Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, still draws players, and the experience on an Intel Core i5-13400F paired with a GeForce RTX 4070 is revealing. The data shows a system with significant headroom, where the choice of graphics preset dramatically alters the performance landscape. This analysis breaks down the measured results to guide settings, understand the CPU's role, and contextualize the hardware's ranking among thousands of tested combinations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for this combination show a clear hierarchy across presets, but the "best" experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the system is overwhelmingly capable. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 87 FPS, which is playable, but the jump to High yields 127 FPS, a substantial 46% improvement. Medium pushes further to 187 FPS, and Low reaches 211 FPS. For competitive or high-refresh-rate play at this resolution, High is the optimal balance, offering a fluid experience without the visual compromises of Medium or Low. The Ultra preset's 87 FPS, while smooth on a standard 60Hz display, is a noticeable step down and suggests diminishing returns from the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the RTX 4070 begins to flex its muscle, but the CPU still holds the frame rate high. The High preset averages 86 FPS, matching the 1080p Ultra result and providing an excellent experience for most monitors. Medium also remains very strong at 126 FPS, making it a superb choice for high-refresh 1440p panels. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 58 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the strain of the game's older engine and the demands of 4K-class rendering on a 1440p panel. Low, at 142 FPS, is for those seeking maximum speed, but the visual cost is high. The sweet spot here is High, which provides a near-60 FPS floor with much better visual fidelity than Medium.

At 3840x2160, the tables turn, and the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The High preset averages just 49 FPS, which is below the ideal for a smooth experience. The Medium preset, however, offers a much better 72 FPS with a min FPS of 61, making it the only viable preset for a playable 4K experience. The data shows a clear cliff: High drops to 49 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 33 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for a fast-paced MMORPG. Low, at 81 FPS, is surprisingly smooth but sacrifices nearly all visual quality. For 4K, the recommendation is unequivocally Medium, as it is the only preset that balances a respectable average frame rate with a minimum FPS that stays above 60.

In summary, the data recommends High settings for 1080p and 1440p for the best visual-to-performance ratio, while 4K users should stick to Medium. The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer, and its visual gains do not justify the massive FPS penalty across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. In an MMORPG like Archeage, which relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and physics, the CPU's strong single-core capabilities are crucial. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 indicate robust per-core performance that helps maintain high frame rates when many players or NPCs are on screen.

The benchmark results also reveal the CPU's scaling capability. The 3DMark 2-thread score is 1880, rising to 3459 for 4 threads, 5591 for 8 threads, and 7314 for 16 threads. This scaling is near-linear up to 8 threads, suggesting that the CPU can handle the multi-threaded workloads of modern game engines. However, the max-thread score of 7307 is nearly identical to the 16-thread score, indicating that the CPU's performance peaks around 16 threads and that additional threads would not yield significant gains in this game. The PassMark multi-thread score of 25032 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 confirm that this is a processor with substantial all-core headroom, which is more than sufficient for Archeage's demands.

The relationship between CPU and FPS is evident in the resolution scaling. At 1080p, where the GPU is less taxed, the CPU's ability to feed frames is the limiting factor. The system achieves 211 FPS at Low settings, which is a very high number, but the jump from 187 FPS at Medium to 211 FPS at Low is only 13%, suggesting that even at Low settings, the CPU is nearing its practical limit for this game's engine. The i5-13400F's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, but the data indicates that for a 2014 MMORPG, the CPU is rarely the sole bottleneck; it's the GPU that struggles at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings is the sweet spot, providing an average of 86 FPS. While 1920x1080 yields higher frame rates (127 FPS at High), 1440p offers a sharper image without sacrificing smoothness. 4K is playable only at Medium settings, with an average of 72 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra settings?

A: The performance penalty for Ultra is substantial. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 211 at Low to 87 at Ultra, a reduction of 58.8%. At 2560x1440, it falls from 142 to 58, a 59.2% decrease. At 3840x2160, the drop is from 81 to 33, a 59.3% loss. The Ultra preset consistently costs roughly 60% of the frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 powerful enough for 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: The data indicates the RTX 4070 can handle 4K only at Medium settings, where it averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS. At High settings, the average drops to 49 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold. Ultra is not viable, averaging just 33 FPS. This suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results suggest a degree of CPU limitation at 1080p. The frame rate at Low settings (211 FPS) is very high, but the scaling from Medium (187 FPS) to Low (211 FPS) is only a 12.8% gain. This indicates that the CPU's single-thread performance is preventing even higher frame rates, acting as a limiter when the GPU has spare capacity.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its immediate rivals in raw compute?

A: The processor's average benchmark score is 25292, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. It is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (score 25284, delta 0%) and sits within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (score 25201). It is slightly behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D and Intel Core 5 120, which both score 25365 and 25362 respectively (a -0.3% delta).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at the recommended 1440p High setting?

A: The measured FPS data does not include a minimum FPS value for the 2560x1440 High preset. The only presets with min FPS data are Medium, which shows a min of 107 FPS at 1440p and 159 FPS at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 863rd out of 3708 tested combos for Archeage. This places it in the top 23.3% of all systems tested, a strong result for a mid-range desktop build. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing: the CPU is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Neither component is a weak link, which is why the combo performs well above the median.

The individual component benchmarks support this ranking. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25292 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, which scores 25284 (a 0% delta). The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 is similarly close to the NVIDIA Tesla P4, which scores 37628 (a 0.1% delta). This suggests the combo is well-matched, with no single component dragging down the other's potential. While it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, the 863rd rank out of 3708 combos indicates that this system will deliver a very playable experience in Archeage at most settings, and it is a solid choice for a high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p gaming machine.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent trend of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 127 at 1080p, to 86 at 1440p, and finally to 49 at 4K. This represents a 32.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43.0% drop from 1440p to 4K. The same pattern holds for Medium settings, which go from 187 FPS at 1080p, to 126 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior reveals the limiting component. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound. The difference between Low (211 FPS) and Medium (187 FPS) is only 24 FPS, suggesting the CPU is near its limit. As resolution increases to 1440p, the GPU workload grows, but the frame rates remain high, indicating the GPU still has headroom. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The drop from 1440p High (86 FPS) to 4K High (49 FPS) is a 43% reduction, which is a typical characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints.

The data also shows that the CPU's performance advantage is most pronounced at lower resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra settings is largest at 1080p (211 FPS vs 87 FPS) and smallest at 4K (81 FPS vs 33 FPS). This is because at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the CPU's ability to process frames becomes less relevant. The conclusion is that for this combo, 1080p and 1440p are where the CPU's strong single-thread performance shines, while 4K is strictly a GPU-limited exercise where the RTX 4070's capabilities define the experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data provides a detailed picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across the board. The Low preset averages 211 FPS, the Medium preset averages 187 FPS with a minimum of 159 FPS and a maximum of 215 FPS, the High preset averages 127 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 87 FPS. This shows an excellent range, with even Ultra being comfortably playable on a 60Hz display.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but with a clear separation. The Low preset averages 142 FPS, Medium averages 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS, High averages 86 FPS, and Ultra drops to 58 FPS. The High preset is the best option here, providing a solid 86 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS, High drops to 49 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that maintains a minimum FPS above 60, making it the only recommended setting for a smooth 4K experience.

The data is consistent with the hardware's capabilities. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the 4K resolution demands more than the card can deliver at high quality settings. Conversely, the i5-13400F's strong single-thread performance ensures that lower resolutions are not CPU-limited, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs. This breakdown confirms that the optimal experience is achieved at 1440p High, where the balance between CPU and GPU resources is near-perfect.