Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, exhibits a performance profile that is heavily dictated by the game's engine and the CPU's six-core architecture. The measured data reveals a configuration that is capable of high frame rates at mainstream resolutions but begins to show its limitations at 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, contextualizes the combo's standing among 3,708 tested configurations, and isolates the roles of the GPU and CPU in producing these results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded at 1920x1080 is 161 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. The Medium preset delivers 155 FPS, and High settings produce 134 FPS.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 40 FPS. This is a 61.2% decrease from the 103 FPS average recorded at 1920x1080 with the same Ultra preset, indicating a significant performance penalty at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER a bottleneck at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p Low. The average frame rate of 161 FPS is only 20 FPS higher than the Low preset at 1440p (141 FPS), showing that resolution scaling yields diminishing returns, a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions where the GPU is underutilized.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 801st out of 3,708 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21.6% of all systems tested for Archeage. This indicates it is a high-performing setup relative to the broader database.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: For the 2560x1440 Medium preset, the measured data shows a minimum FPS of 115 and a maximum FPS of 156, with an average of 136 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset with recorded min/max values.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core Cinebench R23 score relate to its performance in Archeage?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629, ranking in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. This mid-range processing power is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but appears to be the primary constraint on achieving playable 4K Ultra performance, as the GPU is capable of higher output.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how different presets impact performance, allowing for a strategic choice based on a player's hardware and preferences. For users with a 1920x1080 display, the High preset is the optimal balance, delivering an average of 134 FPS. This is a significant 31 FPS advantage over the Ultra preset's 103 FPS, while still providing an enhanced visual experience compared to the 161 FPS of the Low preset. The 31 FPS gained by dropping from Ultra to High is a substantial improvement in smoothness with a relatively minor visual sacrifice.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again proves to be the sweet spot, achieving an average of 101 FPS. This is more than 30 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 69 FPS, ensuring a fluid experience that approaches the 144Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. While the Medium preset offers a higher 136 FPS, the visual fidelity loss is often more noticeable at this higher resolution. The High preset provides a comfortable margin over the 60 FPS baseline and is the recommended setting for 1440p gaming.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more demanding. The High preset is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS, hitting 58 FPS. While technically below the 60 FPS target, it is close enough to be playable on a VRR display. The Ultra preset, with its 40 FPS average, is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Medium preset offers 85 FPS, which is a substantial jump in performance. For 4K users, the Medium preset is the most practical choice, as it provides a smooth frame rate well above the console standard and avoids the significant performance cost of High and Ultra settings. The data indicates that the Ultra preset's demands are too high for this CPU-GPU combination to handle at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic interaction between CPU and GPU load. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 161. When moving to 2560x1440, the FPS only drops to 141, a mere 12.4% decrease. This small drop suggests that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at 1080p; the GPU is not being fully utilized, so increasing the resolution has a minimal impact on performance. The system is effectively CPU-bound at this setting.

This pattern shifts at higher settings. With the High preset, the FPS drops from 134 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p, a 24.6% decrease, and then to 58 at 4K, a 56.7% decrease from the 1440p figure. This demonstrates a transition to a GPU-bound scenario as the resolution increases. The rendering load on the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER grows significantly, and its performance becomes the dominant factor in determining the final frame rate.

The 4K Ultra results show the most extreme scaling. The 40 FPS average is a 61.2% drop from the 103 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This severe penalty indicates that the combination of a high resolution and maximum settings places an immense load on the GPU. The data confirms that while the CPU is a bottleneck at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the definitive limiting component at 4K, especially with demanding presets. The game's performance profile is therefore highly dependent on the selected resolution and settings, shifting the bottleneck between the two components.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a rank of 801 out of 3,708 tested combos for Archeage. This places the system in the top 21.6% of all configurations in the database, a strong result that reflects the GPU's high performance. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's percentile ranking of 76th among all GPUs is a significant contributor to this overall combo rank, indicating that it is a top-tier component.

The CPU, however, is a more modest performer. The i5-9400's 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 2254 place it in the mid-range of processors. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% slower), underscore its position within a narrow performance band.

This contrast between a high-end GPU and a mid-range CPU is the defining characteristic of this combo. The 801st rank suggests that while the system is capable of excellent performance, it is held back by the CPU in certain scenarios. If the CPU were upgraded to a model with higher multi-core performance, the combo's rank would likely improve, as the GPU has the headroom to deliver more frames. The data implies that this configuration is a slightly imbalanced pairing, with the GPU's potential not fully realized in all situations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. This substantial memory allocation is more than sufficient for a 2014 MMORPG like Archeage, ensuring that texture loading and asset streaming are not bottlenecks at any tested resolution. The GPU's 76th percentile ranking and an average benchmark score of 31087 confirm its high-end status.

Its performance in this game, however, is variable. The benchmark results show a massive delta between the High and Ultra presets, particularly at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 58 on High to 40 on Ultra, a 31% decrease. This is a larger performance hit than the 15% decrease seen when going from High to Ultra at 1440p (101 to 69 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that are disproportionately expensive for the GPU to process, likely involving high-resolution shadows and effects.

The GPU's raw compute power, 44.10 TFLOPS for FP32, is immense, as is its texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s. While these specifications are not the sole determinant of game performance, they indicate a capability far beyond what Archeage typically requires. The fact that the GPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p Low (where FPS only scales from 161 to 141 when moving to 1440p) confirms that the CPU is holding it back. The GPU is only fully utilized at higher resolutions and settings, where its power is needed to maintain playable frame rates. Its launch MSRP was 799 USD.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all combinations of resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high:

• Low: 161 FPS average.
• Medium: 155 FPS average, with a minimum of 131 and maximum of 178 FPS.
• High: 134 FPS average.
• Ultra: 103 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains robust, though the gap between presets widens:

• Low: 141 FPS average.
• Medium: 136 FPS average, with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156 FPS.
• High: 101 FPS average.
• Ultra: 69 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle with the highest settings:

• Low: 96 FPS average.
• Medium: 85 FPS average, with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 98 FPS.
• High: 58 FPS average.
• Ultra: 40 FPS average.

The data shows a clear step-down in performance at each resolution. The 1080p results are all well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a smooth experience on any preset. At 1440p, the Ultra preset's 69 FPS is still playable, but the High preset's 101 FPS is a much more comfortable target. At 4K, only the Low and Medium presets offer a frame rate that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. The High preset's 58 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset's 40 FPS indicates a poor experience for fast-paced gameplay.

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 dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, a mid-pack result.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is critical. The game is an MMORPG, and these titles often have significant CPU overhead for handling game logic, network synchronization, and player positions. The measured FPS data suggests that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is the limiting factor. The FPS difference between Low (161 FPS) and Medium (155 FPS) at 1080p is minimal (3.9%), and the jump to 1440p Low (141 FPS) is also small. This indicates that the CPU is saturating its processing capacity before the GPU becomes a constraint.

The CPU's modest multi-core performance, relative to its rivals like the Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% faster) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% slower), is sufficient to push frame rates to high levels, but it caps the maximum achievable FPS. The 103 FPS at 1080p Ultra, while high, is likely limited by the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls rather than the GPU's rendering speed. This is why the GPU's utilization is lower at lower resolutions. The CPU is the anchor that prevents this high-end GPU from reaching its full potential in this specific game, particularly at 1080p and 1440p.