Archeage

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding 1080p experience in Archeage, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data indicates this pairing sits in the lower third of tested configurations, ranking 2659th out of 3708 combos, which places it firmly in the mid-pack for a game that heavily favors single-threaded CPU performance and raw GPU throughput.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, which are the frequencies that determine how quickly it can process the game's logic and draw calls. The CPU has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and a dual-channel DDR4 memory bus with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth, all of which contribute to how efficiently it feeds data to the GPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 6629 in multi-core, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1389 and multi-core of 5141. These numbers place the chip at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is an average performer by modern standards. The single-core score is particularly relevant for Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG that typically relies on one or two threads for the main game loop, making the 4.10 GHz boost clock more impactful than the raw core count.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with an average score of 2259 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U at 2248 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2246 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2264 (0.4% higher). The negligible deltaPct values, all under 0.5%, show that the i5-9400 sits in a tightly packed cluster of similar-performing CPUs, meaning the processor is not a differentiator in this combo—its performance is essentially interchangeable with several other mid-range options from the same era.

The average benchmark score for the i5-9400 is 2254, which is the metric used to compare it against all other CPUs in the database. This score, combined with its 6-thread limitation, suggests that while the CPU is adequate for Archeage's requirements, it does not provide headroom for heavy multitasking or for games that scale well beyond 6 threads. The processor's production status is end-of-life, and it was released in October 2018, so it represents a mature platform that has been superseded by newer architectures.

For Archeage specifically, the benchmark results across the measured FPS data show that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 129 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game's engine. The fact that the FPS drops dramatically when increasing settings to Ultra (53 FPS at 1080p) indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as the render load increases, rather than the CPU hitting a hard ceiling.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical specification for texture-heavy scenes in an MMORPG like Archeage.

The RX 6600 XT's compute capabilities include 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s. These figures indicate a GPU that is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming but will struggle at 4K, which is consistent with the measured FPS data. The GPU has a 160 W TDP and requires a 450 W power supply, with a dual-slot cooler design and a single 8-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6600 XT scores 16461 in Passmark G3D and 7520 in Passmark GPU compute, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 80503 and Vulkan score of 72417. These scores place the GPU at the 70th percentile of all GPUs, which is notably higher than the CPU's 47th percentile, suggesting the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing. The average benchmark score for the GPU is 24442, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (0.7% higher), Intel Arc A350M (0.8% lower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (0.8% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.1% higher).

The deltaPct values for the GPU's rivals are again small, but the RTX 2080 SUPER being only 1.1% higher in average score is surprising given the generational gap, indicating that the RX 6600 XT punches above its weight in synthetic tests. For Archeage, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 128-bit memory bus may limit performance in scenes with high texture streaming demands. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (20 FPS) versus 4K Low (50 FPS) shows a 2.5x performance swing, which is characteristic of a GPU that is heavily taxed by resolution and settings scaling.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 129 FPS, which drops to 87 FPS at 1440p Low (a 33% reduction) and then to 50 FPS at 4K Low (a 61% reduction from 1080p). This steep drop-off as resolution increases is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance, where the RX 6600 XT's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 10.60 TFLOPS of compute power become insufficient to maintain frame rates at higher pixel counts.

The same pattern holds for Medium settings: 114 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p (a 32% drop), and 44 FPS at 4K (a 61% drop from 1080p). High settings show 78 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop), and 30 FPS at 4K (a 62% drop). The consistency of these percentage reductions across all settings levels—approximately one-third loss from 1080p to 1440p, and another one-third from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

Ultra settings present the most extreme case: 53 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p (a 32% drop), and 20 FPS at 4K (a 62% drop from 1080p). The fact that the FPS at 4K Ultra is only 20 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users, confirms that this combo is not viable for 4K gaming in Archeage with high-quality settings. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS deltas between settings at the same resolution are consistent—for example, at 1080p, Low is 129 FPS, Medium is 114 FPS, High is 78 FPS, and Ultra is 53 FPS, showing a steady decrease that aligns with GPU workload rather than CPU limitations.

The data also shows that the minimum FPS values, where available, are not dramatically lower than the averages. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 97 FPS versus the 114 average, and at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 66 FPS versus the 77 average. This indicates that the combo maintains relatively stable frame pacing without severe stutters, which is important for an MMORPG where combat consistency matters. The 4K Medium data point has a minimum of 38 FPS, which is only 6 FPS below the average, suggesting that even at the highest resolution, the frame time variance is manageable.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2659th out of 3708 tested combos for Archeage, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all configurations. This means that approximately 72% of the tested combos perform better than this pairing, which is a below-average result for a system that features a GPU at the 70th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy between the GPU's strong individual ranking and the combo's poor overall ranking suggests that the CPU is holding back the system in this specific game.

The combo rank of 2659 is particularly telling when compared to the CPU's 47th percentile and the GPU's 70th percentile. If the two components were perfectly balanced, one might expect the combo to rank somewhere in the 50-60th percentile range, but the actual result is much worse. This indicates that Archeage's engine is more sensitive to CPU performance than the synthetic benchmarks would suggest, or that the 6-thread/6-core configuration of the i5-9400 is insufficient for the game's multithreaded aspects.

Looking at the combo's position within the 3708 total combos, the 2659th rank means there are 1049 combos that perform worse. This places the pairing in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a significant finding given that the GPU alone is a strong performer. The data suggests that upgrading the CPU to a higher-core-count or higher-clock part would yield more benefit for Archeage than upgrading the GPU, since the GPU is already well above average.

The rank also implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing 53 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 129 FPS at 1080p Low. At 1440p, the combo becomes marginal for high refresh rate monitors, with 52 FPS at High settings. At 4K, the combo is only viable at Low settings (50 FPS) or Medium (44 FPS), which limits the visual quality that users can expect from this hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings achieve 129 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play or for users prioritizing frame rate over visual quality. Medium settings drop to 114 FPS average with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS, providing a smooth experience with more visual detail. High settings reduce the average to 78 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant 32% drop from Medium. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding only 53 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many gamers consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are consistent across all settings. Low settings achieve 87 FPS average, which is a 33% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings deliver 77 FPS average with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS, maintaining playability but with less headroom. High settings produce 52 FPS average, which is a 33% drop from the 1080p High result. Ultra settings are the weakest at 1440p, with only 36 FPS average, making this resolution setting combination impractical for most users.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings achieve 50 FPS average, which is the only 4K setting that exceeds 30 FPS. Medium settings drop to 44 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, which is borderline playable but with noticeable stutters in crowded areas. High settings produce only 30 FPS average, which is at the edge of playability for slow-paced content. Ultra settings are effectively unplayable at 20 FPS average, making this setting combination unsuitable for any serious gameplay.

The data shows that the combo is best utilized at 1080p with Medium or High settings, where it delivers 114 FPS and 78 FPS respectively, providing a good balance between visual quality and performance. At 1440p, the combo is only recommended for Low or Medium settings, as High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS. At 4K, the combo should only be used with Low settings, and even then, the 50 FPS average is not ideal for competitive play.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, the best combination is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which achieves 114 FPS average with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with good visual quality, and it is the highest settings level that maintains an average above 100 FPS.

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

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the combo achieves 50 FPS on Low settings, 44 FPS on Medium, 30 FPS on High, and 20 FPS on Ultra. Only Low settings are reliably playable, and even then, the 50 FPS average is below what most gamers would consider ideal for a smooth experience, indicating that 4K gaming is not practical with this hardware.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is nearly identical to its closest rivals. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% higher). These differences are negligible, meaning the i5-9400 is statistically indistinguishable from these alternatives.

Q: What is the GPU's performance ranking relative to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is at the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. This places it above the median GPU and indicates strong performance for its class, with the nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which is only 1.1% higher in average score.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (2659th out of 3708) despite having a strong GPU?

A: The combo's rank of 2659 is likely due to the CPU's limitations in Archeage. The i5-9400 is at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, and its 6-core/6-thread configuration may bottleneck the game's performance. The measured FPS data shows that the combo is GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes a factor, especially in an MMORPG with many players and NPCs.

Q: How does the FPS scale from 1080p to 4K, and what does that indicate about the bottleneck?

A: The FPS drops by approximately one-third from 1080p to 1440p and another one-third from 1440p to 4K across all settings. For example, Low settings go from 129 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 1440p to 50 FPS at 4K. This consistent scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU would typically show a less dramatic drop across resolutions if it were the limiting factor.