Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, presents an interesting performance profile when paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 9070. The benchmark results show a system that is heavily influenced by both resolution and in-game settings, with a clear performance ceiling that shifts depending on the workload. The data indicates that this combination is capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly with the most demanding presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a significant performance drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is typical for a game like Archeage. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 149 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 130 FPS, a decrease of 19 FPS or roughly 13%. The scaling continues to 4K Low, where the average falls to 76 FPS, which is a substantial 49% reduction from the 1440p result and a 73 FPS drop from 1080p. This pattern indicates that while the RX 9070 is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, the pixel throughput demands of 4K begin to tax the GPU significantly.

The trend is similar across other settings. For example, at Medium settings, the frame rate goes from 143 FPS at 1080p to 119 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 68 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings is 51 FPS, or about 43%. This consistent, steep decline at 4K strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at that resolution. The RX 9070, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus, has ample bandwidth, but the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 requires more processing power than the card can deliver to maintain 60+ FPS in this game.

However, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more moderate, suggesting that at these resolutions, the CPU starts to play a more significant role. The 1080p to 1440p drop for Low settings is 19 FPS, and for Medium settings, it is 24 FPS. This is less severe than the 1440p to 4K drops, which are 54 FPS and 51 FPS respectively. This indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the Ryzen 5 2600 is able to feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU's performance is still scaling with resolution. The bottleneck is not as clear-cut at lower resolutions, but the data points to the GPU becoming the definitive limiting factor at 4K.

The performance hit from High to Ultra settings is also more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 1080p, High nets 120 FPS and Ultra drops to 82 FPS, a 38 FPS difference. At 1440p, the difference is 26 FPS (81 to 55). At 4K, the drop is only 14 FPS (46 to 32). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is already so overburdened that the additional load from Ultra settings causes a proportionally smaller, but still significant, absolute frame rate loss. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo is only feasible on Low or Medium settings, while 1440p is the sweet spot for higher visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the central component in this system's gaming performance. Its benchmark scores place it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. The data shows it performs within 1.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER and is 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile. This indicates that the RX 9070 is a capable mid-to-high-end card, but its performance in Archeage is not uniformly excellent across all settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These clocks, combined with the RDNA 4.0 architecture and 3584 shading units, provide the raw compute power that drives the frame rates. The card's memory configuration is also a key factor. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the memory bandwidth is 644.6 GB/s. This is more than sufficient for a game from 2014, even at 4K, so memory bandwidth is unlikely to be a bottleneck in Archeage.

The GPU's compute capabilities are evidenced by its 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance and a texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s. These figures correlate with the pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s, which is the theoretical maximum for filling the screen. In practice, the measured FPS shows that the card cannot reach this limit in demanding scenarios. At 4K Ultra, the card only manages 32 FPS, which is a clear indication that the GPU is working at its maximum capacity but is still unable to produce a smooth experience at that quality level.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25381 and its DirectX 11 score of 281 provide a synthetic baseline that aligns with the measured game performance. The card performs admirably at 1080p and 1440p, where it can often push well past 100 FPS, but the 4K results are the limiting factor. The data suggests that the RX 9070 is a powerful card that is held back by the demands of 4K rendering in Archeage, rather than by any deficiency in its own specifications. The 220 W TDP and the need for a 550 W power supply are consistent with its performance class.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Archeage with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The benchmark data shows that 2560x1440 is the most balanced resolution. The system achieves 81 FPS on High and 130 FPS on Low settings at this resolution, which is a good mix of visual quality and smoothness. At 4K, the frame rates drop below 60 FPS on all settings except Low.

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

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 76, which is playable. However, at Medium settings, the average drops to 68 FPS, and at High, it falls to 46 FPS. Ultra settings are not recommended, as the average FPS is only 32.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9070's average benchmark score is 23877. It is 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile, and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800S. It is also 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 a bottleneck for the RX 9070?

A: The data does not directly measure CPU bottlenecking, but the frame rate scaling suggests that the CPU is not the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are high, and the drop to 1440p is less severe than the drop to 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides an average of 119 FPS, while the High preset provides an average of 81 FPS. This is a difference of 38 FPS, which is quite noticeable. The Medium preset also has a recorded minimum of 101 FPS, ensuring a more consistent experience.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system runs at an average of 120 FPS at 1920x1080, compared to 81 FPS at 2560x1440. This represents a 48% increase in average FPS when dropping from 1440p to 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all tested configurations. The table below summarizes the average frame rates for each resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080, the system performs exceptionally well. The Low preset yields the highest average at 149 FPS. The Medium preset is close behind with 143 FPS, and it has a recorded minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. The High preset averages 120 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 82 FPS. All 1080p settings are playable, with even the most demanding preset staying above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 130 FPS. The Medium preset averages 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. The High preset averages 81 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with an average of 55 FPS. This makes Ultra at 1440p a borderline choice for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops considerably. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a playable average, at 76 FPS. The Medium preset averages 68 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The High preset drops to 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 32 FPS. These results clearly show that 4K gaming requires a significant reduction in settings to achieve a smooth frame rate.

The data also shows a clear correlation between settings and performance. For example, at 1440p, the jump from Medium to High results in a 38 FPS loss, while the jump from High to Ultra results in a 26 FPS loss. This suggests that the High preset is a significant step up in graphical demand from Medium, while Ultra is another substantial increase. The performance scaling is not linear, and the most demanding presets (Ultra) have a disproportionately large impact on frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this system in Archeage depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, the High preset is the recommended choice. It provides an average of 120 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, and it offers a significant visual improvement over the Medium preset. The Ultra preset, while playable at 82 FPS, may not justify the performance cost for the visual gains it provides.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset is the clear winner. It delivers an average of 119 FPS and a minimum of 101 FPS, ensuring a consistently smooth experience. The High preset, at 81 FPS, is also acceptable, but the 38 FPS drop from Medium might be noticeable in fast-paced combat. The Ultra preset at 55 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 60 FPS target and may feel less responsive.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 76 FPS. The Medium preset, at 68 FPS, is also playable but may have occasional dips. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended, as they produce average frame rates of 46 FPS and 32 FPS respectively, which are too low for a satisfying MMORPG experience.

The data suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, it is nearly as fast as Low, but with better visuals. At 1440p, it is the only preset that guarantees a minimum frame rate above 100 FPS. At 4K, it approaches playability, but Low is safer. The High preset is a good choice for users who prioritize visuals and have a high refresh rate monitor at 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen+ architecture. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, it provides a solid foundation for gaming. Its synthetic benchmark scores are respectable, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. The average benchmark score is 21484, which is within 0.7% of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER and 1.2% of the AMD EPYC 9454. This indicates that the CPU's raw compute power is competitive with a wide range of other processors.

In the context of Archeage, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The frame rate data shows a significant drop when moving from 1440p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. However, the CPU's performance is still relevant, particularly at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough that the CPU could become a limiting factor.

The Ryzen 5 2600's multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and its Geekbench multi-core score of 5648. This is beneficial for an MMORPG like Archeage, which may need to handle many simultaneous entities and player actions. The L3 cache is 16 MB (shared), which is a decent amount for the era of the CPU, and the 12 threads help with background tasks and game logic.

The CPU's memory bandwidth is 46.9 GB/s, which is lower than what the GPU can utilize, but it is not a bottleneck for the CPU's own operations. The benchmark results show that the single-thread performance is adequate, with a PassMark single-thread score of 2239 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 157.3. These figures suggest that the CPU can handle the core game logic without issue, but the data does not indicate that it is the primary driver of the FPS differences seen across resolutions. The performance scaling points to the GPU as the main component determining the frame rate, especially at 4K, where the CPU's influence is masked by the GPU's inability to keep up.