combo and those ranked higher is likely small, as the absolute FPS numbers are already very high.

In the context of the CPU's rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX. These deltas are minor, indicating that CPU choice among these top-tier processors has a negligible impact on Greedfall performance. Similarly, the RTX 5090's average score of 79,842 is only 0.3% higher than the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, but that is a synthetic benchmark comparison. In actual gaming, the RTX 5090 is far superior due to its modern architecture and driver support.

The rank of 83 out of 2,938 is a strong endorsement of this pairing. It shows that users can expect a top-tier experience, but it also highlights that there is no need to pair the absolute fastest CPU with the fastest GPU to achieve excellent results in Greedfall. The data suggests that the GPU dominates the performance equation, and the CPU needs to be merely "good enough" to avoid bottlenecking.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combination's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. Here is the exact breakdown:

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 359 FPS average
• Medium: 282 FPS average, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS
• High: 256 FPS average
• Ultra: 164 FPS average

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The Low preset achieves 359 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The Medium preset shows a variance of 85 FPS between its minimum and maximum, indicating that the game's frame pacing is not perfectly stable even at this resolution. The High preset drops to 256 FPS, and Ultra falls to 164 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is 92 FPS, which is a significant performance cost for the visual upgrades.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 249 FPS average
• Medium: 196 FPS average, with a minimum of 166 FPS and a maximum of 225 FPS
• High: 178 FPS average
• Ultra: 113 FPS average

At 1440p, the performance remains very strong. Low settings still clear 240 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming. Medium settings show a minimum of 166 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The High preset at 178 FPS is a good balance of quality and speed. Ultra drops to 113 FPS, which is still very playable but starts to show the strain of the higher preset. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 136 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 149 FPS average
• Medium: 117 FPS average, with a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 134 FPS
• High: 106 FPS average
• Ultra: 68 FPS average

At 4K, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings achieve 149 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings have a minimum of 99 FPS, which is borderline for a 100 Hz display. High settings produce 106 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below the 70 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable to sensitive users. The variance in Medium settings at 4K is 35 FPS, showing that the GPU's load causes more frame time inconsistency at this resolution.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity.

For 1080p, the High preset at 256 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a massive frame rate that exceeds the capabilities of nearly all displays, and the visual quality is only modestly below Ultra. The Ultra preset at 164 FPS is still very fast, but the 92 FPS loss from High is not justified by the marginal visual improvements in Greedfall. The Medium preset at 282 FPS is only 26 FPS higher than High, so High is the better balance. Low settings at 359 FPS are unnecessary unless chasing the absolute maximum frame rate.

For 1440p, the High preset at 178 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a frame rate that is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on 1440p monitors. The Medium preset at 196 FPS is also viable, but High offers a significant visual upgrade for only an 18 FPS penalty. The Ultra preset at 113 FPS is playable but may not fully utilize a 144 Hz display. The data suggests that High is the best experience at this resolution, as it maintains a high frame rate while delivering most of the game's visual features.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 117 FPS is the best recommendation. It provides a smooth experience that exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin, and its minimum of 99 FPS ensures that frame drops do not cause stutter. The High preset at 106 FPS is also acceptable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum (99 FPS vs. the unlisted minimum for High) suggests better consistency. The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 70 FPS threshold and the visual difference from Medium is not worth the 49 FPS loss. Low settings at 149 FPS are an option for competitive play, but they sacrifice significant visual quality.

In summary, the High preset is the best default choice for 1080p and 1440p, while Medium is the recommended preset for 4K. These settings provide the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity according to the measured data, ensuring a smooth and responsive experience in Greedfall.