Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, shows a performance profile that is heavily dependent on resolution and graphics settings when paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The measured data reveals a system that can deliver high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, component roles, and optimal settings based strictly on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates demonstrate a clear and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 151.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops this to 102.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 33%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 61.6 FPS, which is about 40% lower than the 1440p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4060 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises, with the CPU having ample headroom at lower resolutions.

The High preset tells a similar story but with a steeper overall drop. At 1080p High, the average is 89.4 FPS, which is still smooth for most gameplay. At 1440p High, the average dips to 64.8 FPS, a 27.5% decrease. However, the jump to 4K High is severe: the average plummets to 38 FPS. This is a 41% drop from the 1440p figure and places the frame rate below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider essential for a responsive MMORPG experience. The 4K High result is also notably close to the 4K Medium result of 52.2 FPS, but the gap widens dramatically when moving to Ultra.

The Ultra preset reveals the most extreme scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 61 FPS, which is playable but not exceptional. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 43.2 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 21.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result, and it is only about a third of the 1080p Low average. This suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy shading load that scales poorly on the 8 GB memory buffer and the GPU's compute resources. The data shows that 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset, which yields 61.6 FPS, while any higher preset at 4K falls below or near the 60 FPS line. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's performance metrics (detailed later) are far above the thresholds needed for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the decisive component in this configuration's frame rate output, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The benchmark data shows that this memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a bottleneck at 4K with higher presets. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 21.9 suggests that the GPU is struggling with both memory capacity and bandwidth, as the game attempts to load larger textures and geometry. The transition from 1080p Medium (138.1 FPS) to 4K Medium (52.2 FPS) represents a 62% performance loss, which is more than the resolution's pixel count increase alone would explain, pointing to memory pressure.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1830 MHz and a boost of 2460 MHz, are moderate for the 40-series. The Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process, delivers a measured FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS. This compute throughput is adequate for the game's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API, but the data shows that the RTX 4060's overall performance percentile is 66, meaning it sits in the lower two-thirds of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 23181 is nearly identical to several rivals, with the closest being the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321, deltaPct -0.6) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338, deltaPct -0.7). The Intel Arc B580 (23021, deltaPct 0.7) and AMD Radeon 760M (22999, deltaPct 0.8) are also within a single percentage point, indicating that this GPU is not a performance outlier.

In practical terms, the GPU's role is most evident in the 4K scaling. At 4K Low, the average FPS of 61.6 is achieved, but this requires stripping away most visual fidelity. The 1440p results are more balanced: High (64.8 FPS) and Medium (93.7 FPS) offer a good mix of quality and speed. The GPU's 8 GB memory is likely the reason why the High preset at 4K (38 FPS) performs so poorly relative to Medium (52.2 FPS), as the additional texture detail exceeds the available memory, causing a disproportionate slowdown. The data indicates that the RTX 4060 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where it can leverage its shading units (3072) and texture rate (236.2 GTexel/s) without being overwhelmed by pixel fill requirements.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are strong, and its benchmark scores reflect this. In the 3DMark single-thread test, it scores 1286, and in the multi-thread max test, it scores 13929. The Cinebench R23 results show a single-core score of 6555 and a multi-core score of 46438, which are robust figures. The CPU's passmark multithread score of 54643 and single-thread score of 4672 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, making it a top-tier performer.

Given this processing power, the CPU is not the bottleneck in Archeage at any of the measured resolutions. The evidence is in the scaling: if the CPU were limiting, the frame rates would remain flat across resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, a classic sign of GPU limitation. For example, at 1080p High, the average is 89.4 FPS, but at 4K High, it is 38 FPS. This 57% decrease cannot be attributed to the CPU, which has the same workload regardless of resolution. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache are more than sufficient for the game's logic and entity management in an MMORPG setting.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681, deltaPct -0.4) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (54097, deltaPct 0.7). The 9900X's average score of 54450 is within 1% of these parts, indicating that its performance is well-matched to its peers. In Archeage, the game's 2014 release date means it likely relies on single-threaded performance for its main game loop, and the 9900X's single-core Cinebench R20 score of 2753 and Geekbench single-core score of 3341 suggest it has ample headroom. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed and the CPU must keep up with high frame rates (151.9 FPS), the processor is not the limiting factor, as the score would be capped otherwise. The CPU's role here is to feed the GPU with data, and its 24 threads ensure that background tasks and game logic do not interfere with frame delivery.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU+GPU combo in Archeage?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p offers the best balance. At High settings, the average FPS is 64.8, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. 4K is only playable at Low settings (61.6 FPS), while 1080p is smoother but leaves performance on the table. The 1440p Medium preset also delivers 93.7 FPS, providing a strong experience.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra preset perform so poorly at 21.9 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra preset imposes the heaviest load on the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and its 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. The benchmark results show a steep drop from 4K High (38 FPS) to 4K Ultra (21.9 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects exceed the GPU's memory capacity, causing a severe performance penalty. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 19545 reflects its mid-range standing, which is insufficient for this extreme setting.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X bottlenecking the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: No. The frame rates scale inversely with resolution, which is a hallmark of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the CPU delivers 151.9 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops to 61.6 FPS, with the same CPU workload. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would be similar across resolutions. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and high single-thread scores (e.g., 3DMark single-thread 1286) confirm it has ample headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rivals in terms of average score?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321, which is a deltaPct of -0.6, meaning the RX 6600M is slightly faster. The Intel Arc B580 scores 23021 (deltaPct 0.7), and the AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999 (deltaPct 0.8), indicating that the RTX 4060 is essentially on par with these parts, with all differences under one percentage point.

Q: What is the impact of the CPU's multi-threaded performance on Archeage?

A: The CPU's multi-threaded performance is not a significant factor in this game, as the FPS data shows GPU limitation. The 9900X's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46438 and 3DMark max-thread score of 13929 are strong, but Archeage's 2014 engine likely does not utilize all 24 threads efficiently. The passmark multithread score of 54643 suggests that even if the game used more threads, the CPU would not be a constraint.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Archeage?

A: Only with the Low preset, which averages 61.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 52.2 FPS, just below the target, and High falls to 38 FPS. To maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K, the user must sacrifice visual quality by using the Low preset, as the GPU's 8 GB memory and compute power are insufficient for higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this specific hardware combination. For players seeking the smoothest experience, the 1080p Low preset yields the highest average FPS at 151.9, but this is excessive for a game like Archeage, which does not require competitive-level frame rates. A better use of the hardware is the 1080p Medium preset, which delivers 138.1 FPS, or the 1080p High preset at 89.4 FPS. These settings offer a significant visual boost over Low with only a modest FPS cost, and they remain well above any playability threshold.

At 1440p, the recommended preset is Medium, which averages 93.7 FPS. The High preset at 1440p drops to 64.8 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the 60 FPS line. For users who prefer higher visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the 1440p High preset is acceptable, as the average remains above 60. The 1440p Ultra preset, at 43.2 FPS, is not recommended, as the frame rate becomes inconsistent and may cause noticeable stuttering in crowded MMORPG scenes.

At 4K, the options are severely limited. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a playable average of 61.6 FPS. The Medium preset (52.2 FPS) is borderline, and the High (38 FPS) and Ultra (21.9 FPS) presets are not viable for a smooth experience. Given that the game is from 2014, the visual difference between Low and Medium at 4K may be minimal, but the performance cost is substantial. Therefore, the best experience per the measured rows is achieved by prioritizing 1440p with Medium or High settings, as this balances visual quality and frame rate without pushing the GPU into a territory where its 8 GB memory becomes a liability. For 1080p users, the High preset offers the best compromise, providing 89.4 FPS with a rich visual presentation. The data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra settings at any resolution above 1080p, as the performance penalty is disproportionate to the expected quality gain.