Archeage

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F brings a 10-core, 16-thread configuration to Archeage, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake-R architecture part on Intel Socket 1700, built on Intel's 10 nm process. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB L3 pool. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and carries 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14400F posts a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055. Geekbench results show 11268 multicore and 2058 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 25470, with single-thread at 3701. The CPU's average benchmark score of 32279 places it in the 83rd percentile against all CPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% ahead) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% ahead), while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2% and leading the Intel Core i7-12800H by 0.5%. This clustering suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i5-14400F should perform within a hair of these competitors.

For Archeage, an MMORPG, the CPU's role is significant because MMO titles often involve many simultaneous entities, player positions, and game logic computations. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 71, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The step from 1080p Low to 1080p Medium drops to 64 FPS, and High drops further to 43 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the CPU is capable of pushing high frame rates at lower settings, but the GPU becomes a bottleneck as settings increase. The 10-core design with 16 threads is well-suited for the background tasks an MMORPG generates, though the data suggests that the GPU limits performance before the CPU's headroom is exhausted.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, using the Panther Lake chip on a 3 nm process. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2500 MHz. Memory is system shared, with bandwidth described as system dependent. The GPU reports 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX (1.3% ahead), the GeForce 800M (1.5% ahead), the GT 625 OEM (2.5% ahead), and the GT 710 (2.7% ahead). These deltas are tiny, meaning the Arc B390 performs in the same league as those legacy entry-level GPUs. In Archeage, this GPU's limitations become evident quickly. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 71 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 29 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is just 11.

The system shared memory and system dependent bandwidth mean that the GPU's performance scales with the host system's RAM configuration. With a 10-core CPU feeding it, the integrated GPU's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are the likely constraint at higher resolutions. The 80 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate this is designed for power efficiency, not raw throughput. The data shows that the GPU's 9th percentile ranking correlates with the measured FPS drops: at 4K, even Low settings only reach 28 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 71 at 1080p, to 48 at 1440p, to 28 at 4K. That is a 32% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 42% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K Low is 61%. For Medium settings, the progression is 64 FPS at 1080p, 43 at 1440p, and 25 at 4K — a 33% drop to 1440p and 42% drop to 4K, with a total 61% reduction. High settings show 43 FPS at 1080p, 29 at 1440p, and 17 at 4K, which is a 33% drop and then a 41% drop, totaling 60% lower at 4K. Ultra settings present the steepest absolute numbers: 29 FPS at 1080p, 20 at 1440p, and 11 at 4K, with a 31% drop then a 45% drop, for a total 62% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 60-62% total from 1080p to 4K across all settings — indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would flatten at lower resolutions, but instead the FPS keeps falling as pixel count rises. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and the 24 ROPs are modest, and the system shared memory bandwidth adds latency at higher resolutions. The 4K Low result of 28 FPS versus 1080p Low of 71 FPS shows that even at the lowest graphical settings, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The 1440p results are more viable, with Low at 48 FPS and Medium at 43 FPS, but High drops to 29 FPS. At 1080p, the combo is playable at Low and Medium, with High at 43 FPS being borderline.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 64 FPS average, with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73. This provides a stable frame rate that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, with only minor dips. The Low preset at 1080p offers 71 FPS, which is higher, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth the 7 FPS gain. High at 1080p drops to 43 FPS, which is a significant step down and may introduce noticeable stutter in an MMORPG with fast-paced combat.

For 1440p users, the Medium preset at 43 FPS (with min 36 and max 49) is the most balanced option. Low at 1440p reaches 48 FPS, but again, Medium provides a better visual experience at a cost of only 5 FPS. High at 1440p falls to 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS playability floor. At 4K, no settings are truly playable — the best is Low at 28 FPS, which is marginal at best. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution, as even at 1080p Ultra the average FPS is only 29, identical to the 4K High result.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this hardware combination. It offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, with the 1080p Medium result of 64 FPS being the only setting/resolution pair that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS while providing reasonable graphics. The Low preset is the fallback for users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, and the High preset is only viable at 1080p for users tolerant of sub-50 FPS gameplay.

# FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 71, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 28 on Low settings, dropping to 11 on Ultra. None of the 4K results reach 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for playability.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% behind the GeForce 800M, 2.5% behind the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% behind the GT 710. These are all sub-3% differences, placing them in the same performance tier.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 71 FPS average, while Ultra produces 29 FPS. This represents a 42 FPS drop, or about a 59% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The FPS drops consistently by about 60% from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking across all CPUs suggests it has headroom that the GPU cannot utilize.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2453 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the lower 11% of all configurations.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings average 71 FPS, Medium averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73, High averages 43 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The Medium preset's narrow range of 54-73 FPS indicates relatively stable performance, while the other presets lack min/max data.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low averages 48 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS with a range of 36-49, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 36 FPS is still above the 30 FPS threshold, but High and Ultra fall below playable levels.

At 3840x2160, all settings are below playable thresholds. Low averages 28 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a range of 21-28, High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The Medium preset's maximum of 28 FPS never reaches 30, and the Ultra result of 11 FPS is barely interactive.

The pattern across resolutions shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame times, as it is the only setting with recorded min/max values at all three resolutions. The absence of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra presets suggests either that the data collection focused on Medium or that frame times were too erratic to record meaningful bounds. The 1080p Medium result of 64 FPS average with a 54 FPS minimum is the only configuration that maintains a floor above 50 FPS.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2453 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs and the measured FPS results that struggle to reach playable levels at higher resolutions.

The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs and trading blows with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, Intel Core i9-11900, AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS, and Intel Core i7-12800H within a 0.5% margin. The bottleneck is unequivocally the integrated Arc B390 GPU, which ranks in the 9th percentile and is only 1-3% away from decade-old NVIDIA parts like the GT 710 and GT 520MX.

In the context of Archeage, this combo's rank of 2453 out of 2761 means that approximately 89% of tested configurations outperform it. The data suggests that this combo is suitable only for 1080p gaming at Low or Medium settings, where it achieves 71 and 64 FPS respectively. At 1440p, it can manage Medium at 43 FPS, but High settings drop to 29 FPS. At 4K, no settings are viable. The CPU's computing power is largely wasted in this pairing, as the GPU cannot translate the i5-14400F's 83rd percentile performance into high frame rates in Archeage. Users with this CPU should consider pairing it with a discrete GPU to unlock its potential, as the current integrated solution leaves significant performance on the table.