Archeage

ArcheAge, a 2014 MMORPG, is far more demanding on the GPU than the CPU at higher resolutions, but the data reveals a significant performance cliff at the Ultra preset that shifts the bottleneck. With the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the measured frame rates show that the game scales predictably with resolution until the Ultra preset, which imposes a severe penalty that no amount of CPU or GPU headroom can overcome. The combination is extremely capable, ranking 284th out of 3708 tested combos, placing it in the top percentile for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent at the lower presets, indicating a standard GPU-bound workload. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 247 FPS at 1920x1080 to 180 FPS at 2560x1440, a 27% reduction, and then to 103 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 43% drop. This scaling pattern is typical for a game where the GPU is the primary limiting factor; as the pixel count increases, the render workload grows proportionally, and the RTX 4080 SUPER’s raw throughput becomes the deciding variable.

The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory. The average FPS moves from 237 at 1080p to 161 at 1440p (a 32% decrease) and finally to 92 at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). The High preset follows suit: 162 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low, Medium, and High presets reinforces that resolution scaling is the dominant factor; the GPU is being fed a steadily increasing pixel load, and the frame rate responds accordingly.

However, the Ultra preset breaks this pattern entirely. At 1080p, Ultra yields 111 FPS, which is 31% lower than the High preset’s 162 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 74 FPS, a 32% reduction from High’s 109 FPS. At 4K, Ultra craters to 43 FPS, a 31% drop from High’s 62 FPS. The near-constant 31-32% penalty from High to Ultra, regardless of resolution, indicates that the Ultra preset introduces a fixed, heavy workload that is not related to pixel count. This suggests a specific rendering feature or asset quality multiplier that taxes the GPU’s compute units or memory subsystem disproportionately, rather than a scalable resolution effect.

The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear limiting component for most presets, as the frame rate scales inversely with resolution. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be the bottleneck at 4K given the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The exception is 4K Ultra, where the 43 FPS average is low enough that both the GPU’s extreme load and the game’s engine limitations could be at play, but the consistent delta from High suggests the GPU is still the primary constraint. For gamers targeting 4K, the Low, Medium, and High presets are all playable, with Medium offering a balanced 92 FPS average, while Ultra should be avoided unless a cinematic 43 FPS is acceptable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores are substantial: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11268 and a single-core score of 2058. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 83rd among all CPUs indicates it is a strong performer, but in ArcheAge, its role is secondary to the GPU.

In this game, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p with lower graphics presets, where the GPU is less taxed and the processor must keep up with the high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 247 FPS average, which is a demanding scenario for the CPU’s single-thread performance. The i5-14400F’s boost clock of 4.70 GHz and its PassMark single-thread score of 3701 are critical here, as they dictate how fast the game’s main logic and draw calls can be processed. The fact that the frame rate does not plateau or collapse at this level suggests the CPU is sufficient to feed the GPU at these speeds.

The CPU’s multi-core capabilities matter less for ArcheAge’s average frame rate but could influence minimum frame rates in crowded MMORPG environments, which the measured data does not capture for most presets. The only row with a min FPS is Medium, showing 201 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K. These minimums are still high, indicating that even in the most demanding scenes captured, the CPU does not cause stutters. The 16 threads and 20 MB of shared L3 cache provide ample headroom for background tasks and game logic, but the benchmark results show that the CPU’s single-core strength is the more relevant metric for this title.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, 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 is also within 0.5% of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121). This means that for ArcheAge, swapping to any of these CPUs would yield virtually identical frame rates, as the GPU will be the bottleneck in most scenarios. The CPU’s role is to ensure it does not become the limiting factor, and the data confirms it does not, even at 1080p Low where the 247 FPS result reflects its single-thread capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings, and the optimal choice depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering an average of 237 FPS with a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS. This is nearly as fast as Low (247 FPS) but with significantly better visual quality. High drops to 162 FPS, which is still excellent, but the 75 FPS gap between High and Medium makes Medium the superior choice for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out as the sweet spot. It averages 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS, which is comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on 1440p displays. The Low preset offers 180 FPS, but the visual downgrade is not worth the modest 19 FPS gain. High at 109 FPS is playable but falls short of 144 Hz, so Medium is the recommended preset for 1440p to fully utilize a high-refresh panel.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Medium preset averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, which is ideal for a 60-90 Hz 4K display, providing a smooth experience. High averages 62 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less fluid in fast-paced combat. Low averages 103 FPS, but the visual compromise at 4K is severe. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it imposes a 31% penalty over High, resulting in only 43 FPS at 4K, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 111 FPS at 1080p. For the majority of users, Medium is the best overall choice, offering the highest frame rates that still maintain acceptable visual fidelity, while High serves as a fallback for those prioritizing image quality over raw FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice at 1920x1080, producing an average of 237 FPS with a minimum of 201 FPS. It is only 10 FPS slower than Low (247 FPS) but provides significantly better visuals. High is also viable at 162 FPS, but Medium offers a 75 FPS advantage for a minor visual trade-off.

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

A: The Ultra preset is consistently 31-32% slower than High across all resolutions. At 1080p, it drops from 162 FPS to 111 FPS; at 1440p, from 109 FPS to 74 FPS; and at 4K, from 62 FPS to 43 FPS. The fixed percentage penalty suggests Ultra adds a heavy, non-resolution-dependent workload.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in ArcheAge?

A: Yes, at 4K the system can achieve playable frame rates on Medium (92 FPS average) and High (62 FPS average). Low runs at 103 FPS, but the visual quality is very poor. Ultra is not recommended due to its 43 FPS average.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at standard presets. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 247 FPS, showing the i5-14400F can feed the GPU sufficiently. The CPU’s single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055) is adequate for the game’s demands, and its 10 cores provide ample multi-threaded headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system?

A: The only preset with a recorded minimum FPS is Medium. At 1080p, the minimum is 201 FPS; at 1440p, it is 136 FPS; and at 4K, it is 78 FPS. These figures indicate smooth performance even in demanding scenes, with no severe stutters observed.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall benchmarks?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279, which is within 0.5% of its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233, +0.1%), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226, +0.2%), and Intel Core i7-12800H (32121, +0.5%). In ArcheAge, this means the choice of CPU among these models would have a negligible impact on frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the GPU provides 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU’s 10240 shading units and boost clock of 2550 MHz yield a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s, which are the raw resources needed to fill pixels at 4K resolutions. The GPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 260075, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

In ArcheAge, the GPU’s role is most evident in the resolution scaling. The frame rate drops from 247 FPS at 1080p Low to 103 FPS at 4K Low, a 58% reduction that tracks closely with the increase in pixel count (from 2.1 million to 8.3 million pixels). The RTX 4080 SUPER’s memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s is sufficient to feed the 16 GB frame buffer at 4K, as evidenced by the 92 FPS average on Medium with a 78 FPS minimum. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS ensures that the shading workload is handled efficiently, but the Ultra preset’s fixed 31% penalty suggests a specific feature, likely related to advanced lighting or shadow techniques, that disproportionately impacts the GPU’s compute units.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 54209 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 (54247, -0.1% delta) and within 2.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, -2.7%). In practical terms, this means the RTX 4080 SUPER performs almost exactly like a standard RTX 4080 in ArcheAge, and the Radeon alternatives would offer similar frame rates at the same settings. The GPU’s 16 GB VRAM is more than adequate for this 2014 title, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory usage does not appear to be a limiting factor; the performance cliff is due to computational load rather than capacity. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and 320 W TDP are notable, but the measured data shows it remains a top-tier option for this game, delivering 4K Medium at nearly 100 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 247 FPS, the highest recorded in the dataset. Medium follows closely with an average of 237 FPS, with a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS. High drops to an average of 162 FPS, while Ultra falls to 111 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 75 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 51 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is a significant step down in performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low averages 180 FPS, Medium averages 161 FPS (with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS), High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The Medium preset’s 161 FPS average is ideal for a 144 Hz monitor, while High’s 109 FPS is still smooth but requires a 100 Hz display to fully utilize. The Ultra preset’s 74 FPS is the first point where the frame rate dips below 100 FPS, indicating that this preset is too demanding for 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low averages 103 FPS, which is the only 4K preset to exceed 100 FPS. Medium averages 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, providing a very playable experience for 60-90 Hz displays. High averages 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but may feel less responsive. Ultra averages 43 FPS, which is the lowest recorded value and is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over gameplay smoothness. The data shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable option for a competitive or action-oriented experience.