Archeage

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a peculiar performance profile in Archeage, where the GPU is clearly the dominant force at lower resolutions, but the aging game engine and CPU scaling create a significant bottleneck at 4K. The data indicates that this combination is exceptionally strong, ranking in the top 2.5% of all tested configurations, yet the frame rate behavior across settings reveals that the RTX 5090 is frequently underutilized, particularly when the resolution drops to 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second reveal a dramatic scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, but the relationship is far from linear. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 187.1 at 1920x1080 to 126.6 at 2560x1440, and finally to 71.4 at 3840x2160. This represents a 62% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to the highest resolution tested. However, the scaling pattern is even more telling when examining the Low settings preset, which shows a decline from 234.5 FPS at 1080p to 202.3 at 1440p, and then a steep fall to 120.4 at 4K.

The 1080p to 1440p transition at Low settings shows only a 13.7% performance hit, whereas the 1440p to 4K jump costs a substantial 40.5% of the frame rate. This pattern strongly suggests that at 1080p and even 1440p with lower settings, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, preventing the RTX 5090 from fully stretching its legs. The game's MMORPG nature, with its heavy draw calls and player-count-dependent logic, places a significant load on the six-core processor. The RTX 5090's immense compute power, evidenced by its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, simply cannot be saturated at these lower resolutions.

At 4K Ultra, the frame rate collapses to 49.7 FPS, which represents a 58.8% drop from the 4K High preset's 71.4 FPS. This steep decline indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the GPU, moving the bottleneck decisively to the graphics card. The resolution scaling data overall paints a picture of a system that is GPU-bound only at the most demanding settings, while being CPU-limited elsewhere.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings overwhelming specifications to this 2014-era MMORPG, including 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and its 21760 shading units provide theoretical pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. In Archeage, these specifications translate to a card that is almost certainly overkill for the game's visual demands, yet the measured data shows it still matters at higher settings.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is far beyond what Archeage requires, even at 4K Ultra, but the GPU's role becomes evident in the settings scaling at 4K. Moving from Low to Medium at 3840x2160 increases the average FPS from 120.4 to 106.8, a 12.7% drop, while the jump to High reduces it further to 71.4. The Ultra preset's 49.7 FPS represents a 58.7% reduction from the Medium preset, suggesting that Ultra applies effects that significantly stress the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem.

The RTX 5090's benchmark scores reinforce its position as a top-tier part, with a Passmark G3D score of 39,650 placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the RTX 5090 D with a deltaPct of 0.1, showing the performance is essentially tied with that variant. The GPU's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth becomes relevant at 4K Ultra, where the game's textures and post-processing effects demand rapid data movement. However, the data suggests that even this colossal bandwidth is not the primary constraint in most tested scenarios, as the frame rates at lower resolutions are far below what the GPU could theoretically deliver.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a six-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a capable mid-range part, but its benchmark scores reveal it is nowhere near the RTX 5090's league. The Passmark multithread score of 19,433 and single-thread score of 3,481 place the CPU in the 77th percentile of all processors, with its average benchmark score of 19,221 nearly matching the RTX 5090's 84,306 average score.

The CPU's role in Archeage is critical because the game's engine, released in January 2014, relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and draw calls. The i5-12400F's single-core performance, measured at 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 2,332 in Cinebench R23 single-core, appears sufficient to drive the GPU at 1080p, but the data shows diminishing returns. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 234.5 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capability for this game engine.

The nearest rivals to the i5-12400F include the Intel Core i7-8700K with a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the 12400F is essentially equivalent in average benchmark score, despite being a newer generation. This equivalence is notable because the 8700K was a high-end part in its day, while the 12400F is a mainstream offering, yet both are likely to bottleneck the RTX 5090 in CPU-intensive scenes. The 12-thread configuration helps in MMO environments with many players, but the base clock of 2.50 GHz limits sustained performance in lightly threaded workloads.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 43rd out of 1,727 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 2.5% of all configurations. This ranking is remarkable given that the CPU is a budget-oriented part, while the GPU is the flagship of NVIDIA's 50-series. The data suggests that the RTX 5090's raw power compensates for the CPU's relative weakness, but the ranking also reflects the fact that many other combos in the database use more powerful processors.

The combo's rank is likely held back by the CPU's performance in specific benchmark scenarios. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,518 and the Geekbench multicore score of 9,138 indicate that the i5-12400F is a solid performer, but it lags behind high-end CPUs that are typically paired with GPUs of this caliber. In Archeage, where CPU performance can significantly impact frame rates in crowded areas, the 43rd place ranking suggests that the combo is not achieving its full potential.

The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the i7-8700K is 0.1% ahead, the i5-1335U is 0.3% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is 0.7% behind and the AMD EPYC 7773X is 1.3% ahead. This grouping around the 19,000 average benchmark score range indicates that the CPU's performance is well-understood and consistent. The GPU's nearest rivals similarly show a close grouping, with the RTX 5090 D just 0.1% ahead and the CMP 40HX 1.6% behind, confirming that the RTX 5090 is a known quantity in the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 234.5 FPS, Medium reaches 219.7 FPS, High hits 187.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 124.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 109.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest settings at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but start to show the GPU's influence. Low settings produce 202.3 FPS, Medium delivers 186.1 FPS, High reaches 126.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 83.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 118.8 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset's demands are beginning to tax the GPU more heavily.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop substantially. Low settings still manage 120.4 FPS, Medium achieves 106.8 FPS, High falls to 71.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 49.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 70.7 FPS, but the relative drop is more severe, with Ultra delivering only 41.3% of the Low preset's frame rate. This breakdown clearly shows that 4K Ultra is the only tested configuration that fully utilizes the RTX 5090's capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 124.6 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, especially considering the game's MMORPG nature where high frame rates are less critical than consistency. The 1080p Medium preset at 219.7 FPS offers a massive headroom advantage for demanding scenes with many players.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 126.6 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers smooth gameplay while maintaining visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 83.5 FPS is still playable but may suffer in crowded areas. The Medium preset at 186.1 FPS is a strong alternative for players who prioritize frame rate stability.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 106.8 FPS provides the best experience, as it maintains a playable frame rate while offering improved visuals over the Low preset. The High preset at 71.4 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 49.7 FPS is likely too demanding for consistent gameplay in an MMO. The data suggests that the Low preset at 120.4 FPS is the safest choice for 4K gaming, ensuring smooth performance even in the most intense scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Archeage?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 234.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system achieves an average of 49.7 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the dataset.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, the data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the frame rates at 1080p do not increase proportionally with the GPU's capabilities.

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

A: The combo ranks 43rd out of 1,727 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 2.5% of all configurations.

Q: What is the difference in performance between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 187.1 at 1920x1080 to 71.4 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 115.7 FPS.

Q: Which 4K preset provides the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset at 4K achieves 120.4 FPS, which is the highest average FPS measured at 3840x2160 resolution.