Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, shows a significant performance spread across resolutions and settings when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The measured data provides a clear picture of how this combination scales, where the bottlenecks lie, and which settings deliver the most usable experience. This analysis walks through the numbers step by step, drawing only on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The most direct way to understand this combo's behavior is to track average FPS across the three tested resolutions at each setting. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 209 at 1920x1080 to 141 at 2560x1440, then to 81 at 3840x2160. That is a 68 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 60 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear in this case, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is doing enough work at higher resolutions to pull performance down.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 127 FPS at 1080p, 85 at 1440p, and 49 at 4K. The delta from 1080p to 1440p is 42 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 36 FPS. The percentage drop is steep—about 33% from 1080p to 1440p—but the relative decline from 1440p to 4K is also substantial at roughly 42%. This suggests that the RTX 3080 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary limiter as pixel count rises, but the CPU is still keeping pace at the lower end.

Medium settings show an interesting middle ground: 186 FPS at 1080p, 125 at 1440p, and 72 at 4K. The frame rate drops by 61 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, and by 53 FPS from 1440p to 4K. Notably, the 1440p Medium result includes a minimum FPS of 107 and a maximum of 144, while the 4K Medium result shows a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 83. These ranges indicate that the frame pacing is relatively stable, with the spread between min and max widening as resolution increases.

Ultra settings are where the combo struggles most. At 1080p, it manages 86 FPS, which drops to 58 at 1440p and just 33 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely playable for an MMORPG, and the data shows a 53% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by another 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This is a clear sign that Ultra settings push the GPU beyond its comfort zone, likely due to the combination of high pixel count and demanding effects.

The scaling pattern across all settings points to the GPU as the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 3080 Ti has a boost clock of 1665 MHz and 10,240 shading units, but the 4K numbers—especially at Ultra—show that even this hardware cannot maintain high frame rates without lowering settings. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 209 FPS ceiling suggests that the CPU, with its 10 cores and 4.90 GHz boost clock, is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond what most displays need.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor from the Arrow Lake-S architecture, running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,891 and a single-core score of 3,655, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This is a strong mid-range chip, but its role in Archeage is less about raw multi-threaded power and more about sustained single-thread performance.

Archeage, being an MMORPG from 2014, is not known for scaling across many cores. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 209 FPS, which is likely near the game engine's practical ceiling for this CPU. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,412 and multi-thread score of 30,459 suggest that it has plenty of headroom for most tasks, but the game's engine may not utilize all 10 threads efficiently. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache is substantial, but the game's demands are more likely to be single-thread-bound.

When comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the data shows it is essentially on par with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct of 0), and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, both at -0.2% deltaPct. This means the Core Ultra 5 225 is not a bottleneck in most scenarios, but the frame rate differences between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (209 vs. 186) hint that the CPU's ability to feed the GPU at high FPS may be reached around the 200 FPS mark.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further. The frame rates at 4K High (49) and 4K Medium (72) are far below what the CPU could theoretically push, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component there. However, at 1080p Ultra (86 FPS), the CPU is still not the primary constraint, as the GPU's workload rises with Ultra settings. The data suggests that the Core Ultra 5 225 is a capable partner for the RTX 3080 Ti, but it does not boost performance in a way that would overcome GPU limits at high resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the more significant factor in this combo. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s is a key asset. The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz, and it has 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, making it a high-end Ampere part. Its PassMark G3D score of 26,896 and percentile rank of 83 indicate it is a strong performer, but the 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS shows its limits.

The GPU's role in Archeage is most evident when comparing settings at the same resolution. At 4K, moving from Low (81 FPS) to Medium (72 FPS) costs only 9 FPS, but moving from Medium to High (49 FPS) costs 23 FPS, and from High to Ultra (33 FPS) costs another 16 FPS. This suggests that certain settings, likely those tied to shadow quality or draw distance, have a disproportionate impact on GPU load. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for 4K in this game, as the data does not show a catastrophic drop that would indicate memory swapping, but the compute load is the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (deltaPct of 0.8), which is slightly ahead, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (deltaPct of 2), which is also ahead. The Tesla M40 variants are behind by -1.2% and -1.7%. This places the RTX 3080 Ti in a competitive position, but the measured FPS in Archeage shows that it cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, which is expected for a demanding setting.

At 1440p, the GPU delivers 141 FPS on Low, which is excellent, but drops to 58 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Medium result of 125 FPS with a min of 107 and max of 144 shows that the GPU can handle the resolution well if settings are moderate. The GPU's FP32 performance of 34.10 TFLOPS and texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s are high, but Archeage's engine seems to hit a wall with Ultra settings, likely due to pixel fill rate requirements—the pixel rate is 186.5 GPixel/s, which becomes stressed at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, but the data shows that Medium settings (186 FPS) offer a better balance than High (127 FPS) or Ultra (86 FPS). The Medium setting's minimum FPS of 158 and maximum of 214 indicate smooth frame pacing, while Ultra's lack of a min/max range in the data suggests it may be more variable. For a 1080p display, Medium is the optimal choice, as it provides a high frame rate cushion for busy MMORPG scenes.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to High settings (85 FPS) or Medium (125 FPS). Medium is the safer bet for consistency, with a min of 107 FPS, while High's average of 85 FPS is still acceptable for most players. Ultra at 58 FPS is borderline, and the data suggests it is not worth the visual gain over High. Low at 141 FPS is wasteful, as the visual downgrade is not justified by the frame rate increase.

At 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. Medium settings (72 FPS) are the clear sweet spot, with a min of 61 FPS and max of 83. High (49 FPS) is playable but may feel sluggish in large battles, while Low (81 FPS) is the only setting that exceeds 60 FPS consistently. Ultra at 33 FPS should be avoided unless the user prioritizes visuals over responsiveness. The data indicates that Medium is the best experience at 4K, offering a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much detail.

Across all resolutions, Medium settings deliver the most balanced performance, with an average FPS of 186 at 1080p, 125 at 1440p, and 72 at 4K. The min FPS values for Medium (158, 107, and 61, respectively) are all above 60, which is a reasonable threshold for an MMORPG. High settings are a secondary option for 1440p, but Medium is the recommended preset for this combo.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 186, with a minimum of 158 and a maximum of 214.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 33, which is the lowest measured result in the data.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p High?

A: The 1440p High result of 85 FPS is well below the 1080p Low result of 209 FPS, indicating the GPU is the primary limiter at this resolution and settings combination.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 61, with a maximum of 83 and an average of 72.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 36,938, which is essentially identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct of 0) and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (deltaPct of -0.2).

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: Medium settings provide 125 FPS average with a min of 107, making it the most consistent choice, while High at 85 FPS is a viable alternative if visual quality is prioritized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured frame rates for this combo, organized by resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, Low settings yield an average of 209 FPS with no min or max recorded. Medium settings produce an average of 186 FPS, with a min of 158 and max of 214. High settings result in an average of 127 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to an average of 86 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy: Low > Medium > High > Ultra, with the gap between Medium and High being 59 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver an average of 141 FPS. Medium settings average 125 FPS, with a min of 107 and max of 144. High settings average 85 FPS, and Ultra settings average 58 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 16 FPS, but the drop from Medium to High is 40 FPS, indicating a steep penalty for High settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 81 FPS. Medium settings average 72 FPS, with a min of 61 and max of 83. High settings average 49 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33 FPS. The 4K results show that Medium is the only setting that keeps the average above 70 FPS, while Ultra falls below 40 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Medium setting consistently provides the most stable frame pacing, as evidenced by the recorded min and max values. The Ultra setting at 4K is the worst performer, with an average that is less than half of the Medium average at the same resolution. The data shows a total of 12 measured rows, covering four settings at three resolutions, with no missing values for the average FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 954 out of 3,708 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 26% of all configurations. This rank is based on the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, with the combo's performance being strong enough to outpace 2,754 other combinations.

The rank is influenced by the combo's ability to deliver high frame rates at lower resolutions, particularly the 209 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a strong result. However, the 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is a weak point, dragging down the overall standing. The combo's percentile rank of 954 suggests that it is a solid mid-to-high tier configuration for this game, but not among the absolute top performers.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking individually suggest that both components are above average, but the combo's rank in Archeage is lower than either component's percentile. This indicates that the game's engine does not fully leverage the hardware, and the combo's performance is more constrained by the game's optimization than by the components themselves. The nearest rival CPUs and GPUs, with deltaPct values close to 0, show that this combo is not an outlier in the database, but its specific FPS results in Archeage are what determine its 954th place standing.