Archeage

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 presents a stark contrast in capabilities for Archeage. The processor is a high-end 12-core part that sits in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the graphics card is a modest entry-level Turing chip that only reaches the 43rd percentile. The measured frame rates reflect this imbalance, showing that this combination is heavily constrained by the GPU at every resolution and settings level.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, confirming that the GTX 1650 is the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 62.5 at 1920x1080 to 41.4 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly one-third. Pushing further to 3840x2160 drops the average to 23.7, which is less than 40% of the 1080p performance. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of raw pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the resolution increases.

The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly punishing. At Medium settings, the 2560x1440 result of 35.6 FPS falls to 21.3 at 4K, a loss of over 14 frames per second. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic relative collapse, moving from 15.7 FPS at 1440p down to 12.7 at 4K. The data indicates that the GTX 1650’s 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus are simply insufficient for the pixel count at 4K, making that resolution impractical for anything beyond static screenshots.

The resolution scaling also reveals that the Ryzen 9 7900X is never the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting performance, the frame rate would stay relatively flat as resolution increases, since the same number of draw calls would be processed. Instead, the consistent and large drops across all settings prove that the GPU is saturated well before the 12-core processor is stressed. The 1080p Low result of 62.5 FPS is the only point where the system approaches a playable range, and even then, it is unlikely to stress the 4.70 GHz base clock of the CPU.

GPU Role

The GTX 1650’s VRAM and clock speeds are central to understanding its poor performance in Archeage. The card features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is a modest allocation for a modern MMORPG with large draw distances and many on-screen characters. The memory operates at 2001 MHz with an 8 Gbps effective rate, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a significant constraint at higher resolutions, where texture data and frame buffers compete for the limited memory pool.

The GPU core runs at a base clock of 1485 MHz and boosts to 1665 MHz, which are reasonable frequencies for a 75 W card. However, the underlying TU117 chip only contains 896 shading units and 32 ROPs. The pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are simply not enough to handle the rendering load of Archeage at high detail levels. The FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS places this card firmly in the entry-level segment.

The benchmark scores corroborate the gaming results. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 7880 and average benchmark score of 8713 place it just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. This tight grouping shows that the GTX 1650 is not an outlier in either direction; it performs exactly as its hardware specifications suggest. The DirectX 12 PassMark score of 35 is particularly low, indicating that the card struggles with modern API workloads.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear choice for playability: the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth experience. The 62.5 average FPS at 1920x1080 Low is more than double the 24.9 FPS achieved at Ultra, and it is the only measured result that comfortably exceeds 60 frames per second. This suggests that players should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity with this hardware.

At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 55.5 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced MMORPG but may feel less responsive in crowded areas. The High preset at 36.1 FPS is borderline, as it approaches the lower threshold for acceptable playability. The Ultra preset is not viable, as the 24.9 FPS average will result in noticeable stuttering and input lag.

For 1440p, the situation worsens considerably. The Low preset at 41.4 FPS is the only playable option, while Medium at 35.6 FPS and High at 26.4 FPS are both below the comfort zone. At 4K, all settings produce averages below 24 FPS, making the resolution unusable for active gameplay. The data shows that the GTX 1650 is best utilized at 1080p with the Low preset, sacrificing visual detail to maintain a responsive frame rate.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured data shows average FPS of 15.0 at High, 21.3 at Medium, and 23.7 at Low across all 3840x2160 tests. Even the lowest settings fail to reach 24 FPS, making 4K impractical for regular play.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p?

A: The Low preset is the strongest option, delivering 62.5 average FPS. The Medium preset at 55.5 FPS is a viable alternative if you prefer slightly better visuals, but the Ultra preset at 24.9 FPS should be avoided.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 8713 is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. It also sits 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon 550X, showing it is squarely in the middle of its performance class.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combination?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 7900X has a PassMark multithread score of 51406 and sits in the 93rd percentile, while the GTX 1650 is in the 43rd percentile. The frame rates drop sharply with resolution, which is a GPU-limited behavior.

Q: What is the playable frame rate ceiling for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 62.5 FPS at 1920x1080 Low. No other resolution and settings combination exceeds 55.5 FPS, so this is the performance ceiling for the system.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark performance affect gaming?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695 and single-core score of 6168 indicate it has ample headroom. The 12-core, 24-thread processor will not limit Archeage, as the game’s frame rates are dictated entirely by the GPU’s output.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are exceptionally high, and the 64 MB of shared L3 cache provides a large buffer for game data. This processor is overkill for Archeage, which is far more dependent on the GPU.

The CPU’s benchmark results confirm its high-end status. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43695 and single-core score of 6168 are strong indicators of both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded performance. The PassMark single-thread score of 4238 and multithread score of 51406 further reinforce this. In the context of this GPU pairing, the CPU will spend most of its time idle, waiting for the GTX 1650 to render frames.

The nearest rivals to the Ryzen 9 7900X highlight its competitive position. It is 0.1% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT in average benchmark score. It also trails the Intel Core i7-13850HX by 0.5% and the Intel Core i9-13980HX by 0.8%. These tiny deltas mean the CPU choice has no meaningful impact on Archeage frame rates when paired with a GTX 1650; the GPU is the sole determinant of performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results. The Low preset achieves 62.5 average FPS, making it the only fully playable configuration. Medium follows at 55.5 FPS, which is still acceptable for an MMORPG. High drops to 36.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24.9 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low delivers 41.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium at 35.6 FPS and High at 26.4 FPS are increasingly marginal. Ultra produces only 15.7 FPS, which is a poor experience. The 1440p results show that the GTX 1650 is already struggling to maintain playable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the GPU is overwhelmed. Low yields 23.7 FPS, Medium yields 21.3 FPS, High yields 15.0 FPS, and Ultra yields 12.7 FPS. None of these are playable, and the spread between settings is narrow, indicating that the resolution itself is the limiting factor rather than the specific preset. The overall combo rank of 1657 out of 1727 tested combinations places this pairing in the bottom 4% of systems for Archeage, which aligns with the poor 4K and Ultra results.