Archeage

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination produces a wide performance envelope in Archeage, with average frame rates ranging from 21.9 FPS at 4K Ultra to 133.1 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is highly responsive to both resolution and quality settings, but the scaling patterns reveal distinct bottlenecks depending on the configuration. This analysis walks through the measured results to identify where the GPU and CPU each dominate.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic across all settings, but the shape of that curve is revealing. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 133.1 at 1920x1080 to 91.3 at 2560x1440, then to 52.4 at 3840x2160. That represents a 31.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 42.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is fairly consistent, suggesting the GPU is the primary limiter even at Low settings.

At High settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p result is 82.3 FPS, dropping to 53.6 at 1440p (a 34.9% reduction) and then to 28.7 at 4K (a 46.5% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is larger than from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the RX 6650 XT is running out of pixel throughput as resolution climbs. This is typical for a GPU with 8 GB of memory and a 128-bit bus.

The Medium preset tells a similar story: 117.7 FPS at 1080p, 79.8 at 1440p, and 48.4 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32.2%, and from 1440p to 4K is 39.3%. Ultra settings produce the steepest curve: 57.3 FPS at 1080p, 37.2 at 1440p, and 21.9 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below playable thresholds for most users, confirming that this combo is not suited for maximum quality at the highest resolution.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 133.1 FPS ceiling suggests the CPU is beginning to constrain the frame rate, as the GPU has lighter work. At 4K Ultra, the 21.9 FPS result is almost entirely GPU-bound, with the Radeon RX 6650 XT struggling to fill the 3840x2160 pixel count. The data indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this pair in Archeage, with High settings yielding 53.6 FPS and Low yielding 91.3 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, featuring 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Its boost clock is listed at 2635 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz and a base clock of 2055 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the GPU in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs in the database.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's compute resources are sufficient for 1080p play but become stressed at higher resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the card produces 117.7 FPS, which is 43.2% higher than the 4K Medium result of 48.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 75.8 FPS (from 133.1 to 57.3), indicating that the GPU's 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is heavily taxed by Ultra quality effects.

The VRAM capacity appears adequate for this game at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 21.9 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth or capacity could be a factor. The 280.3 GB/s bandwidth is modest for 4K workloads, and the 128-bit bus limits data throughput. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, has an average benchmark score of 29011, which is essentially identical to the RX 6650 XT's 29024, a delta of 0.0%. This indicates that the RX 6650 XT is performing at a level consistent with its class, despite the 4K Ultra shortfall.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant for Archeage, which is a 2014 title but benefits from modern driver optimizations. The pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s are moderate figures that explain the scaling pattern: the card can handle high pixel counts at lower quality settings, but Ultra effects add enough texture and shading work to cut FPS by more than half at the same resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Archeage?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most comfortable resolution, with average FPS ranging from 57.3 at Ultra to 133.1 at Low. At 2560x1440, the range is 37.2 to 91.3, which is playable but with a lower ceiling. At 3840x2160, the maximum average FPS is 52.4 at Low settings, making 4K unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 82.3 at 1920x1080 to 53.6 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 28.7 FPS or approximately 34.9% of the 1080p result.

Q: Is the RX 6650 XT or the Ryzen 5 3600 the bottleneck at 4K Low?

A: At 3840x2160 Low, the average FPS is 52.4, which is 80.7 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result of 133.1. This large drop indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU workload does not scale significantly with resolution.

Q: What average FPS can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 79.8 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. This is 11.8 FPS higher than the High preset at the same resolution, but 11.5 FPS lower than the Low preset.

Q: How does the RX 6650 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 29011, a delta of 0.0%. The Intel Arc A370M scores 29175, which is 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH scores 29197, which is 0.6% higher.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 1080p Ultra in Archeage?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra is 57.3, which is 2.7 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold. To reach 60 FPS, the user must select High settings, which produce 82.3 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution delivers the highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 133.1 FPS, Medium produces 117.7 FPS, High produces 82.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 57.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 15.4 FPS, between Medium and High is 35.4 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 25.0 FPS. The largest single drop occurs when stepping from Medium to High, suggesting that High preset introduces significant shading or texture work.

At 2560x1440, all results drop by roughly 30-40% compared to 1080p. Low settings yield 91.3 FPS, Medium yields 79.8 FPS, High yields 53.6 FPS, and Ultra yields 37.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 11.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra widens to 16.4 FPS. The 1440p High result of 53.6 FPS is close to the 1080p Ultra result of 57.3 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling has a similar cost to certain quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the results fall below playable levels for most presets. Low settings produce 52.4 FPS, Medium produces 48.4 FPS, High produces 28.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 21.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is only 4.0 FPS, which is the smallest gap across all resolutions. The High and Ultra results are both below 30 FPS, making 4K unusable for smooth gameplay. The 4K Low result of 52.4 FPS is nearly identical to the 1440p High result of 53.6 FPS, showing that quality settings and resolution have interchangeable costs.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: Low and Medium settings are close in performance, while High and Ultra incur substantial penalties. At 1080p, the Ultra preset costs 75.8 FPS compared to Low. At 1440p, that cost is 54.1 FPS. At 4K, the cost is 30.5 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are saturated by Ultra effects, regardless of resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with 117.7 FPS average. This is 15.4 FPS lower than Low but 35.4 FPS higher than High. The Medium preset likely includes some visual enhancements over Low while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold.

For users with 2560x1440 monitors, the Low preset at 91.3 FPS is the most reliable choice, as it stays above 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 79.8 FPS is also viable, offering a 11.5 FPS reduction but presumably better visuals. The High preset at 53.6 FPS is below 60 FPS and may cause noticeable stutter, while Ultra at 37.2 FPS is not recommended.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 52.4 FPS approaches playability. The Medium preset at 48.4 FPS is slightly lower, and both High (28.7) and Ultra (21.9) are well below acceptable levels. For 4K users, the data suggests either accepting Low quality or reducing resolution to 1440p.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize resolution over quality settings. The 1440p High result of 53.6 FPS is comparable to the 1080p Ultra result of 57.3 FPS, but the higher resolution provides more detail. Conversely, the 1080p Medium result of 117.7 FPS is far smoother than any 1440p preset, making it the best choice for competitive or fast-paced gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p is the single best measured configuration, as it combines high frame rates with moderate visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It is built on the Zen 2 architecture with a 7 nm process, offering 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 15045, while single-core scores 2124. PassMark multithread scores 17700, and single-thread scores 2562. The 3DMark 16-thread test scores 4605, and the max-thread test scores 4603, indicating consistent scaling across thread counts.

The CPU's percentile ranking is 76th against all CPUs, and its nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-11400 with an average score of 18150, a delta of -0.1%. This places the Ryzen 5 3600 in a competitive position for its generation, though it is not a top-tier part.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 133.1 FPS. This is a high frame rate that likely approaches the CPU's single-thread limit, as the GPU has minimal work at Low settings. The single-core score of 2124 in Cinebench R23 suggests that the CPU can drive high frame rates in less demanding scenes. The 3DMark single-thread score of 696 is modest, but the game's MMORPG nature likely benefits from the 12 threads for handling many entities.

The CPU's 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock are moderate, but the 32 MB