Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that remains sensitive to both CPU and GPU performance, particularly in large-scale combat scenarios. The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a wide spread of framerates depending on resolution and settings, with the data showing a clear performance hierarchy across the tested presets. This analysis focuses strictly on the measured results for this specific combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a high refresh rate experience?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a 163 FPS average on High settings and 247 FPS on Low, making it capable of driving very high refresh rate displays. At 2560x1440, High settings still produce a 110 FPS average, which is suitable for standard 144Hz monitors. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (104 FPS) breaks past the 100 FPS mark.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance cost?

A: The data shows a substantial performance penalty for Ultra. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 110 on High to 75 on Ultra, a 31.8% reduction. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 163 to 111 FPS, a 31.9% reduction. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 43 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 63 FPS seen on High.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: The measured FPS data does not indicate VRAM capacity as a bottleneck, as the performance scales consistently with resolution and settings. The 16 GB GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for the game's textures and assets, even at 3840x2160 where the Ultra preset still runs, albeit at a lower average of 43 FPS.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 278th out of 3708 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7.5% of all tested systems. This indicates a strong overall performance level, though the ranking shows that other configurations deliver higher average framerates in this specific title.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets?

A: The Medium preset offers a notable FPS advantage over High. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 161 FPS versus 110 FPS on High, a 46.4% improvement. At 1920x1080, Medium averages 237 FPS versus 163 FPS on High, a 45.4% improvement. At 3840x2160, the gap is smaller but still significant: 92 FPS on Medium versus 63 FPS on High.

Q: Does the CPU's performance affect the high-FPS scenarios?

A: The i5-14400F's single-core benchmark scores suggest it can keep up with the GPU in low-resolution, high-FPS scenarios. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and PassMark single-thread score of 3701 are strong figures. The 247 FPS average at 1080p Low indicates the CPU is not a major limiting factor at these framerates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring a die size of 379 mm² with 45,900 million transistors. Its GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. These specifications position the GPU in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247.

In Archeage, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 247 FPS, but this drops to 181 FPS at 2560x1440 Low and 104 FPS at 3840x2160 Low. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound workload, where pixel fill rate becomes the primary constraint. The GPU's pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are substantial, but the demands of 4K rendering still cause a notable performance reduction.

The RTX 4080's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the RTX 4080 SUPER with a deltaPct of 0.1, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at -1.1, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at -2.6. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4080 performs nearly identically to its direct successor in synthetic benchmarks. However, the measured FPS data in Archeage shows that the GPU's real-world performance is highly dependent on the settings preset, with Ultra settings causing a significant framerate penalty at all resolutions.

The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 43 FPS, which is a 31.7% drop from the High preset's 63 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset may be applying effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU's shading or memory bandwidth. The Medium preset, by contrast, achieves 92 FPS at 4K, indicating that the GPU can handle higher resolutions when the graphical load is moderated. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for all tested settings, as no resolution or preset combination was limited by memory capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 14th-generation processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm². It features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and operates on the Intel Socket 1700 platform.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14400F achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055. Its PassMark multithread score is 25470, with a single-thread score of 3701. The CPU's average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U with a deltaPct of 0.1, the Intel Core i9-11900 at 0.2, the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS at -0.2, and the Intel Core i7-12800H at 0.5.

Archeage, as an MMORPG, depends on CPU performance for game logic, network handling, and player character calculations. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1920x1080 Low, where the GPU has less work, the combo still achieves 247 FPS. This suggests the CPU's single-thread performance, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055, is sufficient to feed the GPU without creating a bottleneck. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz is particularly relevant for this game's single-threaded workloads.

The CPU's multi-core performance becomes more relevant in crowded scenarios with many players, though the measured data does not include specific crowd-density scenarios. The 10-core, 16-thread configuration provides solid multi-threaded throughput for background tasks and game server communication. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 1523 indicates capable physics processing, which can be relevant for environmental interactions in the game world.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 278th out of 3708 tested combos for Archeage. This places the configuration in the top 7.5% of all tested systems, a strong showing for this game. However, the ranking also implies that there are 277 other configurations that deliver higher performance in this title, likely featuring more powerful CPUs or GPUs.

The CPU's percentile of 83 and the GPU's percentile of 86 both contribute to this ranking. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, has a nearly identical average score with a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the i5-14400F is essentially matched by a mobile-class processor in synthetic tests. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% faster in average score. This suggests that the combo's ranking is not limited by either component being a weak link, but rather by the game's specific performance scaling.

The measured FPS data shows that the combo's performance varies widely by settings and resolution. At 1920x1080 Low, the 247 FPS average is exceptionally high, while at 3840x2160 Ultra, the 43 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The rank of 278 considers all tested combos across all settings, likely weighting higher resolutions and settings more heavily. The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it maintains high framerates on most presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 247 FPS average
• Medium: 237 FPS average, with min FPS of 201 and max FPS of 272
• High: 163 FPS average
• Ultra: 111 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 181 FPS average
• Medium: 161 FPS average, with min FPS of 137 and max FPS of 186
• High: 110 FPS average
• Ultra: 75 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 104 FPS average
• Medium: 92 FPS average, with min FPS of 79 and max FPS of 106
• High: 63 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

The performance scaling across resolutions is consistent. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 247 at 1080p to 181 at 1440p to 104 at 4K. This represents a 26.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 42.5% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 237 FPS at 1080p, 161 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K. The High preset yields 163, 110, and 63 FPS across the three resolutions, respectively.

The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest performance curve. At 1080p, it averages 111 FPS, which drops to 75 FPS at 1440p and 43 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Ultra preset's graphical demands scale disproportionately with resolution, likely due to high-resolution texture filtering or particle effects. The Medium preset at 4K (92 FPS) performs better than the High preset at 4K (63 FPS), suggesting that the difference between Medium and High settings has a significant impact on GPU load.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the minimum is 201 FPS, at 1440p it is 137 FPS, and at 4K it is 79 FPS. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, indicating that the combo maintains playable framerates even in demanding moments on Medium settings. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 272 at 1080p, 186 at 1440p, and 106 at 4K, showing headroom for high-refresh displays.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1920x1080, the High preset at 163 FPS provides a good balance of visual quality and performance, suitable for most gaming monitors. The Ultra preset at 111 FPS is still playable and offers the best visual fidelity, though the 31.9% performance drop from High may not justify the visual gains for competitive play. The Medium preset at 237 FPS is the choice for high-refresh esports displays, with a minimum FPS of 201 ensuring consistent frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 110 FPS, which is ideal for 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 161 FPS offers a smoother experience with only a moderate visual compromise, and its minimum of 137 FPS ensures no drops below the 144Hz threshold. The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is acceptable for 60Hz displays but may feel less responsive on higher refresh panels. The Low preset at 181 FPS is unnecessary unless extreme frame rates are desired.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 92 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience on 60Hz displays with some headroom. The High preset at 63 FPS is borderline for 60Hz panels, as any minor frame drop could cause stuttering. The Low preset at 104 FPS offers the best performance at 4K but with noticeably reduced visual quality. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for playable framerates, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best overall experience across all resolutions, balancing visual quality with performance headroom. Its minimum FPS values are consistently high, preventing stutter in demanding scenes. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset is a viable option at 1440p, but at 4K it is only suitable for slower-paced gameplay. The Ultra preset should be reserved for players with 60Hz displays who are willing to accept lower framerates.