Archeage

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This is a desktop part on the Intel Socket 1700 platform with a 58 W TDP and a 12 MB shared L3 cache. In the context of Archeage, an MMORPG that is now over a decade old, the CPU’s single-thread performance is more critical than its multicore throughput. The benchmark data for this chip shows a 3dmark_single_thread score of 893 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3444, which are solid figures for a modern entry-level part. However, the processor's multicore scores, such as the cinebench_r23_multicore result of 11860, are less relevant for this title, as the game’s engine typically does not scale efficiently across many cores.

The processor's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 68, placing it in the upper third of tested parts. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the Intel Core 3 N355, which scores 13492 with a deltaPct of 0, and the Intel Core i5-9500, which scores 13452 with a deltaPct of 0.3. This indicates that the i3-12100F is essentially performance-equivalent to a mid-range 9th-generation Core i5 in general compute tasks, despite having fewer physical cores. The single-thread capabilities of the i3-12100F are its strongest asset for Archeage, as the game’s logic, NPC AI, and network handling are largely single-thread dependent. The 4.30 GHz boost clock provides the necessary headroom for these tasks, ensuring that the CPU does not become a bottleneck in most scenarios, even when paired with a high-end GPU.

The combination of 4 cores and 8 threads is sufficient for running Archeage alongside background applications like voice chat or web browsers, but the data suggests that the CPU’s performance envelope is the defining factor in this pairing. The 3dmark_4_threads score of 2859 and 3dmark_8_threads score of 4026 show that the processor's performance scales well up to its thread count, but it lacks the additional cores found in higher-tier rivals. In a game like Archeage, where large-scale player battles can be CPU-intensive, this 4-core part may struggle to maintain high frame rates when dozens of characters are on screen simultaneously, but the measured results below indicate that at standard settings, it holds up adequately.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Core i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads, paired with a maximum boost of 4.30 GHz, are the primary drivers of the CPU-bound portions of Archeage. The game’s engine, originally released in 2014, relies heavily on a single main thread for core simulation and rendering commands. The processor’s 3dmark_single_thread score of 893 and cinebench_r15_singlecore score of 168 indicate robust single-core performance, which is directly beneficial for maintaining smooth frame pacing in typical MMORPG environments. The data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 1080p Low, where the average FPS reaches 229, but it does appear to constrain performance at higher settings.

The processor’s relatively low core count, combined with its high clock speed, creates a specific bottleneck profile. In the measured results, the difference between 1080p Low and 1080p High is a drop from 229 FPS to 190 FPS, a reduction of 39 FPS. This suggests that as the GPU load increases with higher graphical settings, the CPU is still able to keep up, but the frame rate is not purely GPU-limited. The multicore scores, such as passmark_multithread at 14015 and geekbench_multicore at 7252, show that the processor is capable of handling multithreaded workloads, but Archeage’s engine may not fully utilize all 8 threads, leaving the 4 physical cores as the primary execution units.

When comparing to its nearest CPU rivals, the i3-12100F’s aggregate performance is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-9500, with a deltaPct of 0.3. However, the i5-9500 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor, which could offer better performance in heavily threaded scenarios. The data shows that in Archeage, the i3-12100F’s higher boost clock (4.30 GHz vs. the i5-9500’s 4.40 GHz) is comparable, and the benchmark results in this game do not show a significant advantage for the rival. The processor’s 12 MB L3 cache is shared across all cores, providing adequate memory latency for the game’s data structures.

The 58 W TDP of the i3-12100F indicates that it is a power-efficient part, but this is not a factor in the measured performance. The lack of an integrated GPU means that all rendering is handled by the discrete GeForce RTX 5090 D. In Archeage, the CPU’s role is to prepare draw calls and process game logic, and the data suggests that the 4-core design is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 52 FPS, which is likely a combination of both CPU and GPU limitations. The processor’s performance in this game is best described as adequate but not exceptional, with the high boost clock compensating for the low core count.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship GPU with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it features 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs. For Archeage, which is not a graphically demanding title by modern standards, this GPU is extremely overqualified, but the benchmark results show that its raw power is still constrained by the CPU in certain scenarios. The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures that it can render the game’s relatively simple geometry and effects at extremely high frame rates, provided the CPU can feed it data fast enough.

The GPU’s 32 GB VRAM is far more than Archeage requires, as the game’s textures and assets are dated, but this does not impact the measured performance. The memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming and render target reads are never a bottleneck. In the measured results, the GPU is clearly the dominant component at 4K resolution, where the average FPS ranges from 52 at Ultra to 125 at Low. This 73 FPS difference between Ultra and Low at 4K demonstrates that the GPU’s load varies significantly with settings, and the RTX 5090 D’s power is only fully utilized at the highest resolutions.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 78940 with a deltaPct of -1.6, indicating that the RTX 5090 D is slightly slower in general compute benchmarks. However, this is irrelevant for Archeage, where the GPU’s performance is more than sufficient. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 92 against all GPUs places it in the top 8% of all parts, and its passmark_g3d score of 44065 confirms its high-end status. In this game, the RTX 5090 D is never the primary bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, as evidenced by the high average FPS values, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s load becomes significant enough to drop the frame rate to 52 FPS, which is still playable.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2407 MHz is a key factor in its performance, as it allows the card to maintain high throughput in games that are not heavily optimized. The data shows that at 1440p High, the average FPS is 132, which is only 42 FPS lower than at 1080p High (190 FPS), indicating that the GPU is still scaling well with resolution. The RTX 5090 D’s 176 ROPs are more than enough to handle Archeage’s fill-rate requirements, and the 680 TMUs ensure efficient texture filtering. Overall, the GPU’s role in this combo is to provide an enormous performance headroom, but the CPU’s limitations are exposed at lower resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions, which reveals the dynamic between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 229, dropping to 200 at 1440p Low, and then to 125 at 4K Low. This represents a 104 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. The fact that the frame rate does not double when moving from 4K to 1080p, despite the pixel count quadrupling, suggests that the CPU is still providing a significant portion of the performance at lower resolutions.

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 190 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 58 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 56 FPS. This relatively consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at High settings, as the performance is roughly proportional to the pixel count. However, at Ultra settings, the frame rates are 134 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 44 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 38 FPS, which is less steep than at lower settings, suggesting that the CPU is also contributing to the bottleneck at Ultra.

The data shows that the CPU is more of a limiting factor at lower resolutions and lower settings. At 1080p Low, the 229 FPS average is likely close to the CPU’s maximum frame rate capability, as the GPU is not fully utilized. The fact that 1440p Low (200 FPS) is only 29 FPS lower than 1080p Low, despite a 2.25x increase in pixel count, confirms that the CPU is holding back the GPU at these settings. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS result is likely GPU-limited, as the RTX 5090 D is being pushed to its limits with the highest settings. This demonstrates that the i3-12100F is the bottleneck for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p, but the RTX 5090 D becomes the bottleneck at 4K with maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The benchmark data provides average FPS values for three resolutions and four settings levels, with minimum and maximum FPS only recorded for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from 229 FPS at Low to 134 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting yields an average of 220 FPS, with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS. This 33 FPS gap between minimum and maximum at Medium indicates some frame pacing variance, but the overall average is high. The High setting at 1080p produces an average of 190 FPS, which is a 39 FPS drop from Low, showing that the increased graphical load impacts performance.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 200 for Low, 192 for Medium, 132 for High, and 90 for Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 164 FPS and a maximum of 221 FPS, which is a 57 FPS spread, indicating more variance at this resolution. The drop from Low to High at 1440p is 68 FPS, which is significant, while the drop from High to Ultra is 42 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of 90 FPS is still very playable, but it is less than half of the 1080p Low result, showing the impact of resolution on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the results are 125 FPS for Low, 112 FPS for Medium, 76 FPS for High, and 52 FPS for Ultra. The Medium setting has a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS, with a 33 FPS spread. The 4K Low result of 125 FPS is impressive for a 4-core CPU, but the 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the lowest average in the dataset. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 73 FPS drop, which is the largest absolute difference among all resolutions. This data indicates that the RTX 5090 D is capable of delivering high frame rates at 4K in this older game, but only at lower settings, and the CPU’s influence is more pronounced at higher FPS levels.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 75 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This places the pairing in the top 2.7% of all systems tested for this game, which is a high ranking given the CPU’s entry-level status. The ranking reflects the fact that the RTX 5090 D is one of the most powerful GPUs available, and even with a modest CPU, the overall system performance is strong. The percentile ranking of the GPU (92) is significantly higher than that of the CPU (68), which suggests that the GPU is the primary contributor to this high combo ranking.

The combo’s rank of 75 means that there are 74 other combinations of CPU and GPU that perform better in Archeage. These likely include systems with higher-end CPUs, such as Core i5 or i7 parts, paired with the same RTX 5090 D. The data does not provide specific rival combos, but the CPU’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores (Core i5-9500, Core 5 120UL) would likely produce similar or slightly better performance in this game when paired with the same GPU, due to their higher core counts. However, the i3-12100F’s high boost clock mitigates this difference, and the combo ranking shows that it is still a competitive pairing.

The fact that this combo ranks 75th out of 2761 is notable because it demonstrates that the RTX 5090 D can overcome the CPU’s limitations to a large extent. In a game like Archeage, which is not heavily optimized for current hardware, the GPU’s raw power dominates the performance equation. The combo rank of 75 suggests that for users who prioritize high resolutions and settings, this pairing is more than adequate, and the CPU is only a minor hindrance in most scenarios. The data shows that the performance is sufficient for a smooth experience at 1440p and 4K, with only the highest settings at 4K dropping below 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo in Archeage depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides an average of 220 FPS, which is only 9 FPS lower than Low (229 FPS) but offers improved visual quality. The High preset at 1080p drops to 190 FPS, which is still very high, but the jump from Medium to High costs 30 FPS. For a 60Hz or 120Hz display, the High preset at 1080p is the best choice, as it maintains high frame rates while delivering better visuals. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 134 FPS, which is still smooth, but the visual difference between High and Ultra may not justify the 56 FPS loss.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 192 FPS, which is high, but the High preset at 132 FPS is also very playable. The drop from Medium to High at 1440p is 60 FPS, which is substantial, but the High preset likely provides a more immersive experience with better shadows and textures. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 90 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS, but it is a 42 FPS drop from High. For most users, the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, as it stays well above 60 FPS and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 112 FPS, which is excellent for 4K, while the High preset drops to 76 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and may be noticeable to some users. The Low preset at 4K yields 125 FPS, but the visual quality is likely too reduced for a 4K display. The best experience at 4K is the Medium preset, which provides a high frame rate of 112 FPS and likely offers a balanced visual presentation. The High preset at 4K (76 FPS) is also a viable option for those who prefer better visuals, but the Medium preset is the recommended choice based on the data, as it maintains high frame rates without a significant visual penalty.