Archeage

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 presents a stark imbalance in Archeage. The data shows a top-tier 12-core processor constrained by an entry-level 2017 GPU, resulting in a combination that ranks in the bottom 5% of all tested configurations for this title. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to understand how resolution and settings shape the experience, what each component contributes, and where the bottleneck truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and dramatic collapse as resolution increases, pointing directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 62 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset, the average drops to 42 FPS — a 32% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average plummets to 24 FPS, which is a 61% decline from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth.

The situation worsens predictably under higher graphical loads. At Medium settings, the frame rate falls from 55 FPS at 1080p to 37 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to just 21 FPS at 4K (a 62% drop from 1080p). High settings show a similar trajectory: 37 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is 62% slower than the 1080p High result. These consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU's fill rate and memory subsystem are being saturated, not the CPU.

The fact that the frame rate scales so steeply with resolution — rather than remaining flat — is the definitive signature of a GPU-bound scenario. A CPU bottleneck would show similar FPS across different resolutions because the processor's work does not change with pixel count. Here, the RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply overwhelmed at higher resolutions. The 1080p results are the only playable territory, and even then, only at lower settings. The data strongly suggests that for this game, the 9900X3D is waiting idle for the GPU to finish rendering each frame, especially at 1440p and 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it carries 128 MB of L3 cache. The benchmark scores for this chip are exceptional. In Cinebench R23, it scores 47737 points in multi-core and 6739 points in single-core. Geekbench results show 22884 multi-core and 3041 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 91st percentile of all processors tested.

However, the CPU's role in this specific Archeage combination is largely theoretical. The game's measured FPS is so low at higher resolutions that the CPU's immense processing power is never taxed. For example, at 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 10 FPS average. No amount of CPU headroom can fix a 10 FPS frame rate if the GPU is the one rendering the scene. The CPU's single-thread performance, measured at 1269 in 3DMark single-thread and 679 in Cinebench R15 single-core, is more than sufficient for an MMORPG's typical game logic and network handling.

The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 and max-thread score of 13795 further illustrate the processor's capability to handle many concurrent tasks, which is relevant for an MMORPG with many players, NPCs, and background systems. Yet, the benchmark results for this combo show that the CPU's performance ceiling is irrelevant to the final FPS numbers. The limiting component is unmistakably the GPU. The data indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D would perform admirably in a CPU-bound scenario, but this pairing never reaches that point. The CPU is a high-end component that is effectively underutilized in this configuration.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the clear bottleneck in this pairing. This GPU, based on the Polaris 20 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, was released in 2017 and is now end-of-life. It features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz. The memory configuration is 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's raw compute is rated at 5.095 TFLOPS for FP32.

The GPU benchmark scores reflect its age and tier. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 880 points. Geekbench OpenCL yields 32084, and Vulkan yields 42752. These scores place the RX 570 in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, which seems respectable but is misleading for modern titles. Its nearest rivals in average score include the AMD Radeon RX 470 and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000, showing it sits in a performance class far below the CPU's tier.

The GPU's role in Archeage is to render the game world, and it fails to do so at playable frame rates beyond 1080p. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a major constraint at high resolutions and texture settings. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU can produce 62 FPS, which is acceptable. But at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 26 FPS, indicating that even at the lowest resolution, the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the graphical workload. The 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU are modest, but they do not compensate for the lack of raw performance. The GPU's 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are simply insufficient for the demands of higher resolutions in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 2647 out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This places it in the bottom 5.9% of all configurations, which is a remarkably poor result for a system containing one of the most powerful consumer CPUs available. The ranking underscores the severity of the GPU bottleneck. The CPU is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but the combination's performance is dominated by its weakest link.

The data suggests that this combo performs worse than nearly every other pairing, including those with much weaker CPUs but more balanced GPUs. The rank of 2647 out of 2761 means that only 114 tested combos are slower. This is a significant outlier, as the CPU's performance class would typically place a system in the top percentile. The bottleneck is so severe that the system is effectively a low-end gaming PC despite having a flagship processor.

The nearest CPU rivals to the 9900X3D, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and the Intel Core i7-14700F, have average scores within 2.1% of the 9900X3D. Yet, when paired with this GPU, the overall combo ranking is in the bottom 5%. This confirms that the ranking is not a reflection of the CPU's capabilities but rather a consequence of the GPU's inability to keep up. The combo rank is a direct measure of the system's gaming performance, and it clearly indicates that this is a mismatched pairing.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only viable settings for this combo are at 1920x1080. At this resolution, the Low preset yields an average of 62 FPS, which is the only result that approaches a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 55 FPS average, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS. This is also playable and offers a better visual quality than Low. The High preset at 1080p drops to 37 FPS, which is borderline but may be acceptable for a slower-paced MMORPG. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as it produces only 26 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are mostly unplayable. The Low preset averages 42 FPS, which is marginal, but Medium drops to 37 FPS, and High to 25 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is a poor experience at 17 FPS. At 3840x2160, all settings are below playable thresholds. Low averages 24 FPS, Medium 21 FPS, High 14 FPS, and Ultra 10 FPS. The 4K results are essentially a slideshow and should be avoided entirely.

The best experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1920x1080. It provides a 55 FPS average with a minimum of 47 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate rarely dips into unplayable territory. The Low preset at 1080p offers a higher average of 62 FPS but with lower visual fidelity. For a balanced experience, Medium at 1080p is the recommended choice. Users prioritizing smoothness over visuals can use Low at 1080p. All other resolution and settings combinations are either too slow or provide a poor experience relative to the performance cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured FPS data for Archeage with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 570:

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 62 FPS
• Medium: Average 55 FPS, Minimum 47 FPS, Maximum 63 FPS
• High: Average 37 FPS
• Ultra: Average 26 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 42 FPS
• Medium: Average 37 FPS, Minimum 32 FPS, Maximum 43 FPS
• High: Average 25 FPS
• Ultra: Average 17 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 24 FPS
• Medium: Average 21 FPS, Minimum 18 FPS, Maximum 24 FPS
• High: Average 14 FPS
• Ultra: Average 10 FPS

The data shows a clear and consistent decline in performance as resolution and settings increase. The 1080p Medium result is the sweet spot, offering a playable frame rate with a minimum above 30 FPS. The 1440p Low result is technically playable but has a lower average than 1080p Medium, making the latter the better choice. The 4K results are all below 25 FPS, confirming that this resolution is not feasible with this GPU. The minimum FPS data points, where available, show that the system can have significant frame drops, particularly at 1440p Medium (32 FPS minimum) and 4K Medium (18 FPS minimum), which can cause stuttering in gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution with playable frame rates. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 26 (Ultra) to 62 (Low), while at 2560x1440 the average drops to between 17 and 42, and at 3840x2160 it falls to between 10 and 24.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D or the AMD Radeon RX 570 the bottleneck?

A: The measured FPS data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. Frame rates scale dramatically with resolution, which is a sign of GPU limitation. The CPU is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 74th percentile, and the combo ranks 2647 out of 2761.

Q: How does the 1080p Medium performance compare to 1440p Low?

A: The 1080p Medium preset averages 55 FPS, while 1440p Low averages 42 FPS. The 1080p Medium also has a higher minimum FPS of 47 compared to 1440p Low's unspecified minimum, making 1080p Medium the better choice for both performance and visual quality.

Q: Can this combo run Archeage at 4K?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 24 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 21 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. All of these are below playable thresholds.

Q: What are the CPU's benchmark scores relative to its rivals?

A: The 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55093, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053, which is 1.3% lower than the 9900X3D.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This limited capacity and bandwidth are likely contributors to the severe frame rate drops at higher resolutions, where texture data exceeds the available VRAM.