Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG with demanding scenes and a wide range of visual settings. The tested combination pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. This analysis covers how this specific combo performs, where its bottlenecks lie, and the best settings to use.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 lands at rank 1487 out of 2761 tested combos for this game. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning slightly more than half of the combos tested deliver higher frame rates in Archeage. The ranking reflects a mid-pack position, suggesting the hardware is capable but not top-tier for this specific MMORPG's engine.

The CPU’s individual standing is stronger than the combo's overall rank. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 achieves an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G with a score of 49196 (0.4% faster), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.5% faster), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48698 (0.6% slower), and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48618 (0.8% slower). This indicates the processor is well-matched against these alternatives, with performance deltas of less than 1% in either direction.

The GPU’s ranking is more modest. The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at 17666 (0.2% faster), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588 (0.3% slower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 (0.5% slower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 17509 (0.7% slower). The close scores suggest the RTX 4060 sits at a performance tier where small architectural differences produce minimal frame rate gaps in other applications, but the measured FPS in Archeage tells a more specific story.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The GPU has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, though Archeage's age means these features likely see little use. The card operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. Memory runs at 2125 MHz, translating to 17 Gbps effective on an 8 GB GDDR6 interface with a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s.

In Archeage, the GPU's role shifts dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is not the primary constraint. The data shows the RTX 4060 can push 153 FPS at Low settings and 92 FPS at High settings at 1920x1080. These numbers indicate the graphics card has ample headroom at this resolution. The limiting factor at 1080p appears to be the CPU and game engine, as frame rates scale more with settings than with resolution.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to feel the load. The average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings drops to 62, while Low settings yield 103 FPS. This halving of performance from Low to High at the same resolution shows the GPU's rendering workload is becoming more significant. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck. The 3840x2160 results show 59 FPS at Low and only 36 FPS at High, with a significant gap between the quality presets. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely contributing factors at this resolution, as the higher pixel count demands more memory bandwidth and capacity.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU limits. At Low settings, the progression is 153 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 42.7%. This pattern shows that even at Low settings, the GPU is increasingly taxed as resolution climbs, but the CPU still holds some sway at lower resolutions.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. The average FPS goes from 92 at 1080p to 62 at 1440p, a 32.6% reduction, and then to 36 at 4K, a 41.9% reduction from 1440p. The 4K result at High settings is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating the GPU cannot maintain smooth gameplay at this quality level. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU and game engine are the primary limiters, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly. At 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors, with the CPU having less impact on the final frame rate.

The Medium settings results provide a middle ground. At 1080p, the combo averages 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 156. At 1440p, the average drops to 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105. At 4K, the average falls to 52 FPS with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 60. This scaling pattern confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU can keep up with the game's logic and draw calls at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of performance across all tested resolutions and settings. Starting at 1920x1080, the combo achieves 153 FPS at Low settings, 136 FPS at Medium with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 156, 92 FPS at High, and 63 FPS at Ultra. The jump from Low to Ultra represents a 58.8% reduction in average frame rate, showing the significant cost of higher quality presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low settings produce 103 FPS, Medium produces 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105, High produces 62 FPS, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 31.9%, which is larger than the 32.3% gap between Low and Medium. This suggests the High preset introduces effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the most limited. Low settings yield 59 FPS, Medium produces 52 FPS with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 60, High drops to 36 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K is unplayable by most standards, with an average below 30 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is borderline, with the minimum of 45 FPS indicating occasional dips below smooth levels.

The Ultra preset shows the largest resolution scaling penalty. From 1080p Ultra at 63 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 42 FPS is a 33.3% drop, and from 1440p to 4K Ultra at 24 FPS is a 42.9% drop. This indicates that the Ultra preset's additional effects, likely including higher-resolution textures and more complex lighting, are disproportionately heavy on the GPU at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to a clear split between resolution targets. For 1080p gameplay, the High preset at 92 FPS offers a strong balance of visual quality and smoothness. The Ultra preset at 63 FPS is still playable and provides the best visual fidelity, but the 31.5% reduction from High may not be worth the minor visual gains in an MMORPG. The Medium preset at 136 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise is notable.

For 1440p, the High preset at 62 FPS is the recommended choice. It stays above the 60 FPS threshold and provides good detail. The Medium preset at 91 FPS is also viable for players who prefer higher frame rates, as the 31.9% gain over High comes with a moderate visual downgrade. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is not recommended for general use, as the average frame rate is too low for smooth gameplay in crowded areas.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 59 FPS is the only setting that approaches playable frame rates, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is playable but has a minimum of 45 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters in busy scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 36 FPS and 24 FPS respectively are not recommended for a smooth experience. Players targeting 4K should either accept Low or Medium settings or consider lowering the resolution.

The measured data suggests the best overall experience is at 1440p with the High preset. This configuration delivers 62 FPS average, which is smooth for an MMORPG, and the visual quality is high. For players with 1080p monitors, the High preset at 92 FPS is the sweet spot, providing excellent frame rates without the performance cost of Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU has 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The CPU's TDP is 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1851.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. The 1080p results show frame rates that are less dependent on resolution scaling than at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 153 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low result of 59 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU enough frames to reach high frame rates, but the game engine's single-threaded or multi-threaded limitations cap performance below what the GPU could theoretically deliver.

The CPU's benchmark scores support its capability for this game. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32924 in multi-core and 4648 in single-core. The Passmark single-thread score is 4394, and the multi-thread score is 38706. These numbers suggest the CPU has strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for MMORPGs that rely on a main thread for game logic. The 14 cores and 14 threads provide ample multi-threading for background tasks, but Archeage's engine likely does not scale perfectly across all cores.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 90th among all CPUs indicates it is a high-performing processor overall. Its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core i5-14600K, all have similar average scores within 0.8% of each other. This means the CPU is not a weak link in the combo. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates are likely limited by the game engine's CPU-bound paths, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock and modern architecture provide enough headroom to avoid being the primary constraint except in the most CPU-intensive scenarios.