Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, exhibits a performance profile with this Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combo that is heavily dictated by resolution, yet surprisingly resilient at lower settings. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck only at 4K with higher presets, while the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration becomes increasingly relevant as resolution drops. The combination delivers playable frame rates across the board, but the scaling pattern suggests a ceiling imposed by the processor in less demanding scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline is heavily influenced by the selected graphics preset. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 198 at 1920x1080 to 174 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 24 FPS (12.1%), and then to 125 at 3840x2160, a further drop of 49 FPS (28.2%) from the 1440p figure. This indicates that even at Low settings, the jump to 4K nearly halves the performance compared to 1080p, pointing to a significant pixel-pushing workload that still taxes the RTX 5090 D.

The scaling becomes more pronounced with higher visual fidelity. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (164 FPS) to 1440p (132 FPS) costs 32 FPS (19.5%), and moving to 4K (76 FPS) results in a dramatic 56 FPS drop (42.4%) from the 1440p result. This steepening curve at 4K High suggests the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth—with a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth—are being fully utilized. However, the most telling data point is at Ultra settings, where 1080p yields 134 FPS, 1440p drops to 90 FPS, and 4K plummets to just 52 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra figure, a scaling ratio that indicates the game's Ultra preset introduces effects that are exceptionally demanding on the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory.

The limiting component shifts depending on the resolution and preset combination. At 1080p with Low settings, the 198 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU, as the Core i5-11400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its 12 MB of shared L3 cache can only feed frames so quickly. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average is clearly GPU-bound, as the rendering load overwhelms even this flagship card. The Medium preset shows a unique pattern: the FPS difference between 1080p (190 FPS) and 1440p (167 FPS) is only 23 FPS, but the 1440p to 4K transition (112 FPS) is a steeper 55 FPS drop. This suggests that Medium settings at 4K still present a substantial pixel fill-rate challenge, but not as severe as High or Ultra, indicating a balanced load between the CPU and GPU at this tier.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data strongly suggests that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a significant boost over High while maintaining a much smaller performance penalty than Ultra. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 190 FPS average with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS, which is only 8 FPS less than Low (198 FPS) but a substantial 56 FPS more than Ultra (134 FPS). This indicates that Medium captures most of the visual improvement over Low without the heavy cost of Ultra, making it the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again emerges as the optimal choice, with an average of 167 FPS and a minimum of 142 FPS. This is 35 FPS faster than High (132 FPS) and 77 FPS faster than Ultra (90 FPS). The minimum of 142 FPS at 1440p Medium ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains above 140 FPS, which is crucial for smooth gameplay in an MMORPG where large player gatherings can cause stutters. The 192 FPS maximum also shows headroom for less intensive areas.

For 4K gaming, the choice is more nuanced. Medium provides a playable 112 FPS average with a minimum of 95 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that maintains an average above 100 FPS. High drops to 76 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth, while Ultra at 52 FPS is borderline for a game requiring quick reactions. Low at 125 FPS is the fastest, but the visual compromise is often not worth the 13 FPS gain over Medium. Therefore, Medium is recommended for 4K as it provides the best trade-off between visual quality and frame rate stability, with the 95 FPS minimum preventing noticeable dips.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 198 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 190 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings, showing that Low only provides a marginal advantage at 1080p.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the highest visual settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 52. This is the lowest recorded performance in the dataset, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is extremely demanding on the RTX 5090 D, despite its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

Q: Is the Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, as the FPS differences between Low (198), Medium (190), and High (164) are relatively small. The i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, cap performance around the 200 FPS mark, whereas the GPU is capable of much higher output.

Q: What is the most consistent frame rate experience across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset offers the most consistent performance, with minimum frame rates recorded at all resolutions: 162 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. These minimums are significantly higher than the averages for other presets at the same resolutions, ensuring a smoother experience.

Q: How does the 4K Low setting compare to 1440p High in terms of average FPS?

A: The 4K Low setting produces an average of 125 FPS, which is 7 FPS lower than the 1440p High setting's 132 FPS. This shows that the resolution increase to 4K has a similar performance cost to raising the preset from High to Low at a lower resolution.

Q: Which preset provides the highest frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 yields the highest average FPS at 174. However, the Medium preset at 167 FPS is only 7 FPS slower and provides better visual quality, making it the more practical high-performance choice.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 158th out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This placement in the top 5.7% of all combinations indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited for this game, delivering performance that surpasses the vast majority of other systems. The high rank is particularly notable given the CPU's mid-range positioning, with its 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, and the GPU's top-tier status, with a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The ranking reflects the synergy of this pairing in a game that appears to favor high single-thread performance and raw GPU throughput. The i5-11400F's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024 and its Passmark single-thread score of 2981 demonstrate strong per-core capability, which is crucial for MMORPGs that often rely on a few heavily loaded threads. The RTX 5090 D's Passmark G3D score of 44065 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 provide the raw graphics horsepower needed for high resolutions.

While the combo rank is impressive, it is not at the very top, which suggests that some combinations with higher-end CPUs can extract even more performance, particularly at 1080p where the CPU bottleneck is evident. The delta between this combo and the absolute best is likely due to the i5-11400F's 6-core/12-thread configuration, which, while capable, is outmatched by processors with more cores or higher boost clocks in CPU-bound scenarios. However, for a game like Archeage, this rank of 158 out of 2761 solidifies the combo as a top-tier performer, especially for users targeting high refresh rates at 1440p or smooth 4K gameplay on Medium settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a critical role in shaping the performance of this combo, particularly at lower resolutions. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.60 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this processor from the Rocket Lake architecture provides a solid foundation for gaming. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the RTX 5090 D, but the data reveals its limitations.

At 1920x1080, the FPS averages across all settings—Low (198), Medium (190), High (164), and Ultra (134)—show a compressed range compared to higher resolutions. The difference between Low and High is only 34 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is unable to push frame rates much beyond 200 FPS, regardless of the graphics load. This is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck, where the processor's single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024, becomes the limiting factor. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 further confirms that while the CPU is capable, it is not top-tier for extreme frame rate generation.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a Passmark multithread score of 16908, are relevant for Archeage's background tasks and large-scale battles. However, the game's primary rendering thread appears to be the bottleneck. The measured data shows that at 1440p, the FPS range widens (Low: 174, Medium: 167, High: 132, Ultra: 90), indicating that the GPU is starting to take on more of the load. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes further, with the FPS spread (Low: 125, Medium: 112, High: 76, Ultra: 52) being driven almost entirely by the GPU's rendering capabilities.

In summary, the Core i5-11400F is an adequate but not exceptional partner for the RTX 5090 D in Archeage. Its 6-core/12-thread design and 4.40 GHz boost clock provide enough performance for smooth 4K gaming on Medium settings and above, but it caps the maximum achievable FPS at 1080p. For users with 144Hz or 240Hz monitors at 1080p, a CPU with higher single-thread performance would be necessary to fully unlock the RTX 5090 D's potential, as the data shows the GPU is not being fully utilized at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination, with minimum and maximum values where available. All data points are drawn directly from the benchmark results.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 198 FPS. This is the highest average recorded at any resolution, indicating the CPU is the primary limiter.
• Medium: Average 190 FPS, with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 219 FPS. This shows excellent stability with a 57 FPS range between minimum and maximum.
• High: Average 164 FPS. This is a 26 FPS drop from Medium, showing a significant cost for High settings over Medium.
• Ultra: Average 134 FPS. This is the lowest average at 1080p, but still highly playable, indicating that the CPU can maintain a high frame rate even with the most demanding preset.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 174 FPS. This is 24 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, showing a clear resolution penalty.
• Medium: Average 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. The 50 FPS range is slightly tighter than at 1080p, suggesting more consistent GPU load.
• High: Average 132 FPS. This is a 35 FPS drop from Medium, and the gap between Medium and High is larger than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more stressed.
• Ultra: Average 90 FPS. This is the first preset to drop below 100 FPS at this resolution, showing that Ultra at 1440p is quite demanding.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 125 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that maintains an average above 120 FPS, showing that even at 4K, the Low preset is CPU-bound to some extent.
• Medium: Average 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS. The minimum of 95 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the dataset, but the average remains solidly above 100 FPS.
• High: Average 76 FPS. This is a 36 FPS drop from Medium, demonstrating that the High preset at 4K is significantly more demanding than Medium.
• Ultra: Average 52 FPS. This is the lowest average in the entire dataset, showing that the Ultra preset at 4K is a severe stress test for the RTX 5090 D, despite its 32 GB of VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth.

The data also reveals that the Medium preset is the only settings level with complete minimum and maximum data points at all three resolutions. This consistency suggests that Medium is the most stable preset, with the minimum FPS values (162 at 1080p, 142 at 1440p, and 95 at 4K) all remaining within a playable range. The maximum FPS values (219 at 1080p, 192 at 1440p, and 128 at 4K) also show that there is headroom for less demanding scenes. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown confirms that this combo is capable of delivering high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across all settings, while at 4K, users should stick to Medium or Low for the best experience.