Archeage

The Intel Core i5-9400 presents a six-core, six-thread configuration with a 2.90 GHz base clock and a 4.10 GHz boost clock. This Coffee Lake Refresh processor, built on Intel’s 14 nm process, sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs in the database, indicating a squarely mid-pack standing for general compute workloads. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place it in a specific performance tier. The data shows that in synthetic benchmarks, this chip is effectively neck-and-neck with the Intel Core i3-10305, which posts an average score of 2300 against the i5-9400’s 2305, a marginal 0.2% difference. Similarly, the i3-1125G4 and Xeon E-2134 are within 0.4% of its average score. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by a mere 0.6% in average benchmark score. For a game like Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, the CPU’s role is foundational but not necessarily the primary bottleneck at high resolutions. The six physical cores and lack of hyper-threading mean the processor must manage both game logic and the numerous background tasks typical of an MMO environment. The 4.10 GHz boost clock provides responsive single-threaded performance, which is crucial for the main game thread that handles input and world state updates. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache is adequate for this era of game, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support provides standard bandwidth for the platform. At lower resolutions, this processor’s ability to feed frames becomes more apparent, but the data must be examined against the GPU’s role to fully understand the bottleneck dynamics.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing. Built on the Turing architecture with a TU104 chip manufactured on TSMC’s 12 nm process, this GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, boosting to 1770 MHz, and it houses 2560 shading units. The GPU’s 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a stronger performer relative to its peers than the CPU is. Its average benchmark score of 22206 is notably higher than its nearest rivals, with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 trailing by 2.5% at 21670, while the NVIDIA RTX A400 is only 0.5% ahead at 22307. The RTX 2070 SUPER also holds a 0.9% advantage over the older GTX TITAN Z. In Archeage, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game’s textures and effects, even at higher settings. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and substantial bandwidth allow for smooth texture streaming in open-world areas. The FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom for the game’s shader complexity. Given that the GPU’s relative standing is higher than the CPU’s, benchmark results should reflect a system that becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution and settings increase. The RTX 2070 SUPER is clearly the more capable half of this duo, but its performance ceiling is capped by the i5-9400’s frame generation ability at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: How does the Core i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rival in synthetic tests?

A: The Core i5-9400’s average benchmark score is 2305, which is a 0.2% difference from the Intel Core i3-10305’s 2300 score. It also shows a 0.4% gap against the Intel Xeon E-2134, which scores 2295, and a 0.6% deficit versus the Intel Core i7-8809G at 2319.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER is ranked at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. This places it significantly above the mid-point, indicating it is a high-end part from its generation.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER outperform the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by a large margin?

A: The data shows the RTX 2070 SUPER’s average score of 22206 is 2.5% higher than the RX 5700’s 21670 score. This is a modest but clear lead in overall GPU compute performance.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-core performance score and what does it indicate?

A: The i5-9400 achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125. This metric is important for game logic and physics calculations, which often rely on a single thread, and this score indicates competent, but not exceptional, single-threaded throughput.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 2070 SUPER have, and what is its memory bus width?

A: The GPU is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. This configuration provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is ample for high-resolution textures in a game of Archeage’s age.

How This Combo Ranks

In the combined CPU and GPU configuration for Archeage, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is ranked 1058 out of 1727 total tested combinations. This places the combo in the lower-middle portion of the ranking, which is somewhat surprising given the individual components’ standings. The CPU’s 50th percentile and the GPU’s 65th percentile might suggest a higher aggregate rank, but the data indicates that the performance in this specific game is constrained by other factors. The 1727 total combos represent a wide variety of hardware pairings, from low-end integrated graphics to top-tier multi-GPU setups. Being at position 1058 means that a significant portion of other systems perform better in Archeage. This ranking likely reflects that the i5-9400, while capable, does not provide the sustained high frame rates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is capable of at lower resolutions. The bottleneck shifts from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p, preventing the combo from climbing higher in the rankings. The gap between the two components’ theoretical capabilities is not fully realized in this MMO title, where large player populations and complex world interactions can stress the processor more than typical synthetic benchmarks.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K, revealing the dynamic between CPU and GPU load. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 143.6 FPS, a frame rate that is likely near the CPU’s maximum output for this title. As resolution increases to 1440p, the same Low settings produce 98.1 FPS, a drop of 45.5 FPS. Moving to 4K at Low settings yields 54.3 FPS, another significant decrease of 43.8 FPS from 1440p. This scaling demonstrates that at lower settings, the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p; instead, the CPU’s processing power caps the frame rate. The RTX 2070 SUPER has ample headroom at 1080p, but as the resolution climbs, the GPU’s workload increases, and the frame rate drops accordingly. For High settings, the 1080p score of 84.7 FPS drops to 59.7 FPS at 1440p, a 25 FPS reduction, and then to 31 FPS at 4K, a further 28.7 FPS loss. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K for High settings is approximately 63%, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The Ultra settings show the steepest decline, with 61 FPS at 1080p falling to 38 FPS at 1440p and finally 20.2 FPS at 4K. This data suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-bound, while at 4K, especially with Ultra settings, the RTX 2070 SUPER is fully saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the i5-9400 and RTX 2070 SUPER deliver their highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 143.6 FPS, which is the peak for this combo. Medium settings follow at 124.7 FPS, representing a 13.2% decrease from Low. High settings yield 84.7 FPS, a substantial drop of 40 FPS from Medium, indicating a significant increase in shader complexity and draw calls that affects the CPU. Ultra settings bring the average down to 61 FPS, which is a 23.7 FPS reduction from High. This 1080p data shows that the CPU is likely the limiting factor at Low and Medium settings, as the GPU has the power to render more frames than the CPU can feed.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down as expected. Low settings average 98.1 FPS, which is a 31.7% drop from the 1080p Low score. Medium settings average 83.3 FPS, a 33.2% decrease from the 1080p Medium result. High settings post 59.7 FPS, a 29.5% reduction from 1080p High. Ultra settings yield 38 FPS, a 37.7% drop from the 1080p Ultra score. The percentage drops are relatively consistent across settings at this resolution, suggesting that the GPU is now starting to become the primary constraint, though the CPU still contributes to the performance ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant bottleneck. Low settings average 54.3 FPS, which is a 44.6% drop from the 1440p Low score. Medium settings drop to 48.1 FPS, a 42.3% decrease. High settings fall to 31 FPS, a 48.1% reduction from 1440p High, and are barely playable. Ultra settings drop to 20.2 FPS, a 46.8% decrease from the 1440p Ultra result. The data indicates that at 4K, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are not sufficient to maintain high frame rates with the most demanding settings in Archeage. The system is firmly GPU-limited at this resolution, with the CPU’s role diminished. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a nearly linear relationship with the GPU’s pixel throughput, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting factor for 4K gameplay.