Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG built on a dated engine, presents a unique challenge for modern high-end hardware. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a wide spectrum of frame rates that heavily depend on graphical presets and resolution. The data reveals a system that is capable of extreme performance at lower settings but is also constrained by the game’s engine at maximum quality settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand how each component contributes to the final experience.

Resolution Scaling

The relationship between resolution and frame rate in Archeage is non-linear and heavily influenced by the selected graphics preset. At Low settings, the game scales almost perfectly with pixel count. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 298, which drops to 200 at 2560x1440, and further to 115 at 3840x2160. This represents a 33% performance hit when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 42.5% hit from 1440p to 4K. This steep drop-off indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the workload on the rendering pipeline increases significantly with each resolution step.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when the preset is raised to High. At 1080p, the average FPS is 180, which is 60% lower than the Low preset at the same resolution. Moving to 1440p High yields 121 FPS, a 33% drop, and 4K High produces 69 FPS, a 43% drop from 1440p. The percentage drops are similar to Low, but the absolute values are much lower, suggesting that the increased graphical fidelity places a heavier load on the GPU’s shading and texture units, making the resolution scaling even more impactful.

At the Ultra preset, the frame rates collapse. The 1080p Ultra average is 123 FPS, which is already 31% lower than the High preset at the same resolution. This gap widens at 1440p, where Ultra produces 83 FPS (a 31% drop from High), and becomes most severe at 4K, where Ultra averages just 47 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is 62% lower than the 4K High result, indicating that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive at high pixel counts. This data suggests that while the RTX 4090 has immense raw power, the game’s Ultra settings at 4K create a bottleneck that even this flagship GPU cannot overcome, pointing to engine-level limitations rather than pure GPU throughput.

The Medium preset offers an interesting middle ground. At 1080p, it averages 265 FPS, which is 47% higher than High but 11% lower than Low. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p (178 FPS) shows a 33% drop, and 4K Medium (102 FPS) shows a 43% drop from 1440p. The consistent percentage drops across all presets suggest that resolution scaling is primarily a GPU-bound operation, but the absolute FPS differences between presets highlight how much the CPU and GPU load changes with each quality tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running on the AM5 socket. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz and it boosts up to 5.50 GHz. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for an MMORPG like Archeage that often relies on a primary render thread.

In Archeage, the CPU’s role becomes most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not fully taxed. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 298 FPS, a figure that is likely close to the engine’s frame rate ceiling or the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU. The fact that increasing resolution to 1440p Low drops the frame rate to 200 FPS suggests that the GPU is still handling the rendering load, but the CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates without becoming a significant bottleneck.

The Ryzen 7 9700F’s high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is a key asset here. Archeage, being an older title, benefits from high single-thread performance. The Passmark single-thread score of 4691 shows it is on par with other high-end desktop processors. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% faster). These deltas are negligible, meaning the 9700F’s performance in CPU-bound tasks is squarely in the top tier for desktop platforms.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth are also relevant. MMORPGs often involve complex world states and many entities, which can stress memory bandwidth and cache. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is more than sufficient for Archeage’s threading model, which likely does not scale beyond a few cores. The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck at any resolution or preset, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster of a GPU, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The core clock boosts to 2520 MHz, and its FP32 compute performance is 82.58 TFLOPS.

In Archeage, the RTX 4090’s raw power is evident at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 298 FPS, which is likely limited by the game’s engine or CPU, not the GPU. The GPU’s 24 GB VRAM is far more than Archeage requires, even at 4K Ultra, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The issue lies in the game’s rendering pipeline, which may not efficiently use the GPU’s massive parallelism.

The GPU’s performance becomes the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality presets. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 47, a figure that highlights the difficulty of running the game’s most demanding settings at high pixel counts. The RTX 4090’s Passmark G3D score is 38194, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Despite this, the 4K Ultra result shows that the game can still saturate even this GPU’s capabilities.

The RTX 4090’s nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% faster), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% slower). These comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks, which do not always translate directly to game performance. In Archeage, the RTX 4090’s advantage is clear at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result suggests that the game’s engine has a performance ceiling that the GPU cannot circumvent.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination is ranked 56th out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the top 2% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing. The high ranking is largely due to the RTX 4090’s dominance at lower resolutions and the CPU’s ability to keep up with high frame rates.

However, the ranking also reflects the game’s peculiar scaling behavior. A combo that ranks 56th overall may not be the absolute fastest in every scenario. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 298 FPS, which is exceptional. But at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that many users consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. This variance means the combo’s ranking is an average across all tested settings.

The top 2% ranking suggests that very few other combinations of CPU and GPU can outperform this pairing in Archeage. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s strong single-thread performance ensures that it does not hold back the RTX 4090, while the GPU provides enough raw throughput to handle the game’s graphical demands. The fact that this combo ranks 56th out of 2761 reflects the balance between the two components.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system shows its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 298 FPS, while Medium averages 265 FPS with a minimum of 225 and maximum of 305. High settings drop the average to 180 FPS, and Ultra further reduces it to 123 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression: each step up in quality costs a significant number of frames, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (85 FPS difference).

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low averages 200 FPS, Medium averages 178 FPS with min/max of 152/205, High averages 121 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The relative differences between presets remain similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower. The Medium preset’s minimum of 152 FPS is still respectably high, indicating that 1440p Medium is a viable option for high refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090’s limits become apparent. Low averages 115 FPS, Medium averages 102 FPS with min/max of 87/117, High averages 69 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 33 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 22 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS is the only measured average below 60 FPS, making it the only configuration that would likely feel less than smooth on a standard 60 Hz display.

The Medium preset provides the most consistent data, with min and max values recorded at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 225-305 FPS, at 1440p it is 152-205 FPS, and at 4K it is 87-117 FPS. These ranges show that the system maintains stable frame pacing even at high loads, with the 4K Medium result being the lowest minimum at 87 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Archeage?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 298 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 265 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 200 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this system run Archeage at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 102 with a minimum of 87, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smoothness. At 4K High, the average drops to 69 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 47 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F is 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700KF, and 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X based on average benchmark scores.

Q: What is the impact of raising settings from Low to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the average FPS drops from 200 at Low to 178 at Medium, then to 121 at High, and finally to 83 at Ultra. This represents a 58.5% total reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: No, the 298 FPS result at 1080p Low is likely limited by the game’s engine or CPU frame rate cap, as the GPU has significant headroom at such low graphical demands.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Archeage?

A: This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 56th out of 2761 tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations.