Archeage

# How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER lands at rank 2147 out of 3708 tested combinations in Archeage. That places it in the 42nd percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 58% of configurations deliver higher average frame rates in this MMORPG. For a system built around a top-tier 14th-gen processor and a mid-to-upper-range Turing GPU, this ranking underscores a significant imbalance: the CPU is performing far above the GPU's capability, dragging the overall combo down in a game that appears to lean heavily on graphics throughput.

Benchmark results indicate the RTX 2070 SUPER holds a percentile rank of 65 against all GPUs, while the i7-14700K sits at the 94th percentile against all CPUs. The gap between these two percentiles — nearly 30 points — suggests the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios. The combo's middle-of-the-pack standing reflects that bottleneck rather than any deficiency in the processor, which posts an average benchmark score of 69355 and edges out the AMD EPYC 9115 by a mere 0.1% while trailing the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X by just 0.2%. In Archeage's real-world rendering, the CPU's headroom is largely untapped, and the measured frame rates tell a story of a graphics-bound workload where the 20-core, 28-thread processor waits on the GPU to catch up.

# GPU Role

The GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1605 MHz, boosting to 1770 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specs position it as a competent 1440p card from the Turing era, but in Archeage, the data reveals a GPU that struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra drops to 23 avg, while 1440p Ultra averages 39 FPS, and 1080p Ultra reaches 59 FPS. The pattern across settings shows a GPU that can handle lower presets comfortably but hits a wall when texture quality, shadows, and post-processing effects scale up.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is worth examining here. Archeage, being a 2014 MMORPG, likely doesn't demand excessive memory, but the Ultra preset at 4K could still strain the frame buffer. The data shows a steep decline from High to Ultra at 4K — 33 FPS down to 23 FPS — a 30% drop that suggests the GPU's shading units (2560) and texture mapping units (160) are saturated, not necessarily the memory. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this title, which predates widespread ray tracing adoption. The GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate provide a baseline for understanding why frame rates plateau: at 4K, the pixel throughput required is substantial, and this card's 64 ROPs limit fill-rate-heavy scenes.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound curve, with the CPU's influence diminishing as resolution rises. At High settings, average FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p (a 32.6% reduction) and then to 33 at 4K (a 43.1% further drop). This steep decline indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck — if the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would stay relatively flat across resolutions. The i7-14700K, with its 5.60 GHz boost clock and 33 MB of shared L3 cache, has more than enough single-thread capability to feed frames at any resolution the RTX 2070 SUPER can output.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more telling: 142 FPS at 1080p, 96 at 1440p, and 55 at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 32.4% and the 1440p-to-4K drop of 42.7% are nearly identical to the High settings pattern, which confirms that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the dominant factor. This consistency across presets strongly implies the GPU's raw rasterization throughput — its pixel rate and texture rate — is the ceiling. At 1080p, the CPU can push the GPU to 142 FPS on Low, but even the fastest processor in the world couldn't overcome the 4K Low figure of 55 FPS, which is purely a function of the GPU's fill rate limitations.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread across presets. Low settings average 142 FPS, which is smooth for any display. Medium averages 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 and maximum of 145, indicating some frame-time variance but generally excellent playability. High drops to 86 FPS, a 31.7% reduction from Medium, suggesting a significant jump in shader complexity. Ultra falls to 59 FPS, a 31.4% further drop from High. The 1080p Ultra figure of 59 FPS is notably close to the 1440p High figure of 58 FPS, hinting that the GPU treats these two scenarios as nearly equivalent workloads — likely due to similar total pixel counts and shading demands.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 96 FPS, which remains playable. Medium averages 85 FPS with a range of 72 to 98, showing tighter consistency than the 1080p Medium results. High averages 58 FPS, barely half of the 1080p Low figure. Ultra drops to 39 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience in an MMORPG where quick camera panning and large player gatherings can tax the renderer. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p (85 to 58 FPS, a 31.8% drop) mirrors the 1080p pattern almost exactly, reinforcing that the GPU's performance scaling with settings is predictable and consistent.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal for competitive play. Low averages 55 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal. Medium averages 49 FPS with a minimum of 41 and maximum of 56, showing that even the minimum stays above 40 FPS in this preset. High averages 33 FPS, which is choppy for a game requiring quick reactions. Ultra averages 23 FPS, which is nearly unplayable for most users. The 4K Ultra figure is 77.4% lower than the 1080p Low figure, illustrating the combined penalty of resolution and settings on this GPU. Interestingly, the Medium preset at 4K maintains a minimum of 41 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's frame buffer and memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) can sustain moderate loads even at 4K, but the shading units throttle under heavier post-processing.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience hinges on resolution. At 1080p, Medium settings at 126 FPS offer the best balance, providing a high refresh rate with a minimum of 107 FPS that avoids noticeable stutter. High at 86 FPS is also viable if visual fidelity is preferred, but the 31.7% drop from Medium suggests the extra graphical features cost more than they deliver in perceived quality. Ultra at 59 FPS is playable but sits below the 60 FPS threshold, so it's only recommended for users who prioritize visuals over smoothness.

At 1440p, Medium at 85 FPS is the clear winner, with a minimum of 72 FPS ensuring consistent performance. Low at 96 FPS is an alternative for faster-paced scenarios, but the visual downgrade is substantial. High at 58 FPS is borderline — it works for casual play but may feel sluggish in crowded zones. Ultra at 39 FPS is not recommended for anything beyond screenshots, as the frame rate dips too low for interactive gameplay.

At 4K, Low at 55 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, though even it falls short of a solid 60 FPS lock. Medium at 49 FPS is tolerable if the user can accept occasional dips to 41 FPS, but the experience is compromised. High at 33 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are effectively unplayable for this genre, where smooth camera movement and timely ability queues matter. For 4K users, the data suggests dropping to 1440p Medium for a playable experience, or accepting Low settings at 4K as a visual compromise.

# FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Archeage?

A: The data shows 1080p Medium at 126 FPS and 1440p Medium at 85 FPS both provide smooth experiences. The 1080p preset offers higher headroom, but 1440p Medium's minimum of 72 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making either resolution viable depending on the monitor's native resolution.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so much worse than High across all resolutions?

A: The average FPS drops from High to Ultra by roughly 30% at 1080p (86 to 59), 32.8% at 1440p (58 to 39), and 30.3% at 4K (33 to 23). This consistent penalty suggests Ultra enables expensive post-processing effects that heavily tax the GPU's shading units and pixel rate, rather than a single bottleneck like VRAM or bandwidth.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in Archeage at all?

A: It can run 4K Low at 55 FPS and 4K Medium at 49 FPS with a 41 FPS minimum. However, 4K High (33 FPS) and 4K Ultra (23 FPS) fall below acceptable playability thresholds. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth manage moderate loads, but the 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 compute is insufficient for high-fidelity 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20282, which is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), and 1.3% lower than the Intel Arc B570 (20556). This places it at the bottom of its immediate performance tier.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark standing relative to similar processors?

A: The i7-14700K scores 69355 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115 (69288), 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875). Its 94th percentile ranking against all CPUs indicates it is not the limiting factor in this combo.

Q: Does the CPU's 20-core, 28-thread configuration benefit Archeage specifically?

A: Archeage, as an MMORPG, likely relies more on single-thread performance than multi-core scaling. The i7-14700K's single-core Geekbench score of 2569 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160 are strong, but the measured FPS patterns — especially the consistent resolution scaling — indicate the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's multi-thread capabilities (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5) are likely underutilized in this title.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 10-nanometer Raptor Lake Refresh part with 20 cores and 28 threads, running at a 3.40 GHz base clock and boosting to 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for game logic, and the dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support offers flexibility. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional — a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160 — placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. In Archeage, however, these numbers don't translate to proportional frame rate gains because the GPU can't keep pace.

The measured FPS shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the least work per frame, the combo reaches 142 FPS — respectable but not extraordinary for a processor with this much headroom. The i7-14700K's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, scores nearly identically (69515 vs 69355, a 0.2% difference), yet neither would meaningfully outpace the other in this game due to the GPU constraint. The CPU's passmark single-thread score of 4472 and Geekbench single-core score of 2569 indicate it can handle the game's AI, physics, and network processing without breaking a sweat, but the frame rate ceiling is set by the RTX 2070 SUPER's ability to rasterize scenes.

The data implies that Archeage is not CPU-limited for this combo at any resolution. The consistent percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K across all settings — roughly 30-40% per step — are textbook GPU-bound behavior. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the 4K Low result (55 FPS) would be much closer to the 1080p Low result (142 FPS), since lowering resolution reduces GPU load but not CPU load. The fact that 4K Low is 61.3% slower than 1080p Low confirms the GPU is saturated. Users considering this combo for Archeage should recognize that upgrading the processor further would yield negligible gains; the path to higher frame rates lies in a stronger GPU or lower resolutions and settings.