Archeage

ArcheAge is a 2014 MMORPG that remains sensitive to both CPU and GPU loads depending on the resolution and quality preset selected. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination shows a clear performance hierarchy across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with frame rates ranging from a highly playable 161 FPS at 1080p Low to a demanding 37 FPS at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to explain where the bottleneck shifts, how the GPU's specifications influence the results, and which settings provide the optimal balance for this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a transition from a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound one at higher resolutions. At the High preset, the average FPS falls from 134 at 1920x1080 to 95 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 39 FPS, and then to 55 at 3840x2160, a further drop of 40 FPS. This steep decline as resolution increases indicates that the GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the rendering workload scales with pixel count.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at the Low preset. The system achieves 161 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 141 FPS at 1440p (a 20 FPS decrease), and then falls more steeply to 90 FPS at 4K (a 51 FPS decrease). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the Intel Core i5-9400 is holding performance back at those lower resolutions, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly but is waiting on the CPU to process game logic and draw calls.

Conversely, the Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with average FPS of 97 at 1080p, 65 at 1440p, and 37 at 4K. The 60 FPS gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings is the largest of any preset, confirming that the GPU is being pushed to its absolute limit at the highest quality level. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should avoid Ultra, as the 37 FPS average would be choppy, while 1440p Ultra at 65 FPS is a more viable option.

The Medium preset data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 155 FPS with a minimum of 131 and a maximum of 178, showing a tight 47 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 156, a 41 FPS range. At 4K Medium, the average is 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 and a maximum of 92, a 24 FPS range. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, reducing the variance caused by CPU-side spikes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2475 MHz, with a base clock of 1980 MHz, and it contains 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. These specifications explain why the card can handle ArcheAge's load at 4K Medium (80 FPS) but struggles at Ultra (37 FPS), as the latter likely requires more memory bandwidth and fill rate than the 192-bit bus can provide.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is a key factor for 4K play. ArcheAge's textures and geometry at 4K Ultra can consume significant memory, and while the data does not show a hard VRAM limit, the dramatic FPS drop from Medium (80 FPS) to Ultra (37 FPS) suggests that the card is hitting a performance wall, possibly related to memory bandwidth rather than capacity. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is substantial, but the 192-bit bus width limits how quickly data can be moved, which becomes critical at higher resolutions where more pixels are being shaded.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 43223 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and the GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, with deltaPct values of -0.1% and -1.0% respectively. This indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-end card, but not the absolute fastest, and its performance in ArcheAge reflects this positioning. The measured FPS at 1080p High (134 FPS) and 1440p High (95 FPS) are solid numbers, but they are not class-leading, as the card's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is tempered by the game's engine limitations.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant for ArcheAge, though the game's 2014 release date means it likely uses older DirectX paths. The passmark DirectX 9 score of 344 is notably higher than the DirectX 12 score of 110, suggesting that the card's legacy performance is strong, which is beneficial for an older MMORPG. This is corroborated by the passmark DirectX 10 score of 167 and DirectX 11 score of 273, indicating that the card can handle a range of API versions effectively.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for most scenarios. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 155 FPS with a minimum of 131 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in crowded areas. At 1440p Medium, the average is 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for fluid play. For 4K, Medium is the highest preset that maintains a playable frame rate, with an average of 80 FPS and a minimum of 68 FPS.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users with 1080p or 1440p monitors who prioritize visual fidelity. At 1080p, High delivers 134 FPS, which is only 21 FPS lower than Medium but offers improved textures and effects. At 1440p, High drops to 95 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes. At 4K, High at 55 FPS is borderline, and users should consider whether the visual upgrade justifies the 25 FPS loss compared to Medium.

The Low preset is recommended only for users seeking maximum frame rates, particularly at 1080p where it hits 161 FPS. At 1440p, Low provides 141 FPS, and at 4K it reaches 90 FPS, which is the only preset to break 60 FPS at that resolution. However, the visual trade-off is significant, and the data does not show how much detail is lost. The Ultra preset is only advisable for 1080p users with high-refresh-rate monitors, as the 97 FPS average is the only resolution where Ultra remains comfortably playable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope spans from 161 FPS at Low to 97 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset records 155 FPS average, with a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS. High settings produce 134 FPS average. The 64 FPS spread between Lowest and Highest settings at 1080p shows that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at this resolution, as the frame rate is more dependent on the preset's rendering demands than on processor limits.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 141 at Low to 65 at Ultra. Medium delivers 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS. High settings produce 95 FPS. The 76 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is wider than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more involved in the performance equation. The jump from High (95 FPS) to Ultra (65 FPS) is a significant 30 FPS drop, suggesting that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 90 at Low to 37 at Ultra. Medium delivers 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. High settings produce 55 FPS. The 53 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is narrower than at 1440p, but the absolute values are much lower. The gap between Medium (80 FPS) and High (55 FPS) is 25 FPS, and between High and Ultra (37 FPS) is 18 FPS, showing that each quality tier has a meaningful impact on performance at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 987th out of 3708 tested combos in ArcheAge, placing it in the top 26.6% of all configurations. This is a solid ranking, but not exceptional, given that the GPU is in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy between the GPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-tier ranking suggests that the CPU is dragging down the overall performance.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 puts it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which is below average. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (deltaPct -0.2%), Intel Core i7-10710U (deltaPct 0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (deltaPct 0.4%), and Intel Core i3-10305 (deltaPct -0.4%). These rivals all have similar average scores, indicating that the i5-9400 is roughly on par with a mid-range laptop chip and an older Ryzen desktop part.

The combo rank of 987 out of 3708 implies that there are 2721 other combinations that perform better in ArcheAge. This is likely due to the fact that many of those combos include faster CPUs with more cores or higher clock speeds, which can better feed the RTX 4070 SUPER in CPU-bound scenarios like 1080p Low. The 6-core, 6-thread i5-9400 with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz is adequate, but its 6 threads are a limitation in modern MMORPGs that can utilize more threads for background processing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs.

In ArcheAge, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 161 FPS, which is only 6 FPS higher than the 1080p Medium result of 155 FPS. This small difference suggests that the CPU is limiting performance even at Medium, as the GPU should be able to render both presets at similar speeds if the CPU were not the bottleneck. At 1080p High, the FPS drops to 134, a 21 FPS decrease from Medium, indicating that the game's CPU-side processing load increases with quality settings.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-core Cinebench R23 score of 935 and a multi-core score of 6629. The single-core performance is crucial for MMORPGs, which often rely on one main thread for game logic. The Geekbench single-core score of 1389 is respectable, but not outstanding. The CPU's 6 threads, while not as limited as a 4-thread part, still constrain performance in scenarios with many player characters or complex world states, which could explain why the combo rank is not higher.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and its end-of-life production status suggest that it is an older part, and its PCIe Gen 3 support with 16 lanes is sufficient for the RTX 4070 SUPER, which uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is a potential bottleneck in scenarios where large amounts of data need to be moved between the CPU and GPU, but the measured FPS data does not clearly indicate this is a major issue in ArcheAge.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in ArcheAge?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 161, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 141 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it is 90 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER capable of 4K gaming in ArcheAge?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Medium, the system delivers an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 55 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 37 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 with a deltaPct of -0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 is 0.2% slower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 with a deltaPct of 0.4%, meaning the i5-9400 is 0.4% faster.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the best balance, delivering 136 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS. High settings at 1440p produce 95 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium provides a larger margin for frame time spikes.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at the High preset?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 134. At 4K High, the average FPS is 55. This represents a 79 FPS drop, or approximately 59% lower performance when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 987th out of 3708 total tested combinations in ArcheAge. This places it in the top 26.6% of all configurations, which is above average but not top-tier.