Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that remains demanding on modern hardware, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a combination that is heavily constrained by the graphics card. Benchmark results indicate this combo ranks at 1654 out of 1727 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems. The data shows a system where the CPU is vastly overqualified for the GPU, yet the measured FPS figures reveal a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, featuring a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 170W TDP, designed for maximum multi-threaded performance. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor achieves a single-thread score of 6168 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-core score of 43695, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, has an average benchmark score that is 0.1% lower, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT trails by 0.4%. These figures show the 7900X is a top-tier CPU that should never be the limiting factor in gaming workloads.

For Archedage, an MMO that often relies on single-thread performance for game logic and draw calls, the 7900X’s strong single-core results (2952 in Geekbench single-core, 2590 in Cinebench R20 single-core) provide a robust foundation. The CPU’s 64 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support (with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth) help reduce latency in complex scenes with many players. However, the measured FPS data shows that even with this CPU, the system cannot achieve high frame rates at higher settings, indicating the bottleneck is elsewhere. The CPU is performing its role flawlessly; the numbers demonstrate it is the GPU that holds the combo back.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves a playable average FPS. At 1080p Low, the average is 60.8 FPS, while at 1440p Low it drops to 42 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 25.1 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 50556. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 scores 50598 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT scores 50738 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i7-13850HX scores 50827 (0.5% higher). The 7900X is effectively neck-and-neck with its nearest competitors.

Q: Is the GPU powerful enough for 4K gaming?

A: No. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS is 8.4. Even at 4K Low settings, the average FPS is only 25.1, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The RX 570 is not suitable for 4K in this game.

Q: What settings preset should be used at 1080p?

A: For the highest frame rates, Low settings at 1080p yield 60.8 FPS. Medium settings provide a slight quality boost while maintaining 53.1 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 40.8 FPS, and Ultra drops it to 26.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score compare to the CPU’s?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 30158, placing it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU’s score is 50556, placing it in the 93rd percentile. This disparity highlights the significant performance gap between the two components.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 40.8. At 1440p High, it drops to 26.8 FPS. This represents a 34% decrease in frame rate, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 60.8 FPS, which is a playable frame rate. Moving to 1440p Low reduces the average to 42 FPS, and at 4K Low it plummets to 25.1 FPS. This scaling shows a roughly 31% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 40% drop from 1440p to 4K. The trend is consistent across all settings presets. At High settings, the frame rates are 40.8 FPS at 1080p, 26.8 FPS at 1440p, and 16.5 FPS at 4K.

This behavior is classic evidence of a GPU-bound system. The CPU is powerful enough to feed the GPU at any resolution, but the RX 570’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot handle the increased pixel count at higher resolutions. The scaling is not linear, and the frame rate drops are severe. For example, at Ultra settings, the FPS falls from 26.7 at 1080p to 15.7 at 1440p, and finally to 8.4 at 4K. These numbers indicate that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed at resolutions beyond 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 9 7900X and RX 570 ranks 1654 out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. This is a bottom-tier ranking, indicating that this pairing performs poorly relative to other systems. The data shows that the CPU is a top-tier component (93rd percentile), while the GPU is mid-range (74th percentile), but the combined result is far worse than the sum of its parts. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU bottleneck. Even with one of the fastest CPUs available, the system is held back by the RX 570’s performance.

The fact that the CPU scores 50556 on average, with rivals like the Intel Core i9-13980HX scoring 50944 (0.8% higher), shows the CPU is in the top tier. However, the combo rank of 1654 out of 1727 suggests that many systems with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this pairing. This is because Archeage is more sensitive to GPU performance at the settings tested. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s potential is wasted in this configuration, as the GPU cannot translate the CPU’s fast single-thread performance into high frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a GCN 4.0 architecture GPU with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. It features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s. The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is 5.095 TFLOPS. In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 570 scores 32084 in Geekbench OpenCL and 42752 in Geekbench Vulkan. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has an average score 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is also 0.2% higher.

The GPU’s role in this combo is the primary limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that even at Low settings, the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and above. The 4 GB VRAM is likely insufficient for high-resolution textures, and the 224.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 74th percentile ranking is respectable for a standalone component, but it is outclassed by the CPU’s 93rd percentile. The data shows that the GPU’s performance is the ceiling for this entire system, capping the Ryzen 9 7900X’s potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system’s capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 60.8 FPS on Low, 53.1 FPS on Medium, 40.8 FPS on High, and 26.7 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 42 FPS on Low, 35.6 FPS on Medium, 26.8 FPS on High, and 15.7 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the averages are 25.1 FPS on Low, 20.3 FPS on Medium, 16.5 FPS on High, and 8.4 FPS on Ultra.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 34.1 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 26.3 FPS. At 4K, the difference is 16.7 FPS. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so heavily loaded that changing settings has less of an impact on frame rates. The only configuration that reaches 60 FPS is 1080p Low. The system is unable to maintain 60 FPS at any other setting or resolution, with 1440p Low coming closest at 42 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this combo is 1080p with Low settings, which produces an average of 60.8 FPS. This is the only preset that achieves a frame rate suitable for smooth gameplay in an MMORPG. If the user prefers higher visual quality, Medium settings at 1080p offer 53.1 FPS, which is still playable but with a noticeable reduction in smoothness. High settings at 1080p drop to 40.8 FPS, which is borderline for a fast-paced game, and Ultra at 1080p at 26.7 FPS is not recommended.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the data shows that Low settings produce 42 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium at 1440p drops to 35.6 FPS, and High falls to 26.8 FPS. 4K resolution is not viable for this combo, as even Low settings only achieve 25.1 FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings: use 1080p Low for the best frame rate, or 1440p Low for a higher pixel count at the cost of frame rate. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it produces sub-30 FPS at every resolution. The data clearly shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with low to medium settings.