Archeage

Archeage is an older MMORPG, but its performance with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 shows that the pairing remains relevant. The data indicates that the RTX 5070 provides substantial headroom at lower settings, while the i5-10400F acts as a limiting factor at high frame rates. This analysis breaks down the measured results across resolutions and presets to show where the balance lies.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for the highest average frame rate?

A: The highest average frame rate is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, producing 169 FPS. This is closely followed by 162 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: How much slower is 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 36 FPS, while 1080p Low averages 169 FPS. This represents a significant drop of 133 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is extremely demanding.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The benchmark data shows that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the game runs at 36 FPS, suggesting that VRAM is not a bottleneck preventing the game from running, though the performance is low.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 135 FPS, while the High preset averages 92 FPS. The Medium preset is significantly faster, offering a 43 FPS advantage.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. Its closest rival, the Intel Xeon 6756E, scores 14163, which is a 0.2% difference. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, placing it 0.6% higher.

Q: Is the 4K Medium preset playable?

A: The 4K Medium preset averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS. This is a playable range for many users, offering a smooth experience relative to the 36 FPS seen at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and features 6144 shading units. Its high memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, paired with 12 GB of GDDR7 VRAM on a 192-bit bus, allows for rapid data transfer, which is critical for the texture-heavy environments of an MMORPG like Archeage.

The RTX 5070’s clock speeds, with a base of 2325 MHz and a boost of 2512 MHz, are substantial. The data shows that the GPU’s raw power is not the primary constraint at lower resolutions. For example, at 1920x1080, the GPU produces 169 FPS on Low settings and 136 FPS on High settings. This high performance ceiling suggests the GPU is capable of much more, but is being held back by other factors.

At higher resolutions, the GPU’s workload increases, and its performance scales accordingly. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops to 87 FPS on Low settings and 52 FPS on High settings. The gap between Low and High at 4K is 35 FPS, which is larger than the 33 FPS gap at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at 4K, but the RTX 5070 still manages to maintain playable frame rates on medium settings, hitting 77 FPS.

The RTX 5070’s synthetic benchmark scores support its strong gaming performance. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 172660. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores 5077. These numbers place it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. Its direct rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 40318, a marginal 0.1% difference, indicating that the RTX 5070 is closely matched with that professional-grade card in overall benchmark performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system scales across resolutions, highlighting a shift in the performance bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the frame rates are high across all settings. The jump from Low (169 FPS) to High (136 FPS) is a 33 FPS drop, but the absolute numbers are high enough that the RTX 5070 is not fully utilized.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a larger drop. The Low preset averages 148 FPS, which is a 21 FPS decrease from 1080p. The High preset drops to 92 FPS, a 44 FPS decrease from 1080p. This suggests that the GPU is starting to become a more significant factor, but the CPU still provides enough throughput for high average frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The Low preset drops to 87 FPS, and the High preset falls to 52 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 61 FPS drop on Low and a 40 FPS drop on High. This is a classic sign of GPU limitation, as the pixel count increases, the rendering load on the RTX 5070 grows substantially. The 4K Ultra preset, with an average of 36 FPS, demonstrates that this setting is too demanding for smooth gameplay on this hardware.

The data shows that the performance delta between 1080p and 4K is not uniform. For the Low preset, the drop is from 169 FPS to 87 FPS, a 48.5% reduction. For the High preset, the drop is from 136 FPS to 52 FPS, a 61.7% reduction. This indicates that the High preset places a disproportionately higher load on the GPU at 4K, further confirming that the RTX 5070 is the limiting component at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance. At 162 FPS, it is only 7 FPS slower than Low, but it provides better visual fidelity. The High preset at 136 FPS is also viable, but the 26 FPS difference between Medium and High makes Medium the more efficient choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear winner. At 135 FPS, it provides a smooth experience that is well-suited for 144Hz monitors. The High preset, at 92 FPS, is a step down and might not be ideal for competitive play, but it is still playable. The Low preset at 148 FPS is slightly faster than Medium, but the visual compromise is likely not worth the 13 FPS gain.

For 4K, the Medium preset is the most practical option. At 77 FPS, it is the only preset that provides a consistently playable experience. The High preset at 52 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 36 FPS is too slow for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 87 FPS is playable, but the visual quality will be noticeably reduced. Therefore, 4K Medium is the recommended starting point for this hardware.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is not viable at any resolution for this combination. At 1080p, it drops to 93 FPS, which is a 69 FPS reduction from Medium. At 1440p, it falls to 62 FPS, and at 4K, it drops to 36 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra is too high relative to the visual benefits, making it a poor choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 169 FPS. This is the highest score in the entire dataset.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 162 FPS, with a minimum of 138 FPS and a maximum of 187 FPS. This shows good frame time stability.
• High: The average frame rate is 136 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate drops to 93 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 148 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 135 FPS, with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 92 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 62 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: The average frame rate is 87 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 77 FPS, with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 52 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 36 FPS.

The data shows a clear trend: the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer, and the High preset, while playable, is significantly slower than Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are relevant for MMORPGs, which often have many entities and players to track.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F shows solid multi-threaded performance. It scores 10283 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4318 in Cinebench R20 multicore. Its single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1420. The CPU's Passmark multithread score is 12115, and its average benchmark score is 14185, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's role in Archeage is most evident at 1080p. The high frame rates at this resolution, such as 169 FPS on Low, suggest that the CPU is able to feed the GPU enough data to maintain high performance. However, the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is only 7 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 26 FPS. This indicates that the CPU can handle the game logic at these frame rates, but the GPU is the one being stressed by the higher graphical settings.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence wanes as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The frame rate differences between settings are larger, and the absolute numbers are lower. For instance, at 4K, the difference between Low and Medium is 10 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 25 FPS. This shows that the GPU is struggling to keep up with the increased resolution, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The i5-10400F’s benchmark scores, such as its 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and 2-thread score of 1350, indicate that it has enough multi-threading capability for modern games. However, it is not a high-end CPU, and its performance is closely matched by rivals like the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (-0.6% delta). This suggests that the CPU is a capable mid-range part that pairs well with a high-end GPU like the RTX 5070, but it will limit maximum frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, particularly at 1080p. The data shows that the CPU is not the main constraint at higher resolutions, but it does set a ceiling on how high the average FPS can go.