Archeage

Archeage is an older MMORPG, but the measured data for this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and the Intel Arc B390 reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution. The CPU is a high-end desktop part with strong multi-threaded performance, but the GPU is an integrated graphics processor that sits at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This pairing produces a very specific performance profile that dictates how the game should be configured to achieve a playable experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data clearly indicates that the Low settings preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, and even then, only at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 71 FPS, which is the only measured configuration to exceed the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the baseline for playability. The Medium preset at the same resolution drops to an average of 64 FPS, which is still technically playable, but the margin for error is smaller, and the minimum FPS of 54 shows that it can dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The data suggests that for a stable experience, Low at 1080p is the recommended starting point.

Moving up to the High preset at 1080p results in a significant performance penalty, dropping the average to 43 FPS. This is a 39% decrease from the Low preset, which is a substantial loss for what is likely a modest visual improvement in a game from 2014. The Ultra preset is not a realistic option for this hardware, as it yields an average of only 29 FPS at 1080p, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in an MMORPG where quick reactions are often necessary. Therefore, the choice is effectively between Low and Medium at 1080p, with Low being the safer recommendation for maintaining a higher framerate.

At higher resolutions, the situation becomes more dire. The Low preset at 2560x1440 yields an average of 48 FPS, which is below the ideal target, and the Medium preset drops to 43 FPS. Neither of these is ideal, but they are the only presets that approach playability at 1440p. The High preset at 1440p produces an average of 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset is essentially unplayable at 20 FPS. For 4K, all presets are below 30 FPS, with even Low struggling to reach 28 FPS. The recommendation is clear: for a playable experience, users should prioritize 1080p resolution and select the Low or Medium preset, accepting that the latter will have occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 71 at 1080p to 48 at 1440p, a 32% decrease. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe, falling from 48 to 28 FPS, a 42% decrease. This pattern—where the framerate is nearly halved when moving from 1440p to 4K—demonstrates that the integrated Intel Arc B390 is being overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling is consistent across all presets. For example, the Medium preset sees a drop from 64 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 25 FPS at 4K. The High preset goes from 43 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p and finally to 17 FPS at 4K. This consistent pattern across different quality settings confirms that the limiting factor is not the CPU or the game's logic, but the raw fill rate and pixel processing power of the GPU. The rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with the number of pixels, which is the signature of a component that is bottlenecked by its output capabilities.

The data strongly implies that the system is entirely GPU-limited at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less of a performance difference between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU workload would remain relatively constant while the GPU workload increases. Instead, the consistent and significant FPS drops at each higher resolution step point to the Intel Arc B390 as the definitive limiting component. Users should not expect to play this game at 4K with this hardware; even the Low preset is far below playable framerates. The 1080p resolution is the only one where the system can deliver a framerate that is acceptable for the genre.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this system's Archeage performance, and its specifications explain the measured results. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture. Its performance percentile is a very low 9, meaning it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs, which is a clear indicator of its entry-level positioning. This is reflected in its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which puts it in the same performance tier as legacy discrete GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the GeForce GT 710.

The GPU's memory configuration is critical to its performance. It relies on System Shared memory, meaning it uses a portion of the system's DDR5 RAM instead of having its own dedicated VRAM. This is a significant disadvantage for gaming. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means the performance is tied to the speed of the system's main memory. While the Ryzen 7 7700X supports dual-channel DDR5 with a theoretical bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, sharing this bandwidth between the CPU and GPU creates contention and can lead to performance bottlenecks, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU needs to access more texture data.

The clock speeds of the Arc B390 are also noteworthy. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The large disparity between these two numbers suggests that the GPU's performance can vary significantly depending on thermal headroom and power limits, which are constrained by its 80 W TDP. This could lead to inconsistent framerates in gameplay. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, which are low numbers compared to modern discrete GPUs. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that the measured FPS in Archeage fall far short of, confirming that the bandwidth and memory latency are likely the primary bottlenecks rather than raw compute.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset. The data was collected for the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and Intel Arc B390.

At 1920x1080, the system's performance is at its best. The Low preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, making it the only configuration to hit a smooth 60+ FPS target. The Medium preset achieves an average of 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS, showing it is capable of playable performance but with some dips. The High preset drops significantly to an average of 43 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the slowest at 1080p, with an average of just 29 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades considerably. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 48 FPS. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 49 FPS. The High preset falls to an average of 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset is not viable for gameplay, averaging just 20 FPS. None of these averages meet the 60 FPS target, and even the Low preset is borderline for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is not capable of providing a playable experience at any setting. The Low preset produces an average of 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 25 FPS, with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28 FPS. The High preset drops to 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the absolute worst, with an average of just 11 FPS. The data shows a clear and consistent trend: higher resolutions and higher settings lead to a linear decline in performance, with the GPU unable to keep up with the rendering demands.

FAQ

Q: Can I play Archeage at 4K with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that even at the Low settings preset, the average FPS at 3840x2160 is only 28. The Medium preset averages 25 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 11 FPS. These framerates are far too low for a playable experience in an MMORPG.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The only measured configuration that achieves an average FPS of 60 or higher is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which averages 71 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p comes close with 64 FPS, but its minimum FPS of 54 indicates it will not maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The heavy performance drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K are characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile, while the Ryzen 7 7700X is a high-end desktop CPU.

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

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B390 scores 1482. This places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all very low-performance GPUs.

Q: Does the Arc B390 have dedicated video memory?

A: No. The memory configuration is listed as "System Shared," meaning it uses part of the system's main DDR5 memory. The bandwidth is described as "System Dependent" and is shared with the CPU, which can cause performance issues.

Q: Is the Ultra settings preset ever a viable option?

A: No. The Ultra preset is the lowest performing preset at every resolution. At 1080p, it averages 29 FPS; at 1440p, it averages 20 FPS; and at 4K, it averages 11 FPS. This preset should be avoided entirely with this hardware.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a powerful desktop processor, and its capabilities are more than sufficient for Archeage, which is a game from 2014. The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores reflect its high performance. For example, it scores 19,088 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,987 in single-core. It also achieves a Passmark multi-thread score of 35,686 and a single-thread score of 4,190. This places the CPU in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a strong performer.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this game. The measured FPS patterns, which show a sharp decline with increasing resolution, would not occur if the CPU were the limiting factor. In a CPU-bound scenario, the framerate would be more consistent across resolutions, as the CPU's workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the FPS drops are directly tied to the pixel count, which is a GPU workload. The Ryzen 7 7700X is likely sitting idle for much of the time, waiting for the Intel Arc B390 to finish rendering each frame.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s for dual-channel DDR5 is theoretically ample, but it is shared with the GPU. This could exacerbate the GPU's performance issues, as the system memory bandwidth is a shared resource. However, the CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 1,987 Cinebench R23 score, ensures that the game's main thread and other game logic are handled with ease. In the context of this benchmark, the Ryzen 7 7700X is a top-tier component that is being held back by the integrated graphics. Its performance is comparable to rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which shows a 0.3% difference in average score, and the Intel Core 7 250H, which is 0.5% different. The CPU is not the issue; it is the weak link in the graphics chain that defines this system's gameplay experience.