Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that, in this benchmark configuration, pairs the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The dataset places this specific combination at rank 207 out of 1727 tested combos, indicating a top-tier setup for the title. The measured frames per second reveal a system capable of delivering high refresh rates at 1080p and maintaining playability at 4K, though the scaling across resolutions and settings tells a detailed story about where the bottleneck lies.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts up to 5.60 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm process. The chip carries a 33 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus. Its average benchmark score sits at 70104, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested.

Comparing this chip to its immediate rivals, the data shows a tightly packed field. The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 70074, a delta of 0% against the 14700KF, making them functionally identical in aggregate performance. The AMD EPYC 9115 trails by just 0.3%, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.4% ahead. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 leads the group by 1.3%. This suggests that in pure compute, the 14700KF is at parity with the best available consumer and server parts.

In the context of Archeage, an MMORPG with heavy draw-call overhead and complex scene logic, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical. The chip's Geekbench single-core score of 2972 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290 indicate strong per-thread throughput, which directly influences how quickly the game can process character positions, NPC AI, and network updates. The 5.60 GHz boost clock is the key enabler here. Multi-core scores, such as Cinebench R23's 44557, are less relevant for Archeage's typical gameplay, as the engine does not scale perfectly across 20 cores, but the headroom ensures that background tasks do not interfere with frame pacing.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low hits 246.9, which is close to the 240 Hz ceiling of many gaming monitors. At 1080p Ultra, the score drops to 102.3, showing that the CPU still maintains a high frame floor. The data indicates that the 14700KF is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions; instead, the GPU takes over as settings increase.

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

The measured rows provide four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — across three resolutions. The goal is to identify the preset that balances visual fidelity with frame rate stability, using only the data provided.

At 1920x1080, Low delivers 246.9 FPS, Medium 217.6, High 151, and Ultra drops to 102.3. The jump from Low to Medium is relatively small (a 29.3 FPS decrease), while Medium to High is a steeper 66.6 FPS loss. Ultra further reduces performance by 48.7 FPS. For competitive play or high-refresh displays, Medium offers a strong compromise, retaining 217.6 FPS while presumably adding meaningful visual improvements over Low. High is still very smooth at 151 FPS, but the incremental fidelity gain over Medium may not justify the 44% performance hit.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low produces 163 FPS, Medium 145.7, High 96.7, and Ultra 70.4. Here, Medium remains the best choice, as it stays above 144 FPS, matching common 1440p monitor refresh rates. High falls below 100 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Ultra at 70.4 is playable but misses the high-refresh mark.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. Low yields 94.8 FPS, Medium 84.1, High 55.9, and Ultra 40.5. Medium is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS at this resolution, making it the clear recommendation for 4K owners. High dips into sub-60 territory, and Ultra is borderline unplayable for smooth gameplay. Across all resolutions, Medium provides the highest frame rate that remains above 60 FPS at 4K and above 144 FPS at 1440p, making it the optimal preset for this combo.

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

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU load. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p (246.9 FPS) to 1440p (163 FPS) is a 34% reduction, and further to 4K (94.8 FPS) is another 42% drop. This steep decline indicates that even at Low, the GPU is becoming the primary constraint as resolution increases. The CPU, with its high single-core throughput, is likely feeding frames faster than the RX 7900 XTX can render at higher pixel counts.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar. 1080p yields 217.6 FPS, 1440p drops to 145.7 (33% loss), and 4K falls to 84.1 (42% loss from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops suggest a linear GPU-bound scaling, typical for a title that is not heavily CPU-limited at these settings. At High, 1080p produces 151 FPS, 1440p 96.7 (36% loss), and 4K 55.9 (42% loss). The pattern holds, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting component.

Ultra settings show the same trend but with lower absolute numbers: 102.3 at 1080p, 70.4 at 1440p (31% loss), and 40.5 at 4K (42% loss). The fact that the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently around 42% across all presets is telling. It indicates that the RX 7900 XTX's rendering performance scales predictably with pixel count, and the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiter, the 4K numbers would show a smaller percentage loss, since lower FPS would give the CPU more breathing room. Instead, the data points to a GPU-bound scenario at all resolutions above 1080p, which is expected for a modern high-end card in a 2014 title with moderate CPU demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use with this combo at 4K?

A: Medium is the only preset that maintains an average FPS above 60 at 3840x2160, delivering 84.1 FPS. High drops to 55.9, and Ultra falls to 40.5, so Medium is the recommended choice for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700KF compare to its closest rival in aggregate performance?

A: The 14700KF scores 70104 on average, which is statistically identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K at 70074 (0% delta). It also edges out the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.3%, but trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X by 0.4% and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.3%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game at 1080p High?

A: At 1080p High, the combo achieves 151 FPS. Given that the GPU's average benchmark score (44019) places it in the 85th percentile, and the CPU is in the 96th percentile, the data suggests the GPU is more likely the limiting factor, though the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures high frame delivery.

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

A: Low produces 163 FPS, while Ultra drops to 70.4 FPS, a reduction of 92.6 FPS. This 57% decrease highlights the significant cost of enabling Ultra settings at 1440p.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX have enough VRAM for Archeage at 4K Ultra?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 384-bit bus and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured 4K Ultra average FPS is 40.5, which is low for smooth play, but the VRAM capacity is far above what Archeage from 2014 would require, so the frame drop is due to rendering load, not memory exhaustion.

Q: How does the GPU's performance rank against its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 44019, placing it in the 85th percentile. It is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580, 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000, but 2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The card runs a base clock of 1929 MHz with a boost clock of 2498 MHz, and a game clock of 2365 MHz. Memory is 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

For Archeage, which is not a visually demanding title by modern standards, the GPU's raw compute is more than sufficient. The card's FP32 performance of 61.39 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s are far beyond what a 2014 MMORPG needs. However, the measured FPS shows that the GPU still becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the card delivers 246.9 FPS, but this drops to 102.3 at Ultra. The 24 GB VRAM is never a concern here, as even 4K Ultra with high-resolution textures would use a fraction of that capacity.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its high-end positioning. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6841, and it achieves 31238 in Passmark G3D. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 189573 and Vulkan score of 192597 highlight its compute capability. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XTX sits in a competitive spot. It is 0.8% ahead of the RTX 4090 Mobile and 1.6% ahead of the Quadro M6000, but trails the RTX 4070 Ti by 2%. The Radeon Pro 580 is 0.4% behind, which is a negligible margin.

In practical terms, the GPU's role in Archeage is to handle the increased pixel workload as resolution rises. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU can push frame rates above 200, but the GPU's rendering limits cap the Ultra preset at 102.3. At 4K, the GPU is fully saturated, as evidenced by the linear FPS scaling with resolution. The card's boost clock of 2498 MHz and 96 RT cores are irrelevant for this game, but the high bandwidth and large VRAM ensure there are no memory-related stutters. The measured 4K Medium result of 84.1 FPS indicates that the RX 7900 XTX has ample headroom for this title, and users can expect consistent performance without driver-level frame pacing issues.