Archeage

# Archeage with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The measured data for Archeage with this AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination places it at rank 1520 out of 2761 tested combos, which is a mid-pack result for a hardware pairing that otherwise shows strong synthetic benchmarks. This discrepancy between raw component strength and in-game performance suggests the game's engine—released in 2014—does not fully exploit the modern hardware, and the FPS scaling across resolutions and settings reveals where the bottleneck truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the combo delivers 150 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 101 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls further to 58 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 61% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial penalty that points squarely at the graphics card as the limiting factor when resolution climbs.

At Medium settings, the pattern repeats but with slightly different margins: 134 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is only 39% of the 1080p score, showing that the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus—while capable at lower resolutions—begin to struggle when pixel count quadruples. The High preset tells a similar story: 91 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K, with the latter being less than 40% of the former.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, but the relative drop is actually smaller in percentage terms: 62 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. This suggests that at Ultra, the game is so demanding that even 1080p is heavily loaded, so the additional resolution increase has less headroom to lose. The data implies that the RTX 5070 is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Archeage, but 4K is only playable at Low or Medium settings, and even then, the 58 FPS at Low 4K is barely above the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling behavior also reveals something about the game's optimization. A perfectly scaling GPU workload would show FPS inversely proportional to pixel count—4K (4x pixels) should yield roughly 25% of 1080p FPS. Here, Low settings at 4K achieves 58 FPS versus 150 FPS at 1080p, which is 39%—better than pure pixel scaling would suggest. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU or engine limits performance, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential, and only at 4K does the GPU become the clear bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 1520th out of 2761 tested combinations in Archeage, placing it in the 55th percentile of all tested pairings. That is a mediocre ranking for a system with a CPU that sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs and a GPU in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The gap between component-level percentiles and in-game ranking suggests Archeage is not well-suited to this hardware, likely due to the game's age and its reliance on single-threaded performance or older API paths.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks show it is a top-tier mobile processor: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and single-core score of 6030 place it among the best. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX with an average score of 76155 (0.1% higher), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P at 76492 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX at 76513 (0.4% higher). The Ryzen 9 9950X3D trails slightly at 75779, meaning this CPU is within 0.6% of its closest competitors—all of which are desktop or workstation-class parts, highlighting how strong this mobile chip is.

The GPU's synthetic scores are similarly respectable: the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and Passmark G3D score of 29137 put it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% higher average score), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (2% higher). These are all professional or older workstation cards, which underscores that the RTX 5070's raw compute is competitive with much more expensive hardware.

Yet in Archeage, this combination underperforms relative to its component strengths. The data implies that the game's engine—released January 14, 2014—does not scale well with modern multi-core CPUs or the latest GPU architectures. The 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 8945HX is likely overkill for a game that may not utilize more than a few cores, and the RTX 5070's Blackwell architecture may not have optimal driver support for a decade-old MMORPG.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These specs are modern and capable, but Archeage's VRAM usage at 4K Ultra—where the game still only hits 24 FPS—suggests the game is not memory-bandwidth limited but rather compute or API limited.

The GPU's Passmark DirectX scores are telling: DirectX 9 scores 320, DirectX 10 scores 180, DirectX 11 scores 277, and DirectX 12 scores 108. These numbers are oddly low for a card with 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, but they reflect the GPU's performance in legacy APIs. Archeage, being a 2014 game, likely uses DirectX 9 or 11 paths, and the DirectX 9 score of 320 is the highest of the legacy APIs—suggesting the card handles older workloads better than newer ones, which is counterintuitive but consistent with driver overhead.

The 12 GB VRAM is likely not the limiting factor at 1080p or 1440p, where the game runs well at 91-150 FPS depending on settings. At 4K Ultra, the game hits 24 FPS, but this is more likely due to the sheer fill-rate demands of 8.3 million pixels rather than VRAM capacity. The GPU's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are high, but Archeage's draw calls and shader complexity at Ultra settings overwhelm even these capabilities.

The RTX 5070's 250 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate it is a power-hungry mobile GPU, but the measured FPS shows it delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p in most settings. The data suggests that for 4K, the card is simply not powerful enough for Ultra settings, but it handles Medium at 52 FPS with a min of 44 FPS—playable but not smooth. The boost clock of 2512 MHz is sustained across resolutions, so thermal throttling does not appear to be an issue; the GPU is consistently delivering its rated performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that Medium settings offer the best balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS—this is smooth and consistent, with only a 15% drop from Low settings (150 FPS) but a significant visual upgrade over Low. At 1440p, Medium hits 90 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays, and only 11% lower than Low (101 FPS). Even at 4K, Medium achieves 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS, making it the only setting besides Low that is remotely playable at that resolution.

High settings are a step down but still viable at 1080p and 1440p: 91 FPS and 61 FPS respectively. The 4K High result of 35 FPS is below playable thresholds, so High is only recommended for 1080p and 1440p users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution: 62 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Ultra result is technically playable, but the 42 FPS at 1440p is marginal, and 24 FPS at 4K is a slideshow.

Low settings are only recommended for competitive play or very high refresh rate monitors, where 150 FPS at 1080p and 101 FPS at 1440p might justify the visual sacrifice. However, the data shows that Medium settings offer 89% of Low's performance at 1080p and 89% at 1440p, making Medium the clear sweet spot. For 4K users, the choice is between Low (58 FPS) and Medium (52 FPS)—a 6 FPS difference that likely makes Medium the better choice for visual quality, assuming the minimum FPS of 44 is acceptable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the FPS ranges from 150 FPS at Low to 62 FPS at Ultra. Medium delivers 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS, while High hits 91 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is only 16 FPS (150 to 134), while the gap between High and Ultra is 29 FPS (91 to 62), indicating that Ultra settings impose a disproportionately large performance penalty. The minimum FPS at Medium (114) is still above the maximum FPS at Ultra (not measured, but the average is 62), suggesting that Ultra introduces frame-time spikes or micro-stutters that Medium avoids.

At 2560x1440, the pattern is similar but compressed: Low hits 101 FPS, Medium 90 FPS (min 77, max 104), High 61 FPS, and Ultra 42 FPS. The Medium minimum of 77 FPS is still above the High average of 61 FPS, which means Medium provides a smoother experience than High despite the nominal average being higher for High. The 1440p results show a 58% drop from Low to Ultra (101 to 42), which is less severe than the 1080p drop of 59% (150 to 62), suggesting that at higher resolutions, the GPU is more consistently the bottleneck and the CPU has less influence on frame times.

At 3840x2160, the FPS drops dramatically: Low 58 FPS, Medium 52 FPS (min 44, max 59), High 35 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. The Medium results show a maximum of 59 FPS, which is lower than the Low average of 58 FPS—this indicates that at 4K, even Medium settings cause the GPU to be fully saturated, and the maximum frame time is constrained by the GPU's limits rather than engine or CPU bottlenecks. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is exactly one-third of the 1080p Medium result (134 FPS), which corresponds to the 4x pixel count difference, confirming that at Ultra 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Dragon Range), built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 13,140 million transistors across a 2x 71 mm² die. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 64 MB L3, totaling 64 MB of L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 on a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is likely minimal at higher resolutions but more significant at 1080p. The fact that 1080p Low (150 FPS) is only 50% higher than 1440p Low (101 FPS)—despite the pixel count being 78% higher—suggests that at 1080p, the CPU or engine is limiting performance, preventing the GPU from stretching its legs. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 3907 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6030 are excellent, but Archeage's 2014 engine may not utilize even a single modern core efficiently.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is exceptional: Cinebench R23 multi-core of 42713, Passmark multi-thread of 51405, and Passmark integer math of 195180. However, Archeage is an MMORPG where the game world and player counts are processed server-side, and the client typically relies on a few threads for rendering, physics, and UI. The 16-core, 32-thread configuration is massively underutilized in this game, which explains why the combo ranks at 1520 out of 2761 despite the CPU being in the 95th percentile.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 0.6% of its average score, but in Archeage, the CPU's specific architecture (Zen 4, Dragon Range) may have different performance characteristics than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX or AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. The data does not include per-combo breakdowns, but the overall ranking suggests that this CPU does not provide a distinct advantage in Archeage over other high-end processors. The CPU's boost clock of 5.40 GHz is high for a mobile chip, but the game may not be clock-sensitive, instead being limited by IPC or cache latency, which the 64 MB L3 cache should mitigate but may not fully resolve given the engine's age.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware in Archeage?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 delivers 90 FPS average with a minimum of 77 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and smooth performance. At 1080p, Medium hits 134 FPS with a 114 FPS minimum, making it ideal for high refresh rate monitors.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RTX 5070 in Archeage?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. Low delivers 58 FPS at 4K, while Medium delivers 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS. High and Ultra are not viable at 4K, with 35 FPS and 24 FPS respectively.

Q: Why does this combo rank so low in Archeage despite strong component benchmarks?

A: The combo ranks 1520 out of 2761, while the CPU is in the 95th percentile and the GPU in the 82nd percentile. The game, released in 2014, likely does not utilize the CPU's 16 cores or the GPU's modern architecture effectively, as shown by the CPU's 32 threads being largely idle in a game that relies on fewer threads.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212. Its closest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX at 76155 (0.1% lower), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P at 76492 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D at 75779 (0.6% lower). All are within 0.6% of each other.

Q: What are the GPU's DirectX performance scores, and what do they mean for Archeage?

A: The Passmark DirectX scores are 320 for DirectX 9, 180 for DirectX 10, 277 for DirectX 11, and 108 for DirectX 12. The DirectX 9 score being the highest suggests the GPU handles legacy APIs well, which is relevant for a 2014 game that likely uses DirectX 9 or 11.

Q: Does the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM limit performance in Archeage?

A: The data does not indicate VRAM as a limiting factor. At 4K Ultra (24 FPS), the bottleneck is likely the GPU's compute or fill rate, not memory capacity, as the game's textures and draw calls at Ultra overwhelm the 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate. At 1080p and 1440p, where the game runs well, VRAM is clearly sufficient.