Archeage

# Archeage Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The data presents a clear picture of how this flagship CPU-GPU pairing handles Archeage across three resolutions and four quality presets. The measured frames per second range from a low of 52 at 4K Ultra to a high of 309 at 1080p Low, showing extreme sensitivity to both resolution and settings. This combination ranks 8th out of 2761 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 0.3 percent of all configurations evaluated. The performance envelope suggests a system that can dominate at lower resolutions but faces challenges at the highest visual fidelity settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At High settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS from 197 to 132, a 33 percent decrease. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 at High settings further drops performance from 132 to 76 FPS, another 42 percent reduction. The total scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings is from 197 to 76 FPS, representing a 61 percent performance loss, which indicates a strong GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

Low settings show even more dramatic scaling behavior. At 1080p Low, the system produces 309 FPS, which drops to 219 FPS at 1440p and further to 125 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K transition at Low settings results in a 60 percent frame rate reduction. The fact that 1080p Low exceeds 300 FPS while 4K Low only reaches 125 FPS suggests the GPU is heavily taxed by pixel throughput demands even at minimal quality settings.

Medium settings provide the most complete dataset with minimum and maximum frame rates recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 289 FPS with a range of 246 to 333 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 195 FPS with a range of 166 to 224 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 112 FPS with a range of 95 to 128 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings is from 289 to 112 FPS, a 61 percent reduction that mirrors the High and Low settings patterns.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions. The 1080p Ultra average is 134 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 90 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages just 52 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is from 134 to 52 FPS, a 61 percent reduction that is remarkably consistent with the other presets. This uniform scaling behavior across all four quality settings strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component in this configuration for Archeage.

The consistency of the 60 percent performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests that the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and the 512-bit memory bus are sufficient to feed the GPU without introducing a memory bandwidth bottleneck. The scaling pattern is purely resolution-driven, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario rather than a CPU-limited one.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this configuration?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 309 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the peak performance ceiling for this combo in Archeage.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K Medium settings, the average FPS is 112 with a minimum of 95 FPS, so it comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Even at 4K High settings, the average of 76 FPS stays above 60 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 52 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does Ultra settings performance compare to High settings?

A: Ultra settings reduce performance substantially across all resolutions. At 1080p, Ultra averages 134 FPS versus 197 FPS for High, a 32 percent reduction. At 1440p, Ultra averages 90 FPS versus 132 FPS for High, a 32 percent reduction. At 4K, Ultra averages 52 FPS versus 76 FPS for High, also a 32 percent reduction.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1080p, the range spans from 246 to 333 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 166 to 224 FPS. At 4K, the range is 95 to 128 FPS. The variance between minimum and maximum is consistent at roughly 30 percent of the average across all resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: Benchmark data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The uniform 60 percent FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all quality settings is a characteristic GPU-bound pattern. The CPU's strong multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737, are not the constraining factor.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 8th out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 0.3 percent of all configurations. The GPU's percentile rank of 92 versus all GPUs and the CPU's percentile rank of 91 versus all CPUs both contribute to this high overall position.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the optimal experience. For 4K displays, Medium settings at 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum offers the best balance of visual quality and smooth performance. High settings at 4K still maintains 76 FPS average, which is playable, but the 32 percent performance penalty compared to Medium may not justify the visual improvement for competitive play. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 52 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

For 1440p displays, High settings at 132 FPS average provides an excellent experience that comfortably exceeds 120 FPS, which is beneficial for high refresh rate monitors. Medium settings at 195 FPS average offers even higher frame rates at 195 FPS, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in a detailed MMORPG environment. Ultra settings at 1440p still achieve 90 FPS average, which remains above 60 FPS and is playable for those who prioritize visual fidelity.

For 1080p displays, the choice depends on the monitor's refresh rate. Medium settings at 289 FPS average fully utilizes 240Hz displays and approaches the capabilities of 300Hz monitors. High settings at 197 FPS average still supports 144Hz and 165Hz displays comfortably. Ultra settings at 134 FPS average remains above 120 FPS and is suitable for 120Hz displays, though the 32 percent drop from High may not be worth it for marginal visual improvements.

The Medium preset stands out as the recommended choice across all resolutions because it is the only preset with recorded minimum frame rates, allowing for a complete assessment of frame pacing. The minimum FPS values of 246 at 1080p, 166 at 1440p, and 95 at 4K all remain above 90 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without significant frame drops. This consistency makes Medium the most reliable preset for maintaining a stable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings produces a broad performance spectrum. Low settings achieve 309 FPS average, the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings reduce this to 289 FPS average with a minimum of 246 and maximum of 333 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings drop to 197 FPS average, a 32 percent reduction from Medium. Ultra settings produce 134 FPS average, which is 32 percent below High and 57 percent below Low. The complete 1080p range spans from 134 to 309 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of quality settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but shifts downward. Low settings achieve 219 FPS average, which is 29 percent lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 195 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 166 and 224 FPS respectively. High settings produce 132 FPS average, a 32 percent reduction from Medium. Ultra settings reach 90 FPS average, which is 32 percent below High and 59 percent below Low. The 1440p range spans from 90 to 219 FPS across the four presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope compresses significantly. Low settings achieve 125 FPS average, which is 43 percent lower than the 1440p Low result. Medium settings average 112 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 95 and 128 FPS respectively. High settings produce 76 FPS average, a 32 percent reduction from Medium. Ultra settings reach 52 FPS average, which is 32 percent below High and 58 percent below Low. The 4K range spans from 52 to 125 FPS across the four presets.

The pattern across all resolutions shows a consistent 32 percent performance reduction for each step from Medium to High and from High to Ultra. The step from Low to Medium is smaller at 1080p (6 percent reduction) but grows at 1440p (11 percent reduction) and 4K (10 percent reduction). This suggests that the Medium preset captures most of the performance headroom while providing improved visual quality over Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 8th out of 2761 tested combinations in Archeage, placing it in the 99.7th percentile of all configurations evaluated. This high ranking reflects the combination of a top-tier CPU and GPU working together in this specific game. The CPU's percentile rank of 91 versus all CPUs indicates it outperforms the vast majority of processors, while the GPU's percentile rank of 92 versus all GPUs shows similar dominance on the graphics side.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 54762 places it in close competition with its nearest rivals. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF scores 55093, which is 0.6 percent higher than the Ryzen 9 9900X3D. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54053, representing a 1.3 percent deficit to the AMD part. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, a 2 percent deficit, and the Intel Core i7-14700F scores 53620, a 2.1 percent deficit. These narrow margins show that the CPU is competitive with but not definitively ahead of its closest alternatives.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 77712 also shows tight competition with its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76904, which is 1.1 percent lower than the RTX 5090 D. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, representing a 1.6 percent advantage over the RTX 5090 D. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396, a 2.1 percent advantage, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605, a 2.4 percent advantage. These results indicate that the GPU's ranking position is established by narrow margins over its nearest competitors.

The combination of a CPU at the 91st percentile and a GPU at the 92nd percentile produces a system that ranks 8th overall in this game, demonstrating that both components perform near the top of their respective categories. The rank of 8 out of 2761 represents an elite level of performance that only a small fraction of tested systems achieve.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D features 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture at Granite Ridge. The base clock of 4.40 GHz boosts up to 5.50 GHz, providing substantial single-thread performance as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739. The multi-threaded performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a Geekbench multicore score of 22884. The 128 MB of L3 cache, built on the 3D V-Cache technology, supports the CPU's strong performance in gaming workloads.

In Archeage, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent resolution scaling patterns. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and 2-thread score of 2512 indicate strong per-core performance that can handle the game's physics and game logic calculations. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 9002 and 16-thread score of 12490 show that the CPU scales well with additional threads, which is relevant for an MMORPG that may have many concurrent entities and player interactions.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows a narrow competitive landscape. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF is 0.6 percent faster in average benchmark score, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3 percent slower. The Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F are 2 and 2.1 percent slower respectively. These small deltas suggest that in CPU-intensive scenarios, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is competitive with its peers without establishing a dominant lead.

The fact that Archeage performance scales almost identically across all quality settings when moving from 1080p to 4K indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were limiting performance, the frame rate would show smaller reductions at higher resolutions as the GPU becomes more loaded. The uniform 60 percent scaling pattern points to the GPU as the primary constraint, allowing the CPU to operate without being fully utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip using a 5 nm process. The GPU features 21760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, along with 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz support a FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Archeage, the GPU's performance is the determining factor for frame rates at all resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's capabilities are taxed most heavily at 4K Ultra settings, where the average drops to 52 FPS. This represents the most demanding configuration tested. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 44065 and passmark GPU compute score of 28396 provide context for its general performance capabilities.

The GPU's memory configuration of 32 GB GDDR7 and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for Archeage at all tested settings. The consistent scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K across all quality presets suggests that memory bandwidth does not become a limiting factor even at 4K Ultra. If memory bandwidth were insufficient, the frame rate would show more severe degradation at 4K than the uniform 60 percent reduction observed.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712. Its nearest rivals show close performance: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1 percent slower, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6 percent faster, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants are 2.1 and 2.4 percent faster respectively. These narrow margins indicate that the RTX 5090 D is positioned in a highly competitive performance tier.

The GPU's performance in Archeage demonstrates that even a top-tier graphics card can be challenged by the game's most demanding settings at 4K resolution. The drop from 125 FPS at 4K Low to 52 FPS at 4K Ultra represents a 58 percent performance reduction, showing the significant cost of enabling the highest quality settings. The GPU's 32 GB memory capacity ensures that texture loading and asset streaming are not constrained, allowing the rendering pipeline to operate at its full potential.