Archeage

The data for ArcheAge with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER reveals a system that is heavily bound by the CPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU takes over as the primary constraint at 4K. This combination, ranked 386th out of 1727 tested combos, demonstrates a significant performance disparity between its best-case and worst-case scenarios, largely dictated by the game's age and engine limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K showcases a dramatic shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 137.4 FPS, but this drops to 101.3 FPS at 1440p and further to 58.3 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, representing a 42.5% performance loss, which indicates the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated. However, the most telling data point is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution.

At 1080p, the gap between Low (171 FPS) and Ultra (100.7 FPS) is 70.3 FPS, a 41.1% reduction. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the CPU cannot push the frame rate much higher than 171 FPS, indicating a CPU ceiling. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth, is clearly not the limiting factor here. At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 41.6 FPS, while Low still manages 98.1 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low (171 FPS) to 4K Low (98.1 FPS) is a 42.6% drop, which is much closer to what one would expect from pure GPU scaling, confirming that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows suggest that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 161.9 FPS, which is 94.8% of the Low preset's performance but with significantly better visual fidelity than Low. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 24.5 FPS (from 161.9 to 137.4), a 15.1% reduction, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 36.7 FPS (from 137.4 to 100.7), a 26.7% reduction. This indicates diminishing returns on the Ultra preset.

At 1440p, Medium achieves 145 FPS, which is still highly playable, while High drops to 101.3 FPS. The data shows that Medium at 1440p (145 FPS) outperforms High at 4K (58.3 FPS) by a factor of 2.5, making it the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors. At 4K, only the Low preset (98.1 FPS) provides a consistently smooth experience above 60 FPS, while Medium (84.5 FPS) is borderline and High (58.3 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing frame rate, Medium across all resolutions appears to be the optimal choice, as it maintains at least 84.5 FPS even at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz are modest by modern standards, and its benchmark results reflect this. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552, which is 0.4% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which is 0.8% faster, indicating the i5-10400F is positioned in a competitive but not dominant tier.

In ArcheAge, the CPU's influence is most evident at 1080p. The fact that Low settings (171 FPS) do not scale much higher than Medium (161.9 FPS) suggests the CPU is nearing its limit in this MMORPG, which is known for its heavy reliance on single-threaded performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and the 2-thread score of 1350 indicate that the CPU's strength lies in multi-threaded workloads (16-thread score of 4748), but ArcheAge likely does not utilize all 12 threads effectively. This is reflected in the data: at 1080p, the GPU's utilization is likely not maxed out, as evidenced by the relatively small performance gap between Low and Medium settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 386th out of 1727 tested combos in ArcheAge, placing it in the top 22.4% of all tested systems. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the GPU's high performance percentile (86th percentile among all GPUs) versus the CPU's lower percentile (73rd). The discrepancy between the GPU's raw power and the overall combo ranking highlights the CPU bottleneck.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 48704 places it near the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which is 0.7% faster, and the NVIDIA RTX A2000, which is 1.6% slower. In contrast, the CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, is only 0.8% faster on average. This suggests that while the GPU is a top-tier performer, the CPU is holding the system back in ArcheAge, preventing it from achieving a higher rank. The rank of 386 indicates that many other combinations with either stronger CPUs or more balanced pairings outperform this setup in this specific game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is a formidable graphics card, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines, with 66 ray tracing cores and 264 tensor cores. The GPU's clock speeds are listed at a base of 2340 MHz and a boost of 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for any modern game.

In ArcheAge, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K. The drop from Medium (84.5 FPS) to High (58.3 FPS) at 4K represents a 31% performance loss, indicating that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 31811 and its DirectX 11 score of 278 show strong performance in traditional rendering APIs, which ArcheAge likely uses. However, the game's 2014 release date means it may not fully utilize the GPU's modern features like DirectX 12 Ultimate or Vulkan 1.4, potentially limiting its efficiency. Despite this, the GPU manages to deliver 100.7 FPS at 1080p Ultra, proving its raw horsepower is not the issue.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 171 FPS on Low, 161.9 FPS on Medium, 137.4 FPS on High, and 100.7 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 41.1% reduction, which is substantial but expected for a game with high settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 150.2 FPS (Low), 145 FPS (Medium), 101.3 FPS (High), and 69.7 FPS (Ultra). The drop from Medium to High is 43.7 FPS (30.1%), while the drop from High to Ultra is 31.6 FPS (31.2%), showing a consistent degradation as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the performance is 98.1 FPS (Low), 84.5 FPS (Medium), 58.3 FPS (High), and 41.6 FPS (Ultra). The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, while the Low preset remains above 90 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low (171 FPS) and 4K Low (98.1 FPS) is 72.9 FPS, a 42.6% drop, which aligns with the GPU's scaling expectations. The data clearly shows that for 60 FPS gaming at 4K, Medium settings are the maximum viable option, while at 1440p, High settings are feasible, and at 1080p, Ultra is achievable.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 4K, only Low (98.1 FPS) and Medium (84.5 FPS) presets exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, all presets except Ultra (69.7 FPS) exceed 100 FPS, with Medium at 145 FPS. At 1080p, even Ultra (100.7 FPS) is well above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER being fully utilized in this game?

A: The data suggests not at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate ceiling appears to be around 171 FPS regardless of settings, indicating a CPU bottleneck. The GPU's full potential is only reached at 4K, where the frame rate drops to 41.6 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems in ArcheAge?

A: This combo ranks 386th out of 1727 tested combos, placing it in the top 22.4%. This is a strong ranking, but it is lower than the GPU's 86th percentile would suggest, indicating the CPU is a limiting factor.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance, and why does it matter?

A: The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score is 688, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1453. ArcheAge, as an older MMORPG, likely relies heavily on single-threaded performance, which may explain why the CPU struggles to push frame rates higher at 1080p.

Q: Does the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM provide any advantage in ArcheAge?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2014. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s is unlikely to be a limiting factor, as the performance drops are more likely due to compute limitations at 4K.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 150.2 FPS, while Ultra drops to 69.7 FPS. This represents a 53.6% reduction in performance, making Ultra at 1440p only slightly better than High at 4K (58.3 FPS).