Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG that remains sensitive to both CPU and GPU performance depending on the resolution and preset selected. The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 produces a wide spread of results, from highly playable 1080p frame rates to a slideshow at 4K Ultra. The data indicates that this pairing offers a balanced experience at lower resolutions where the CPU keeps pace, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 142 FPS, which drops to 95 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 55 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 61% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings. The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets, with the frame rate roughly halving from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load scales predictably with pixel count.

At Medium settings, the drop is from 126 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p, and finally 49 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 86 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, starting at 58 FPS at 1080p, falling to 39 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 23 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that the RX 9060, which sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, runs out of headroom quickly when pushed beyond 1440p.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly a 30-35% performance hit across all settings, which is typical for a GPU-bound workload. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K incurs a larger relative penalty, with frame rates dropping by 42-44% at Low and Medium settings. This disproportionate loss indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus of the RX 9060 may be struggling with the larger frame buffers at 4K, even before the shader load becomes overwhelming.

For the CPU side, the Core Ultra 5 245 with 14 cores and 14 threads shows its strength at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 142 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately at that resolution. The 5.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain high minimum frame rates in the MMORPG's crowded scenes, but the data shows that at 4K, the GPU is unquestionably the bottleneck, as the CPU has ample headroom to spare.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p as the most viable resolution, with average frame rates ranging from 58 FPS at Ultra to 142 FPS at Low. At 1440p, only the Low preset (95 FPS) and Medium preset (85 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while 4K never reaches 60 FPS at any setting.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High produces 58 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 39 FPS. The difference between these presets is 19 FPS, which is a significant 33% reduction in performance for the higher visual quality tier.

Q: Is the RX 9060 sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The measured data suggests no. At 4K, the highest average FPS is 55 at Low settings, with Ultra dropping to 23 FPS. Even the Medium preset at 4K only manages 49 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth.

Q: What is the performance delta between the RX 9060 and its closest rival?

A: The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 9060's 16014. This puts the RX 9060 within a 1% performance margin of that card.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245 compare to the Intel Core i5-14600K?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, while the i5-14600K scores 48618. The Ultra 5 is 0.8% ahead, making the two effectively tied in raw compute performance.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 126 FPS, with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS. This provides a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is critical for MMORPGs like Archeage that often rely on a handful of primary threads. The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed game data close at hand, reducing memory latency in complex scenes.

Benchmark results show the CPU's capability: it scores 32924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4648 in single-core. These figures place it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% behind) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% behind), showing that the Ultra 5 245 is competitive with high-end desktop processors.

In Archeage, the CPU's role becomes apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 142 FPS average suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that at 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 55 FPS, which is a CPU-independent result — the GPU is simply unable to render frames faster. The CPU's 14 threads are more than sufficient for the game's workload, as evidenced by the fact that increasing resolution does not cause a disproportionate CPU-related stutter.

The processor's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensures that data flows efficiently to the GPU. The 65W TDP indicates efficient power usage, but the data does not suggest any thermal throttling issues that would affect gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1603 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the top 58% of all tested configurations, which is a middling position for this hardware pairing. The rank reflects a balance where the CPU is above average (90th percentile) but the GPU is below average (59th percentile), pulling the overall combo score down.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is clearly GPU-limited. The CPU's high percentile ranking does not translate to top-tier game performance because the RX 9060's modest compute power (21.43 TFLOPS FP32) and 8 GB VRAM cap the frame rates. The combo's position at 1603 out of 2761 suggests that many combinations with stronger GPUs outperform it, even if they have weaker CPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 15852 in average benchmarks (1% lower than the RX 9060), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15679 (2.1% lower). This indicates the RX 9060 is positioned near the lower-midrange of current GPUs. In the context of Archeage, this means the combo is best suited for 1080p and light 1440p gaming, rather than high-refresh or 4K scenarios.

The rank of 1603 also suggests that users with this combo should not expect to dominate in performance charts. It is a competent pairing for mainstream gaming, but it will trail behind configurations using higher-tier GPUs. The data confirms that for this MMORPG, the GPU choice is the primary determinant of the combo's overall standing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107 FPS and maximum of 145 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh experience without the performance cost of Ultra, which drops to 58 FPS. The High preset (86 FPS) is also viable, but Medium's higher frame rate makes it the better choice for competitive play.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear winner, producing 85 FPS average with a minimum of 72 FPS and maximum of 98 FPS. This stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1440p (58 FPS) is borderline, dipping below 60 FPS, while Ultra (39 FPS) is not recommended. Low settings (95 FPS) are playable but sacrifice visual quality unnecessarily when Medium performs well.

At 4K, no preset achieves a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset (55 FPS) is the only option that approaches playability, but even it falls short of 60 FPS. Medium (49 FPS) and High (33 FPS) are increasingly choppy, and Ultra (23 FPS) is unplayable. Users with 4K displays should reduce resolution to 1440p for the best experience.

The data indicates that the Ultra preset is poorly optimized for this hardware, with a 50% performance penalty compared to High at 1440p (39 vs 58 FPS) and a 33% penalty at 1080p (58 vs 86 FPS). Given these numbers, the recommended configuration is 1080p Medium for maximum frame rates, or 1440p Medium for a balance of visual quality and performance. The Low preset is only advisable for users prioritizing frame rate above all else.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo are as follows across all tested configurations:

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low settings: 55 FPS average
• Medium settings: 49 FPS average, with minimum 41 FPS and maximum 56 FPS
• High settings: 33 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 23 FPS average

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low settings: 95 FPS average
• Medium settings: 85 FPS average, with minimum 72 FPS and maximum 98 FPS
• High settings: 58 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 39 FPS average

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low settings: 142 FPS average
• Medium settings: 126 FPS average, with minimum 107 FPS and maximum 145 FPS
• High settings: 86 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 58 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern where each step up in settings costs roughly 25-40% performance. From Low to Medium at 1080p, the drop is from 142 to 126 FPS (11% reduction). From Medium to High, it falls to 86 FPS (32% reduction). High to Ultra drops to 58 FPS (33% reduction). At 1440p, the same progression yields 95, 85, 58, and 39 FPS, with the Medium-to-High transition being the steepest (32% drop). At 4K, the progression is 55, 49, 33, and 23 FPS, with the High-to-Ultra drop being the most severe (30% reduction).

The minimum and maximum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows tight frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range is 107 to 145 FPS, a spread of 38 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 72 to 98 FPS, a spread of 26 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 41 to 56 FPS, a spread of 15 FPS. This tightening of the frame range at higher resolutions indicates that GPU load is stabilizing, but at lower average rates.