Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, presents an interesting challenge for modern hardware due to its age and engine limitations. When paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, the benchmark data reveals a scenario where frame rates are highly dependent on graphics settings, but also where the CPU plays a significant role in dictating overall performance. The measured results show that the most balanced experience is found at Medium settings across all resolutions, offering a substantial improvement over High and Ultra presets while maintaining frame times that are smoother than the maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this hardware combination. This is not merely a subjective preference but is directly supported by the measured FPS values and the available frame time data. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. In contrast, the High preset drops to an average of 147 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 127 FPS. The Low preset does yield a higher average of 177 FPS, but the difference between Low and Medium is a marginal 7 FPS, which is far less significant than the jump from Medium to High (23 FPS).

This pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, Medium achieves an average of 149 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS. The High preset averages 128 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 90 FPS. The most dramatic difference, however, is observed at 3840x2160. Here, the Medium preset manages a respectable 112 FPS average with minimum and maximum values of 95 and 128 FPS respectively. The High preset drops to 76 FPS, and the Ultra preset collapses to just 52 FPS. The Low preset at this resolution is the only one that surpasses Medium, hitting 125 FPS, but it does so without the frame time data that confirms consistency.

The data strongly suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a rendering load that is disproportionately heavy for the visual fidelity it likely provides in this older title. The performance cost is severe: a 75 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K, and a 43 FPS drop at 1440p. While the High preset is playable, the Medium preset offers the best combination of high average frame rates and confirmed stability through its recorded minimum FPS. For a game like Archeage, where smoothness in crowded areas is paramount, the Medium preset provides a significant performance headroom over High and Ultra, making it the recommended setting for this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best graphics preset for this CPU and GPU combination in Archeage?

A: The benchmark results clearly show that the Medium preset provides the most balanced experience. It delivers substantially higher average frame rates than High or Ultra at every resolution tested, and it is the only preset besides Low that reports a minimum FPS, indicating a more stable frame delivery. For example, at 2560x1440, Medium averages 149 FPS compared to 128 FPS on High and 90 FPS on Ultra.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's performance in this game align with its overall benchmark standing?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, in Archeage, the game's engine appears to limit its potential. While the GPU is extremely powerful, the frame rates at 1080p (e.g., 177 FPS on Low) suggest the CPU is the limiting factor, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X's performance compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260, placing it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, scores 34222, a negligible 0.1% difference. The Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333, which is 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H scores 34083, which is 0.5% lower. This indicates the 3700X is competitively positioned in its performance class.

Q: Is the game more demanding on the CPU or GPU at higher resolutions?

A: The data indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 on Low settings, the average FPS is 177. When moving to 3840x2160 on Low settings, the FPS drops to 125, a 29% decrease. This scaling shows that the increased pixel count burdens the GPU. Conversely, at 1080p, the performance difference between Low and Ultra is only 50 FPS (177 vs 127), suggesting the CPU is limiting the frame rate even on High and Ultra settings.

Q: What is the performance cost of enabling Ultra settings over Medium?

A: The performance penalty for using Ultra is severe. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 112 on Medium to 52 on Ultra, a reduction of 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 149 FPS to 90 FPS, a reduction of 59 FPS. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 170 FPS to 127 FPS, a reduction of 43 FPS. This suggests the Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. Its core is configured with 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs, with boost clocks reaching 2407 MHz. These specifications place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712.

In Archeage, the RTX 5090 D's role is heavily dependent on the resolution and settings. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the defining component. The frame rate scales dramatically with settings: 125 FPS on Low, 112 FPS on Medium, 76 FPS on High, and 52 FPS on Ultra. This 73 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K demonstrates that the GPU's raw power is being utilized, but the game's engine seems to struggle with the Ultra preset's specific effects. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is unlikely to be a bottleneck.

However, the GPU's dominance wanes at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the performance difference between Low (177 FPS) and High (147 FPS) is only 30 FPS, and the jump from Medium (170 FPS) to Ultra (127 FPS) is 43 FPS. This compression of frame rates at 1080p suggests that the CPU is beginning to limit the GPU's output. The RTX 5090 D is capable of far more than 177 FPS in a game like Archeage, but the Ryzen 7 3700X cannot feed it instructions fast enough to achieve higher frame rates. The GPU is still the primary driver of performance at 4K, but its headroom is held back by the processor at lower resolutions. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT which scores 78940 (1.6% higher), are all mobile or data center parts, highlighting the 5090 D's position as a top-tier desktop solution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 177 FPS. The Medium preset follows closely with 170 FPS, and it is the only setting at this resolution with recorded frame time data, showing a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. The High preset averages 147 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 127 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 50 FPS, which is significant but not as pronounced as at higher resolutions.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset again leads with 155 FPS. The Medium preset averages 149 FPS (with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS), showing remarkable consistency with its 1080p performance, only a 21 FPS drop. The High preset drops to 128 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 90 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 65 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 126 FPS is higher than the High preset's average of 128 FPS, indicating that Medium offers not only a higher average but also a potentially more stable experience.

At 3840x2160, the performance gaps widen considerably. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS. The High preset drops to 76 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to a barely playable 52 FPS. The disparity between Low and Ultra is now 73 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: the High and Ultra presets incur a massive performance penalty at 4K, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay, while Medium remains a viable option with an average above 100 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. On the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 177 at 1920x1080 to 155 at 2560x1440, a 12% decrease. Moving to 3840x2160, the FPS drops to 125, a further 19% decrease from 1440p and a total 29% decrease from 1080p. This scaling is relatively gentle, indicating that even at 4K, the game's workload on Low settings is not overwhelming the RTX 5090 D.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend. It starts at 170 FPS at 1080p, drops to 149 FPS at 1440p (-12%), and then to 112 FPS at 4K (-25% from 1440p, -34% from 1080p). The minimum FPS also scales down, from 144 at 1080p to 126 at 1440p to 95 at 4K. This consistent scaling suggests a balanced load where both CPU and GPU are working in tandem. The High preset shows a steeper drop: 147 FPS at 1080p, 128 FPS at 1440p (-13%), and 76 FPS at 4K (-41% from 1440p). The Ultra preset exhibits the most extreme scaling: 127 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p (-29%), and 52 FPS at 4K (-42% from 1440p).

The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiting factor. The fact that Low, Medium, and High all produce frame rates in the 147-177 range suggests the processor cannot push the frame rate much higher regardless of the graphical load. However, as resolution increases to 1440p and especially 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting component. The significant drops on the High and Ultra presets at 4K show that the GPU's rendering workload is increasing faster than its ability to process it, likely due to the game's inefficient implementation of higher-end effects. The RTX 5090 D is powerful, but the game's engine appears to have an upper limit on how efficiently it can utilize the GPU's resources.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is a Zen 2 (Matisse) processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features a 32 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. Its benchmark scores are respectable, with a Passmark multithread score of 22458 and a single-thread score of 2656. It sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 34260, placing it directly between the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.1% higher) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (0.5% lower).

In Archeage, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates across Low, Medium, and High settings are relatively clustered (177, 170, and 147 FPS respectively). This suggests that the CPU is the bottleneck, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. The 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient for the game's threading model, but its single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core score of 1593) appears to be the limiting factor when trying to achieve very high frame rates. The game is likely bottlenecked by the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls, preventing the RTX 5090 D from reaching its full potential.

However, the CPU's influence wanes as the resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the dominant bottleneck, as evidenced by the wide spread in FPS between settings (125 on Low vs 52 on Ultra). The 3700X is still capable of driving the GPU at 4K, but its performance ceiling is clearly defined by the 1080p results. The data shows that this CPU, while a solid performer in its class, is not powerful enough to fully unlock the RTX 5090 D in a CPU-bound scenario like Archeage at 1080p. For a game from 2014, the 3700X provides adequate performance, but the benchmark results indicate that a newer processor with higher single-thread performance would be needed to achieve higher frame rates at lower resolutions.