Archeage

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Archeage with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER show a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 97.4 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 68 FPS, and at 4K Low the average falls to 35.4 FPS. That represents a 64% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, which is a significant scaling penalty.

The pattern holds across every settings tier. Moving from 1080p High (61.1 FPS) to 1440p High (40.9 FPS) costs roughly a third of the performance, and the 4K High result of 24.7 FPS is less than half the 1080p figure. The Medium preset follows suit: 89 FPS at 1080p, 57.6 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most punishing, with 38.9 FPS at 1080p collapsing to 28.7 FPS at 1440p and just 17.6 FPS at 4K.

These scaling characteristics point to the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is being saturated as pixel count increases. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel workload, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the i5-12400's six cores and 12 threads have enough headroom to feed the graphics card, but the GPU's compute resources—1408 shading units and 48 ROPs—become the bottleneck as resolution scales.

The data also reveals that the gap between Low and Medium settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (97.4 FPS) and Medium (89 FPS) is 8.4 FPS. At 4K, that gap shrinks to just 0.4 FPS (35.4 vs 35). This convergence suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the additional visual work in Medium over Low is nearly free in relative terms, because the limiting factor is raw pixel throughput rather than shader complexity.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER's specifications directly explain its behavior in Archeage. The GPU boosts to 1785 MHz from a 1530 MHz base clock, and its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is the key figure for a game like Archeage, which is an MMORPG with large open-world environments that stream textures and geometry continuously.

The card's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, and its average benchmark score of 14286 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314 (0.2% higher), the Intel Iris XE MAX Graphics scores 14315 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389 (0.7% higher). This tight clustering means the GTX 1660 SUPER is not a standout in raw compute, but its memory subsystem is well-suited for texture-heavy workloads.

In Archeage specifically, the VRAM capacity becomes a factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 17.6, which is unplayable. The 6 GB frame buffer is likely being exhausted by the combination of high-resolution textures and the game's draw distance requirements. The card's 48 ROPs and 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate are also insufficient for 4K output at high settings, explaining why the Ultra preset at 4K produces such a low result.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 5.027 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, and this shows in the benchmark results. The passmark DirectX 11 score of 104 and DirectX 12 score of 50 indicate that the card handles older APIs reasonably well but struggles with more demanding rendering paths. Archeage, released in 2014, relies on DirectX 11, which is the card's stronger API—this partially mitigates the performance deficit.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of playable configurations. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 97.4 FPS, which is smooth for any gameplay scenario. Medium at 89 FPS is nearly as fast and likely offers a better visual experience without a meaningful performance penalty. High at 61.1 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold and is the best balance for most users. Ultra at 38.9 FPS drops below the smoothness threshold and is only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over responsiveness.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. Low at 68 FPS is the only preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 57.6 FPS is borderline—playable but with occasional dips likely. High at 40.9 FPS is a compromise, and Ultra at 28.7 FPS is not recommended for active gameplay. The data suggests that 1440p users should stick to Low or Medium settings to keep frame rates in an acceptable range.

For 4K, none of the presets deliver a consistently smooth experience. Low at 35.4 FPS and Medium at 35 FPS are nearly identical, indicating that the GPU is the hard bottleneck. High at 24.7 FPS and Ultra at 17.6 FPS are both below playable thresholds. The sharp drop from Low to High at 4K—a 10.7 FPS difference—shows that even modest visual upgrades come at a steep cost at this resolution. Players wanting 4K should accept Low settings and lower expectations, or consider that this combo is not suited for 4K gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1527 out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which is a surprisingly low position given the mid-range nature of both components. The ranking reflects the game's demanding nature and the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU portion of this combo is not the weak link. The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 at 19831 (0.1% slower), the Intel Core i7-8700 at 19894 (0.2% faster), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX at 19928 (0.4% faster). The i5-12400's 15935 Cinebench R23 multicore score and 2249 single-core score confirm it is a capable processor that will not bottleneck the GTX 1660 SUPER in most scenarios.

The GPU, however, sits at the 55th percentile with an average benchmark score of 14286. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its score, indicating that the GTX 1660 SUPER is at the lower edge of its performance class. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU means the system's overall ranking is dragged down by the graphics card, particularly in a game like Archeage that scales heavily with GPU performance.

The rank of 1527 out of 1727 suggests that most tested combos outperform this pairing in Archeage. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows sub-60 FPS at 1440p Medium and above. The combo is adequate for 1080p gaming but falls behind at higher resolutions, and the ranking reflects that reality.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p High, the average is 61.1 FPS, while 1440p High drops to 40.9 FPS and 4K High falls to 24.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 scores 14314 (0.2% higher), the Intel Iris XE MAX Graphics scores 14315 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389 (0.7% higher).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this setup?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The i5-12400 ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GTX 1660 SUPER ranks in the 55th percentile. The frame rate drops at higher resolutions are consistent with GPU saturation.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with Low settings?

A: The measured average at 4K Low is 35.4 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold and indicates that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Archeage.

Q: How does the i5-12400 perform in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 scores 15935 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2249 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 19850, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-9700 at 19831 (0.1% difference).

Q: Which settings preset gives the best experience at 1080p?

A: High settings at 61.1 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. Medium at 89 FPS is also viable, while Ultra at 38.9 FPS drops below the ideal smoothness threshold.