Archeage

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for ArcheAge with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER shows a steep and consistent performance drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 62 FPS at 1080p to 41.5 FPS at 1440p, then to 23.7 FPS at 4K. That is a 61.8% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a severe scaling curve. The 1440p result represents a 33.1% drop from 1080p, while the 4K result is a 42.9% drop from 1440p. These diminishing returns indicate that the graphics pipeline becomes the dominant constraint at higher pixel counts.

The pattern is similar at other settings. At Medium settings, the frame rate scales from 85.4 FPS at 1080p to 60.6 FPS at 1440p and 37 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 29%, and from 1440p to 4K it is 38.9%. At Low settings, the numbers are 99.1 FPS, 67.1 FPS, and 37.2 FPS respectively, representing a 32.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are much lower overall: 42.2 FPS at 1080p, 25.8 FPS at 1440p, and 14.2 FPS at 4K.

The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is so large across all settings — roughly 60% or more — points to the GPU as the limiting component. The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, is being saturated by the pixel workload at 4K. The CPU, a 16-core Raptor Lake part with a 5.40 GHz boost clock, has more than enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but at 4K the GPU simply cannot keep up with the fill-rate demands. The data shows that the scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistently steeper than from 1080p to 1440p, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where memory bandwidth and shading throughput become exhausted.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU116 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process. It has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The base clock is 1530 MHz, boosting to 1785 MHz. Memory is 6 GB of GDDR6 running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), with a 192-bit bus delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications put the card in the 55th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 14286.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (average score 14314, deltaPct -0.2), the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315, deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352, deltaPct -0.5), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389, deltaPct -0.7). The GTX 1660 SUPER sits within 0.7% of all four of these parts, meaning it is statistically tied with them in aggregate synthetic performance. However, in ArcheAge specifically, the measured FPS data shows that the card struggles at high resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 14.2 FPS is below playable thresholds, and even 4K High at 23.7 FPS is marginal.

The memory configuration is a key factor here. With only 6 GB of VRAM and a 192-bit bus, the card is limited in its ability to handle large texture sets and high-resolution framebuffers. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest by modern standards, and the pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s combined with a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s means that at 4K, the GPU is likely bottlenecked on both memory throughput and fill rate. The FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is adequate for 1080p gaming but insufficient for 4K in a demanding MMORPG like ArcheAge. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo, especially at 1440p and above.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. It is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 47282.

The CPU's nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-13700KF (average score 47334, deltaPct -0.1), the AMD EPYC 4364P (47131, deltaPct 0.3), the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081, deltaPct 0.4), and the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (47527, deltaPct -0.5). The i7-13700K is within 0.5% of all these parts, showing that it is a top-tier performer in synthetic benchmarks. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and single-core score of 5505 demonstrate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities, which are relevant for an MMORPG like ArcheAge that may have significant CPU-side simulation and network processing.

In this game combo, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the frame rate reaches 99.1 FPS, which is close to what a GTX 1660 SUPER can produce. The fact that frame rates drop dramatically at higher resolutions — even when settings are lowered — shows that the CPU can push frames faster than the GPU can render them. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz and 30 MB of L3 cache help maintain consistent frame pacing in CPU-heavy MMO scenarios, but the data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Geekbench single-core score of 2850 indicate it has ample headroom for the game's logic threads, even in crowded areas.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo maintains playable frame rates across all settings. At High settings, it delivers 62 FPS, and at Medium it reaches 85.4 FPS. At 1440p, High settings drop to 41.5 FPS, and at 4K, even Low settings only achieve 37.2 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314), Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315), AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352), and AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389). In practice, this means performance in ArcheAge should be nearly identical to those parts, given the same CPU and resolution.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a 61.8% drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings (62 FPS to 23.7 FPS). This is because the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K pixel workloads. The GPU is the limiting component, as evidenced by the steep scaling curve.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K holding back the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: No. The CPU is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 99.1 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond what the GPU can render. The CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 16 cores provide ample headroom.

Q: What are the Ultra settings results for this combo?

A: At Ultra settings, the combo achieves 42.2 FPS at 1080p, 25.8 FPS at 1440p, and 14.2 FPS at 4K. These results are below ideal playability thresholds, especially at 1440p and 4K, where the frame rate falls below 30 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1520 out of 1727 tested combos in ArcheAge, placing it in the bottom 12% of all combinations. This rank reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, despite the strong CPU performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1520 out of 1727 tested combos in ArcheAge. This places it in the 12th percentile of all combos, meaning that roughly 88% of tested combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game. The rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU's high standing — the i7-13700K is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs — but the GPU's 55th percentile ranking drags the combo down.

The data suggests that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in ArcheAge for this pairing. At 1080p, the combo is competitive with mid-range systems, achieving 62 FPS at High settings. However, at 1440p and 4K, the frame rates fall below 42 FPS and 24 FPS respectively, which is a poor result for a modern system. The combo's rank of 1520 reflects this limitation: while the CPU can handle the game's computational demands, the GTX 1660 SUPER simply lacks the memory bandwidth and shading power to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 99.1 FPS, which is a smooth experience. At 1080p Medium (85.4 FPS) and High (62 FPS), it also performs well. The Ultra setting at 1080p drops to 42.2 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show strain. The combo's low rank is primarily due to its poor performance at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU's 6 GB memory capacity and 192-bit bus become bottlenecks. For users targeting 1080p, this combo is adequate, but for higher resolutions, the data clearly indicates that a more powerful GPU would be necessary to improve the ranking.