Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, is an interesting case study for modern flagship hardware. The data for the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination shows a title that is highly sensitive to settings, with performance scaling that reveals a complex relationship between CPU and GPU loads. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets paint a clear picture of a game that can either push the GPU to its limits or become bottlenecked by other factors, depending on the configuration chosen.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly indicates that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 289 FPS, which is only a 7% reduction from the 312 FPS seen at Low settings. However, it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low. The High preset at 1080p drops to 197 FPS, a 32% decrease from Medium, which is a significant performance hit for a relatively modest graphical improvement in a game of this era. The Ultra preset, while visually demanding, yields 134 FPS at 1080p, which is still playable but represents a 54% drop from Medium, making it a less efficient choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

The trend continues at 2560x1440, where the Medium preset delivers a robust 195 FPS average. This is a 11% reduction from the Low preset's 219 FPS, but again, the visual fidelity gains are worth the trade-off. High at this resolution drops to 132 FPS, a 32% decrease from Medium, while Ultra falls to 90 FPS, a 54% drop. The 90 FPS figure for Ultra is still perfectly playable, but the data suggests that the jump from Medium to High is not efficient, and the jump to Ultra is even less so. At 4K (3840x2160), the Medium preset is the highest playable option, producing an average of 112 FPS. This is a 10% drop from Low's 125 FPS, but it ensures a much better visual experience. High at 4K produces 76 FPS, a 32% drop from Medium, which starts to approach the threshold where some users might find the frame rate less than ideal. Ultra at 4K is essentially unplayable for smooth gameplay, with an average of just 52 FPS.

The data consistently shows that the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It maintains high frame rates at all resolutions while providing a significant visual uplift over the Low preset. The performance cost of moving to High is consistently around 32% across all resolutions, a steep price that does not translate to a proportional visual benefit in this older title. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors (144Hz or above), Medium is the only preset that consistently delivers frame rates above the refresh rate at 1080p and 1440p, ensuring the smoothest possible experience. At 4K, Medium is the only preset that keeps the average above 100 FPS, making it the definitive choice for a high-performance 4K experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this system, but its massive capabilities are only fully utilized at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's specifications are extraordinary, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units give it a theoretical FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS. In a game like Archeage, which is not known for state-of-the-art graphics, this GPU is often underutilized at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 312 FPS, which is likely a CPU or game engine limit rather than a GPU limit. The GPU is so powerful that it is waiting for the rest of the system to feed it data.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 52, indicating that the GPU is now being stressed by the sheer number of pixels and the high-detail settings. The 32 GB of VRAM is a significant asset here, as even at 4K Ultra, the game is unlikely to exceed this capacity, preventing any potential texture swapping or stuttering. The bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is also crucial for handling the large textures and geometry at 4K. The data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, the GPU is largely idle; at 1440p, it begins to work harder; and at 4K, it becomes the primary limiting factor, especially at High and Ultra settings. The benchmark results for the GPU itself, such as a Passmark G3D score of 44065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 14326, confirm its top-tier position, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the bottleneck shifts between the CPU and GPU. At the Low preset, the performance drop is relatively modest: 312 FPS at 1080p, 219 FPS at 1440p (a 30% drop), and 125 FPS at 4K (a 60% drop from 1080p). This scaling suggests that even at Low settings, the game is not purely GPU-bound. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, is likely the limiting factor at 1080p, and as resolution increases, the GPU starts to take on more of the load.

The scaling is much more aggressive at the Ultra preset. The FPS drops from 134 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 52 at 4K (a 61% drop from 1080p and a 42% drop from 1440p). This indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions. The rendering load from the high-detail settings scales directly with the number of pixels, and the RTX 5090 D, while powerful, is still taxed by the 4K Ultra workload. The data for the Medium preset shows a similar trend to Low, with a 33% drop from 1080p (289 FPS) to 1440p (195 FPS) and a further 42% drop to 4K (112 FPS). This suggests that at Medium settings, the CPU is still a significant factor at 1080p, but the GPU becomes more dominant as the resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is ranked 5th out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This is an exceptionally high ranking, placing this system in the top 0.2% of all configurations tested. This top-tier ranking is expected, given the flagship status of both components. The CPU alone is in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, scores slightly higher at 79371, a negligible 0.3% difference. The GPU, in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, also performs exceptionally, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which is 1.6% behind.

This ranking reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across all settings and resolutions. While the game may not be the most demanding, the sheer power of this combo ensures it is never the bottleneck in most scenarios. The 5th place ranking reflects the balance of the CPU and GPU. The i9-14900K's strong single-core performance is vital for an MMORPG like Archeage, which often relies on a single main thread for game logic, while the RTX 5090 D's immense power handles the graphical load. The fact that it is not ranked 1st suggests that there may be other, albeit slightly different, combinations that can achieve marginally higher frame rates, possibly due to memory configurations or other system-level factors, but the performance delta is likely to be minimal.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K plays a critical role in this system's performance, particularly at lower resolutions and settings. With 24 cores and 32 threads, it is a multi-threading powerhouse, but its single-core performance is what matters most for Archeage. The processor has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, which is excellent for the lightly-threaded workloads typical of MMORPGs. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5 and Geekbench single-core score of 2655 are top-tier, ensuring that the game's main logic thread has plenty of headroom.

The data supports this analysis. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 312 FPS, a figure that is likely limited by the game's engine or CPU rather than the GPU. The fact that the FPS drops to 219 and 125 at 1440p and 4K respectively, even at Low settings, suggests that the CPU is still a significant contributor to performance at these resolutions. The CPU's role is less prominent at Ultra settings, where the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, but its strong single-core performance ensures that it does not hold the GPU back. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for game data that needs to be accessed quickly. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4697 is a strong indicator of its ability to handle the game's core logic. In essence, the i9-14900K provides a massive foundation that allows the RTX 5090 D to perform at its best, especially in scenarios where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU/GPU combo in Archeage?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. It provides high average FPS at all resolutions (289 at 1080p, 195 at 1440p, and 112 at 4K) while the drop to High settings costs roughly 32% performance, which is not an efficient trade-off.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 312 FPS, which is likely a CPU or game engine limit. The GPU is so powerful that it is not the primary limiting factor at this resolution. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU as resolution and settings are increased.

Q: How does the performance scale from 1080p to 4K?

A: The scaling depends heavily on the settings. At Low, the FPS drops by 60% from 1080p to 4K (312 to 125). At Ultra, the drop is similar at 61% (134 to 52), but the absolute numbers are much lower, indicating a GPU bottleneck at all resolutions on Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems in Archeage?

A: This combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is ranked 5th out of 2761 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.2% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K important for this game's performance?

A: Yes. Its high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5) is crucial for MMORPGs like Archeage, which often rely on a single thread for game logic. This is evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low, where the CPU is a limiting factor.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 312 on Low to 134 on Ultra, a 57% decrease. At 1440p, it drops from 219 to 90 (a 59% decrease), and at 4K, it drops from 125 to 52 (a 58% decrease).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset. Minimum and maximum FPS are only provided for the Medium preset in the data.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 312 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 289 | 246 | 333 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 197 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 134 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 219 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 195 | 166 | 224 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 132 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 90 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 125 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 112 | 95 | 128 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 76 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 52 | - | - |

The data clearly shows that the Medium preset is the most consistent performer, with the smallest relative FPS drop when resolution increases. For example, moving from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium results in a 61% drop, while moving from 1080p High to 4K High results in a 61% drop as well. However, the Medium preset always maintains a higher absolute frame rate, making it the recommended choice. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and its 4K average of 52 FPS is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating it is not suitable for a smooth experience at that resolution. The High preset, while playable, consistently offers a poor performance-per-visual-investment ratio compared to Medium.