Archeage

Archeage’s performance with the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and Intel Arc B390 presents a stark picture of hardware limitations, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured data reveals a system that can achieve playable frame rates only under specific, lower-demand configurations. The Intel Arc B390, functioning as an integrated graphics processor (IGP), is decisively the bottleneck, with its performance ranking in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This combination sits in the 2453rd position out of 2761 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems, indicating a severely constrained experience for a 2014 MMORPG.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly identifies the Intel Arc B390 as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 71 FPS. Scaling up to 1440p at the same settings drops the average to 48 FPS, a reduction of 23 FPS. Moving to 4K at Low settings further crushes performance to 28 FPS, which is a 60% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel processing power, not a CPU limitation.

The pattern continues across all settings presets. At Medium settings, the system goes from 64 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 25 FPS at 4K. The High preset follows a similar trajectory, with 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and a barely playable 17 FPS at 4K. Even the most demanding Ultra preset shows this scaling, dropping from 29 FPS at 1080p to 20 FPS at 1440p and a meager 11 FPS at 4K. The consistent and significant drops at every step suggest that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are being saturated as the pixel count increases.

This data implies that the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions but is not the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a less significant FPS drop as resolution increases, because the CPU workload per frame would remain relatively constant while the GPU takes on more work. Instead, the halving of frame rates when moving from 1440p to 4K points directly to the Intel Arc B390 struggling to fill the larger framebuffer. The system is fundamentally GPU-bound, and the only way to achieve acceptable performance is to reduce the rendering resolution to 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Archeage with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently achieve playable frame rates above 60 FPS, and only on the Low preset. At 1440p and 4K, the average frame rates across all settings are significantly lower, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390’s average benchmark score of 1482 is nearly identical to its closest rivals. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. These are all extremely low-end GPUs, confirming the B390's position in the entry-level segment.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G a strong processor?

A: Yes, relative to its GPU counterpart. The CPU sits in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17507. Its closest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, which is 0.1% faster, and the Intel Core 7 150U, which is 0.6% slower. This indicates a mid-range processor that is not the primary cause of low frame rates in this game.

Q: What is the best in-game settings preset for this system?

A: Based on the measured data, the "Low" preset at 1080p is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 71 FPS. The "Medium" preset at 1080p is the next best option, averaging 64 FPS, but with minimums that could dip to 54 FPS. Higher settings or resolutions result in average frame rates well below 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Archeage at 4K?

A: Technically, yes, it can run the game, but the experience is not recommended. The highest average frame rate at 4K is 28 FPS on the Low preset, which drops to 11 FPS on the Ultra preset. These frame rates are far below the threshold for a smooth, playable experience in an MMORPG.

Q: Does the CPU's 12 threads help performance in Archeage?

A: The Ryzen 5 4600G has 6 cores and 12 threads. While this is generally beneficial for modern games, the measured data indicates that performance is heavily limited by the GPU. The frame rates are consistent with a GPU bottleneck, suggesting that the CPU's multithreading capabilities are not being fully utilized or are not the limiting factor in this specific configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data offers a clear hierarchy for playability. For a responsive and smooth experience, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only viable option, delivering an average of 71 FPS. This is the sweet spot where the game becomes fluid enough for the action-heavy moments of an MMORPG. If visual fidelity is slightly more important than maximum frame rate, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is a compromise, with an average of 64 FPS. However, the minimum FPS of 54 recorded at this setting suggests potential stuttering in crowded areas.

Moving away from 1080p is not advisable. At 1440p, even the Low preset only averages 48 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness target. The High preset at 1440p drops to 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset is a slideshow at 20 FPS. The 4K resolution is entirely impractical for this hardware, with the best average being 28 FPS on Low and the worst being 11 FPS on Ultra. The data strongly indicates that users should prioritize resolution (1080p) over graphical detail to achieve a playable frame rate. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is only 7 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High is 21 FPS, making High a poor trade-off.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: 28 FPS
• Medium: 25 FPS (min 21, max 28)
• High: 17 FPS
• Ultra: 11 FPS
• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: 48 FPS
• Medium: 43 FPS (min 36, max 49)
• High: 29 FPS
• Ultra: 20 FPS
• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: 71 FPS
• Medium: 64 FPS (min 54, max 73)
• High: 43 FPS
• Ultra: 29 FPS

This data reveals a clear pattern. The performance hierarchy is consistent across all resolutions: Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The delta between resolutions is substantial. For example, on the Low preset, performance drops by 23 FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and by another 20 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K. The minimum FPS values, available only for the Medium preset, show that the frame rate can dip even lower, with a 54 FPS minimum at 1080p and a 21 FPS minimum at 4K, indicating potential for noticeable hitches.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2453rd out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested for this game. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The Intel Arc B390’s percentile ranking is 9, meaning it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs. In contrast, the CPU’s percentile is 71, showing it is a much more capable component.

This massive discrepancy between the CPU's and GPU's relative performance levels is the key takeaway. The system is significantly unbalanced, with the GPU holding back the entire platform. The combo's rank of 2453 is a direct consequence of the GPU's low standing. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the combo's rank to be closer to the CPU's 71st percentile. Instead, it is near the bottom, mirroring the GPU's performance class. The measured FPS data supports this, as the system behaves exactly like a low-end GPU would, struggling at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593 and a single-core score of 1919, place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. This indicates a solid mid-range processor that is more than capable for an older MMORPG like Archeage.

In this specific configuration, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The benchmark results show that the frame rates are overwhelmingly determined by the GPU. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 71 FPS, but this number is capped by the GPU's rendering limit, not the CPU's ability to process game logic. The CPU has enough headroom to handle the game's demands, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores relative to the GPU. Its 12 threads and 8 MB of shared L3 cache provide ample resources for the game's background tasks and player interactions, but the GPU simply cannot translate that capability into higher frame rates at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the system's main memory, with bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This is a fundamental limitation. The GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance might sound adequate on paper, but its 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are extremely limited. This is reflected in its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of just 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU is unequivocally the limiting component in this system. The performance data shows a classic GPU-bound scenario, where frame rates plummet with increased resolution. The Arc B390's nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA chips, such as the GeForce GT 710 and GT 520MX, confirming its performance class. The "System Shared" memory architecture is a significant drawback, as it relies on the system's DDR4 memory bandwidth (51.2 GB/s for the CPU) and is subject to contention with other system processes. This explains why the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p and 4K, as it lacks the dedicated memory bandwidth of a discrete graphics card.