Archeage

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Archeage, but the data shows that this pairing is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions while becoming CPU-bound at 1080p. The measured results indicate that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p with Medium settings, where the average frame rate reaches 77.1 FPS. This places the combo at rank 1159 out of 1727 tested combinations, meaning it sits in the lower third of all tested systems. The RX 6600 XT, which sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs, is the primary driver of performance in most scenarios, while the i5-10400F, at the 73rd percentile among CPUs, becomes a limiting factor only when the resolution drops to 1080p and the frame rates climb past 100 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and reveals a GPU-bound system. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 79.1 at 1920x1080 to 53.8 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 25.3 FPS, and then to 31.3 at 3840x2160. This represents a 60.4% drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 131.8 at 1080p down to 88.8 at 1440p and finally to 48.6 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 83.2 FPS, which is a 63.1% reduction. This scaling behavior indicates that the Radeon RX 6600 XT is the component that determines performance as resolution increases, since the CPU workload does not change significantly with resolution while the GPU pixel throughput requirements multiply.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (131.8 FPS) and Ultra (55.8 FPS) is 76.0 FPS. At 1440p, that gap narrows to 53.1 FPS (88.8 versus 35.7). At 4K, the spread is 26.6 FPS (48.6 versus 22.0). This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The GPU is so heavily loaded at 4K that even reducing settings to Low cannot overcome the pixel throughput demands, whereas at 1080p the GPU has enough headroom to respond to settings changes. The data suggests that the limiting component shifts from the GPU at 4K to a more balanced scenario at 1080p, where the i5-10400F’s six cores and twelve threads begin to matter more.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best balance, delivering 77.1 FPS. At 1080p, the frame rates exceed 100 FPS on Low and Medium settings, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it, while 4K only reaches playable levels on Low settings at 48.6 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: At 4K, the average frame rates are 31.3 FPS on High and 22.0 FPS on Ultra, both below the commonly accepted 30 FPS threshold for playability. Only Low settings at 4K achieve a playable 48.6 FPS, but the visual compromises are substantial.

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

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552 (14115) and 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277). It also trails the Intel Core i5-8500 by 1.1% and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 by 1.2%.

Q: Is the RX 6600 XT a strong performer relative to other GPUs?

A: The GPU sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 27985. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti by 0.1% (27956) and the AMD Radeon R9 M395X by 0.4% (27883), while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 by 0.9% (28238).

Q: What causes the frame rate to drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The 60-63% reduction in average FPS across all settings when moving from 1080p to 4K indicates that the RX 6600 XT is the limiting component. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K resolution demands more pixel throughput than the GPU can sustain.

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

A: The combination ranks 1159th out of 1727 tested combos, placing it in the lower third. This ranking reflects the mid-range nature of both components, with the CPU at the 73rd percentile and the GPU at the 71st percentile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides six cores and twelve threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Comet Lake architecture chip has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 10297 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1453 in single-core. These scores place it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. The 3DMark results show scaling from 688 in single-thread to 4735 in max-threads, indicating that the CPU benefits from multi-threaded workloads but has limited single-thread headroom.

In Archeage, the CPU’s role becomes evident when examining the frame rate differences between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (131.8 FPS) and Medium (117.1 FPS) is 14.7 FPS, while the difference between High (79.1 FPS) and Ultra (55.8 FPS) is 23.3 FPS. The fact that the CPU can push over 130 FPS at Low settings shows that it is not the bottleneck at lower graphics presets. However, at 4K, the frame rates are nearly identical across settings relative to the resolution scaling, which means the CPU has ample headroom and the GPU is fully saturated. The 65W TDP and DDR4 memory support with dual-channel 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this MMORPG, but the data suggests that the CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid being the primary limiter in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 131.8 on Low to 55.8 on Ultra. Medium settings deliver 117.1 FPS and High settings produce 79.1 FPS. The 1080p results are the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 100 FPS, and only on Low and Medium presets. The jump from Low to Medium costs 14.7 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 38.0 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 23.3 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that High settings introduce effects that heavily impact the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across the board. Low settings achieve 88.8 FPS, Medium reaches 77.1 FPS, High manages 53.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.7 FPS. The 1440p results show a more linear progression between settings, with a 11.7 FPS drop from Low to Medium, 23.3 FPS from Medium to High, and 18.1 FPS from High to Ultra. This resolution is where the combo remains comfortably playable on all settings except Ultra, which dips below 40 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly constrained. Low settings achieve 48.6 FPS, Medium drops to 43.0 FPS, High reaches 31.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22.0 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low settings maintain a playable frame rate, and even that is below 50 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 5.6 FPS, which is much smaller than the 14.7 FPS difference at 1080p, further confirming the GPU’s saturation at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1159th out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. This ranking places it in the 67th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly two-thirds of all combinations tested perform better in this game. The rank is consistent with the component-level percentiles: the CPU sits at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU sits at the 71st percentile among all GPUs. The slightly lower combo rank compared to the individual component percentiles suggests that Archeage may benefit from GPUs with higher memory bandwidth or more shading units.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 27956 (0.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M395X at 27883 (0.4% lower). The RTX 3070 scores 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the RX 6600 XT. These small percentage differences indicate that the RX 6600 XT is competitive with older high-end GPUs but slightly behind newer mid-range options. The combo’s rank of 1159 suggests that while the individual components are mid-range, their combined performance in Archeage places them in the lower half of tested systems. The data shows that this is not a top-tier combo for this game, but it remains viable for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 2560x1440 with Medium settings as the recommended configuration for this combo. This setting delivers an average of 77.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay in an MMORPG. The next step up, High settings at 1440p, drops to 53.8 FPS, which is still playable but may show stutter in crowded areas. For players who prioritize high frame rates, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides 117.1 FPS, giving a significant margin above 60 FPS. Low settings at 1080p achieve 131.8 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play but offers minimal visual fidelity.

At 4K, the only playable option is Low settings with 48.6 FPS, but the visual quality is poor and the frame rate is borderline. Ultra settings at any resolution provide sub-optimal experiences: 55.8 FPS at 1080p, 35.7 FPS at 1440p, and 22.0 FPS at 4K. The data clearly shows that Ultra is not viable for this combo. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, with a 77.1 FPS average that leaves headroom for frame drops during large-scale PvP or raids. Players who are sensitive to frame pacing should consider dropping to Low settings at 1440p for 88.8 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the dominant component in this combo for Archeage. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Its base clock is 1968 MHz with a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz. The RDNA 2.0 architecture on a 7 nm process gives it a FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS. These specifications place it at the 71st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27985.

In the context of Archeage, the GPU’s role is evident from the frame rate scaling. The 60-63% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K across all settings demonstrates that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K textures and effects push the memory and bandwidth to their limits. The GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, has a nearly identical average score (27956), but the RX 6600 XT benefits from newer architecture features like DirectX 12 Ultimate support. The 160W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are adequate for this performance level. The GPU’s boost clock of 2589 MHz provides the raw compute power needed for the 31.3 FPS at 4K High settings, but the data shows that players should stick to 1440p or 1080p for a consistently smooth experience.