Archeage

# Archeage Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a dominant Archeage experience, ranking 45th out of 2,761 tested combinations. This places the combo in the top 1.6% of all systems, with measured frame rates ranging from a playable 52 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 242 FPS at 1080p Low. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the clear performance ceiling at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 10-core, 16-thread configuration proves more than sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D at lower settings. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensure that even the most demanding scenes are handled without stutter, though the 2014-era MMORPG engine shows diminishing returns past 1440p High.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and setting-dependent, indicating that the RTX 5090 D is the limiting factor at higher resolutions while the i5-13400F holds the line at lower ones. At High settings, average FPS falls from 197 at 1080p to 132 at 1440p (a 33% reduction), then to 76 at 4K (another 42% drop). This cascading decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where each pixel doubling demands exponentially more shading power. The RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are the specs driving this, but even this massive compute budget cannot fully offset the 4K workload on a game not designed for modern hardware.

Low settings tell a different story, with the scaling pattern flattening considerably. The frame rate goes from 242 at 1080p to 212 at 1440p (a 12% drop) and then to 125 at 4K (a 41% drop). The 1080p to 1440p transition is remarkably efficient, suggesting that at Low settings, the CPU's single-thread performance (3,634 Passmark single-thread score) is the primary constraint, not the GPU. The 4K Low result still represents a 48% improvement over 4K High, showing that the GPU has significant headroom when the render load is reduced.

Medium settings occupy a middle ground, with 232 FPS at 1080p, 195 at 1440p, and 112 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 16% is nearly identical to the Low setting's 12% drop, reinforcing the CPU-bound nature at these resolutions. However, the 1440p to 4K drop of 43% matches the High setting's 42% decline, signaling the transition to GPU-bound territory. Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling, falling from 134 FPS at 1080p to 90 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 52 at 4K (a 42% drop). The Ultra preset's additional visual effects—likely including enhanced shadows and post-processing—place an enormous burden on the GPU, and the 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the only measured figure that dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, prove to be a capable match for Archeage's MMO workload, which typically favors raw single-thread speed over core counts. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 3,634 and Geekbench single-core score of 1,996 indicate strong per-core performance, while the 20 MB shared L3 cache helps with the game's asset streaming. The 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 25,292 place it in the upper tier, though its nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS at 25,284 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 25,201 (0.4% delta)—show that the competitive landscape is tight.

The CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p Low result of 242 FPS versus the 1080p High result of 197 FPS. The 45 FPS gap is far smaller than the resolution scaling gaps, indicating that at 1080p, the i5-13400F is still delivering enough frames to keep the GPU from idling. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,604 and single-core score of 3,191 suggest that the CPU can handle Archeage's background simulation tasks—which often include other players, NPCs, and world events—without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7,314, which is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7,307, confirms that the CPU scales well up to its 16 threads, but Archeage likely doesn't utilize all of them, making the 4.60 GHz boost clock the more critical spec.

At 1440p, the CPU's influence wanes, as the GPU begins to take over. The 1440p Low result of 212 FPS still shows a 17 FPS improvement over 1080p High, demonstrating that the CPU can push well beyond the GPU's capability when settings are lowered. However, the 4K results across all settings show a clear GPU bottleneck, with the CPU's contribution diminishing to the point where the 4K Low result of 125 FPS is likely limited more by the GPU's rendering pipeline than the CPU's instruction throughput. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node (Raptor Lake architecture) make it an efficient partner, but the data suggests that Archeage players could pair this GPU with a stronger CPU for even higher 1080p frame rates, though the gains would be marginal given the existing 242 FPS ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth—a figure that dwarfs the memory requirements of a 2014 MMORPG. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and average benchmark score of 77,712 place it in the top tier, though its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (-1.6% delta) and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (-2.4% delta)—show that synthetic benchmarks don't always translate to real-world game performance. The Passmark G3D score of 44,065 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 highlight the GPU's raw compute capabilities, which include 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores.

The GPU's clock behavior—base 2017 MHz and boost 2407 MHz—combined with its 680 TMUs and 176 ROPs, directly influences the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average represents the GPU's limit when all visual features are enabled, likely due to the 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate being saturated by high-resolution textures. The 4K High result of 76 FPS shows a 46% improvement over Ultra, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects (perhaps ambient occlusion or dynamic shadows) are disproportionately expensive relative to their visual impact. The GPU's 575 W TDP and dual-slot design are appropriate for the sustained load required to maintain these frame rates, and the 1x 16-pin power connector ensures stable delivery.

The GPU's memory capacity is a non-factor in this game, as Archeage's asset sizes are unlikely to exceed 8 GB even at 4K Ultra. However, the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming from the 32 GB VRAM pool is instantaneous, which helps maintain the minimum FPS figures seen in the Medium settings (95 FPS at 4K, 166 at 1440p, and 197 at 1080p). The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility mean it can handle any modern rendering path, but Archeage's older engine likely uses DirectX 11, which the GPU handles with a Passmark DirectX 11 score of 371. The 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1) performance figures are overkill for this title, but they ensure that the GPU never becomes a bottleneck at 1080p, where the CPU's limits are the primary constraint.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D overkill for Archeage at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data supports this. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 242 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it still delivers 134 FPS. The CPU's single-thread performance (3,634 Passmark) appears to be the limiting factor at this resolution, meaning the GPU has significant unused headroom. The 1080p High result of 197 FPS is only 23 FPS lower than Medium, indicating that the GPU can handle higher settings without sacrificing much performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60+ FPS experience on Ultra settings?

A: The 1440p Ultra setting delivers 90 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Ultra setting drops to 52 FPS, which is below 60. Therefore, 1440p is the highest resolution that maintains a smooth Ultra experience. If you require 4K, the High setting at 76 FPS or Medium at 112 FPS are viable alternatives.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in this game's context?

A: The i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25,292 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25,284, 0% delta) and only 0.3% lower than the Intel Core 5 120 (25,362). This parity suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, such as 1080p Low, the frame rates would be very similar across these processors. The 0.4% lead over the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25,201) is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Does the 32 GB VRAM provide any advantage in Archeage?

A: The data does not indicate any advantage, as Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG with modest texture requirements. The 32 GB capacity and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensure zero texture swapping, but the game would likely run identically with 8 GB. The minimum FPS figures (95 at 4K Medium) are solid, but this is more attributable to the GPU's raw compute power than its memory capacity.

Q: Why is the 4K Ultra FPS (52) so much lower than 4K High (76)?

A: The Ultra preset imposes a 46% performance penalty over High at 4K. This suggests the Ultra settings enable computationally expensive effects—likely advanced shadow mapping and post-processing—that are not present in High. The GPU's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s is sufficient for High, but Ultra's additional per-pixel work saturates the render pipeline.

Q: Is this combo ranked highly among all tested systems?

A: Yes, the combo ranks 45th out of 2,761 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.6% of all systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's 92nd percentile standing and the CPU's 77th percentile, with the GPU being the primary driver of the high rank. The measured FPS data confirms this, as no tested resolution/setting combination falls below 52 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates are uniformly high, with the Low preset achieving 242 FPS, Medium at 232 FPS (min 197, max 267), High at 197 FPS, and Ultra at 134 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 108 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution. The Medium preset's minimum of 197 FPS ensures consistent smoothness, while the Ultra result of 134 FPS still exceeds the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh displays. The 1080p results suggest that players with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors can comfortably use High settings, while those with 240 Hz displays should stick to Medium or Low.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU's increasing workload. Low delivers 212 FPS, Medium 195 FPS (min 166, max 224), High 132 FPS, and Ultra 90 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 166 FPS is noteworthy, as it ensures no drops below the 144 Hz mark. The High preset's 132 FPS is still excellent for 1440p, but Ultra's 90 FPS represents a 32% reduction from High, making it the first setting where frame rates dip below 100. The 1440p results indicate that High is the sweet spot for competitive play, while Ultra remains viable for immersive single-player experiences.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become apparent. Low achieves 125 FPS, Medium 112 FPS (min 95, max 128), High 76 FPS, and Ultra 52 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 95 FPS is still respectable, but the High preset's 76 FPS shows a 43% reduction from Medium, and Ultra's 52 FPS is the only result below 60. The 4K results clearly demonstrate that players should avoid Ultra unless they have a 48 Hz or 50 Hz display, as the 52 FPS average will result in stutter on 60 Hz panels. Medium at 112 FPS or Low at 125 FPS are the recommended 4K options, with High being borderline acceptable.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the 1440p High preset stands out as the optimal balance, delivering 132 FPS with the visual quality enhancements that make Archeage's world more immersive. This setting provides a 46% improvement over 1080p Ultra (90 FPS vs 134 FPS) while maintaining frame rates well above the 100 FPS threshold, making it suitable for both competitive and casual play. The 1440p Medium preset at 195 FPS is the superior choice for players with 165 Hz or 240 Hz monitors, as its 166 FPS minimum ensures no perceptible drops during crowded events or large-scale PvP battles.

At 1080p, the High preset at 197 FPS offers the best experience for players with high-refresh displays, as it provides nearly 200 FPS with enhanced visuals. The Ultra preset at 134 FPS is acceptable for 120 Hz displays but sacrifices 63 FPS for minor visual gains that are difficult to notice in a fast-paced MMO. The Low preset at 242 FPS is only recommended for competitive players who prioritize maximum responsiveness over visual fidelity, as the difference between Low and Medium (10 FPS) is negligible.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 112 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it delivers smooth gameplay with a 95 FPS minimum, which is sufficient for 60 Hz and 120 Hz displays. The High preset at 76 FPS is viable for 60 Hz panels but risks noticeable stutter during intense combat, while the Ultra preset at 52 FPS should be avoided entirely unless the player has a 48 Hz display. The Low preset at 125 FPS is the best 4K option for maximizing frame rate, but the visual degradation may be too severe for players who invested in 4K for image quality. Overall, the data suggests that 1440p High is the definitive recommendation, as it leverages the RTX 5090 D's power while remaining within the i5-13400F's capable range.