Archeage

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU and GPU combination in Archeage?

A: The data shows the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at every resolution, reaching 126.3 FPS at 1080p, 86.2 FPS at 1440p, and 51.2 FPS at 4K. Medium is the second-fastest, while Ultra produces the lowest frame rates across all resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings in Archeage?

A: This combination ranks 1316 out of 1727 tested combos in the game. That places it in the lower-mid portion of the database, meaning roughly three-quarters of tested pairings deliver higher performance in Archeage.

Q: What is the FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS falls from 80.1 at 1080p to 52.5 at 1440p, a decrease of 27.6 FPS or about 34%. The drop from 1440p to 4K is even steeper, going from 52.5 to 32.2 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor in this pairing?

A: The evidence points toward the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The Intel Core i5-14600KF ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the Radeon RX 5700 XT sits in the 68th percentile among GPUs. The frame rate scaling across resolutions—where FPS drops significantly as resolution increases—is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings yield 86.2 FPS while Ultra drops to 35.8 FPS. That is a 50.4 FPS gap, meaning Ultra delivers roughly 58% lower performance than Low at this resolution.

Q: Does this combo achieve playable frame rates at 4K with any settings preset?

A: At 4K, only the Low preset reaches above 50 FPS (51.2 FPS). Medium hits 43.9 FPS, High dips to 32.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19.9 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, the data suggests Low is the only viable option.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings 14 cores and 20 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake-R architecture chip built on Intel's 10 nm process, featuring 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 32889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4643 in single-core, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs tested.

For an MMORPG like Archeage, the CPU's single-thread performance often matters more than raw core counts. The game's logic, NPC AI, and network handling typically rely on a few heavily loaded threads. The i5-14600KF's single-core score of 4643 in Cinebench R23 suggests strong per-thread capability, which should keep the game's simulation running smoothly even when many players gather in the same area.

The multi-core results also hint at headroom. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889, this CPU is roughly 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in average benchmark scores. That margin is small—likely within run-to-run variance—but it shows the 14600KF is not leaving obvious performance on the table relative to its closest peers.

However, the measured FPS data reveals that Archeage does not appear to be CPU-bound in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 126.3 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptionally high for a CPU with this much single-core power. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect lower resolutions to show higher frame rates across all settings. Instead, the FPS scales almost linearly with resolution changes, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest this CPU has overclocking potential, but the data does not indicate that extra CPU performance would translate into higher Archeage frame rates given the GPU installed. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS drops to 49.8, which is a fraction of what the CPU is capable of delivering—further evidence that the GPU is holding back the system.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the Navi 10 chip using TSMC's 7 nm process, with RDNA 1.0 architecture. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1905 MHz and a game clock of 1755 MHz. It delivers 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and sits in the 68th percentile among all GPUs.

In Archeage, the GPU's role is critical for rendering, and the data shows this card struggles at higher settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 19.9 FPS—a clearly unplayable experience. Even at 1440p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 35.8 FPS. The pattern across all measured points suggests that the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM and RDNA 1.0 compute capabilities are insufficient for Archeage's more demanding visual presets.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning. It scores 16277 in Passmark G3D and 2134 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (0.1% faster), Intel Arc A350M (0.3% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (0.6% slower). These are close competitors, but the RX 5700 XT's age—released in 2019—shows in its inability to handle modern MMORPG visuals at high settings.

Notably, the GPU's DirectX 11 score of 116 and DirectX 12 score of 64 in Passmark suggest that Archeage, which is an older title (released in 2014), may rely on older API paths. The RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so compatibility is not an issue. The bottleneck is raw rendering performance, particularly when texture detail and shadow quality are cranked up.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings presets for this combo. At 1080p, Low settings deliver 126.3 FPS, Medium drops to 110.5 FPS, High to 80.1 FPS, and Ultra to 49.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 15.8 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 30.4 FPS—a much larger step.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds: Low achieves 86.2 FPS, Medium 74.2 FPS, High 52.5 FPS, and Ultra 35.8 FPS. The Medium-to-High drop is 21.7 FPS, again the largest single-step decrease. This suggests that the High preset introduces significant rendering costs—likely higher-quality textures, shadows, or post-processing—that disproportionately impact the RX 5700 XT.

For the best experience, the data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot at both 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p Medium, 110.5 FPS provides a smooth experience for an MMORPG, while 1440p Medium at 74.2 FPS remains playable. High at 1440p (52.5 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra is not recommended at any resolution.

At 4K, the situation is dire. Low settings yield 51.2 FPS, Medium 43.9 FPS, High 32.2 FPS, and Ultra 19.9 FPS. Only Low approaches playability, and even that is marginal. For 4K owners, the data strongly suggests dropping to 1440p and using Medium for a comfortable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-14600KF + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination ranks 1316 out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. That places it in the 24th percentile of all pairings—meaning about 76% of tested systems deliver higher average FPS in this game.

The ranking is somewhat surprising given the CPU's strength. The i5-14600KF is a top-tier processor that outperforms 93% of all CPUs in synthetic benchmarks. Yet the combo's overall position is dragged down by the GPU, which only beats 68% of all GPUs. This mismatch creates a system where the CPU is consistently waiting on the GPU to finish rendering frames.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RX 5700 XT performs nearly identically to the RTX A5000 Mobile (0.1% faster) and Arc A350M (0.3% slower). This means swapping the GPU for any of these would likely produce similar Archeage results. The CPU's rivals—the i5-14600K (0.4% slower), EPYC 4345P (0.5% faster), and Ryzen 9 5950X (0.6% slower)—are also close enough that CPU choice would not meaningfully change the combo's rank.

The data implies that this pairing is GPU-bound in Archeage. To improve the rank, a stronger GPU would be necessary; the CPU has ample headroom to support a more capable graphics card without becoming a bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, for a total of twelve data points. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 126.3 FPS, Medium 110.5 FPS, High 80.1 FPS, and Ultra 49.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 76.5 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (30.4 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 86.2 FPS, Medium 74.2 FPS, High 52.5 FPS, and Ultra 35.8 FPS. The spread narrows to 50.4 FPS, but the Medium-to-High drop remains the biggest step at 21.7 FPS. Compared to 1080p, each preset loses roughly 30-45% of its frame rate when moving to 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 51.2 FPS, Medium 43.9 FPS, High 32.2 FPS, and Ultra 19.9 FPS. The spread is 31.3 FPS. Notably, the Low-to-Medium gap at 4K is only 7.3 FPS, much smaller than the 15.8 FPS gap at 1080p. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even lowering settings provides diminishing returns.

The data shows no min or max FPS values, only averages. This means the analysis cannot speak to frame-time consistency or stuttering. However, the average values alone indicate that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming with Medium or Low settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about which component limits performance. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 126.3 FPS at 1080p to 86.2 FPS at 1440p (a 31.7% decrease) and then to 51.2 FPS at 4K (a 40.6% decrease from 1440p). This is close to the theoretical scaling expected from pixel count increases: 1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is less steep: 49.8 FPS at 1080p, 35.8 FPS at 1440p (28.1% drop), and 19.9 FPS at 4K (44.4% drop). The relatively smaller percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra suggests that the GPU is already saturated at 1080p Ultra, so adding pixels has a reduced marginal impact. In contrast, at Low settings where the GPU has more headroom, the pixel count becomes the dominant factor.

The fact that FPS scales strongly with resolution at all settings points to the GPU as the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, since the CPU's workload is largely resolution-independent. Instead, the consistent FPS drops as resolution increases confirm that the RX 5700 XT is the constraining factor.

The data also shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is likely a contributor. At 4K, the 8 GB VRAM may be insufficient for High and Ultra textures, causing the GPU to rely on slower system memory. This would explain why the 4K High and Ultra results (32.2 FPS and 19.9 FPS) are disproportionately low compared to the 1440p results. For players considering this combo, the resolution scaling data strongly suggests sticking to 1080p or 1440p for a playable experience.