Archeage

Resolution Scaling

Archeage’s frame rate response to resolution changes reveals a system that is firmly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions toward a more balanced state as the pixel count drops. The measured data shows a steep decline when moving from 1080p to 4K, which is typical for a game that relies heavily on fill rate and memory bandwidth. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 177 FPS, but that figure collapses to 68 FPS at 4K with the same settings—a reduction of roughly 62%. This is a substantial drop that points directly at the Radeon RX 7700 XT’s workload, as the CPU has enough headroom at lower resolutions to push frame rates well beyond what the GPU can sustain at 4K.

The scaling pattern across all settings is consistent. At Medium settings, the average frame rate goes from 158 FPS at 1080p, to 106 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 61 FPS at 4K. Each step up in resolution costs roughly a third of the performance, which suggests that the GPU’s memory subsystem and shading units are the limiting factors. The 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS is particularly telling—it’s barely playable, and the gap between 4K High (41 FPS) and 4K Medium (61 FPS) shows that even a single settings tier can yield a 49% performance improvement at that resolution.

At 1080p, the story changes slightly. The jump from Low to High settings costs 70 FPS (from 177 to 107), but the jump from High to Ultra costs another 34 FPS (from 107 to 73). This non-linear behavior indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU, likely related to shadow quality and post-processing. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU adequately, but at 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The 1440p results sit in a comfortable middle ground, where the combo still achieves over 100 FPS at Medium and 72 FPS at High, making it the most balanced resolution for this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combos for Archeage, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT holds a rank of 1410 out of 3708 total combinations. That places it in the upper half of all tested systems, but it is by no means a top-tier setup for this particular MMORPG. The percentile position is driven largely by the GPU’s mid-range standing—the RX 7700 XT sits at the 67th percentile among all GPUs—while the CPU is significantly stronger, ranking at the 83rd percentile among all processors.

This imbalance is reflected in the measured frame rates. The combo’s rank suggests that many other pairings, likely those with higher-end GPUs, achieve better results in Archeage. However, the data also shows that this combo outperforms a substantial number of systems, and the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are competitive for the hardware class. The rank is not a verdict on playability; it’s a relative measure, and in this case, it indicates that the CPU is doing more heavy lifting than the GPU in the overall score.

When compared to the nearest rivals for each component, the picture becomes clearer. The i5-14400F’s average benchmark score of 32279 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, 0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, 0.2% delta). It slightly edges out the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, 0.5% delta) but trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354, -0.2% delta). These are all within a rounding error of each other, meaning the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo’s ranking. The GPU, on the other hand, has more variance. The RX 7700 XT’s average benchmark score of 22549 is close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435, 0.5% delta) and the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, -0.8% delta), but it falls behind the RTX 2080 (22895, -1.5% delta) and leads the RX 5700 (22170, 1.7% delta). This puts the GPU in a tight performance band where small differences in game optimization can shift the ranking.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7700 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in Archeage, and its specifications explain the scaling behavior observed. The GPU is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the 192-bit bus becomes a limiting factor, which is why the frame rates drop so sharply. The 12 GB capacity is not the issue—Archeage is not a VRAM-heavy title—but the bandwidth is.

The clock speeds are also relevant. The GPU has a base clock of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. The boost clock is what the card sustains under load, and it’s a solid figure for the mid-range segment. The memory runs at 2250 MHz with an effective data rate of 18 Gbps. These clocks, combined with 3456 shading units and 96 ROPs, give the card a pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s. In Archeage, which is not particularly demanding on pixel fill but does rely on draw calls and texture streaming, these figures translate into strong 1080p performance and acceptable 1440p performance.

The GPU’s benchmark scores corroborate this. It scores 22547 in Passmark G3D and 12912 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a Vulkan score of 46443 in Geekbench. These are mid-range numbers, consistent with its 67th percentile ranking. The GPU’s nearest rivals—the RTX 5060 Mobile, RTX 4060 Mobile, RTX 2080, and RX 5700—all fall within a 1.7% delta of its average score, meaning that in Archeage, the differences between these cards will be small. The measured results show that at 1440p High, the combo hits 72 FPS, which is playable but not silky smooth. At 1080p High, it hits 107 FPS, which is a better target for this GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 177 FPS, Medium settings produce 158 FPS with a minimum of 134 and maximum of 181, High settings produce 107 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 73 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 134 FPS is notable because it indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold. The jump from Low to Medium costs 19 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 51 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 34 FPS. This suggests that the High preset introduces a significant visual quality increase at a steep performance cost, while Ultra adds less value for the frames lost.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally. Low settings yield 119 FPS, Medium yields 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 122, High yields 72 FPS, and Ultra yields 49 FPS. The Medium preset remains the sweet spot, with an average above 100 FPS and a minimum that never drops below 90. High is still playable at 72 FPS, but the margin for error in busy MMO scenes is thinner. Ultra drops below 50 FPS, which is borderline for a game that requires quick reactions. The 1440p Medium result is the most balanced point in the entire dataset, offering high frame rates without the need to sacrifice too much visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings produce 68 FPS, Medium produces 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70, High produces 41 FPS, and Ultra produces 28 FPS. The Low and Medium results are technically playable, but the High and Ultra presets are not. The minimum of 52 FPS at Medium is concerning, as it suggests that in crowded areas, the frame rate could dip into the 40s. The 4K data clearly indicates that this GPU is not suited for 4K gaming in Archeage, and users should stick to lower resolutions or reduce settings to Low/Medium to achieve a consistent experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in Archeage, but it is a capable one. The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It’s built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process from Intel, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The L3 cache is 20 MB shared, which is ample for a game like Archeage that benefits from lower latency memory access. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: it hits 21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3055 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 25470 and a single-thread score of 3701.

In Archeage, the CPU’s role is to handle the game’s many NPCs, player characters, and world events. The 10 cores and 16 threads are more than enough for this workload, and the high boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, which MMOs often rely on, are processed quickly. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 177 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game. The fact that the 4K Low result is 68 FPS—significantly lower—confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, not the CPU.

The CPU’s nearest rivals all score within 0.5% of its average benchmark score, meaning that swapping to a different mid-range processor would have minimal impact on Archeage’s frame rates. The i5-14400F’s 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs is respectable, and it provides enough headroom to ensure that the GPU is fully utilized at 1080p and 1440p. In this combo, the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution except maybe 1080p Low, where the frame rate is high enough that the CPU’s thread scheduling could become a minor constraint. For practical purposes, the CPU is a solid match for the GPU, and users should not expect to see meaningful gains from a CPU upgrade in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience with this combo in Archeage is achieved at 1440p with Medium settings. The average frame rate of 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 122 provides a smooth, responsive experience that is well-suited for an MMORPG where large groups and spell effects can cause frame rate dips. The 1440p Medium preset strikes the best balance between visual quality and performance, offering a significant upgrade over 1080p while maintaining frame rates that are well above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum of 90 FPS ensures that even in the most demanding scenarios, the game remains fluid.

For users with 1080p monitors, the Medium preset is the clear winner. It delivers 158 FPS on average with a minimum of 134 and maximum of 181, which is more than enough for any display. The High preset at 107 FPS is also viable, but the 51 FPS cost over Medium is steep for the visual improvements it provides. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is playable but not recommended, as the frame rate drops are noticeable in busy areas. At 1080p, Medium is the optimal choice for a competitive edge, while High is acceptable for users who prioritize visuals over raw performance.

At 4K, the data shows that this combo is not well-suited for high settings. The Medium preset at 61 FPS is the only viable option, and even then, the minimum of 52 FPS is close to the edge of playability. Low settings at 68 FPS are more stable, but the visual compromise is significant. Users with 4K displays should either lower their expectations to Medium/Low settings or consider a more powerful GPU. For the majority of users, 1440p Medium is the recommended configuration, as it offers the best combination of frame rate, visual fidelity, and consistency. The 1440p High preset at 72 FPS is a secondary option for those who prefer higher quality, but the Medium preset’s minimum of 90 FPS makes it the more reliable choice for sustained gameplay.