Greedfall

Greedfall is a 2019 Action RPG that, on this platform, exhibits a clear GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions, with the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H proving more than adequate to feed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The measured data shows that the combination ranks 2262 out of 3703 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of systems, but the frame rates achieved across the board indicate a playable experience at most settings. The strongest results come at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset maintains a 73 FPS average, while 4K Ultra dips to a 30 FPS average, signaling that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor in the most demanding scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread mobile processor based on the Panther Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a shared 18 MB L3 cache and a dual-channel LPDDR5X memory interface. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18911 and a single-core score of 2200.5, while its PassMark single-thread score is 4280. These results place it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44466.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra X9 388H is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which scores 44573, representing a negligible -0.2% delta. It also sits within a 0.5% margin of the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342), AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309), and Intel Core i5-13600 (44240). For Greedfall, this level of CPU performance is more than sufficient. The game’s measured FPS at 1080p Low, which is the most CPU-sensitive scenario in this dataset, reaches 160 FPS, indicating that the processor is not a bottleneck even when the GPU workload is relatively light.

The 5.10 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for a game like Greedfall, which relies on single-thread performance for game logic and AI. The high single-core Cinebench R20 score of 1849 and the PassMark single-thread score of 4280 suggest that the CPU can maintain high frame rates in scenes with complex NPC interactions or physics calculations. The 16 threads also provide ample headroom for background tasks and streaming, but the benchmark data indicates that even the Ultra preset at 1080p, which would increase CPU overhead, still yields a 73 FPS average. This suggests the CPU is never the limiting factor; instead, the GPU’s rendering load dictates the final frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the clear performance ceiling for this combo. This Ada Lovelace architecture GPU features 3072 shading units, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores, with a boost clock of 2460 MHz. It is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score is 19545, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, -0.2% delta), AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3% delta), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, 0.5% delta), indicating it performs in a tight cluster with those cards.

In Greedfall, the RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become significant factors at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows a steep drop from 1080p to 4K, which is characteristic of a GPU that is struggling to maintain fill rate and memory bandwidth at higher pixel counts. The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is moderate for a modern GPU, and at 4K Ultra, the 30 FPS average suggests the card is saturated. The transistor density of 118.9M / mm² on a 159 mm² die allows for efficient processing, but the physical memory bus width limits performance.

The GPU’s 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the raw compute power available, but Greedfall’s engine appears to be sensitive to memory bandwidth and fill rate. This is evident from the fact that the 4K High preset (47 FPS) is significantly slower than the 1440p Ultra preset (51 FPS), despite the former using lower graphical settings. The 4K Medium preset (52 FPS) is nearly identical to 1440p Ultra, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary constraint. The RTX 4060’s launch MSRP is 299 USD, but its performance in this title is more aligned with its 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H sufficient for Greedfall at high frame rates?

A: Yes. The CPU’s single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2200.5 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4280, allows the game to reach 160 FPS at 1080p Low settings. Even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 73 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating the CPU is not the bottleneck.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly between 1080p and 4K?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus (providing 272.0 GB/s bandwidth) become the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 1080p High is 114, but at 4K High it falls to 47, a drop of 67 FPS. This steep decline indicates the GPU’s rendering capabilities are exhausted by the increased pixel count.

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

A: Based on the data, 1080p is the optimal resolution. It provides the highest average frame rates across all settings, ranging from 73 FPS at Ultra to 160 FPS at Low. 1440p is also playable, with a 51 FPS average at Ultra, but 4K Ultra drops to 30 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4060 has a PassMark G3D score of 19545, while its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, has a score of 17666. This represents a -0.2% delta, meaning the RTX 4060 is essentially on par with that older card in this specific benchmark, despite being a much newer product.

Q: Does the CPU’s 16-core configuration help in Greedfall?

A: The 16 cores (and 16 threads) provide ample multi-threaded performance, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18911. However, Greedfall’s performance is more dependent on single-thread speed. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz and the PassMark single-thread score of 4280 are more indicative of the game’s performance, as the CPU is never the limiting factor in any measured setting.

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

A: Only with significant settings compromises. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 66, which is playable. However, 4K Medium drops to 52 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The 4K High preset (47 FPS) is also below the ideal 60 FPS mark, making 4K gaming viable only at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination performs across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate across all configurations. The Medium preset produces 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 and a maximum of 145, indicating consistent performance. The High preset averages 114 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. All 1080p settings are above the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the most comfortable for gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably but remains playable. Low settings yield 111 FPS, while Medium produces 87 FPS (with a range of 74 to 100 FPS). High settings average 79 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 51 FPS. This represents a 22 FPS decrease from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings (73 to 51 FPS), showing the GPU’s load increasing with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS. Medium averages 52 FPS (with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60), High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is exactly half the 1080p Ultra result, highlighting the GPU’s inability to scale with resolution demands.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 4060’s performance degrades linearly with resolution increases, with the most significant drops occurring between 1440p and 4K. The 1080p results show the CPU and GPU working in balance, while 4K results are entirely GPU-limited.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into the system’s balance. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 114 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p (a 30.7% decrease) and then to 47 at 4K (a 58.8% decrease from 1080p). This non-linear drop indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting component as resolution increases.

At Low settings, the scaling is less severe: 160 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p (a 30.6% decrease), and 66 FPS at 4K (a 58.8% decrease from 1080p). The percentage drops are nearly identical between Low and High settings, suggesting that the RTX 4060’s memory bandwidth (272.0 GB/s) and 8 GB VRAM capacity are the primary constraints, rather than the shading unit count.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 126 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (a 31.0% decrease), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 58.7% decrease from 1080p). This consistency across all settings confirms that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The 4K to 1080p ratio is approximately 0.41 (52/126 for Medium), which is lower than the theoretical 0.25 ratio expected if the system were perfectly balanced, further emphasizing the GPU limitation.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most extreme scaling, dropping from 73 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p (a 30.1% decrease) and then to 30 FPS at 4K (a 58.9% decrease from 1080p). The fact that the 4K Ultra result is exactly 30 FPS suggests the game is hitting a hard performance floor, likely due to the GPU’s maximum fill rate being reached. The data clearly shows that the Core Ultra X9 388H’s performance is not the limiting factor; the RTX 4060’s specifications dictate the scaling.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience on this hardware, the data suggests prioritizing resolution over settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset (73 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. For players who prefer higher refresh rates, the High preset (114 FPS) offers a substantial FPS boost with a minimal visual compromise compared to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (79 FPS) is the optimal balance. The Medium preset (87 FPS) provides a slight FPS advantage, but High offers better visual fidelity without dropping below 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p (51 FPS) is not recommended, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which may cause noticeable stuttering in action-heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset (66 FPS) is the only viable option for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset (52 FPS) is playable but may feel less responsive, while High (47 FPS) and Ultra (30 FPS) are not recommended for a consistent experience. Given the 4K Ultra result of exactly 30 FPS, it is clear that this system is not designed for maximum settings at 4K.

The best overall experience, based on the measured data, is 1080p Ultra, delivering 73 FPS with the highest visual settings. For those who want to push to 1440p, dropping to High settings (79 FPS) yields a better result than running Ultra at a lower frame rate. The system’s performance is consistently GPU-bound, so adjusting resolution has a more significant impact than adjusting individual quality settings.