Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, presents an interesting case study for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by both the game's age and the hardware's capabilities, with performance scaling that clearly delineates the roles of the CPU and GPU across different resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 142.3 FPS, which drops to 95 FPS at 1440p and further to 55.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial decline of roughly 33% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 41% drop from 1440p to 4K. This steep degradation is a strong indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput demands of 4K overwhelm its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The scaling pattern changes notably with higher settings. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 59.3 FPS at 1080p, 39.4 FPS at 1440p, and 23.5 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 33%, but from 1440p to 4K it is a steeper 40%. This suggests that at Ultra, the GPU is even more saturated, and the additional shading units and texture units are being pushed to their limits. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs are struggling to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average of 23.5 FPS is well below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 83 FPS (142.3 vs 59.3), while at 4K, it narrows to 32.4 FPS (55.9 vs 23.5). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even lowering settings does not provide a proportional FPS boost; the bottleneck has shifted almost entirely to the graphics card’s raw compute capabilities. The data suggests that for this game, the RTX 2070 SUPER is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates without being overwhelmed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. In an MMORPG like Archeage, which can be sensitive to single-thread performance for game logic and network processing, this CPU’s capabilities are significant. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and Geekbench single-core score of 3353 demonstrate strong per-core performance, which helps maintain high frame rates in less demanding scenes.

However, the benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The fact that frame rates drop so drastically from 1080p Low (142.3 FPS) to 4K Low (55.9 FPS) indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck; if the CPU were limiting, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31588, are more than sufficient for a game from 2014, which likely does not utilize more than a few cores effectively.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth also contribute to smooth performance, ensuring that data can be fed to the GPU without stuttering. The processor’s percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs places it in the top tier, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14500HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, show an average score delta of only 0.2% and -0.4%, respectively. This indicates that the 9700X is operating at the same performance level as its closest competitors, but in this specific game, the GPU’s limitations overshadow any CPU differences.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Archeage with this hardware combo?

A: Based on the data, 1080p is the optimal choice. At Low settings, the combo achieves 142.3 FPS, and even at High settings, it maintains 83.5 FPS. At 1440p, frame rates are still playable, but at 4K, performance drops significantly, with Ultra settings yielding only 23.5 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940) and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (36165). It also outperforms the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by 0.6% but trails the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER a limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests so. The frame rate drops from 55.9 FPS at 4K Low to 23.5 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 8 GB of VRAM are insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay in Archeage.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the average FPS at Low settings is 95, while at Ultra it is 39.4. This represents a 55.6 FPS difference, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER can handle high frame rates at lower settings but is heavily taxed by Ultra presets.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations for Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 1061 out of 1727 tested combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier, indicating that while it can play the game, there are many other hardware combinations that achieve higher frame rates.

Q: Does the CPU’s single-thread performance matter for this game?

A: Given that the game is from 2014, single-thread performance is likely more important than multi-thread. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and Geekbench single-core score of 3353 are strong, but the data shows the GPU is the bottleneck in most scenarios, so CPU performance is not the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 1061 out of 1727 tested combos for Archeage. This percentile placement of roughly 61% (1061/1727) suggests that the system is capable of running the game, but it is not a top-tier performer. The rank reflects the significant GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, which prevents the CPU’s strong benchmark scores from translating into top-tier gaming performance.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is likely held back by the RTX 2070 SUPER’s age and end-of-life production status. The GPU’s percentile rank of 65 versus all GPUs is decent, but its nearest rivals, such as the RTX 4060 Mobile (which is 2.3% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (which is 2.5% slower), show that it is in a competitive but not dominant position. The CPU, on the other hand, is in the 89th percentile, which is much stronger, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations in a graphically demanding game like Archeage at high resolutions.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver frame rates above 100 FPS on Low settings and above 80 FPS on High. At 1440p, it remains playable, but the user must be willing to lower settings to maintain high frame rates. For 4K gaming, this combo is not recommended, as even Low settings only produce an average of 55.9 FPS, which may be acceptable for some but falls short of the high refresh rate experience many gamers seek.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its best performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 142.3, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium settings drop the frame rate to 127.2 FPS, while High settings yield 83.5 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 59.3 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant performance hit of 58% from Low to Ultra.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates decrease predictably. Low settings average 95 FPS, Medium settings average 85.2 FPS, and High settings drop to 55.9 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average of 39.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 55.6 FPS, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER is stressed at this resolution with high preset levels.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings produce an average of 55.9 FPS, which is identical to the 1440p High result, highlighting the resolution scaling. Medium settings average 46.8 FPS, while High settings drop to 30.6 FPS. Ultra settings are nearly unplayable, with an average of just 23.5 FPS. This data confirms that 4K gaming is not viable with this combo for Archeage, especially at higher settings where frame rates fall below 30 FPS.