Archeage

# Archeage with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a playable yet resolution-sensitive experience in Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG that scales predictably across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, this combination produces frame rates well above 60 FPS at most settings, while 4K Ultra pushes the hardware to its limits with an average of just 24 FPS. The data reveals a system that excels at high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with maximum visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep across all settings, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 153 at 1080p to 103 at 1440p and 59 at 4K — a 61% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This pattern holds across every preset, with the scaling being most dramatic at Ultra where the drop from 63 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 4K represents a 62% loss.

The Medium preset shows the most complete picture, with recorded minimum and maximum values at each resolution. At 1080p, the average of 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156 demonstrates consistent performance. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 91 FPS with a range of 78 to 105, while 4K sees the average fall to 52 FPS with a range of 45 to 60. The narrowing of the frame rate range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is becoming saturated, reducing the variability that comes from CPU-bound scenarios.

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than from 1440p to 4K, which is typical for a GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit bus. At 1080p, the system appears CPU-bound at Low settings, where the 153 FPS average likely approaches the practical limit of the game engine or CPU. The jump from 103 FPS at 1440p Low to 59 FPS at 4K Low shows a 43% drop, while the corresponding drop from 92 to 62 FPS at High (33%) is smaller, suggesting that the GPU is already doing more work at 1440p High.

The most telling observation is that Ultra settings at 4K produce only 24 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in an MMORPG. Even at 1440p Ultra, the 42 FPS average remains below the 60 FPS target many players prefer. The data shows that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can maintain respectable frame rates across most presets.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 92 FPS offers an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. The jump to Ultra costs 29 FPS (from 92 to 63), a 32% reduction that may not justify the visual improvements in a 2014 MMORPG. The Low preset at 153 FPS is valuable for competitive play or for users with high-refresh monitors, but the Medium preset at 136 FPS provides a strong middle ground with a minimum of 115 FPS ensuring smooth gameplay even in crowded scenes.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the optimal choice. The 91 FPS average with a minimum of 78 FPS keeps the experience fluid, while the High preset at 62 FPS remains playable but noticeably less smooth. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is borderline, and the Low preset at 103 FPS sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the extra headroom. For users prioritizing frame rate stability, Medium at 1440p is the clear recommendation.

4K presents a more challenging scenario. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, with the minimum of 45 FPS occasionally dipping into the 40s. The High preset at 36 FPS and Low at 59 FPS represent opposite trade-offs: Low sacrifices visual quality for a smoother experience, while High looks better but feels sluggish. Ultra at 24 FPS is effectively unplayable for most users. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combination requires accepting either Low settings or a 30 FPS target, as the Medium preset's 52 FPS average is the sweet spot for visual fidelity versus performance.

The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset consistently provides the best experience across all three resolutions, with the widest margin of safety above minimum acceptable frame rates. At 1080p, the 136 FPS average with a 115 FPS minimum leaves substantial headroom, while at 1440p the 91 FPS average with a 78 FPS minimum remains comfortable. Only at 4K does the Medium preset approach the edge of playability, but its 52 FPS average is still superior to the 36 FPS of High.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2001 out of 3708 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the 46th percentile of all tested systems. This mid-pack position reflects the hardware's age and mid-range positioning: the CPU was released in January 2022 with a launch MSRP of $199, while the GPU launched in May 2023 at $299. Neither component represents top-tier hardware, and their combined performance in this MMORPG lands them squarely in the middle of the database.

The CPU's individual benchmark performance helps contextualize this ranking. The Core i5-12400 achieves an average benchmark score of 18683, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% lower score), Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% lower), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (0.7% lower), with the Intel Core i3-14100F just 0.9% behind. This clustering shows the i5-12400 performing competitively with a range of modern and enterprise processors, though none of these rivals are gaming-focused parts.

The RTX 4060's benchmark scores tell a different story. With an average score of 17639, the GPU sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals are surprising: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% lower), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7% higher). These are vastly different hardware classes, with the HD 7790 being a 2013-era card, suggesting that the RTX 4060's benchmark averages are influenced by its specific workload characteristics rather than raw gaming performance.

The 2001st rank out of 3708 combos indicates that while this pairing is not exceptional, it is by no means inadequate. The measured FPS data shows the system delivering playable performance at 1080p and 1440p, which likely places it above many older or entry-level combinations. The rank reflects the hardware's position as a competent mid-range pairing that handles most resolutions and settings acceptably, with the caveat that 4K Ultra is beyond its capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 153 FPS, followed by Medium at 136 FPS (minimum 115, maximum 156), High at 92 FPS, and Ultra at 63 FPS. The gap between Medium and High (44 FPS) is larger than the gap between High and Ultra (29 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns at the higher tiers. The Medium preset's documented range of 115 to 156 FPS shows consistent performance without significant frame drops.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease across all settings. Low drops to 103 FPS, Medium to 91 FPS (minimum 78, maximum 105), High to 62 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS. The Medium preset again shows the most complete data, with a range that indicates stable performance. The drop from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium is 45 FPS (33%), while the drop from 1080p High to 1440p High is 30 FPS (33%), showing proportional scaling.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal. Low averages 59 FPS, Medium 52 FPS (minimum 45, maximum 60), High 36 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. The Medium preset's range of 45 to 60 FPS shows that even at 4K, there are moments of playability, but the average remains below 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is only 7 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 16 FPS, and High to Ultra is 12 FPS — indicating that the GPU's limitations become more pronounced as settings increase.

The progression across resolutions shows a consistent pattern: Low settings at 4K (59 FPS) outperform High settings at 1440p (62 FPS) only marginally, while Medium at 1440p (91 FPS) far exceeds any 4K setting. This suggests that users prioritizing frame rate should favor lower resolution with higher settings rather than 4K with reduced quality. The data also shows that the system never reaches 60 FPS at 4K with any setting above Low, and only reaches 60 FPS at 1440p with Low or Medium presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the AD107 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 18,900 million transistors packed into a 159 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and boosts to 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). These clocks contribute to a peak FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a mid-range card but shows its limits in demanding scenarios like 4K Ultra in Archeage.

The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a constraint at 4K, where the higher resolution demands more memory bandwidth. The measured FPS data supports this: at 4K, even the Low preset (59 FPS) struggles to maintain 60 FPS, suggesting that memory bandwidth or capacity is a limiting factor. The 128-bit bus width is notably narrow for 4K workloads, and the 8 GB capacity may be insufficient for high-texture settings at that resolution.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide additional context. The PassMark G3D score of 19545 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 95057 indicate solid compute performance, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 shows modern API capability. The DirectX 11 benchmark score of 175 is particularly relevant for Archeage, an older MMORPG that may rely on legacy rendering paths. The GPU's Vulkan score of 48643 and DirectX 12 score of 76 show varying performance across APIs, which could affect how different games utilize the hardware.

The RTX 4060's 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, paired with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, provide the architectural foundation for its 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate and 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate are respectable for the class. The GPU's 115 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement indicate efficient operation, though the 1x 12-pin power connector and dual-slot design are notable physical characteristics.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 61st among all GPUs, combined with its nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and AMD Radeon 780M, shows that its benchmark performance is competitive with older and integrated solutions. However, the measured FPS in Archeage demonstrates that real-world gaming performance depends heavily on resolution and settings, with the GPU showing clear strength at 1080p and 1440p but weakness at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Archeage with this hardware?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution, with the Medium preset delivering 136 FPS average (minimum 115, maximum 156). At 2560x1440, Medium still provides 91 FPS average, but 3840x2160 drops to 52 FPS average on Medium.

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

A: Only marginally. The Low preset averages 59 FPS at 4K, Medium averages 52 FPS, High drops to 36 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 24 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 45 FPS indicates occasional dips below smooth gameplay thresholds.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17639 places it 0.2% below the AMD Radeon HD 7790, 0.3% above the AMD Radeon 780M, 0.5% above the AMD Radeon Pro 560, and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro 460.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 153 FPS while Ultra averages 63 FPS, a difference of 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 136 FPS offers a smaller gap to Low while providing better visual quality.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck in Archeage?

A: At 1080p Low, the 153 FPS average suggests possible CPU limitations. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU becomes the bottleneck — evidenced by the 62% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings.

Q: What settings should a player use for a consistent 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, High (92 FPS) and below achieve this target. At 1440p, Medium (91 FPS) and Low (103 FPS) work, but High (62 FPS) barely reaches it. At 4K, only Low (59 FPS) comes close, with all other settings falling below 60 FPS.