Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that is far more demanding on the CPU than modern benchmarks suggest, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination reflects a system that is heavily bound by processor performance, especially at lower resolutions. The benchmark results show a configuration that delivers excellent frame rates but scales in a way that reveals the CPU as the primary limiter, with the GPU's massive resources being underutilized until settings and resolution are pushed to their absolute limits.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus. For a game like Archeage, which was released in 2014 and relies heavily on single-threaded performance for its game logic and physics, the Core Ultra 5 235’s high boost clock is critical. The data shows the CPU’s Passmark single-thread score is 4516, which places it in a strong position, but the game’s engine does not appear to leverage the full multithreading capability of the 14 cores.

Benchmark results indicate that this processor is a capable performer, with an average benchmark score of 46062, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, scores 46030, a negligible 0.1% difference. This suggests that in general compute tasks, the Core Ultra 5 235 is competitive with top-tier mobile and desktop parts. However, in Archeage, the performance is not about raw multi-core throughput. The game’s reliance on a few high-frequency cores means that the CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz is the primary driver of frame rates, rather than the 14 cores. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 shows that the CPU can handle heavy workloads, but Archeage’s engine is unlikely to utilize all those threads effectively, meaning that the single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085) is the more relevant metric for this title.

The performance data supports this interpretation. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 298 FPS, which is a massive number but not as high as the GPU’s theoretical ceiling would suggest. This is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck in an older MMO. The CPU is likely the limiting factor, as it must process all the game’s network, AI, and logic updates for the player’s environment. The fact that the CPU has 14 threads is nearly irrelevant here; what matters is the speed of the primary cores. The processor’s Passmark physics score of 2570 and integer math score of 87948 are decent, but these are not the workloads that Archeage stresses. The game is more sensitive to the latency and throughput of a single core, which is where the 5.00 GHz boost clock is essential. The data indicates that this CPU is more than adequate for the game, but it is also the component that prevents the system from reaching even higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an enormous GPU, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. It is a triple-slot card with a 450 W TDP and was released in September 2022. In terms of raw specifications, the RTX 4090 is in a league of its own, with 16384 shading units and an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS. Its average benchmark score is 60347, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60326 (a 0% difference). This indicates that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4090 is at the top of the pile.

However, in Archeage, the GPU’s role is more nuanced. The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of VRAM is massive overkill for a game from 2014, as even at 4K Ultra settings, the game is unlikely to use a fraction of that memory. The GPU’s clock speeds are not the limiting factor either. Instead, the data suggests that the GPU is often underutilized due to the CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system hits 298 FPS, but the RTX 4090 is capable of far more in most titles. The benchmark results show that the GPU only becomes the limiting component at the highest settings and resolution. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 47 FPS, which is the only point in the data where the GPU’s workload is significant enough to bring the system to its knees.

The GPU’s performance in this specific game is not about its raw power but about its ability to render frames when the CPU provides them. The RTX 4090’s Passmark G3D score is 38194, and its DirectX 12 score is 150, which are high but irrelevant if the CPU cannot feed it data fast enough. The data implies that the GPU is effectively idling at lower resolutions and settings, waiting for the CPU to catch up. This is typical for an MMORPG, where the CPU handles the world simulation and the GPU only draws the final image. The RTX 4090’s massive bandwidth and compute power are wasted in this scenario, but the system still produces high frame rates because the GPU is so far ahead of the CPU’s capability. The GPU’s role is to ensure that at 4K Ultra, the system can still play the game, even if it means dropping to 47 FPS, which is a playable but not smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions, which reveals the bottleneck dynamic. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 298 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 200 FPS, a 33% decrease. At 4K Low, the frame rate drops further to 115 FPS, another 42.5% decrease from 1440p. This scaling is expected due to the increased pixel count, but the fact that the frame rate is still very high at 4K Low indicates that the GPU is not the primary limiter at these settings. The CPU is still the bottleneck, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rate at 1440p Low (200 FPS) is only slightly lower than the 1080p Low (298 FPS), which is a smaller drop than what would be expected if the GPU were fully loaded.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar. 1080p Medium yields 265 FPS, 1440p Medium yields 178 FPS (a 32.8% drop), and 4K Medium yields 102 FPS (a 42.7% drop from 1440p). The percentages are consistent, suggesting that the same component is limiting. However, at High settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced. 1080p High is 180 FPS, 1440p High is 121 FPS (a 32.8% drop), and 4K High is 69 FPS (a 43% drop from 1440p). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is still 32.8%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is higher. This suggests that the GPU is starting to become more involved, but the CPU is still heavily limiting the lower resolutions.

The most telling data is at Ultra settings. 1080p Ultra is 123 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 83 FPS (a 32.5% drop), and 4K Ultra is 47 FPS (a 43.4% drop from 1440p). Here, the frame rate at 4K Ultra is the lowest in the entire dataset, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is 43.4%, which is comparable to the drops at other settings. This indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, as the increased graphical fidelity (likely shadows, textures, and effects) puts enough load on the RTX 4090 to finally saturate its resources. The fact that the frame rate drops from 69 FPS at 4K High to 47 FPS at 4K Ultra shows that the GPU is working hard, but the overall scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is still a significant constraint even at 4K, as the frame rates are not as high as the GPU could theoretically produce. The data clearly shows that this is a CPU-bound system at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU only becoming the primary limiter at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 56th out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This is a strong ranking, placing the system in the top 2% of all configurations tested. The rank is likely due to the high CPU single-thread performance and the GPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, even if the GPU is not always fully utilized. The ranking suggests that this combination is excellent for this game, but it is not the absolute best, which implies that there are other CPUs that offer even better single-thread performance or better scaling with the RTX 4090.

The rank of 56 out of 2761 means that there are 55 other combinations that perform better in Archeage. This is not surprising, as the game’s engine is old and may favor processors with even higher boost clocks or better memory latency. The Core Ultra 5 235’s 5.00 GHz boost clock is high, but other CPUs, such as those from the Intel Core i9 series or AMD Ryzen 9 series, may have similar or higher clocks and better memory subsystems. The data shows that this combo is in the top 2%, but the fact that it is not higher suggests that the CPU’s 14 threads and 14 cores are not all being used, and the game is likely only using a few cores. The RTX 4090 is clearly not the limiting factor for the ranking, as it is one of the fastest GPUs available. The ranking is therefore primarily determined by the CPU’s single-thread performance and its ability to feed the GPU with frames. The combo’s position at 56th indicates that it is a very capable pairing, but for players who want the absolute highest frame rates in Archeage, a CPU with even stronger single-core performance might be a better choice.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Archeage?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 298 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the system better for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p or 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows that at 1440p with Medium settings, the system achieves 178 FPS, and at 1080p with Medium settings, it reaches 265 FPS, indicating that both resolutions are well above 144 Hz for competitive play.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 47, which is a 43.4% decrease from 1440p Ultra. This is because the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at this extreme setting, as the increased graphical load finally saturates the RTX 4090’s capabilities.

Q: How does this combo compare to other CPU options in terms of overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030) and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098), showing that it is competitive with top-tier laptop and desktop processors.

Q: Is the 24 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4090 necessary for Archeage?

A: No, the 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than needed for a 2014 MMORPG, as the game’s textures and assets are not likely to use even a fraction of that capacity, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What setting provides the best balance of visual quality and high frame rate?

A: The data suggests that Medium settings at 1440p, which yields 178 FPS, or High settings at 1080p, which yields 180 FPS, provide a strong balance, as they offer high frame rates while still improving visual quality over Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is the complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination in Archeage.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average FPS 298
• Medium: Average FPS 265, Minimum FPS 225, Maximum FPS 305
• High: Average FPS 180
• Ultra: Average FPS 123

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average FPS 200
• Medium: Average FPS 178, Minimum FPS 152, Maximum FPS 205
• High: Average FPS 121
• Ultra: Average FPS 83

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average FPS 115
• Medium: Average FPS 102, Minimum FPS 87, Maximum FPS 117
• High: Average FPS 69
• Ultra: Average FPS 47

The data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, with Low settings producing 298 FPS and Ultra settings still producing a very playable 123 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 58.7%, which is significant but still leaves a high frame rate. At 1440p, the frame rates are still excellent, with Low at 200 FPS and Ultra at 83 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 58.5%, which is nearly identical to the 1080p drop, indicating that the CPU is still the main limiter. At 4K, the frame rates become more moderate, with Low at 115 FPS and Ultra at 47 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 59.1%, which is consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute numbers are lower. The Medium settings at each resolution show the only minimum and maximum FPS values in the dataset, with 1080p Medium ranging from 225 to 305 FPS, 1440p Medium ranging from 152 to 205 FPS, and 4K Medium ranging from 87 to 117 FPS. This indicates that even at Medium settings, there is a significant variance in frame times, likely due to the CPU’s workload in complex scenes. The Ultra settings at 4K produce the lowest average FPS of 47, which is the only point in the data where the system dips below 60 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck at this extreme configuration.