Archeage

# Archeage with Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a fundamentally constrained gaming experience in Archeage, with the measured frame rates placing this combination at rank 2546 out of 2761 tested combos. The data reveals a system that struggles to maintain playable performance even at lower resolutions, with the GPU clearly emerging as the primary bottleneck across all tested configurations. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to understand how resolution scaling, component roles, and settings choices interact in this specific MMORPG workload.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent performance penalty as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, indicating that the Intel Arc B370's rendering capabilities are severely taxed at higher pixel counts. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 65 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p, a reduction of 22 frames, and further falls to 25 at 4K, representing a 61.5% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern suggests that pixel throughput is the dominant limiting factor rather than CPU-side game logic or draw call processing.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete picture with min and max FPS values alongside averages. At 1080p Medium, the average is 57 FPS with a min of 49 and max of 66. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 39 FPS with min 33 and max 44, while 4K Medium averages 22 FPS with min 19 and max 25. The consistent gap between minimum and maximum frame rates across these resolutions — roughly 17 FPS at 1080p, 11 FPS at 1440p, and 6 FPS at 4K — narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of a GPU that becomes more uniformly saturated at higher pixel counts.

High settings show an even more dramatic resolution penalty: 39 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and only 15 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 61.5%, nearly identical to the Low settings drop, suggesting that the scaling penalty is resolution-dominated rather than settings-dominated. Ultra settings are borderline unplayable at any resolution, with 27 FPS at 1080p, 18 FPS at 1440p, and just 10 FPS at 4K — the latter representing a 63% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result.

The fact that the relative performance degradation from 1080p to 4K is so consistent across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings (ranging from roughly 61% to 63% reduction) strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than any CPU-side constraint. The Intel Core i5-12400 with its 6 cores and 12 threads appears more than capable of feeding the GPU at these frame rates, as evidenced by the relatively stable FPS deltas across resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip, operating at a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with bus width and bandwidth listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent" respectively, meaning the GPU relies on the host system's memory rather than dedicated VRAM.

This shared memory architecture explains the significant performance collapse at higher resolutions. With no dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 must contend with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and as resolution increases the demand for texture data and framebuffer space grows exponentially. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1184 places this GPU at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, putting it in the bottom tier of performance. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, delta 1.4%). These are all legacy or low-end parts from over a decade ago, underscoring the Arc B370's position as an entry-level integrated solution.

The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm this is not designed for demanding gaming workloads, yet the data shows it can achieve 65 FPS at 1080p Low in Archeage, which is at least nominally playable. The boost clock of 2400 MHz helps at lower resolutions where the GPU can operate closer to its maximum frequency without thermal or power constraints becoming binding. However, at 4K the GPU's 20 ROPs and shared memory subsystem become severe bottlenecks, as evidenced by the sub-30 FPS results across all settings at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playable frame rates with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any settings preset achieves an average FPS above 40. At 1080p Low the average is 65 FPS, at Medium it is 57 FPS, and at High it is 39 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings reach 43 FPS average, while all other settings fall below 40 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its closest GPU rivals in raw benchmark performance?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, placing it within 1.5% of four rivals: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7% delta), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% delta). The performance band is extremely tight, with less than 25 points separating all five GPUs.

Q: Does Archeage scale better with CPU or GPU performance in this configuration?

A: The data indicates GPU-limited scaling. The resolution scaling pattern shows consistent 61-63% FPS drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The Intel Core i5-12400's robust multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989, passmark multithread score of 18747) appears sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output at these frame rates.

Q: What is the frametime stability like at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured min/max FPS values show a spread of 17 FPS at 1080p (min 49, max 66), 11 FPS at 1440p (min 33, max 44), and 6 FPS at 4K (min 19, max 25). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates the GPU becomes more consistently saturated, reducing frame time variance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested system configurations in Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 2546 out of 2761 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested. This is consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs and reflects the Arc B370's limitations as an integrated graphics solution.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever viable with this hardware?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces an average FPS of 27 at 1080p, 18 at 1440p, and 10 at 4K. None of these results approach typically acceptable playability thresholds, and the 1080p Ultra result is 38 FPS below the 1080p Low result, indicating a massive settings penalty.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2546 out of 2761 total tested combos in Archeage, positioning it in the bottom 7.8% of all systems. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance class, as the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs in the benchmark database. The CPU, by contrast, is a much stronger component: the i5-12400 ranks at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the overall benchmarking database include the AMD EPYC 7643 (avg score 18697, delta -0.1%), Intel Core i7-1355U (avg score 18730, delta -0.3%), AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (avg score 18811, delta -0.7%), and Intel Core i3-14100F (avg score 18519, delta 0.9%). All of these CPUs score within 1% of the i5-12400, confirming that the processor is a mainstream performer that should not be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios.

The massive discrepancy between the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking and the GPU's 5th percentile ranking creates a severe imbalance in this combo. In Archeage, the measured FPS data reflects this imbalance clearly: even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system only achieves 65 FPS, which is well below what the i5-12400 could theoretically support if paired with a more capable GPU. The 2546th rank out of 2761 combos places this system in the company of much older or lower-end hardware, consistent with the Arc B370's nearest GPU rivals being legacy parts from the early 2010s.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS spans from 65 at Low settings down to 27 at Ultra settings. The Low preset achieves 65 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS with a min of 49 and max of 66, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 38 FPS, representing a 58.5% performance penalty for the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, performance drops across all settings. Low averages 43 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a min of 33 and max of 44, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 25 FPS at this resolution, with the percentage penalty rising to 58.1%. Notably, the Medium preset at 1440p delivers only 4 FPS less than Low, suggesting diminishing returns from lowering settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, all settings produce sub-30 FPS averages. Low hits 25 FPS, Medium averages 22 FPS with a min of 19 and max of 25, High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra drops to 10 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra penalty is 15 FPS, a 60% reduction. The 4K Medium min FPS of 19 is particularly telling — even the most stable configuration at 4K cannot maintain 20 FPS consistently.

Cross-resolution analysis reveals that the Low preset scales the best in absolute terms: 65 → 43 → 25 FPS from 1080p to 1440p to 4K. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory: 57 → 39 → 22 FPS. High settings show 39 → 26 → 15 FPS, and Ultra shows 27 → 18 → 10 FPS. The consistency of these scaling patterns across all settings reinforces the conclusion that the GPU is the primary constraint, as a CPU bottleneck would typically show less degradation at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only settings preset that delivers consistently playable performance is Low at 1920x1080, which achieves an average of 65 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the clear recommendation for any user seeking smooth gameplay in Archeage with this hardware combo. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS, which may be acceptable for less demanding scenarios but risks dropping below 50 FPS in busy areas.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable middle ground, providing a 12 FPS improvement over High settings (57 vs 39 FPS) while maintaining a minimum of 49 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 18 FPS on average, which is a substantial penalty for what is typically a modest visual upgrade in MMORPGs. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as even at 1080p it averages only 27 FPS, which falls below the minimum threshold for acceptable playability in most scenarios.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset approaches playable territory with a 43 FPS average. Medium at 1440p averages 39 FPS, which may be tolerable in less demanding areas but will likely cause noticeable stuttering in crowded scenes or during large-scale PvP encounters. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p produce averages of 26 and 18 FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for active gameplay. At 3840x2160, no settings preset achieves even 30 FPS, so 4K gaming is not a viable option for this combo.

The data suggests that the optimal configuration is 1080p with Medium settings for users who want a balance between visual fidelity and performance, or 1080p Low for users who prioritize maximum frame rate. Given that the Medium preset at 1080p maintains a minimum FPS of 49, it provides a more stable experience than High or Ultra while still offering significantly better visuals than Low. Users should expect to drop to Low settings if they experience framerate dips in high-population areas, as the 65 FPS average at Low provides a larger safety margin.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features an 18 MB shared L3 cache, 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, and 80 KB L1 cache per core. Its memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5 in a dual-channel configuration, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700 interface with PCIe Gen 5 connectivity offering 16 lanes from the CPU.

Benchmark results for the i5-12400 show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 15989, Cinebench R20 multicore scores 6715, and Passmark multithread scores 18747. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with Cinebench R23 singlecore at 2257, Geekbench singlecore at 1848, and 3DMark single-thread at 910. The 3DMark thread scaling results — 1692 for 2 threads, 3012 for 4 threads, 4745 for 8 threads, and 5890 for max threads — demonstrate good scaling across the 12 threads, though the plateau between 8 threads (4745) and max threads (5890) suggests diminishing returns beyond 8 active threads in some workloads.

In the context of Archeage, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU's limitations. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame rate caps or stutters; instead, the consistent GPU-bound scaling pattern indicates that the i5-12400 is delivering frames faster than the Arc B370 can render them. The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683, places it in the upper-midrange tier, well above the GPU's 5th percentile positioning.

The nearest CPU rivals in the benchmark database — the AMD EPYC 7643, Intel Core i7-1355U, AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, and Intel Core i3-14100F — all score within 0.9% of the i5-12400's average, confirming that the processor is not an outlier in either direction. In this combo, the CPU's strong multi-threaded capabilities (Passmark multithread 18747, Cinebench R23 multicore 15989) ensure that Archeage's MMO workloads, which often involve many concurrent entities and network processing, are handled without becoming the bottleneck. However, the GPU's inability to translate this CPU headroom into higher frame rates means the system overall remains firmly in the low-performance tier, as reflected in its 2546th rank out of 2761 combos.