Archeage

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a wide spread of frame rates in Archeage, ranging from 33 FPS at 4K Ultra to 198 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of high-refresh-rate play at lower resolutions and settings, yet struggles to maintain playable performance at the highest visual presets in 4K. With a combo rank of 987 out of 3708 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the upper quartile of all tested systems for this MMORPG. The measured results across twelve different resolution and settings configurations reveal a performance profile heavily influenced by both the CPU’s six-core architecture and the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows how the balance of load shifts between the processor and graphics card as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 127 FPS, which drops to 86 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 49 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61.4% reduction in average frame rate moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling pattern is consistent with a system that becomes progressively more GPU-limited as resolution rises, though the CPU still plays a significant role in maintaining minimum frame rates.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The combo achieves 198 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28.3%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 43.0%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions indicates that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU’s rendering capabilities become the primary constraint when pixel count increases dramatically. The fact that 4K Low still produces 81 FPS suggests the RTX 4070 has substantial headroom in this title, but the 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth limit its ability to maintain high frame rates at extreme resolutions.

Medium settings show a similar pattern with 187 FPS at 1080p, 126 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The minimum frame rates recorded at Medium settings are 159 FPS at 1080p, 107 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K, indicating that frame pacing remains stable even when average FPS drops. The gap between average and minimum FPS at Medium settings narrows from 28 FPS at 1080p to 19 FPS at 1440p and 11 FPS at 4K, suggesting more consistent delivery at higher resolutions where the GPU is more uniformly loaded.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario, with the combo producing 87 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and only 33 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold considered playable for most users, and it represents just 16.7% of the frame rate achieved at 1080p Low. This steep drop-off from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (43.1% reduction) highlights how the combination of high-resolution rendering and maximum graphical features overwhelms the GPU’s capabilities in Archeage. The data indicates that users targeting 4K should select Medium or Low settings, where the combo maintains 72 FPS and 81 FPS respectively.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides six cores and twelve threads based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz boosts to 4.40 GHz, and the processor carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,024 in single-core, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs tested. The nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores are the AMD EPYC 7H12 at 17,120 (0.3% ahead), the Intel Core i5-12450H at 17,239 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G at 17,278 (0.6% behind).

For Archeage, an MMORPG that relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and network handling, the i5-11400F’s single-core capabilities are particularly relevant. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 850 and Geekbench single-core score of 1,777 indicate competitive per-thread performance for a desktop processor from the 11th generation. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps ensure that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at lower resolutions, where frame rates exceed 180 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 187 FPS, suggesting the six-core processor is not a bottleneck at these frame rates.

However, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent when examining the frame rate differences between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low (198 FPS) to Medium (187 FPS) only costs 5.6% performance, while moving from Medium to High (127 FPS) costs 32.1%. This non-linear scaling suggests that High settings introduce additional CPU-intensive calculations, likely related to draw calls and entity management that are common in MMORPGs. The 12 MB of L3 cache helps mitigate some of these overheads, but the 14 nm process node and 65 W TDP limit the sustained performance compared to newer architectures.

The 3DMark thread scaling results provide additional context. The CPU scores 1,691 with 2 threads, 3,171 with 4 threads, 4,691 with 8 threads, and 5,652 with maximum threads. The scaling from 2 to 4 threads is 87.5%, from 4 to 8 threads is 47.9%, and from 8 to max threads is 20.5%. This diminishing return pattern indicates that Archeage likely utilizes fewer than eight threads effectively, meaning the six physical cores are adequate but additional cores would not substantially improve performance. The Passmark multithread score of 16,908 and single-thread score of 2,981 reinforce this assessment, with the processor demonstrating balanced performance across both metrics.

FAQ

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

A: For 60+ FPS gameplay, the data shows 4K Medium (72 FPS) or 1440p Ultra (58 FPS) as viable options. At 1080p, all settings including Ultra (87 FPS) exceed 60 FPS. Users prioritizing high refresh rates should consider 1080p High (127 FPS) or 1440p Medium (126 FPS).

Q: How does the RTX 4070’s 12 GB VRAM affect performance?

A: The 12 GB GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for all tested configurations, as no settings combination shows evidence of VRAM capacity limiting performance. The 192-bit bus width contributes to the frame rate drops observed at 4K Ultra, where the GPU’s memory subsystem becomes a constraint.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: At 4K Ultra, the 33 FPS result suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 198 FPS result indicates the CPU can sustain very high frame rates. The CPU’s 71st percentile ranking and 12 MB L3 cache provide adequate performance for Archeage’s requirements.

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

A: The combo produces 142 FPS at Low settings and 58 FPS at Ultra settings at 2560x1440, representing a 59.2% reduction in average frame rate. This significant drop indicates that Ultra settings impose a substantial rendering load on the GPU.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested combinations?

A: With a rank of 987 out of 3708 tested combos, this pairing performs better than approximately 73% of all tested systems in Archeage. This places it in the upper quartile of tested combinations for this game.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Medium, the combo achieves 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, making it playable. At 4K High, it drops to 49 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS. Users should select Medium settings for a smooth 4K experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 987 out of 3708 tested combinations places this system in the 73.4th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Archeage. This ranking reflects the balance between the i5-11400F and RTX 4070, with the GPU contributing the majority of the performance headroom in most scenarios. The CPU’s percentile rank of 71 among all processors and the GPU’s percentile rank of 81 among all graphics cards indicate that the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing.

The ranking implies that approximately 2,721 tested combinations perform worse than this setup, while 986 combinations perform better. Given that Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG with modest system requirements relative to modern titles, this high ranking suggests the combo is well-suited for the game’s engine. The 12 measured FPS data points across four resolutions and three settings (plus Ultra at each resolution) provide a comprehensive picture of how this combo handles various graphical loads.

The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals show how close the performance margins are at this level. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37,628 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38,135 (1.3% behind). These small percentage differences indicate that the RTX 4070 sits in a competitive performance tier where small architectural improvements can shift rankings. The CPU’s rivals show even tighter margins, with the AMD EPYC 7H12 at 17,120 (0.3% ahead) and the Intel Core i5-12450H at 17,239 (0.4% behind).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC’s 5 nm process, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU contains 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output processors, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. Its base clock of 1920 MHz boosts to 2475 MHz, and the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 21 Gbps effective on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a TDP of 200 W and requires a 550 W power supply.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 26,927 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 14,720. In Geekbench, it scores 154,858 in OpenCL and 174,152 in Vulkan. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,854 provides a modern gaming workload assessment. These scores place the GPU in the 81st percentile of all graphics cards, indicating strong overall performance relative to the broader market.

In Archeage specifically, the GPU’s role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 33 FPS, which is 62.5% lower than the 88 FPS needed for a smooth 60 FPS experience. The GPU’s pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are substantial, but the 192-bit memory bus appears to be the limiting factor at extreme resolutions. The bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, as evidenced by the high frame rates at those resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result suggests the memory subsystem cannot keep up with the data demands of maximum settings at 3840x2160.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio) indicate strong compute capabilities that benefit modern game engines. However, Archeage’s 2014 release date means it was not designed for the advanced features of Ada Lovelace, such as DX12 Ultimate (12_2) support or Vulkan 1.4. The game likely relies on DirectX 11 paths, as indicated by the Passmark DirectX 11 score of 244, which is higher than the DirectX 12 score of 103. This suggests the GPU is operating in a compatibility mode rather than utilizing its full feature set.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce 198 FPS average, Medium settings produce 187 FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS and maximum of 215 FPS, High settings produce 127 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 87 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 111 FPS, representing a 56.1% reduction. The Medium settings data shows excellent frame pacing with the minimum FPS only 28 FPS below the average, indicating stable performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a noticeable drop from 1080p. Low settings achieve 142 FPS, Medium settings achieve 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS and maximum of 145 FPS, High settings achieve 86 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 58 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, representing a 59.2% reduction. The Medium settings minimum of 107 FPS is particularly notable, as it stays above the 100 FPS threshold even during demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more variable. Low settings produce 81 FPS, Medium settings produce 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 83 FPS, High settings produce 49 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 33 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 48 FPS, representing a 59.3% reduction. The Medium settings result is the only 4K configuration that maintains an average above 60 FPS, with the minimum of 61 FPS ensuring consistent playability.

Comparing the same settings across resolutions, the scaling ratios are consistent. At Low settings, 1080p to 1440p drops 28.3%, and 1440p to 4K drops 43.0%. At Medium settings, 1080p to 1440p drops 32.6%, and 1440p to 4K drops 42.9%. At High settings, 1080p to 1440p drops 32.3%, and 1440p to 4K drops 43.0%. At Ultra settings, 1080p to 1440p drops 33.3%, and 1440p to 4K drops 43.1%. These consistent percentages indicate that the GPU’s performance scaling follows a predictable pattern in Archeage, with the 1440p to 4K transition being the most demanding due to the 2.25x pixel count increase.

The data also reveals that the difference between Low and Medium settings is relatively small at all resolutions. At 1080p, the gap is 11 FPS; at 1440p, it is 16 FPS; at 4K, it is 9 FPS. This suggests that Medium settings offer substantial visual improvements over Low with minimal performance cost. Conversely, the jump from Medium to High is more significant, costing 60 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset imposes the largest penalty, particularly at 4K where it drops to 33 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. For users seeking the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium settings at 1440p (126 FPS) or 4K (72 FPS) offer the most compelling options based on the measured data.