Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, behaves predictably when paired with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but which reveals a strong CPU bottleneck at 1080p with lower settings. This combination delivers playable frame rates across most configurations, though the performance ceiling at 4K Ultra is notably low.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 164.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, that number drops to 108.3 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 64.5 FPS, which is a 61% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary limiting component as resolution increases, with the GPU's rendering workload scaling almost linearly with pixel count.

The pattern is more revealing when examining Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 231.9 FPS. At 1440p Low, it maintains 179.9 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still achieves 106.1 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low is only 22%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 41%. This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU begins to assert itself, preventing the frame rate from scaling fully with the GPU's capability. The 1080p Low result of 231.9 FPS is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game's engine.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. The 1080p Ultra average is 111.3 FPS, which drops to 77 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 42.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is particularly telling—it represents a 61% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score. This indicates that even with a high-end GPU like the RTX 4080 SUPER, the game's Ultra preset at 4K places an enormous load on the graphics card, and the CPU is not the constraint in this scenario. The data suggests that for competitive play at high refresh rates, 1080p Medium or Low is the sweet spot, while 4K is only viable with reduced settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that 1080p Low delivers the highest average frame rate at 231.9 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High at 108.3 FPS is also a strong option, offering a smooth experience without pushing the GPU to its limits.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER perform in this game at 4K?

A: At 4K High, the combo achieves 64.5 FPS, which is playable. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 42.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay. The GPU's 16 GB of memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the Ultra preset is very demanding.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: Yes, at lower resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low result of 231.9 FPS appears to be CPU-limited, as the GPU is capable of much higher output. The 6-core, 12-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz is a capable part, but Archeage's engine seems to hit a wall around this frame rate.

Q: What kind of performance uplift does lowering settings provide?

A: Lowering from Ultra to Low at 1440p increases the average from 77 FPS to 179.9 FPS, a 133% improvement. At 4K, the jump from Ultra (42.9 FPS) to Low (106.1 FPS) is even more significant, representing a 147% increase in frame rate.

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

A: This combination ranks 120th out of 1727 tested combos for Archeage, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations. This indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested in this benchmark database.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for these components?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has a launch MSRP of $199, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER has a launch MSRP of 999 USD.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. Its Passmark multithread score is 18747, and it ranks in the 77th percentile against all CPUs.

In Archeage, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the frame rate differences between settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (231.9 FPS) and Ultra (111.3 FPS) is 120.6 FPS. This suggests that while the GPU is doing more work at Ultra, the CPU is not the limiting factor—the GPU is still capable of pushing well over 100 FPS. However, the 1080p Low result is notably high, and the 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and 2-thread score of 1692 indicate that the processor's single-thread performance is strong enough to avoid severe bottlenecks.

The data implies that the CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are adequate for this MMORPG. The processor's performance is close to that of the Intel Core i7-9700, with an average benchmark score of 19850 versus 19831, a delta of just 0.1%. This means the i5-12400 is essentially on par with that older i7 in overall compute tasks. For Archeage, the CPU appears to handle the game's logic and draw calls efficiently, but it does cap frame rates in light-load scenarios, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the highest average is achieved with Low settings at 231.9 FPS. Medium settings follow closely at 223.1 FPS, representing only a 3.8% drop. High settings produce 164.9 FPS, a 29% reduction from Low. Ultra is the most demanding, yielding 111.3 FPS, which is 52% lower than Low. This progression shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is never fully saturated at 1080p, even at Ultra, as the CPU becomes the primary limiter at lower presets.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low settings deliver 179.9 FPS, while Medium provides 159.8 FPS, an 11% drop. High settings average 108.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 77 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 57% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the GPU is now more heavily engaged. The 1440p Ultra result of 77 FPS is still smooth, but it shows the game's Ultra preset is demanding.

At 3840x2160, performance is largely GPU-bound. Low settings achieve 106.1 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium settings drop to 94.2 FPS, and High settings produce 64.5 FPS. Ultra is the only preset that falls below 60 FPS, with an average of 42.9 FPS. This 4K Ultra figure is the lowest in the entire dataset and highlights the extreme load placed on the RTX 4080 SUPER. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are not enough to maintain high frame rates at this extreme setting.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 120th out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the top 6.9% of all systems tested, a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank is likely influenced by the CPU's performance, as the GPU is among the fastest available, but the processor's 77th percentile standing against all CPUs prevents the combo from ranking higher.

In comparison to other components, the RTX 4080 SUPER sits in the 88th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53610. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 53489, a delta of just 0.2%. This means the GPU is near the top of its class. The CPU, however, is more mid-pack, with a delta of -0.2% against the Intel Core i7-8700 and 0.4% against the Intel Core i5-11600K. This suggests that while the GPU is a top-tier part, the CPU is a more modest performer, which likely explains why the combo ranks 120th rather than in the top 50.

The data indicates that the combo's rank is a product of the CPU's limitations in this specific game. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 231.9 FPS, which is excellent, but the CPU prevents it from going higher. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 42.9 FPS. This balanced weakness means the combo is very strong overall but not dominant in any single scenario. For an MMORPG like Archeage, the rank of 120 out of 1727 is a solid result, indicating that most users will find this system more than capable of handling the game at high settings and resolutions.