Archeage

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable Archeage experience that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate, with the system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but struggling to maintain playable levels at 4K. For the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, the Medium preset is the clear winner, offering a substantial frame rate uplift over High settings while maintaining acceptable minimums.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data makes the case for the Medium preset as the optimal choice for this combo. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, which is only 13 FPS shy of the Low preset's 117 FPS average. This is a negligible difference in practice, and the visual upgrade from Low to Medium is significant. Meanwhile, High settings drop the average to 71 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 33 FPS, which is a 31.7% reduction in average frame rate, while the minimum frame rate at Medium (89 FPS) is still well above the average at High (71 FPS). This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining a comfortable margin above display refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves its worth. It produces an average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is right at the threshold for smooth gameplay on a 60Hz monitor. High settings drop to 48 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 33 FPS. While the 1440p Medium result is not as fluid as the 1080p Medium result, it remains playable. Low settings at 1440p push the average to 79 FPS, but the visual compromise is steep for only a 9 FPS gain over Medium. The data indicates that for a 60 FPS target, 1440p Medium is the highest preset that can reliably hit it.

The 4K results are largely unusable for this game. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields a mere 19 FPS average, and High is not much better at 27 FPS. Medium at 4K reaches a 40 FPS average with a minimum of 34 FPS, but this is still below the standard for smooth play. Low at 4K achieves 45 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches playability, but even that is marginal. Given the data, 4K gaming with this combo is not recommended for Archeage; the system is better suited for 1080p or 1440p play. The benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset provides the most consistent experience across all resolutions, balancing visual fidelity with performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the primary bottleneck in this combination, especially as resolution increases. The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the data suggests it is stretched thin at 4K. The memory clock is listed at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), and the core clocks are 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost. The GPU's compute power is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32, which is modest by modern standards. This is reflected in its benchmark scores: a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242. The GPU's percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 58, indicating it sits in the middle of the pack.

The performance drop from 1440p to 4K at the same settings highlights the GPU's limits. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 48 at 2560x1440 to 27 at 3840x2160, a 43.8% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 70 FPS to 40 FPS, a 42.9% reduction. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 and the AMD Radeon 680M, with deltaPct values of 0 and 0.1, respectively. This places the RTX 2060 in a performance tier that is adequate for mainstream 1080p gaming but not for high-resolution or high-refresh-rate play in demanding games.

The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12 Ultimate) is present, but the Passmark DirectX 12 score of 53 is low, suggesting that the card may not be efficiently utilizing newer API features in this title. The data shows that the GPU's performance is more consistent at lower settings, where the load on the rendering pipeline is reduced. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is only 13 FPS, but the difference between Medium and High is 33 FPS. This indicates that the GPU can handle the geometry and texture loads of Medium, but the additional effects and draw calls at High cause a significant performance penalty. For this game, the RTX 2060's role is to provide a solid 60-100 FPS experience at 1080p Medium, which it achieves. Pushing beyond that requires a more capable GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provides a strong foundation for this gaming combo, and the data indicates it is not the primary performance limiter in Archeage. The CPU features 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This is a modern Arrow Lake-S architecture part on a 3 nm process, and its benchmark scores are robust. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655. The Passmark single-thread score is 4412, and the multi-thread score is 30459. The CPU's percentile ranking versus all CPUs is 85, placing it in the top 15% of processors.

In terms of its rivals, the Core Ultra 5 225 is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a deltaPct of 0. It is also within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and Intel Core i9-12900T. This indicates that the CPU's raw processing power is competitive with these options. The L3 cache is 20 MB shared, and the L2 cache is 3 MB per core. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is ample for feeding the GPU.

The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is capable of keeping up with the GPU at all but the lowest settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 117 FPS, which is a high frame rate that could stress a weaker CPU. The fact that this combo reaches this number indicates the CPU has sufficient single-thread performance for the game's logic and draw call processing. The CPU's boost clock of 4.90 GHz is a key factor here. The difference in FPS between Low and Medium at 1080p is only 13 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not creating a bottleneck at these settings. However, at 1440p and 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, but this is attributable to the GPU's limitations, not the CPU. The CPU's high multi-thread score (25891 in Cinebench R23) also ensures that background tasks or MMO-specific server communication won't cause stutters. For Archeage, the Core Ultra 5 225 provides more than enough headroom, and the data shows that the RTX 2060 is the component that dictates the overall frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing sits near the bottom. The combo rank in game is 2928 out of 3708 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 21% of all systems tested. This is a direct reflection of the RTX 2060's age and performance tier, as the CPU is a modern, capable part. The GPU's percentile ranking of 58 versus all GPUs, combined with the CPU's percentile ranking of 85, creates an unbalanced pairing. The CPU is a top-tier performer, while the GPU is mid-range at best.

This ranking means that in a database of thousands of combinations, there are 2927 other systems that achieve higher average FPS in Archeage. The rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's inability to handle high settings at higher resolutions. While the CPU is in the top tier, the GPU's performance at 4K (19-45 FPS depending on settings) is a severe handicap. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can compete with mid-range systems. At 1440p, it falls behind many combinations with newer GPUs. The ranking is a quantitative measure of the overall gaming experience, and the low position is a clear indication that this is not a high-performance gaming rig for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Archeage?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently high frame rates. At Medium settings, it averages 104 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 70 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 40 FPS on Medium.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: No. The Ultra preset only achieves an average of 48 FPS at 1920x1080, 33 FPS at 2560x1440, and 19 FPS at 3840x2160. These frame rates are below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 104 at 1920x1080 to 70 at 2560x1440. This is a reduction of 34 FPS, or 32.7%. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 60, which is still playable but much lower than the 89 FPS minimum at 1080p.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has a high single-thread score of 4412 in Passmark, while the GPU's performance drops sharply with resolution increases. The frame rate differences between settings are consistent with a GPU bottleneck.

Q: Is this combination better than a system with a newer mid-range GPU?

A: The combo rank of 2928 out of 3708 suggests it is in the bottom 21% of systems tested. The RTX 2060's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, has a similar average benchmark score, indicating it is an older card. Newer mid-range GPUs would likely perform better.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium, and is it stable?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 Medium is 60, and the maximum is 81. This shows a stable frame time with a narrow range, making it a viable option for a 60Hz monitor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset. Where available, minimum and maximum FPS are also provided.

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

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | High | 27 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 45 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 40 | 34 | 46 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 19 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 48 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 79 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 70 | 60 | 81 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 33 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 71 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 117 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 104 | 89 | 120 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 48 | - | - |

The data reveals a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best compromise between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers a 46.4% higher average FPS than High (104 vs 71) and a 116.7% higher average than Ultra (104 vs 48). At 1440p, the Medium preset is the only one that maintains an average FPS at or above 60, with the Low preset at 79 and High at 48. The 4K results show that this combo is not suitable for that resolution, with even the Low preset only managing a 45 FPS average. The minimum and maximum FPS data for the Medium presets show that the frame times are relatively stable, with a spread of 31 FPS at 1080p, 21 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. This stability is a positive sign for gameplay consistency, even when the average frame rate is low. For users targeting a 60 FPS experience, the 1080p Medium and 1440p Medium presets are the only viable options, with the latter barely hitting the target. The High preset at 1080p is also an option for those who prefer visual fidelity over maximum frame rate, but it comes with a significant performance cost.