Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware, yet the measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination tells a more nuanced story. Across three resolutions and four quality presets, the dataset reveals a system that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes the combo’s ranking among 2,761 tested configurations, and examines the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable drop as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average framerate falls from 162 FPS at 1920x1080 to 109 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 53 FPS, and then further to 62 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 61.7% decline from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is less severe in percentage terms at Medium settings: 144 FPS at 1080p drops to 97 FPS at 1440p and then to 55 FPS at 4K, a total decrease of 61.8% from the baseline. High settings follow a similar trajectory, with 98 FPS at 1080p falling to 66 FPS at 1440p and 38 FPS at 4K, a 61.2% total drop. Ultra settings are the most punishing, starting at 67 FPS at 1080p, declining to 45 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 26 FPS at 4K, a 61.2% reduction.

These numbers indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The consistent percentage drop across all four presets—hovering around 61% from 1080p to 4K—points to a fill-rate or memory-bandwidth bottleneck rather than a CPU limitation. The RX 7700’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial, but the pixel throughput required at 3840x2160 overwhelms the 96 ROPs and the 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate. The 4K Low result of 62 FPS versus the 4K High result of 38 FPS further confirms this: reducing the shading load through lower settings recovers 24 FPS, but even Low cannot fully escape the resolution penalty. At 1080p, the framerates are high enough that the CPU’s role becomes more prominent, especially at Low settings where 162 FPS suggests the Ryzen 5 8400F can feed frames quickly. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings shows a 53 FPS loss, which is larger than the 47 FPS loss from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is already starting to saturate at 1440p even on Low.

The data suggests that 2560x1440 is the practical ceiling for this combo in Archeage, with High settings delivering 66 FPS and Medium reaching 97 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings remain above 60 FPS, and even then barely. The resolution scaling curves are smooth and monotonic, with no anomalies or unexpected spikes, which indicates consistent behavior across the tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1276th out of 2,761 tested combinations, placing it in the 53.8th percentile of all systems evaluated in Archeage. This is a middling result for a pairing that includes a 2024 CPU and a 2025 GPU, but the ranking reflects the game’s age and its relative insensitivity to modern hardware improvements. The CPU alone sits at the 77th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 25,005, while the GPU is at the 58th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 15,852. The combo’s rank being lower than either component’s individual percentile suggests that Archeage does not fully utilize the capabilities of this hardware, likely due to engine-level bottlenecks or single-threaded dependencies.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for the Ryzen 5 8400F’s processing power. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24,964, a 0.2% delta, making the 8400F essentially identical in raw compute. The Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H are also close, at 24,935 (0.3% delta) and 24,911 (0.4% delta) respectively, while the AMD EPYC 9474F edges ahead at 25,103 (-0.4% delta). These are all within a 0.8% spread, meaning the 8400F’s performance is firmly in the mainstream desktop and laptop range. For the GPU, the nearest rivals are more varied. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15,862 (-0.1% delta), which is surprising given its much older architecture, while the Radeon RX 9060 scores 16,014 (-1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129 (-1.7% delta). The RX 7700’s 15,852 average score places it just below these cards, suggesting that in synthetic benchmarks it trades blows with previous-generation midrange hardware.

In Archeage specifically, the combo’s rank of 1276 out of 2761 means that 1,485 other configurations delivered better performance. This is not a poor showing—it is above the median—but it indicates that many older or differently balanced systems handle this game better. The data does not include rival combo rankings, so direct comparisons are limited, but the component-level percentiles suggest that the GPU is the weaker link relative to the CPU, which is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 (Phoenix) architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3. Memory support is DDR5 on a dual-channel bus, providing 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 20,851 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,943 in single-core, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3,685 and a multithread score of 24,389. These numbers place it in the upper midrange for desktop CPUs.

In Archeage, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 162. This high framerate suggests that the 8400F’s single-thread performance is sufficient to drive the game’s logic and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2,943 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 951 are indicative of strong per-core performance, which is critical for an MMORPG that likely relies on a few heavily loaded threads for gameplay mechanics, networking, and UI updates. The 12 threads also help maintain stability in crowded areas with many player characters, even if the game may not scale linearly beyond 4-6 cores.

However, the CPU’s role diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the framerate drops to 26 FPS, and the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,091 and max-thread score of 6,165 show that the CPU has headroom for multi-threaded workloads, but Archeage does not appear to leverage this fully. The Passmark physics score of 1,332 is low relative to the CPU’s other results, which may hint at weak physics processing in the game engine, but the data does not allow for deeper isolation. The 8400F’s 4.70 GHz boost clock is likely what enables the high 1080p framerates, as MMORPGs often respond well to raw clock speed. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all processors aligns with this interpretation: it is a capable chip that sits above most rivals but is not elite.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 162 FPS, with no min or max values recorded. Medium settings reduce the average to 144 FPS, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS, showing a tight frame-time distribution. High settings drop to 98 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 95 FPS, which is substantial and indicates that the game’s Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the GPU even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats but with lower absolute values. Low averages 109 FPS, Medium 97 FPS (min 82, max 111), High 66 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The Medium preset’s min of 82 FPS suggests that even mid-range settings can experience dips, though the 97 FPS average remains smooth for most displays. The 1440p High result of 66 FPS is borderline for 60 Hz monitors, while Ultra at 45 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become more challenging. Low averages 62 FPS, Medium 55 FPS (min 47, max 64), High 38 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The Medium preset’s min of 47 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that even this setting will experience noticeable stutter in demanding scenes. High and Ultra at 4K are effectively unplayable for smooth gameplay, with averages of 38 and 26 FPS respectively. The data shows no min or max values for most 4K presets, which limits the analysis, but the averages alone are sufficient to identify 4K as a challenging environment for this combo.

The framerate deltas between 1080p and 1440p are consistent: Low drops by 53 FPS, Medium by 47 FPS, High by 32 FPS, and Ultra by 22 FPS. This pattern shows that lower settings create larger absolute differences as the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck at higher resolutions. Between 1440p and 4K, the drops are 47 FPS (Low), 42 FPS (Medium), 28 FPS (High), and 19 FPS (Ultra). The smaller absolute drops at Ultra settings reflect the already-low framerates at 1440p, not a lessening of the resolution penalty.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture (Navi 32 chip) using TSMC’s 5 nm process, with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with 40 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 1900 MHz, the game clock is 2041 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2459 MHz. Memory consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s pixel rate is 236.1 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 393.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS. The TDP is 200 W, requiring a 550 W power supply and dual 8-pin connectors.

In Archeage, the GPU’s influence is most apparent at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is a clear indication that the RX 7700’s 96 ROPs and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot handle the 8.3 million pixels of 3840x2160 with full shading. The 16 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor here—Archeage is a 2014 title and unlikely to exceed even 8 GB at 4K—so the bottleneck is raw compute and fill-rate. The 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 figure is respectable, but the game’s Ultra preset likely enables heavy post-processing effects and draw distances that tax the shading units.

The GPU’s benchmark scores provide context. The Passmark G3D score of 20,974 places it at the 58th percentile, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,865 is a modern benchmark result. The OpenCL score of 106,028 and Passmark GPU compute score of 10,963 show strong compute performance, but these do not translate directly to Archeage’s rasterization-heavy workload. The nearest rival data is telling: the RX 7700’s average score of 15,852 is within 1.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti (16,129) and 1% of the RX 9060 (16,014), despite the RX 7700 having a newer architecture and more VRAM. This suggests that in synthetic tests, the RX 7700 performs at a level comparable to previous-generation midrange cards, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing it struggling at 4K.

At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to deliver 162 FPS on Low, but the Ultra preset drops to 67 FPS, indicating that the shading load is the primary constraint. The 1440p Medium result of 97 FPS with a min of 82 FPS shows that the GPU can maintain high framerates with moderate settings, but the 4K results reveal its limits. The 26 FPS at 4K Ultra is a hard floor, and the 38 FPS at 4K High is only marginally better.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired framerate. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Low preset at 162 FPS offers even higher framerates, but the visual quality compromise may not be worth the 18 FPS gain. High at 98 FPS is smooth for 60-100 Hz displays, while Ultra at 67 FPS is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at 1080p, offering a 144 FPS average with a 122 FPS minimum that avoids major stutters.

For 2560x1440, Medium is again the recommended preset, with an average of 97 FPS and a minimum of 82 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and is suitable for most gaming scenarios. High at 66 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz monitors but may dip below 60 in busy scenes, though the data does not provide a min value for High. Low at 109 FPS is an option for those prioritizing framerate over visuals, but the difference from Medium is only 12 FPS on average, making Medium the better choice. Ultra at 45 FPS is not recommended, as the framerate is too low for consistent smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Low at 62 FPS is the only preset that averages above 60 FPS, making it the only viable option for 4K gaming. Medium at 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS will experience noticeable dips and is only suitable for slower-paced gameplay. High at 38 FPS and Ultra at 26 FPS are effectively unplayable for any action-oriented content. The data indicates that 4K is not a realistic target for this combo in Archeage beyond Low settings, and even then, the 62 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenarios.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is 1920x1080 Medium, which balances a 144 FPS average with a 122 FPS minimum, ensuring smooth performance across all but the most extreme scenes. For users with 1440p monitors, 2560x1440 Medium at 97 FPS is the recommended choice, offering a 97 FPS average and an 82 FPS minimum. The Ultra presets across all resolutions are consistently the worst performers, with 4K Ultra at 26 FPS being the lowest measured result, and should be avoided. The data supports a simple conclusion: prioritize Medium settings for the best framerate-to-quality ratio, and only consider Low if targeting 4K.