Archeage

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers a highly playable Archeage experience across most settings, but the data reveals a significant bottleneck in the 6-core/6-thread processor when pushing maximum visual fidelity. While the RTX 4080 SUPER provides ample graphics horsepower to drive frame rates well above 100 FPS at lower presets, the CPU struggles to maintain fluid performance at Ultra settings, particularly at 4K where the average frame rate drops to 43 FPS. The measured results show this pairing ranks in the 79th percentile of all tested combos, indicating that while it outperforms the majority of systems, there are notable limitations in the most demanding scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combination in Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 780th out of 3708 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all systems. This indicates strong overall performance, though the rank suggests that many other pairings, likely with more powerful processors, achieve better results in this MMORPG.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER bottleneck the i5-9400 in Archeage?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 111, which is lower than the 134 FPS at High settings. This counterintuitive drop indicates the processor cannot keep up with the increased draw calls and physics calculations at Ultra, despite the GPU having more than enough headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Archeage?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with High settings provides the best balance, delivering 109 FPS average. This is a substantial improvement over the 4K High result of 62 FPS while maintaining smooth gameplay. At 1440p, the system avoids the severe frame rate drops seen at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, placing it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs. It is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259, delta -0.2%) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (score 2248, delta 0.3%). The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246, delta 0.4%) and Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2264, delta -0.4%) are also within a fraction of a percent.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 161 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 111 FPS. This represents a 50 FPS drop, or approximately 31% lower performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest settings. The Medium preset sits in between at 155 FPS average.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER's performance consistent with its synthetic benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209 in its average benchmark, which is essentially identical to the RTX 4080 (54,247, delta -0.1%). In Archeage, the GPU demonstrates its capability by easily exceeding 100 FPS at 1440p High, but the game's CPU-bound nature at Ultra settings prevents it from fully utilizing its potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 780 out of 3708 tested combos in Archeage. This places the system in the 79th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly four out of every five other configurations tested. The ranking is respectable but not exceptional, given that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a high-end GPU that typically pairs with more powerful processors.

The data reveals why this combo does not rank higher. The i5-9400's 6-core/6-thread configuration, while adequate for many games, struggles with Archeage's MMO-specific demands at higher settings. The measured FPS drops from 155 at 1080p Medium to 111 at 1080p Ultra, a 28% reduction that cannot be attributed to GPU limitations. The RTX 4080 SUPER is capable of far higher frame rates, as evidenced by the 161 FPS at 1080p Low, but the CPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase.

This ranking pattern suggests that Archeage is particularly sensitive to CPU performance in its most demanding modes. The 62 FPS average at 4K High, compared to 109 FPS at 1440p High, indicates a scaling pattern that is more consistent with CPU-bound behavior than GPU-bound behavior. The GPU's raw power is being constrained by the processor's inability to feed it data quickly enough at higher resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core, along with a 64 KB L1 cache per core. The chip supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, and it connects to the system via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 6,629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 2,254 across all tests. This places it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it sits just below the median performer. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (average score 2,259, delta -0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (average score 2,264, delta -0.4%), showing that the i5-9400 is firmly in the mid-range tier.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is critical at higher settings. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rate scales inversely with settings in an unexpected way: Low produces 161 FPS, Medium produces 155 FPS, High produces 134 FPS, and Ultra produces 111 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is particularly steep, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces CPU-intensive effects that the 6-thread processor cannot handle efficiently. This is a classic sign of MMO performance where large numbers of players, NPCs, and dynamic events tax the CPU's thread scheduling.

The lack of hyper-threading means the i5-9400 has only 6 threads to distribute across all game logic, which becomes a bottleneck in Archeage's crowded environments. The 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock provide adequate single-thread performance, but the processor's 65W TDP and older 14nm process node limit its sustained multi-threaded throughput compared to newer designs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates across different resolutions and settings reveal a clear performance hierarchy. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 161 FPS on Low settings, 155 FPS on Medium, 134 FPS on High, and 111 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS, indicating solid frame pacing within a 47 FPS range.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease as expected but remain highly playable. Low settings produce 141 FPS average, Medium produces 136 FPS, High produces 109 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS, demonstrating a consistent experience with a 41 FPS variance.

At 3840x2160, the performance gap becomes more pronounced. High settings yield 62 FPS average, Medium yields 92 FPS, Low yields 103 FPS, and Ultra falls to just 43 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration with min/max data available. The Ultra setting at 4K is clearly unplayable, while High is borderline.

The data shows an interesting anomaly: at 4K, the Medium preset (92 FPS) outperforms High (62 FPS) by a significant margin, while at 1440p the difference between Medium (136 FPS) and High (109 FPS) is also substantial. This suggests that the High preset introduces rendering effects that disproportionately impact performance on this CPU-GPU combination, likely due to increased draw call complexity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5nm process by TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. The GPU has 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units, along with 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores.

The card's clock speeds are set at a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2550 MHz, with memory running at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). Its theoretical performance reaches 52.22 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 operations, with a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s. The GPU draws up to 320W of power and has a suggested PSU requirement of 700W, connecting via a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 SUPER achieves an average score of 54,209, placing it at the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the standard RTX 4080 with a score of 54,247 (delta -0.1%), showing the SUPER variant is virtually identical in average performance. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698 (delta -2.7%), indicating the RTX 4080 SUPER is slightly slower in these aggregate tests.

In Archeage, the GPU's role is to deliver high frame rates at lower settings, which it does effectively. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 161 FPS average, and at 1440p Low it hits 141 FPS. The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this 2014-era game, even at 4K resolution. However, the data shows the GPU is not the limiting factor at higher settings, as the CPU bottleneck prevents the card from reaching its full potential. The 43 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear indication that the processor, not the graphics card, is constraining performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired performance level. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 134 FPS average is the best choice for most players, as it provides a significant visual improvement over Medium (155 FPS) while still maintaining well above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 111 FPS is also viable, though the 23 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 109 FPS average, which is ideal for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 136 FPS is also excellent, offering a 27 FPS improvement over High with minimal visual compromise. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding MMO scenarios with many players on screen.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 92 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it is the only 4K setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS. The High preset at 62 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for competitive or immersive play. The Low preset at 103 FPS is the fastest 4K option, but the visual quality reduction may be too severe for most users.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best overall experience across all resolutions, with the highest frame rate consistency and minimum FPS values that remain playable. The 155 FPS at 1080p Medium, 136 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 92 FPS at 4K Medium all exceed the 60 FPS threshold with comfortable margins. For players prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the High preset at 1440p (109 FPS) provides an excellent compromise, while those seeking maximum smoothness should stick with Medium settings.