Archeage

Archeage, an MMORPG released in 2014, presents a demanding workload that stresses both CPU and GPU in MMO environments, and the pairing of an AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a specific performance profile measured across resolutions and settings. The benchmark data indicates this combination achieves a rank of 2192 out of 2761 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-mid tier of all possible system configurations, which suggests that while playable at certain settings, there are notable limitations at higher graphical presets and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2192 out of 2761 tested combos places it in the 79th percentile position from the bottom, meaning roughly 79% of tested system pairings deliver higher frame rates in Archeage. This is a relatively low standing, and the data reflects that the RTX 2060 is the primary constraint in many scenarios. To contextualize this, the CPU alone sits in the 94th percentile versus all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996, while the GPU sits in only the 58th percentile versus all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. This stark contrast—a top-tier CPU paired with a mid-tier GPU—explains the overall combo ranking, as the GPU’s performance ceiling limits what the system can achieve in a graphically demanding title like Archeage.

Examining the CPU’s nearest rivals clarifies its standing: the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (which averages 69875), 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF (which averages 70163), 0.7% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (which averages 69515), and 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700K (which averages 69355). These deltaPct values are all within a 1% band, indicating that the 9700F’s compute performance is essentially on par with several flagship desktop and mobile processors from rival generations. However, in the measured FPS data for this combo, the CPU’s strength does not translate into high frame rates at higher settings, because the game’s engine appears to become GPU-bound quickly as resolution and quality increase.

The GPU’s nearest rivals are also telling: the RTX 2060 scores 0% different from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283), 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon 680M (15270), 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199), and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171). These deltas are remarkably small, placing the RTX 2060 in a performance class where even an integrated GPU like the Radeon 680M is nearly equivalent in raw benchmark terms. This explains why the combo ranks low: the GPU is not competitive with modern discrete options, and in Archeage, which tends to scale with GPU throughput at higher presets, the system falls behind.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC, containing 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The base clock is 1365 MHz, boosting to 1680 MHz, while the memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth and a total of 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. The GPU’s pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s, texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput is 6.451 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1). Its TDP is 160 W, requiring a 450 W suggested PSU and a single 8-pin connector.

In Archeage, the GPU’s role is dominant at higher settings. The measured FPS shows a clear pattern: at 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 117 FPS average, but at 1920x1080 Ultra, it drops to 48 FPS. This 69 FPS difference (a 59% reduction) is primarily due to the GPU’s limited shading units and memory bandwidth. The 6 GB VRAM is also a constraint; while Archeage may not exceed this at 1080p, the combination of higher resolutions and Ultra settings could approach or exceed the memory capacity, although the data does not specify VRAM usage. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking versus all GPUs indicates it is a mid-range part, and its nearest rivals—including the GTX 580 from 2010 and the integrated Radeon 680M—confirm that it offers performance comparable to much older or lower-power solutions in synthetic benchmarks.

The boost clock of 1680 MHz is modest by modern standards, and the 192-bit memory bus, while adequate for 6 GB, limits bandwidth to 336.0 GB/s, which can become a bottleneck in scenes with heavy texture streaming, common in MMORPGs with large worlds and many player characters. The benchmark results for the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a Passmark DirectX 11 score of 110, but these are synthetic; the real-world data from Archeage shows that at 4K High, the GPU only manages 27 FPS average, and at 4K Ultra, just 19 FPS. These numbers indicate the GPU is insufficient for smooth gameplay at 4K, and even at 1440p, the Ultra preset yields only 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture (codename Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, a 65 W TDP, and support for DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3, totaling 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. It supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes (CPU only), has ECC memory support, and was released in September 2025 with an unlocked multiplier. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470, with an average benchmark score of 69996, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

In Archeage, the CPU’s role is significant at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 117 FPS, which is likely CPU-bound, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and 16 threads help maintain frame pacing in MMO environments with many NPCs and player characters, which require rapid physics and AI calculations. The Passmark physics score of 2122 and find prime numbers score of 183 are relevant here, as they indicate the CPU’s integer and physics throughput, which can affect game logic.

However, as resolution increases, the CPU’s influence diminishes. At 4K Low, the system drops to 45 FPS, a 62% reduction from 1080p Low, showing that the GPU becomes the bottleneck even at low settings. This is consistent with the CPU’s nearest rivals: the Ryzen 7 9700F is within 1% of the Ryzen 9 7940HX, Core i7-14700KF, Ryzen 9 7950X, and Core i7-14700K in average benchmark score, meaning that swapping the CPU for a flagship part would not materially change FPS in this game because the GPU cannot push higher frame rates. The data suggests that in Archeage, the CPU is more than capable of feeding the RTX 2060 at 1080p, but the GPU’s limits cap performance at higher resolutions.

The CPU’s L3 cache of 32 MB is shared across all cores, which helps with data locality in MMO scenarios where the game world is large and frequently accessed. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, while not the highest available, is sufficient for this combination. Notably, the CPU has no integrated graphics, so the RTX 2060 is the sole display output, but that is expected in a discrete GPU setup. The CPU’s release date of September 2025 and active production status indicate it is a current-generation part, yet its pairing with an end-of-life GPU from 2019 creates an imbalance that the measured FPS data clearly illustrates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets, with average FPS for all, and min/max FPS for Medium settings only. Starting at 1920x1080, the system delivers 117 FPS at Low, 104 FPS at Medium (with min 89 and max 120), 71 FPS at High, and 48 FPS at Ultra. This shows a steady decline as settings increase, with the largest drop occurring between High and Ultra (23 FPS, a 32% reduction). At 1080p, the system is playable at all settings, with even Ultra staying above 45 FPS, though 48 FPS may feel stuttery in fast-paced combat.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS drops significantly: 79 FPS at Low, 70 FPS at Medium (min 60, max 81), 48 FPS at High, and 33 FPS at Ultra. The High preset at 1440p matches the Ultra preset at 1080p (both 48 FPS), indicating that resolution scaling costs roughly one preset level. At 1440p Ultra, 33 FPS is below the 60 FPS target for smooth play, and even High at 48 FPS is marginal. The Medium preset at 70 FPS is the most playable option, with min FPS of 60 ensuring no major drops.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles: 45 FPS at Low, 40 FPS at Medium (min 34, max 46), 27 FPS at High, and 19 FPS at Ultra. Only Low and Medium achieve above 40 FPS, and even Medium dips to 34 FPS minimum, which is noticeable. High and Ultra are effectively unplayable, with 27 FPS and 19 FPS respectively. The 4K Low preset at 45 FPS is barely acceptable, but the overall experience is poor due to the GPU’s limitations.

Comparing settings at each resolution, the delta between Low and Ultra is consistent: 69 FPS at 1080p (117 to 48), 46 FPS at 1440p (79 to 33), and 26 FPS at 4K (45 to 19). The absolute drop is smaller at higher resolutions because the starting point is lower, but the percentage drop is similar (59%, 58%, and 58% respectively). This suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity are the primary determinants, as the relative performance scales predictably with the number of pixels.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial across all settings, and this scaling reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the system moves from 117 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p (a 32% drop) and then to 45 FPS at 4K (a 43% drop from 1440p, and a 62% drop from 1080p). The number of pixels quadruples from 1080p (2,073,600) to 4K (8,294,400), so a perfect GPU-bound scaling would result in a 75% FPS reduction, but the actual 62% drop is less severe, indicating that at Low settings, the CPU still provides some headroom. However, at Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced: from 48 FPS at 1080p to 33 FPS at 1440p (a 31% drop) and then to 19 FPS at 4K (a 42% drop from 1440p, and a 60% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset’s heavier shading load means the GPU is fully saturated, and the scaling approaches the pixel count increase.

The data shows that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30-32% for all settings, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is larger at 40-43%. This is because 1440p has 78% more pixels than 1080p, while 4K has 125% more pixels than 1440p, so the GPU’s workload increases disproportionately. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, yet FPS drops consistently. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect stable FPS across resolutions at low settings, but the 62% drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low proves the GPU is constrained.

The min/max FPS data at Medium settings further illustrates this: at 1080p Medium, min FPS is 89 and max is 120 (a spread of 31), at 1440p Medium, min is 60 and max is 81 (spread of 21), and at 4K Medium, min is 34 and max is 46 (spread of 12). The shrinking spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working at its limit, reducing frame time variance but also lowering the average. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the render pipeline is saturated, and the CPU cannot inject additional frames.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU-GPU combo in Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 2192 out of 2761 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid range of all systems tested for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 0.2% higher than the Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% lower than the Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% higher than the Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% higher than the Core i7-14700K, with an average benchmark score of 69996.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for playable FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings exceed 45 FPS, with Medium at 104 FPS and Low at 117 FPS being the smoothest. At 2560x1440, Medium at 70 FPS is the best option, while at 3840x2160, only Low (45 FPS) reaches above 40 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the primary bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p, as evidenced by the FPS dropping from 117 at 1080p Low to 45 at 4K Low, despite the CPU’s high 94th percentile ranking.

Q: How does the GPU’s memory configuration affect performance?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K where frame rates drop to 27 FPS at High and 19 FPS at Ultra.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile versus all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290, and its nearest rival, the GTX 580, has a delta of 0%, indicating similar synthetic performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 71 FPS average, which is smooth for MMO gameplay, while Ultra drops to 48 FPS, which is still playable but may have occasional hitches in crowded areas. The Medium preset at 104 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with min FPS of 89 ensuring no dips below 60. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low at 117 FPS is the smoothest, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 70 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a minimum of 60 FPS and provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low (79 FPS) at a minor FPS cost. High at 48 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 33 FPS is not recommended for competitive play. At 3840x2160, the system is not well-suited for this resolution, but Low at 45 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, while Medium at 40 FPS (with min 34) is acceptable for less demanding scenarios. High and Ultra at 27 FPS and 19 FPS, respectively, should be avoided.

The data indicates that the best experience is at 1080p Medium or High, where the system maintains frame rates above 70 FPS, leveraging the CPU’s strong single-thread performance (4691 Passmark score) to handle MMO game logic while the GPU keeps up with rendering. At 1440p, Medium is the sweet spot, offering 70 FPS with a 60 FPS minimum, which balances visual fidelity with smoothness. For 4K, the system falls short, and players should either lower the resolution or accept reduced settings. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p Medium, but the 192-bit bus limits performance at higher resolutions, as shown by the 58% FPS reduction from Low to Ultra at each resolution. Ultimately, this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it achieves playable frame rates across all settings, with Medium providing the best overall experience.