Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, remains a demanding title for modern hardware, particularly when paired with an Intel Core i9-14900K and an Intel Arc B390. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a significant bottleneck, with the data indicating that this combination struggles to deliver a consistently smooth experience outside of the lowest settings at 1080p. This analysis examines the benchmark results to understand the performance characteristics and limitations of this specific hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems in Archeage?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 combination is ranked 2453 out of 2761 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390's GPU benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, showing it is only marginally ahead of these older, low-end parts.

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved at 1920x1080 with this setup?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1080p is 71 FPS, which is achieved with the Low graphics preset. The Medium preset delivers 64 FPS, while High and Ultra presets drop to 43 FPS and 29 FPS respectively.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo produce its lowest average frame rate?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 11 FPS, which occurs at the 3840x2160 (4K) resolution with the Ultra graphics preset. Even at 4K Low settings, the average frame rate only reaches 28 FPS.

Q: What are the core and thread counts of the Intel Core i9-14900K?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core processor with 32 threads. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have dedicated video memory?

A: No, the Intel Arc B390 uses system shared memory. Its memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and its memory bandwidth is "System Dependent."

How This Combo Ranks

The performance data for this hardware pairing in Archeage is sobering. With a rank of 2453 out of 2761 tested combos, the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 sit in the lower percentile of all tested systems. This rank is a strong indicator that while the CPU is a top-tier component, the overall gaming experience is being severely constrained by the GPU. The Arc B390's individual GPU benchmark score places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its closest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710. These are all entry-level or legacy parts. The data suggests that in a game like Archeage, this combination will not provide a high-refresh-rate experience and will struggle to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and quality settings. This ranking is a clear verdict on the pairing's capability for this specific MMORPG.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are telling. The Intel Core i9-14900K is only 0.3% slower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF, and 0.6% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus. It is 1.2% slower than the AMD EPYC 7413 and 1.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395. These margins are minuscule, indicating that the CPU is performing exactly as expected for a high-end desktop part. This further reinforces the idea that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo's low ranking. The bottleneck is almost entirely on the GPU, which is a 9th-percentile performer. The massive disparity between the CPU's near-top-tier standing and the GPU's bottom-tier standing is what drives the overall combo rank down.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary component responsible for the frame rates observed in these benchmarks. Its specifications paint a picture of a very limited graphics solution. It is based on the Panther Lake chip with the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process. Its shading units number 1536, with 48 texture mapping units and 24 raster output pipelines. The GPU also includes 12 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities are rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16 (2:1). The GPU's boost clock is listed at 2500 MHz.

However, the most critical detail is its memory configuration: "System Shared." This means the GPU does not have its own dedicated VRAM. Instead, it relies on the system's main memory, which is "System Dependent" for bandwidth. In a game like Archeage, which can have large, complex scenes with many players and effects, the lack of dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM can be a severe handicap. The shared memory interface will likely cause stuttering and reduced performance, especially at higher resolutions where more data needs to be stored. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which puts it in the 9th percentile, confirms its low standing among other graphics cards. The data shows this GPU is fundamentally out of its depth for this game, and its performance ceiling is very low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only configuration that provides a remotely playable experience is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which yields an average of 71 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is a close second at 64 FPS, and this is arguably the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the minimum FPS for Medium at 1080p is 54, keeping it above a generally acceptable threshold. The High preset at 1080p drops the average to 43 FPS, which is a significant step down and may feel less smooth in fast-paced combat. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as the average frame rate falls to 29 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more difficult. The Low preset manages a 48 FPS average, while Medium drops to 43 FPS. High and Ultra are not recommended at this resolution, with averages of 29 FPS and 20 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, all presets result in unplayable frame rates. The Low preset is the best at 28 FPS, but even this is below the threshold for a smooth experience. For this hardware combination, the data clearly indicates that playing at 1080p with Medium settings is the optimal choice for a playable frame rate while maintaining some visual fidelity. If a higher frame rate is prioritized, dropping to Low at 1080p is necessary.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance scales with settings as expected. The Low preset achieves an average of 71 FPS. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 73. The High preset drops to an average of 43 FPS, and the Ultra preset further drops to 29 FPS. This shows a clear performance cliff between Medium and High settings at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates all decrease. The Low preset averages 48 FPS. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 49. The High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 20 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is smaller (48 vs 43), but the drop from Medium to High is still large (43 to 29). At 3840x2160, the performance is severely limited. The Low preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 25 FPS, with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28. The High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset only manages 11 FPS. These numbers show that the GPU is completely overwhelmed at 4K, with all settings producing frame rates that are not suitable for gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is an exceptionally powerful processor, and its benchmark scores confirm this. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. In Geekbench, it scores 21697 multi-core and 2655 single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 58674, and its single-thread score is 4697. The CPU is a 24-core, 32-thread part based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its average benchmark score is 79097, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Archeage, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI. With its high single-thread performance and many cores, the i9-14900K is more than capable of handling these tasks. The nearest rivals for this CPU, such as the Intel Core i9-14900KF and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, have nearly identical average scores, with deltas of -0.3% and -0.6% respectively. This shows that the i9-14900K is performing at the top of its class. The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system. The frame rates are being limited by the GPU's inability to render frames fast enough, not by the CPU's ability to feed it data. The CPU's massive performance headroom is left largely unused in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 71. At 1440p Low, it drops to 48, a 32% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops further to 28, which is a 61% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively constant across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. The fact that FPS drops so dramatically as resolution increases indicates that the GPU's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor.

The same pattern is visible at other settings. For Medium, the average FPS goes from 64 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p and 25 at 4K. For High, it goes from 43 at 1080p to 29 at 1440p and 17 at 4K. The consistent and steep decline in performance with each resolution increase is a definitive sign that the Intel Arc B390 is saturated. The GPU's shared memory architecture and low compute power are unable to keep up with the increasing pixel count. This data implies that players with this combo must significantly lower their expectations for visual quality or resolution to achieve playable frame rates. The i9-14900K is ready and waiting, but the Arc B390 simply cannot deliver the frames.