Archeage

# Archeage with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + Intel Arc B390

This combination of AMD's Ryzen 5 5500 and Intel's Arc B390 delivers playable frame rates only at 1080p with Low or Medium settings in Archeage, with performance collapsing at higher resolutions and presets. The measured data shows a system that is severely GPU-limited at every resolution, with the Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs acting as the primary bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces just 11 FPS average, while 1080p Low reaches a more comfortable 71 FPS average. This is a pairing where the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs is entirely wasted by the GPU's inability to keep pace, making the B390 the definitive limiting factor across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a system under extreme GPU pressure. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 71 FPS at 1920x1080 to 48 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 28 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 32% decline from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 42% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates the Intel Arc B390 simply does not have the raw pixel throughput to handle higher resolutions in Archeage, even at the lowest quality preset.

The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 43 FPS at 1080p falls to 29 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 17 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops between resolutions are consistent — roughly 33% from 1080p to 1440p and 41% from 1440p to 4K — suggesting a purely resolution-bound scenario where the GPU's shading units, texture units, and ROPs are saturated. The Arc B390's specification sheet confirms this: 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and only 24 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. These are modest figures that simply cannot drive Archeage's world at higher pixel counts.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, which is typical of a GPU-limited system. At 1080p, Ultra produces 29 FPS versus 71 FPS on Low — a 42 FPS spread. At 4K, Ultra produces 11 FPS versus 28 FPS on Low — a 17 FPS spread. The absolute difference shrinks because even Low settings at 4K overwhelm the GPU, but the relative penalty for enabling Ultra remains severe. The data shows that resolution scaling is the dominant factor here, with the CPU's Zen 3 architecture and 6 cores/12 threads providing ample headroom that goes unused.

The Medium preset offers the only complete data set with min and max FPS recorded, which helps illustrate frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 43 FPS with min 36 and max 49. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 25 FPS with min 21 and max 28. The tight min-to-max ranges (roughly 15-20% spread) indicate that even when the GPU is struggling, frame delivery remains reasonably stable — there are no catastrophic stutters, just consistently low throughput.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo playable at 4K in Archeage?

A: No. The measured averages are 28 FPS on Low, 25 FPS on Medium, 17 FPS on High, and 11 FPS on Ultra at 3840x2160. None of these reach a 30 FPS threshold, and the Ultra preset is effectively unplayable.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achieved. The data shows 71 FPS on Low and 64 FPS on Medium, both of which are smooth enough for an MMORPG. At 2560x1440, even Low settings only reach 48 FPS, and at 4K, all presets fall below 30 FPS.

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

A: The Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). This places it in extremely low-end territory.

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 bottleneck the Arc B390?

A: No, the opposite is true. The Ryzen 5 5500 ranks in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 19593. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617, 0.1% faster) and Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, 0.4% faster). The CPU is far more capable than the GPU, so the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 43 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is playable but noticeably less smooth than the 64 FPS on Medium or 71 FPS on Low, making High a compromise preset for this combo.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos for Archeage?

A: It ranks 2453 out of 2761 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all combos. This reflects the GPU's low-end positioning rather than any CPU deficiency.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2453 out of 2761 tested combinations for Archeage, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems. This is a poor showing that aligns almost perfectly with the Intel Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, which means the ranking is almost entirely dragged down by the graphics solution.

The data suggests that this combo would perform significantly better with a different GPU, as the Ryzen 5 5500's benchmark scores indicate substantial headroom. The CPU's 3dmark scores range from 836 single-thread to 5411 max-threads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and single-core score of 2319. These are solid mid-range numbers that indicate the CPU could support much higher frame rates if paired with a more capable GPU. The measured FPS results in Archeage, however, are constrained by the Arc B390's modest specs: 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and a 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput.

The ranking disparity between CPU and GPU creates an unbalanced system profile. In Archeage, which is an MMORPG that can be CPU-intensive in crowded areas, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor given its 6 cores and 12 threads. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 5386 and 8-thread score of 4593 suggest adequate multi-threaded performance for the game's demands. The real constraint is the GPU's 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate, which cap the frame rate regardless of what the CPU can deliver.

This combo ranks below the vast majority of tested systems, and the measured FPS data confirms why. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 29 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it produces 11 FPS. These are numbers that place it firmly in the low-end segment of the benchmark database, consistent with a GPU whose nearest rivals are all NVIDIA entry-level parts from years ago.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 71 FPS, Medium produces 64 FPS (min 54, max 73), High produces 43 FPS, and Ultra produces 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is just 7 FPS, while the jump to High costs 21 FPS from Medium and the jump to Ultra costs another 14 FPS from High. This suggests that the GPU handles the lower presets with relative ease at 1080p, but the additional shading and texture work in High and Ultra quickly overwhelm it.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 48 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS (min 36, max 49), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 32% of the frame rate at every preset. The Medium preset's minimum of 36 FPS is still technically playable, but the High and Ultra presets fall below 30 FPS, making them marginal for an MMORPG that benefits from smooth camera movement.

At 3840x2160, the combo is not playable by any reasonable standard. Low settings average 28 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS (min 21, max 28), High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. Even the lowest preset fails to reach 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces a slideshow-like experience. The 4K results are consistent with the GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s, which is insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels of 4K at interactive frame rates in a modern MMORPG.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range is 54-73 FPS (a 19 FPS spread); at 1440p, it's 36-49 FPS (a 13 FPS spread); at 4K, it's 21-28 FPS (a 7 FPS spread). The shrinking spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is more consistently saturated, with less headroom for frame rate variation.

Settings Recommendations

The best experience for this combo is 1080p with Medium settings, which delivers a 64 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS. This preset offers the best balance of visual quality and playability, with the min FPS staying above 50 and the max reaching 73. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 71 FPS average, which is smoother but comes at a visual cost in an MMORPG where reading the environment matters.

High settings at 1080p produce 43 FPS average, which is playable but represents a 33% drop from Medium. Given that the min FPS for High is not recorded in the data, the Medium preset's documented 54 FPS minimum makes it the safer choice for maintaining consistent frame rates during busy scenes. Ultra at 1080p averages 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold and not recommended.

At 1440p, the Medium preset's 43 FPS average (min 36, max 49) is the only acceptable option, but it still represents a significant step down from 1080p Medium. For users with 1440p monitors, the recommendation is to run Medium settings and accept the lower frame rate, or drop to 1080p for a smoother experience. The data does not support 1440p High or Ultra as viable choices, with averages of 29 FPS and 20 FPS respectively.

At 4K, no preset is recommended. The best case is Low at 28 FPS average, which is below playability thresholds. Users with 4K displays should run the game at a lower resolution or consider a different GPU. The Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking and its nearest rival comparisons (GT 520MX, 800M, GT 625 OEM, GT 710) make it clear that this is not a 4K-capable part for Archeage.

The Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. It provides a 64 FPS average with a 54 FPS minimum, which is smooth enough for the game's combat and exploration. The measured min/max data confirms this preset has the best documented consistency across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on TSMC's 7 nm process with Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename). It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB L1 cache per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. Its memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In this combo, the CPU is vastly more capable than the GPU. Its benchmark scores place it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 19593. The nearest rivals are all respectable parts: the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19617, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i5-12500 (19668, 0.4% faster), Intel Core i7-10700F (19499, 0.5% slower), and Intel Core i5-11600KF (19723, 0.7% faster). This places the Ryzen 5 5500 in solid mid-range territory for gaming workloads.

The CPU's single-thread performance is strong for an MMORPG like Archeage. Its 3dmark single-thread score is 836, 2-thread score is 1645, and 4-thread score is 3151. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2319 and Geekbench single-core score of 1730 are competitive. Multi-threaded performance is also robust: 3dmark 8-thread score of 4593, 16-thread score of 5386, and max-thread score of 5411. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and Geekbench multicore score of 7976 indicate the CPU can handle heavily populated areas in Archeage without becoming the bottleneck.

The data shows that the CPU is not limiting the frame rates in this combo. The measured FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and settings, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see similar FPS across resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the 71 FPS at 1080p Low drops to 48 FPS at 1440p Low and 28 FPS at 4K Low, confirming the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, combined with its 16 MB L3 cache, provide ample headroom that is simply not utilized due to the Arc B390's performance ceiling.