Archeage

# Archeage Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 125H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU-GPU combo in Archeage?

A: This combination ranks 770th out of 3,708 tested combos in the database for Archeage, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations tested.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H compare to its nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark scores?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 27,507 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27,535, only 0.1% behind) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (27,578, 0.3% behind). It sits slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (27,382, 0.5% ahead).

Q: What resolution and settings combination delivers the highest frame rate?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 221 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at the same resolution reaches 197 FPS on average, while High drops to 134 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 35 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is the most demanding configuration tested in the dataset.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM show any measurable impact in Archeage?

A: The benchmark data does not include VRAM utilization metrics, but the GPU's 32 GB GDDR7 memory with a 512-bit bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is paired with a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs. The measured FPS drops significantly at 4K Ultra, suggesting the game's engine, rather than memory capacity, is the limiting factor.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark standing compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842 is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) and 0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), but 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959).

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, built on Intel's 7 nm Meteor Lake architecture. It provides 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This is a 28 W TDP part designed for the Intel BGA 2049 socket, with dual-channel DDR5 memory support delivering 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Archeage, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining frame rates across settings at a fixed resolution. At 1920x1080, the average FPS scales from 221 on Low to 197 on Medium, then drops to 134 on High and 91 on Ultra. The relatively small gap between Low and Medium (221 vs 197 FPS) suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at these settings. However, the steep decline from Medium to Ultra (197 to 91 FPS) indicates that the game's Ultra preset introduces CPU-intensive effects that this mobile processor struggles to process.

The CPU's benchmark profile reinforces this interpretation. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12,804.5 and single-core score of 1,647.5 place it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs. PassMark single-thread performance of 3,399 and multithread performance of 21,100 show a processor that is competent but not exceptional. In an MMORPG like Archeage, which often has numerous players, NPCs, and world events simultaneously active, the 18 threads help maintain playable frame rates, but the processor's modest single-core strength (relative to desktop parts) becomes a bottleneck at higher settings.

The nearest CPU rivals provide context for this positioning. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800, with an average score of 27,535, performs 0.1% better overall, while the Intel Core i5-12600K matches at 27,578 (0.3% better). These are desktop-class processors, yet the mobile Ultra 5 125H trades nearly evenly with them in aggregate benchmarks. For Archeage specifically, the measured FPS data suggests the CPU can sustain over 200 FPS at 1080p Low, but the Ultra preset's demands push it to 91 FPS—still playable but far from the GPU's potential.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship desktop GPU built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. Its GB202 chip contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. Memory consists of 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The card's compute capabilities include 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s.

In Archeage, the GPU's massive compute resources are underutilized at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, frame rates range from 221 FPS on Low to 91 FPS on Ultra. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 79,842 indicate it should handle far more demanding workloads. The fact that 1080p Low produces 221 FPS while 4K Low produces 85 FPS shows the GPU scaling with resolution, but the relatively modest 2.6x performance drop from 1080p to 4K (221 to 85 FPS) suggests the GPU is not the primary constraint at 1080p.

The RTX 5090's nearest rivals in benchmark scores—the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% behind), Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% behind), and Radeon Pro Vega 64X (1.4% ahead)—are all older or workstation-oriented parts. None of these rivals appear in the measured FPS data for Archeage, so direct in-game comparison is not possible from this dataset. However, the GPU's raw specifications—particularly its 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS compute—far exceed what a 2014 MMORPG would typically require, indicating that Archeage's engine is the limiting factor rather than the GPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), for a total of 12 data points. Medium presets include min and max FPS values, while other presets report only averages.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are: 221 on Low, 197 on Medium (min 167, max 227), 134 on High, and 91 on Ultra. The Medium preset's min FPS of 167 indicates that even in demanding scenes, the combo maintains well above 144 Hz. The jump from Medium to High (197 to 134 FPS) represents a 32% drop, while High to Ultra (134 to 91 FPS) shows a 32% drop as well. This consistent ~32% reduction per setting tier suggests the game applies uniform workload increases between presets.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: 149 on Low, 133 on Medium (min 113, max 152), 90 on High, and 61 on Ultra. The Medium preset's min FPS of 113 remains above 60 FPS, providing a smooth experience. The scaling from Low to Medium is 149 to 133 FPS (an 11% drop), Medium to High is 133 to 90 FPS (a 32% drop), and High to Ultra is 90 to 61 FPS (a 32% drop). Again, the upper preset tiers show consistent proportional reductions.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: 85 on Low, 76 on Medium (min 65, max 87), 52 on High, and 35 on Ultra. The Medium preset's min FPS of 65 is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only 4K preset that maintains playable minimums. The scaling from Low to Medium is 85 to 76 FPS (an 11% drop), Medium to High is 76 to 52 FPS (a 32% drop), and High to Ultra is 52 to 35 FPS (a 33% drop). The consistency of these percentages—11% between Low and Medium, 32% between Medium and High, and 32-33% between High and Ultra—holds across all resolutions, indicating that Archeage's settings presets scale linearly in workload.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 770 out of 3,708 tested configurations places this pairing in the top 20.8% of all tested combos for Archeage. This is a surprisingly modest position for a GPU that ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs and a CPU in the 79th percentile. The discrepancy suggests that Archeage's engine does not scale well with modern high-end hardware, or that the specific combination of a mobile CPU with a desktop GPU creates an imbalance.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide a benchmark context: the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core i5-12600K (0.3% higher), and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (0.5% lower) all perform nearly identically in synthetic tests. The GPU's nearest rivals—the Tesla P100 variants and Radeon Pro Vega 64X—are similarly close in aggregate scores.

Given that this combo ranks 770th out of 3,708, there are 769 configurations that achieve better Archeage performance. This could include combos with faster desktop CPUs paired with the same GPU, or combos with slightly slower GPUs but much faster CPUs. The data suggests that in an MMORPG setting, CPU performance matters significantly for frame rates, and the mobile Ultra 5 125H, despite its 14 cores, may not deliver the sustained single-thread performance that Archeage's engine prefers.

The rank also implies that a substantial number of combos (approximately 2,938) perform worse than this pairing. For a game released in 2014, this combo's performance is respectable but not class-leading, indicating that Archeage's engine has inherent limits that even top-tier hardware cannot fully overcome.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 197 FPS average with a 167 FPS minimum, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset at 134 FPS is still smooth for 120 Hz monitors, while Ultra's 91 FPS is acceptable for 90 Hz displays but leaves performance on the table.

At 2560x1440, Medium provides 133 FPS average with a 113 FPS minimum, which is excellent for 120 Hz panels. High at 90 FPS is suitable for 90 Hz displays, and Ultra at 61 FPS barely meets the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 149 FPS offers the highest frame rate but sacrifices visual quality for a marginal improvement over Medium.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the only preset that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS (65 FPS minimum, 76 FPS average). High at 52 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay, while Low at 85 FPS is viable for 60 Hz displays but with significant visual compromises.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance across all resolutions, providing consistent frame rates with only an 11% drop from Low while delivering substantially better visuals. The High and Ultra presets each impose a 32% performance penalty, making them progressively less attractive as resolution increases. For the best experience, Medium at 1080p or 1440p provides frame rates well above 60 FPS with headroom for demanding scenes, as evidenced by the min FPS values of 167 and 113 respectively.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals important insights about the limiting component. At Low settings, the frame rates are 221 (1080p), 149 (1440p), and 85 (4K). This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K. The combined drop from 1080p to 4K is 62% (221 to 85 FPS).

At Medium settings, the values are 197 (1080p), 133 (1440p), and 76 (4K), representing a 32% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop is 61% (197 to 76 FPS). At High settings, the values are 134 (1080p), 90 (1440p), and 52 (4K), with drops of 33% and 42% respectively, totaling 61% (134 to 52 FPS). At Ultra settings, the values are 91 (1080p), 61 (1440p), and 35 (4K), with drops of 33% and 43% respectively, totaling 62% (91 to 35 FPS).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is striking. Regardless of whether the workload is Low or Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p always reduces FPS by roughly 32-33%, and moving from 1440p to 4K always reduces FPS by roughly 42-43%. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU is resolution-bound at all settings levels—if the CPU were the limiting factor, the percentage drops would be smaller at higher resolutions (where the GPU takes longer per frame) and larger at lower resolutions (where CPU overhead dominates).

The RTX 5090's 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS compute are sufficient to handle the 4K pixel count, but the frame rates at 4K Ultra (35 FPS) show that Archeage's engine imposes its own limits. The 32-bit color pipeline and legacy rendering techniques of a 2014 MMORPG likely create inefficiencies that modern GPUs cannot fully optimize away. The data suggests that this combo is GPU-limited at all resolutions, but the GPU is so powerful that the game's engine becomes the effective bottleneck, particularly at higher settings where the per-frame workload increases by 32% per preset tier.