Archeage

Archeage, an MMORPG released on 2014-01-14, shows distinct performance scaling with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination. This pairing places at rank 171 out of 2761 tested combos, putting it in the top 6.2% of all configurations. The data indicates a system that excels at high refresh rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K Ultra presenting a significant challenge. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS across settings and resolutions, interpreting what the numbers reveal about system balance and component roles.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 171 out of 2761 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of gaming systems for Archeage. This position reflects a balanced pairing where neither component drastically bottlenecks the other in most scenarios. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4080 SUPER holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs, suggesting a well-matched duo for this title.

Looking at the CPU's synthetic benchmarks, the Core Ultra 5 235 achieves an average benchmark score of 46062, placing it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030) and Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098). The AMD EPYC 4364P (45970) and AMD EPYC 7303 (45960) trail by 0.2%. This tight clustering indicates the 235 delivers competitive multi-threaded performance for its class, though the data shows it is not a standout leader in raw compute.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080 SUPER averages 54209 across benchmarks, sitting just 0.1% behind the standard RTX 4080 (54247) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828). More notably, it outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698) by 2.7% and the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757) by 2.8%. The SUPER variant's margin over the non-SUPER 4080 is minimal in synthetic tests, but in Archeage, the combination's rank suggests real-world gaming performance exceeds what synthetic averages alone would predict.

The rank 171 position means this combo outperforms approximately 94% of all tested configurations. For an MMORPG where player density and spell effects can strain even high-end hardware, this ranking indicates the system handles large-scale encounters with authority. The data shows no single component dragging the pairing down; instead, the combination leverages the 235's 14 cores and the 4080 SUPER's 16 GB VRAM effectively across the measured settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on optimal settings for this combo. At 1080p, all settings produce playable frame rates, but the choice between them depends on the target experience. Low settings deliver 268 FPS, Medium 238 FPS, and High 162 FPS, while Ultra drops to 111 FPS. For competitive or fast-paced gameplay, Medium offers the best balance, delivering 238 FPS with a minimum of 203 FPS, ensuring no perceptible stutter even in crowded scenes.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. Low hits 180 FPS, Medium 161 FPS, and High 109 FPS, but Ultra falls to 74 FPS. The Medium preset again proves optimal, providing 161 FPS average with a 136 FPS minimum and 185 FPS maximum. This setting maintains high refresh rate smoothness while offering improved visual fidelity over Low. High remains viable for those prioritizing image quality over maximum frame rate, though the 109 FPS average still comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

For 4K, the recommendations become more conservative. Medium is the highest playable setting, delivering 92 FPS with a 78 FPS minimum and 106 FPS maximum. High drops to 62 FPS, which sits near the edge of smoothness for many displays, while Ultra falls to 43 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold most players consider minimum for responsive gameplay. Low at 103 FPS remains the most fluid option for 4K, but Medium provides nearly the same frame rate with substantially better visuals.

The data suggests the best experience across all resolutions is the Medium preset. It never falls below 78 FPS in any measured scenario, ensuring consistent performance, while offering a significant visual upgrade over Low. For users with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, Medium at 1080p or 1440p fully utilizes the display's capability. At 4K, Medium is the recommended ceiling, as High and Ultra introduce frame rates that may cause noticeable judder in fast-moving combat.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals critical information about where the bottleneck lies. At Medium settings, the transition from 1080p (238 FPS) to 1440p (161 FPS) represents a 32.4% decrease, while moving from 1440p to 4K (92 FPS) shows a 42.9% drop. This accelerating decline with resolution indicates the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. From 1080p (268 FPS) to 1440p (180 FPS) is a 32.8% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (103 FPS) is a 42.8% reduction. The consistency of these percentages across Low and Medium suggests the CPU maintains sufficient headroom even at lower graphical loads, with the GPU's pixel throughput becoming the binding constraint at 4K.

High settings show a different pattern. The 1080p to 1440p drop (162 to 109 FPS) is 32.7%, but the 1440p to 4K drop (109 to 62 FPS) is 43.1%. Ultra settings tell a similar story: 111 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p (33.3% drop), and 43 FPS at 4K (41.9% drop). The consistent ~33% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings, followed by a ~42-43% drop from 1440p to 4K, points to a system where the RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 52.22 TFLOPS compute are the primary drivers of resolution scaling.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with its 5.00 GHz boost clock is sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 268 FPS Low result. However, the 4K performance collapse, particularly at Ultra (43 FPS), suggests the GPU's 16 GB GDDR6X memory and 256-bit bus, while substantial, cannot maintain high frame rates at the highest settings. The system is GPU-bound at 4K, CPU-bound at 1080p in low settings, and balanced at 1440p Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 268 FPS average, Medium 238 FPS with a 203-274 FPS range, High 162 FPS, and Ultra 111 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium (30 FPS) is smaller than between Medium and High (76 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns from Medium to High. The Ultra setting at 111 FPS remains playable but sacrifices significant frame rate for marginal visual gains.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust. Low hits 180 FPS, Medium 161 FPS (136-185 range), High 109 FPS, and Ultra 74 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 136 FPS ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The drop from High to Ultra (35 FPS) is proportionally similar to the 1080p drop, confirming consistent scaling behavior.

At 3840x2160, the limitations become apparent. Low achieves 103 FPS, Medium 92 FPS (78-106 range), High 62 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 78 FPS remains above the standard 60 FPS target, making it the only setting that guarantees smooth 4K performance. High at 62 FPS is borderline, while Ultra's 43 FPS falls below acceptable thresholds for most players.

The data shows a clear pattern: Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions, with minimum FPS values that never dip below 78 FPS. The measured maximum FPS at each resolution and setting confirms the system's capability to burst above averages when scene complexity drops, but the minimums are what determine playability. For 1080p and 1440p, even Ultra remains viable, but 4K Ultra is the only configuration that fails to maintain 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Archeage at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the combo achieves 43 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The highest playable 4K setting is Medium at 92 FPS, with High at 62 FPS being borderline.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for competitive play?

A: For maximum frame rates, 1920x1080 Low delivers 268 FPS. However, 1080p Medium at 238 FPS (203 minimum) offers nearly the same performance with better visuals, making it the recommended choice for competitive play.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 scores 46062 average, nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% slower) and Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, 0.1% faster). It edges out the AMD EPYC 4364P (45970) and AMD EPYC 7303 (45960) by 0.2%.

Q: Is the GPU significantly faster than the standard RTX 4080?

A: In synthetic tests, the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209 average) is only 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 (54247). The difference is negligible, suggesting the SUPER variant offers minimal performance gain over its predecessor in this game.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The combo delivers 109 FPS average at 2560x1440 High settings. This provides smooth performance on 60Hz and 100Hz displays, though users with 144Hz monitors may prefer Medium at 161 FPS for higher refresh rates.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame rates in demanding scenes?

A: The data shows minimum FPS values only for Medium settings: 203 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate stable performance, with the 4K Medium minimum still exceeding 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, operating from a 3.40 GHz base clock up to 5.00 GHz boost. This configuration, built on the Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process from TSMC, provides the computational foundation for Archeage's MMO workloads. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 192 KB L1 cache per core help manage the game's many concurrent entities.

The CPU's synthetic performance shows strong multi-threaded capability. Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and single-core of 2085 indicate balanced performance for both heavily threaded scenes and single-threaded game logic. The PassMark multithread score of 37816 and single-thread of 4516 further confirm this balance. For an MMORPG like Archeage, which must track numerous players, NPCs, and environmental effects, the 14 threads provide ample parallelism.

The 235's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it above most desktop processors. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, both within 0.1%. This tight grouping suggests that for Archeage, the CPU's performance is competitive with top mobile and desktop chips, though it does not decisively lead.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's role becomes evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 268 FPS result indicates the CPU can process game logic faster than the GPU can render frames. The 14 threads handle Archeage's background tasks, while the 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance for player actions and combat calculations. The CPU's 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support provide sufficient data throughput for the game's assets.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes ensure it does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 SUPER's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU maintains high frame rates across all settings, with even Ultra hitting 111 FPS. This indicates the 235 has sufficient headroom for Archeage's CPU-bound tasks, making the GPU the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its 16 GB GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, while the GPU operates from 2295 MHz base to 2550 MHz boost. This configuration delivers 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The GPU's synthetic benchmarks show a PassMark G3D score of 34245 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 260075, placing it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54209 sits within 0.1% of the standard RTX 4080 (54247), indicating the SUPER variant offers marginal raw performance gains. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, 1.1% faster) and AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, 2.7% faster), though these differences are minimal in synthetic tests.

In Archeage, the GPU's role dominates at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS demonstrates the GPU's limits when rendering at 3840x2160 with maximum settings. The 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures, but the 52.22 TFLOPS compute cannot maintain high frame rates at this resolution with Ultra settings. The 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a constraint as pixel count increases.

The scaling data confirms the GPU as the primary bottleneck at 4K. The consistent ~33% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by ~42% drop from 1440p to 4K, aligns with the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth limitations. At 1080p, the GPU easily handles the pixel load, allowing the CPU to push frame rates to 268 FPS on Low settings. As resolution increases, the GPU's work per frame grows exponentially, eventually becoming the limiting factor.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while not directly utilized by Archeage's traditional rendering, contribute to the GPU's overall compute capability. The 5 nm process and 45,900 million transistors enable the high clock speeds and throughput necessary for the game's large-scale battles. The GPU's 320 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate substantial power delivery, though the data does not include thermal or power consumption measurements for this specific game.