Archeage

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for ArcheAge with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 48.6 FPS. Stepping down to 1440p Ultra raises this to 81.7 FPS, a jump of 33.1 frames. The 1080p Ultra result is 125.4 FPS, which is 43.7 frames higher than the 1440p figure. This scaling curve indicates the RTX 4090 is the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, with its workload decreasing as pixel count drops.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 265.2 FPS while Ultra delivers 125.4 FPS, a spread of 139.8 frames. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 122.3 frames, with Low at 204 FPS and Ultra at 81.7 FPS. At 4K, the spread compresses further to 65.7 frames, with Low at 114.3 FPS and Ultra at 48.6 FPS. This compression at 4K suggests the GPU is becoming fully saturated, leaving less headroom for settings changes to affect performance.

The Medium preset shows interesting behavior across resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 256.7 FPS, which is only 8.5 frames behind Low. At 1440p Medium, it hits 180.9 FPS, 23.1 frames behind Low. At 4K Medium, it manages 100.5 FPS, 13.8 frames behind Low. The High preset sits between Medium and Ultra at every resolution, with 180.2 FPS at 1080p, 121.9 FPS at 1440p, and 71.1 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the primary constraint, as the difference between Low and Medium is minimal (8.5 frames), suggesting the i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads are being pushed to their limits before the GPU becomes the bottleneck. At 4K, the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth become the deciding factor, with the GPU's 16384 shading units struggling to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS at Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K features 12 cores and 20 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosting to 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB provide the memory hierarchy needed for MMO workloads, which often involve many simultaneous entities and player actions. The CPU's 3DMark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with 9,276 in the 16-thread test and 9,979 in the max-thread test. Single-thread performance is also respectable at 1,043 in 3DMark's single-thread test.

In Cinebench R23, the processor scores 29,241 in multi-core and 4,128 in single-core. These results place the i7-12700K in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35,802 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores 35,468 (0.6% lower). The Intel Core i5-14500HX and Intel Core i7-13800H are also close, with deltas of -0.7% and 0.8% respectively.

The benchmark results indicate that the i7-12700K's 12-core, 20-thread configuration is well-suited for ArcheAge's MMO gameplay, which typically involves parallel tasks like rendering multiple characters, processing network data, and handling game logic. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 7,202 suggests strong performance in moderately threaded workloads, which aligns with the game's engine characteristics. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34,404 and single-thread score of 4,013 further confirm the CPU's balanced capabilities.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is remarkably tight. The delta percentage against all four nearest rivals is less than 1%, indicating that in synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700K is virtually interchangeable with these competing parts. This tight grouping suggests that the CPU is not the primary differentiator in ArcheAge performance, and that the RTX 4090's capabilities will dominate the frame rate outcomes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, with 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and boosts to 2520 MHz. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 21 Gbps effective, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth over a 384-bit bus.

The RTX 4090's compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS and 128 RT cores for ray tracing workloads. Its pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 and PassMark G3D score of 38,194 place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which scores 66,733 (0.4% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla P40, which scores 66,127 (0.5% lower). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 are also close, with deltas of -0.9% and -1.3% respectively. These are all professional or workstation-class GPUs, not gaming-focused parts, indicating that the RTX 4090's gaming performance is distinct from its compute-oriented competitors.

In ArcheAge, the GPU's 24 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for the game's textures and assets, even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s ensures that data can be fed to the shading units without stalling. The GPU's 128 RT cores, while not directly relevant to ArcheAge's non-ray-traced rendering, contribute to the overall compute performance that the game can leverage for post-processing effects.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The combo achieves 125.4 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is the second-lowest result among the four settings presets at this resolution. Low delivers 265.2 FPS, Medium 256.7 FPS, and High 180.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66,473, which is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla T4's 66,733 and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40's 66,127. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 67,097 (0.9% higher) and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 scores 67,320 (1.3% higher).

Q: What is the largest FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The largest difference occurs at 1080p, where Low delivers 265.2 FPS and Ultra delivers 125.4 FPS, a difference of 139.8 frames. At 1440p the difference is 122.3 frames (204 vs 81.7), and at 4K it is 65.7 frames (114.3 vs 48.6).

Q: How does the i7-12700K's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i7-12700K scores 29,241 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 9,979 in 3DMark max-thread. Its average benchmark score is 35,684, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845's 35,802 and 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T's 35,468.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become the limiting factor?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, where the difference between Low (265.2 FPS) and Medium (256.7 FPS) is only 8.5 frames. This narrow gap indicates the i7-12700K cannot fully feed the RTX 4090 at these lower resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in ArcheAge?

A: The combo ranks 28th out of 1,727 tested combinations in ArcheAge, placing it in the top 1.6% of all tested systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 28th out of 1,727 tested combos in ArcheAge, placing it in the 98.4th percentile. This top-tier ranking reflects the strength of both components, though the data shows that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of this high placement.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684, is strong but not exceptional. The GPU's 91st percentile ranking, with an average score of 66,473, is similarly solid. However, the combination's 28th overall rank out of 1,727 suggests that the pairing of these two components is particularly effective for ArcheAge, likely because the game benefits from both the CPU's 12-core, 20-thread configuration and the GPU's massive compute and memory resources.

The measured FPS data supports this high ranking. At 1440p High, the combo delivers 121.9 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most users. At 1080p High, it reaches 180.2 FPS, and at 4K High, it maintains 71.1 FPS. These results indicate that the combo is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions and smooth 4K gaming at High settings. The 4K Ultra result of 48.6 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire dataset, suggesting that Ultra settings at 4K are the only scenario where this combo struggles.

The fact that the combo ranks 28th out of 1,727, despite the CPU and GPU individually ranking in the 89th and 91st percentiles respectively, indicates that the combination is more than the sum of its parts. The i7-12700K's 20 threads and the RTX 4090's 16,384 shading units work together efficiently in ArcheAge, avoiding the bottleneck that can occur when one component outpaces the other. This is particularly evident at 1440p, where the combo delivers 81.7 FPS at Ultra and 121.9 FPS at High, showing consistent scaling across settings.