Archeage

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a robust Archeage experience, with the data showing a clear path to high refresh rate play at 1080p and solid 60+ FPS at 1440p. The measured results indicate that the CPU’s 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 architecture provides ample headroom for the MMO’s demands, while the GPU’s 12 GB frame buffer becomes the primary constraint at 4K Ultra settings. This analysis breaks down the specific roles each component plays, the optimal settings, and the performance scaling across resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG that often relies on a few heavily loaded threads, but also benefits from additional cores for background tasks and large-scale player interactions. The processor’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is crucial for maintaining stable frame pacing in crowded areas.

In the benchmark data, the Ryzen 7 9700F achieves a Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470. This places it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating excellent overall processing power. Its average benchmark score of 69996 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, a 0.2% difference) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163, a -0.2% difference). The data shows that the 9700F is not a bottleneck in most Archeage scenarios, as evidenced by the high average FPS at 1080p Low settings (234 FPS), which is likely limited by the GPU’s rendering speed rather than the CPU’s ability to feed it frames.

However, the CPU’s influence becomes more apparent at lower graphics settings and higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 37, which suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 234 FPS average is a strong indicator that the CPU can handle the game’s simulation and draw calls without issue, even when the GPU is not heavily taxed. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s 65W TDP and 4nm process node also contribute to sustained performance, preventing thermal throttling that could otherwise reduce frame rates in long play sessions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. It has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for Archeage’s textures and assets at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset appears to exceed what the 12 GB frame buffer can comfortably handle, leading to the lowest average FPS of 37.

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s benchmark scores reinforce its position as a strong 1440p card. It scores 29995 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 43223 is within 1% of its nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, -0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43667, -1% delta). This suggests that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER offers performance comparable to a high-end mobile RTX 4090 in synthetic tests, but the measured FPS data shows how this translates to real-world Archeage gameplay.

The GPU’s role is most critical at higher settings and resolutions. At 1440p High, the average FPS is 95, which is a comfortable experience. However, moving to 1440p Ultra drops the average to 65 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the Ultra preset. At 4K, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck: High settings yield 55 FPS, Medium yields 80 FPS, and Low yields 90 FPS. The jump from 4K High (55 FPS) to 4K Medium (80 FPS) is a 45% improvement, showing that the GPU is sensitive to the specific settings within the preset, rather than just the resolution itself.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1080p gamers, the High preset at 142 FPS is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as the Medium preset at 209 FPS offers diminishing returns for the visual upgrade, and Ultra at 97 FPS is still playable but introduces a significant frame rate penalty. The data shows that 1080p High provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience without pushing the GPU to its limits.

For 1440p, the High preset at 95 FPS is the clear recommendation. It delivers a near-60 FPS experience with room to spare, and the Medium preset at 140 FPS is only 45 FPS higher, which may not be worth the visual downgrade. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is playable but sits close to the 60 FPS threshold, so High is the safer choice for maintaining consistent frame times. At 4K, the Medium preset at 80 FPS is the only viable option for a smooth experience, as High (55 FPS) and Ultra (37 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS target. Low at 90 FPS is also an option for competitive play, but Medium provides a much better visual presentation for a marginal FPS cost.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the Ultra preset is consistently the most demanding, with a 45% performance drop from High at 1080p (142 to 97 FPS), a 32% drop at 1440p (95 to 65 FPS), and a 33% drop at 4K (55 to 37 FPS). Therefore, users should avoid Ultra unless they prioritize image quality over frame rate, and instead opt for High at 1080p and 1440p, or Medium at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Archeage?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 234, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution and preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER sufficient for 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: At 4K, the best average FPS is 90 on Low settings. Medium settings yield 80 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 55 and 37 FPS, respectively. This suggests the GPU can handle 4K only at lower presets.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163).

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p High and 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS drops from 142 at High to 97 at Ultra, a decrease of 45 FPS or approximately 32%. This shows a significant performance cost for the Ultra preset.

Q: Does the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM cause issues at any resolution?

A: The data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 37, which is likely due to the 12 GB frame buffer being overwhelmed. At lower resolutions, the VRAM is sufficient, as seen by the 80 FPS at 4K Medium.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Archeage?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination is ranked 419 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, revealing the GPU as the primary scaling bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 142 at 1080p to 95 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 55 at 4K (a 42% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is being increasingly taxed by the pixel count, with the CPU maintaining sufficient frame generation capability.

The scaling is even more pronounced at lower settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 234 at 1080p to 158 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 90 at 4K (a 43% drop from 1440p). This suggests that even when the GPU is not heavily loaded by graphical effects, the raw resolution still limits performance. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 234 FPS while 4K Low achieves only 90 FPS highlights that the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU.

At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 209 to 140 FPS (a 33% drop), and then to 80 FPS at 4K (a 43% drop). The Ultra preset shows the largest relative drops, from 97 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 37 FPS at 4K (a 43% drop). This consistent ~33% and ~43% reduction pattern across all settings confirms that the GPU is the limiting component for this game, as the CPU’s performance remains constant regardless of resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 234 FPS average
• Medium: 209 FPS average, with a minimum of 177 and maximum of 240
• High: 142 FPS average
• Ultra: 97 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 158 FPS average
• Medium: 140 FPS average, with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 162
• High: 95 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 90 FPS average
• Medium: 80 FPS average, with a minimum of 68 and maximum of 92
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER maintains playable frame rates (above 60 FPS) at all settings except 4K High and 4K Ultra. At 1440p, all presets except Ultra exceed 60 FPS, with High providing a comfortable 95 FPS. At 1080p, all presets are above 90 FPS, making this the ideal resolution for maximum refresh rate monitors. The minimum FPS data points, available only for Medium settings, show that the 1% lows are within 15% of the average, indicating stable frame pacing without severe stutters. This is particularly notable at 1080p Medium, where the minimum of 177 FPS is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate.