Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that remains sensitive to both CPU and GPU performance depending on the resolution and settings chosen. The data for the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the Intel Arc B570 shows a configuration that excels at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra. This analysis examines the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, the roles of the processor and graphics card, and how this specific combination ranks against other tested hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a system that becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 66 FPS at 1920x1080 to 45 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 21 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 26 FPS, which is a 40 FPS drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the workload on the graphics card increases exponentially with pixel count.

The Low settings preset shows a similar trend but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system averages 110 FPS. This drops to 74 FPS at 1440p and then to 42 FPS at 4K. The percentage decrease from 1080p to 4K at Low is roughly 62%, which is slightly less severe than the 61% drop seen at High settings, but still demonstrates the GPU struggling to keep up with the 4K pixel throughput. The Medium preset offers the only complete min/max data, showing a 32 FPS minimum and 43 FPS maximum at 4K, confirming the frame rate is not only low but also variable.

What is most telling is the Ultra preset behavior. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 45, which is already below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider smooth. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 31 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 17 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 62% reduction, suggesting that the most demanding settings place an overwhelming burden on the Arc B570’s 10 GB of VRAM and its compute units. The data implies that for 4K gaming, even Medium settings are marginal, and Ultra is effectively unplayable.

The implication of this scaling is clear: the Ryzen 5 3600 is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, pointing directly at the GPU as the constraint. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom, allowing the GPU to work harder and produce higher frame rates, but the ceiling is still set by the graphics card’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, and features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. Its base and boost clock are both locked at 2500 MHz, which is a modest clock speed for a modern GPU. The memory configuration is 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. These specifications place the card in the mid-range tier, and the benchmark results reflect that positioning.

In the measured Archeage data, the GPU’s role becomes evident when comparing settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 65 FPS (110 vs 45), which is a massive gap. This indicates that the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are heavily taxed by the increased visual complexity of Ultra settings. The 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not sufficient to handle Archeage’s Ultra preset at high resolutions, as evidenced by the 17 FPS average at 4K Ultra.

The 10 GB VRAM capacity is another factor. While Archeage is not a VRAM-heavy game by modern standards, the jump from Medium to Ultra at 4K likely pushes memory usage higher. The fact that the 4K Medium preset averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, while 4K High drops to 26 FPS, suggests that the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth or capacity at the higher settings. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor for 4K textures, as the GPU cannot fetch data fast enough to maintain higher frame rates.

The GPU’s percentile ranking against all GPUs is 65, which places it in the upper half of the performance distribution. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, with the B570 performing within 0.1% of both. This is a tight grouping, meaning the Arc B570 is competitive with those cards in synthetic benchmarks, but in Archeage specifically, the measured FPS shows it struggling at 4K. The PassMark G3D score of 14195 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 provide a baseline, but the game-specific results are what matter here.

The data suggests the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences across settings. At 1080p Low, the card has enough headroom to deliver 110 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it is clearly overwhelmed. The 2500 MHz clock speed does not provide a saving grace, as the architecture simply lacks the raw throughput needed for 4K Ultra in this MMORPG.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2222 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the bottom 20% of all configurations, which is a surprising result given the individual components’ mid-range standing. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 71, and the GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 65, yet the combo ranks poorly in this specific game.

This discrepancy suggests that Archeage is particularly demanding on the system as a whole, or that the pairing has an inefficiency. The combo rank of 2222 out of 2761 means that roughly 539 combos perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems deliver better results. The data implies that while the CPU and GPU are individually capable, their combination does not synergize well in Archeage, likely due to the game’s engine favoring other hardware configurations.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P, which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i5-11400, which scores 0.2% lower. The GPU’s rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 0.1% higher, and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 0.1% lower. These are marginal differences, yet the combo rank indicates that Archeage does not reward this pairing as much as synthetic benchmarks would suggest.

The rank of 2222 is a critical data point for users considering this hardware. It suggests that while the components are not weak, they are not optimized for this MMORPG. The 1080p Medium result of 98 FPS is respectable, but the 4K Ultra result of 17 FPS drags the overall ranking down. The data implies that users with this combo should target 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings to get a playable experience, rather than pushing for 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS is 110, and at Medium, it is 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS. Higher resolutions see significant drops, with 1440p High at 45 FPS and 4K High at 26 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 45. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but it is still playable for less demanding users. The 4K Ultra preset is not viable, with an average of 17 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K. The FPS drops from 42 at Low to 17 at Ultra, showing the graphics card’s limitations. The CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor, as the FPS scales with resolution and settings, not with CPU load.

Q: How does this combo compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Intel Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Arc A750’s score of 20582. In Archeage specifically, the combo rank of 2222 out of 2761 suggests the pairing is not particularly strong, but the GPU itself is closely matched with the A750.

Q: What settings provide the best balance of FPS and quality?

A: The 1920x1080 Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 98 FPS and a minimum of 83 FPS. This provides a smooth experience without the significant FPS loss seen at Ultra settings. At 1440p, Medium is also viable with 66 FPS average.

Q: Why does the 4K Medium preset have a min FPS of 32?

A: The 4K Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data, showing a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. This indicates frame time variance, which could be due to the GPU’s memory bandwidth limitations at 4K resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS data is as follows: Low settings yield an average of 110 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 66 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 45 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 65 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of graphical settings on this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops notably. Low settings average 74 FPS. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. High settings average 45 FPS. Ultra settings average 31 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 21 FPS, and at Ultra, it is 14 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal for most settings. Low averages 42 FPS. Medium averages 38 FPS, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. High averages 26 FPS. Ultra averages 17 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium settings are approaching playability, but they still fall short of 60 FPS. The data reveals a consistent pattern: each increase in resolution or settings tier results in a proportional decrease in FPS, with the GPU being the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Matisse. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, and its boost clock is 4.20 GHz. The CPU has a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 15045 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2124 in single-core, which places it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs.

In Archeage, the CPU’s role is less prominent than the GPU’s, but it still matters. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 110 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates. However, the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are not heavily taxed by Archeage, as the game is not particularly multithreaded. The single-thread score of 2124 in Cinebench R23 suggests it has adequate single-core performance for MMORPGs, which often rely on one or two cores for game logic.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P, which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core i5-11400, which scores 0.2% lower. These are close matches, indicating the Ryzen 5 3600 is well-positioned among its peers. However, the combo rank of 2222 suggests that the CPU is not the primary reason for the poor ranking. The data implies that the CPU is capable of supporting higher FPS, but the GPU holds it back at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the CPU’s performance is sufficient to allow the GPU to reach its maximum potential, as seen in the 110 FPS Low result. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s load does not increase proportionally, and the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck. The 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.20 GHz boost clock are modest, but they are adequate for Archeage’s demands. The data indicates that users should not expect CPU upgrades to improve FPS at 4K, as the GPU is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s resolution and performance goals. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best choice, offering an average of 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with good visual quality. Low settings at 1080p yield 110 FPS, but the visual downgrade is not worth the extra 12 FPS for most users. High settings at 1080p drop to 66 FPS, which is playable but not as smooth as Medium. Ultra at 1080p is not recommended, as the 45 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is also the best option, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS. This is borderline playable, but users may experience occasional stutters. Low settings at 1440p offer 74 FPS, which is smoother, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended, as they average 45 FPS and 31 FPS, respectively, which is below the playable threshold for most users.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that only Low settings are viable, with an average of 42 FPS. Medium averages 38 FPS, which is similar, but the minimum FPS of 32 indicates frame time spikes. High and Ultra at 4K are not playable, with averages of 26 FPS and 17 FPS, respectively. The best experience at 4K is Low settings, but users should be prepared for a compromised visual experience.

The overall recommendation is to play at 1920x1080 with Medium settings for the best balance of performance and quality. For users with a 1440p monitor, Medium is acceptable, but they should consider lowering to Low if they prioritize frame rate stability. For 4K displays, the combo is not suitable, and users should either lower the resolution or accept the low frame rates. The data clearly shows that this hardware pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming in Archeage.