Archeage

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data reveals a dramatic scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 234.7 FPS, but this falls to 160.9 FPS at 1440p and 88.4 FPS at 4K. That represents a 31.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45.1% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is steep, but not uniform across settings.

Looking at High settings, the pattern shifts: 143.7 FPS at 1080p, 96.7 FPS at 1440p, and 54.2 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32.7%, while 1440p to 4K sees a 44.0% reduction. These percentages are remarkably consistent with the Low settings scaling, suggesting a predictable relationship between pixel count and performance.

Ultra settings tell a different story. At 1080p, the combo manages 97.2 FPS, dropping to 67.6 FPS at 1440p (a 30.5% reduction), and then to 35.1 FPS at 4K (a 48.1% reduction). The 4K Ultra result is notably low — barely playable for most titles, and it hints that the GPU is being pushed to its limits at this extreme configuration.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound in lighter settings. The gap between Low (234.7 FPS) and Medium (210 FPS) at 1080p is only 10.5%, while the gap between Medium and High (143.7 FPS) is a massive 31.6%. This suggests that beyond Medium, the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor. At 4K, even Low settings (88.4 FPS) fall below the 100 FPS threshold, indicating the RTX 4070 SUPER is thoroughly engaged at this resolution.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's boost clock runs at 2475 MHz, with a base clock of 1980 MHz. This memory configuration proves adequate for Archeage at 4K, where the game's MMO environments with many players and objects do not appear to exceed the 12 GB allocation based on the measured frame rates remaining stable across settings.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. The pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s help explain why the card can push 88.4 FPS at 4K Low — the rasterization throughput is sufficient for less demanding settings.

However, the Ultra preset at 4K reveals the GPU's ceiling. The 35.1 FPS result is less than half of the 4K High score, indicating that Ultra settings likely trigger effects that heavily tax the shading units. The RTX 4070 SUPER's FP32 throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS is the same as its FP16 rate (1:1 ratio), and this balanced compute may not be optimally utilized by Archeage's engine, which appears to favor raw rasterization over compute-heavy effects.

The card's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.2% faster) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% faster). This clustering suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER is competitive but not dominant, and the measured FPS results in Archeage reflect this positioning — strong at 1080p and 1440p, but struggling at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K brings 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This processor is built on Intel's 10 nm process (Raptor Lake-R architecture) and features 33 MB of shared L3 cache, with 2 MB L2 per core. The high boost clock is particularly relevant for Archeage, an MMORPG from 2014 that likely relies heavily on single-threaded game logic.

The CPU's benchmark results support this theory. In Cinebench R23, the i7-14700K scores 44534 multi-core but 6287 single-core. The single-core score is 14.1% of the multi-core score, which is typical for a 20-core processor but highlights that single-thread performance is still strong. In Geekbench, the single-core score of 2932 compared to 18896 multi-core (15.5% ratio) reinforces this pattern.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 234.7 FPS — a result that suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. The 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates this processor is near the top of the stack. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores nearly identically (0% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.5% faster and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% slower.

The 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for an MMORPG like Archeage, where background tasks like asset streaming and network handling can benefit from additional threads. The 33 MB L3 cache likely helps with the game's many simultaneous objects and player characters. The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel bus, provides flexibility though the measured data doesn't specify which memory type was used.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

At 1080p, the data shows Medium settings delivering 210 FPS, which is 89.4% of the Low preset's 234.7 FPS but with better visuals. High drops to 143.7 FPS, still above 144 Hz refresh rates, while Ultra falls to 97.2 FPS. For competitive play, Medium at 1080p offers the best balance — the 24.7 FPS gain from High to Medium is substantial, while the jump from Medium to Low only adds 24.7 FPS more.

At 1440p, Medium delivers 138.8 FPS, which is 86.3% of the Low score of 160.9 FPS. High comes in at 96.7 FPS, and Ultra at 67.6 FPS. For 144 Hz monitors, Medium is the only preset that exceeds the refresh rate, while High is suitable for 60-100 Hz displays. The 42.1 FPS gap between Medium and High suggests the GPU is becoming more of a factor at this resolution.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. Low delivers 88.4 FPS, Medium drops to 81.6 FPS, and High falls to 54.2 FPS. Ultra at 35.1 FPS is below 60 FPS and likely not ideal for most players. The data indicates that Medium at 4K (81.6 FPS) offers the best experience — it's only 6.8 FPS slower than Low but likely provides significantly better image quality. High at 4K is playable for slower-paced MMO content, but the 27.4 FPS drop from Medium to High is steep.

The overall recommendation based on measured rows: 1080p Medium for competitive play, 1440p Medium for balanced visuals and performance, and 4K Medium for the best playable experience at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 266th out of 1727 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the 84.6th percentile overall, meaning it outperforms roughly 85% of all tested combinations. The rank is respectable but not elite, which aligns with the measured FPS results showing strong 1080p performance but moderate 4K Ultra performance.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs combine to produce this combo rank. The discrepancy between the two percentiles suggests the GPU is the more limiting component in this pairing. A higher-ranked GPU would likely push this combo higher in the rankings, while the CPU has headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

The combo's position in the 266th spot out of 1727 indicates that there are 265 tested combinations that perform better in Archeage. These likely include pairings with the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 class GPUs, or possibly higher-end CPUs paired with the same or similar GPUs. The data doesn't specify which combos rank above, but the implication is clear: for Archeage specifically, this combo is solidly mid-upper tier, not a top-tier performer.

FAQ

Q: What is the best 4K preset for this combo in Archeage?

A: Medium settings at 4K deliver 81.6 FPS, which is only 6.8 FPS slower than Low (88.4 FPS) but likely provides better visual quality. High drops to 54.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.1 FPS.

Q: How much faster is this combo at 1080p versus 4K on Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 234.7 FPS, which is 165.5% faster than the 4K Low result of 88.4 FPS. The scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count difference.

Q: Is the i7-14700K or the RTX 4070 SUPER the limiting factor in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU's high single-core performance (6287 in Cinebench R23) supports 234.7 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not the limiter. At 4K Ultra (35.1 FPS), the GPU's 84th percentile ranking and the steep drop from High suggest the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to its component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 266th out of 1727 (84.6th percentile). The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile, and the GPU in the 84th percentile, indicating the GPU drags the combo's rank down relative to the CPU's strong standing.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: High delivers 96.7 FPS at 1440p, while Ultra delivers 67.6 FPS. That's a difference of 29.1 FPS, or a 30.1% reduction when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K in Archeage?

A: Based on the measured results, no. The 4K Medium preset achieves 81.6 FPS, and even 4K High (54.2 FPS) remains stable. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for this game's 4K demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 234.7 FPS
• Medium: 210 FPS
• High: 143.7 FPS
• Ultra: 97.2 FPS

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 160.9 FPS
• Medium: 138.8 FPS
• High: 96.7 FPS
• Ultra: 67.6 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 88.4 FPS
• Medium: 81.6 FPS
• High: 54.2 FPS
• Ultra: 35.1 FPS

The data shows that Medium settings provide the most consistent performance across resolutions: 210 FPS at 1080p, 138.8 FPS at 1440p, and 81.6 FPS at 4K. The spread from Low to Ultra widens as resolution increases — at 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 137.5 FPS, but at 4K that gap narrows to 53.3 FPS. This compression suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck regardless of settings, while at 1080p, the CPU can feed frames fast enough for Low and Medium to shine.