Archeage

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a robust Archeage experience across most settings, though the data reveals a clear ceiling at the highest visual presets. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions show that the Ultra preset is punishing, while Medium and High offer a far more playable balance. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of each component, and how this combination ranks against other tested hardware.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data strongly indicates that the High preset provides the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 95 FPS, which is a significant 34% higher than the 62.5 FPS achieved on Ultra, while still offering a clear visual upgrade over the Low preset's 152.2 FPS. The performance scaling is consistent across resolutions: High at 2560x1440 yields 63.8 FPS, and even at 3840x2160 it maintains 39.1 FPS, suggesting that High is the only preset that remains playable at 4K with this setup.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution beyond 1080p. The data shows a severe performance penalty for the highest visual fidelity, with average FPS dropping to 62.5 at 1080p, 40.8 at 1440p, and a marginal 21.6 at 4K. This represents a 59% decrease from High to Ultra at 1080p, indicating that the Ultra preset demands more than this GPU can deliver for smooth gameplay.

For players prioritizing high refresh rates at 1080p, the Medium preset is a strong contender. It achieves 134.9 FPS at 1080p, which is 42% higher than High, and maintains 92.5 FPS at 1440p. The Low preset is the only option that pushes beyond 150 FPS at 1080p (152.2 FPS), but the visual compromise is likely too steep for most users. The data suggests that Medium or High are the sweet spots, with Medium being ideal for 144Hz displays and High for 60-100Hz displays at 1440p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset combination for this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the Medium preset is the most versatile choice, delivering 134.9 FPS. For higher fidelity, the High preset at 2560x1440 yields 63.8 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset affect performance compared to High?

A: The Ultra preset causes a dramatic performance drop. At 1080p, average FPS falls from 95 on High to 62.5 on Ultra, a 34% reduction. At 4K, the drop is more severe, falling from 39.1 to 21.6 FPS, making Ultra essentially unplayable at that resolution.

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: Only at the Low preset does this hardware achieve playable 4K performance, with an average of 56.9 FPS. The High preset at 4K drops to 39.1 FPS, which is below the typical 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM factor into these results?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is a limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is particularly demanding, and the 128-bit memory bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth likely struggles with the larger data sets required for Ultra textures.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 989 out of 1727 tell us?

A: This rank places the combination in the lower-middle tier of all tested combos for Archeage. It indicates that while this hardware is not near the top, it still outperforms a significant number of other configurations, with the CPU being a strong asset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the performance in this game?

A: The data suggests a balanced load. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (4800 in Cinebench R23) helps at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K, evidenced by the steep FPS drops when increasing settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the primary determinant of performance when visual settings are increased. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but appears strained at 4K Ultra. The benchmark data shows that the FPS differential between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 89.7 FPS (from 152.2 to 62.5), highlighting the GPU's limited headroom for the most demanding presets.

The GPU's 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs operate at a boost clock of 2460 MHz, and its FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS is a moderate figure for modern titles. In Archeage, this translates to solid performance at Medium and High presets across all resolutions. The GPU's percentile rank of 66 among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181, places it just ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600M by 0.6% and behind the Intel Arc B580 by 0.7%. The data reveals that the RTX 4060 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings, where it can maintain high frame rates without hitting memory bandwidth limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 989 out of 1727 tested combinations in Archeage. This places it in the 57th percentile of all combos, indicating it outperforms more than half of the tested systems. The ranking reflects the balance between the high-end CPU and the mid-range GPU; the processor is a top-tier component, but the graphics card holds the system back from higher positions.

The CPU itself is a powerhouse, with an average benchmark score of 37780 and a percentile of 90 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13600KF, score similarly (38028), but the Ryzen's 96 MB of L3 cache provides a distinct advantage in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the GPU's lower standing (66th percentile) drags the overall combo rank down. This suggests that for Archeage, which appears to be moderately GPU-intensive, the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor preventing this combo from cracking the top 500.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing performance as resolution increases, but the rate of decline varies by preset. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drop is roughly 33-37% across all settings. For example, High settings fall from 95 FPS at 1080p to 63.8 FPS at 1440p, a 33% reduction. The Low preset drops from 152.2 to 101.3 FPS, a 33% decline.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe, indicating the GPU is becoming the bottleneck. The High preset falls from 63.8 to 39.1 FPS, a 39% reduction, while the Medium preset drops from 92.5 to 50.7 FPS, a 45% decline. The Ultra preset suffers the most, falling from 40.8 to 21.6 FPS, a 47% reduction. This non-linear scaling suggests that the RTX 4060's memory bandwidth and compute resources are insufficient for the pixel count at 4K, while the CPU's strong performance is less relevant at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this hardware combination is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Low 152.2 FPS, Medium 134.9 FPS, High 95 FPS, Ultra 62.5 FPS
• 2560x1440: Low 101.3 FPS, Medium 92.5 FPS, High 63.8 FPS, Ultra 40.8 FPS
• 3840x2160: Low 56.9 FPS, Medium 50.7 FPS, High 39.1 FPS, Ultra 21.6 FPS

The data shows that the Low preset is the only one that consistently delivers over 100 FPS at 1080p and 1440p. The Medium preset remains above 90 FPS at 1440p, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset is the most versatile for 60 FPS targets, maintaining 63.8 FPS at 1440p and 39.1 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is only marginally playable at 1080p (62.5 FPS) and is not recommended for any higher resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D plays a critical role in maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), it operates at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. Its standout feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is particularly effective in MMORPGs like Archeage where large amounts of game data are frequently accessed.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its strength: a single-thread score of 4800 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-thread score of 34004. Its 3DMark results show strong scaling from 2 threads (2394) to 16 threads (10081), indicating efficient multi-threading. The CPU's percentile of 90 among all processors, with an average score of 37780, places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Xeon 6353P and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600KF.

In Archeage, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 152.2 FPS, which is likely close to the CPU's frame generation limit. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's advantage diminishes, as evidenced by the FPS drops that are more pronounced at higher settings. The 120W TDP and 4 nm process node allow for sustained high clocks, ensuring consistent performance in extended gaming sessions.