Archeage

# Archeage with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces a distinct performance profile in Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG that remains sensitive to both CPU and GPU scaling. Measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that excels at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain fluid gameplay at 4K with high visual fidelity. The data indicates a combination that is heavily influenced by the game's age and engine characteristics, where the mobile-class CPU becomes a notable factor at high frame rates, while the GPU's raw power is only fully taxed at 4K Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 207 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 140 FPS, a 32% decrease. At 4K Low, the average drops to 80 FPS, which is 61% below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the system is not GPU-limited; the frame rates are high enough that other components, likely the CPU, are constraining output. The RTX 5080 is capable of far more than 207 FPS in an older MMORPG, but the CPU's single-thread performance ceiling appears to cap the maximum frame rate.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings narrows slightly: 185 FPS versus 124 FPS, a 33% reduction. At High settings, the drop is 125 FPS to 84 FPS, a 33% reduction as well. This consistent ~33% scaling between 1080p and 1440p across all settings suggests that the resolution change is the dominant factor, but the absolute frame rates remain high enough that GPU utilization is not yet at 100%. The real inflection point occurs between 1440p and 4K. At High settings, the drop from 84 FPS to 48 FPS represents a 43% reduction, indicating the GPU is now becoming the limiting component. At Ultra settings, the decline is even steeper: from 58 FPS at 1440p to 33 FPS at 4K, a 43% reduction.

The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is particularly telling. This is the only configuration where the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. The difference between 4K High (48 FPS) and 4K Ultra (33 FPS) is a 31% drop, whereas the difference between 1440p High (84 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (58 FPS) is 31% as well. This suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a consistent additional load across resolutions, but the absolute impact is much more noticeable at 4K where the base frame rate is already low. The data shows that this combo is capable of smooth 60+ FPS gameplay at 1080p and 1440p across most settings, but 4K requires significant compromises.

GPU Role

The RTX 5080's specifications are formidable, but Archeage's engine does not fully utilize them. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. The GPU's 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. These specifications place the RTX 5080 in the 87th percentile of all GPUs according to benchmark data, with an average benchmark score of 56083.

Despite this hardware capability, the measured FPS in Archeage at 4K Ultra (33 FPS) is surprisingly low. This indicates that the game's engine is not scaling well with modern GPU architecture. The PassMark DirectX 9 score of 389 and DirectX 10 score of 208 are notably low compared to the GPU's overall PassMark G3D score of 36565. This suggests that Archeage, which relies on older DirectX paths, cannot leverage the full parallel processing power of the Blackwell architecture. The GPU's FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS is impressive for modern titles but appears wasted here.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for Archeage, which is unlikely to exceed even 4 GB at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is also vastly overprovisioned for this game. The GPU's role in this combo is therefore mostly about headroom: it provides enough raw power to maintain high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the engine's limitations prevent it from converting that power into proportional gains at 4K. The nearest rivals in GPU benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon 8060S (deltaPct 0.6), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (deltaPct 0.7), and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (deltaPct 2.3). The RTX 5080 is 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE in average score, but in Archeage, these differences are unlikely to manifest due to the CPU-bound nature of the game at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, Low settings deliver 207 FPS, Medium delivers 185 FPS, High delivers 125 FPS, and Ultra delivers 86 FPS. All presets exceed 60 FPS, so the choice depends on visual preference. Medium at 1080p offers a strong balance: 185 FPS average with a minimum of 157 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS. The min FPS being above 144 suggests that a 144 Hz monitor can be fully utilized at this setting. High at 1080p drops to 125 FPS, which is still smooth but may not saturate a 144 Hz display.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. Low delivers 140 FPS, Medium delivers 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, High delivers 84 FPS, and Ultra delivers 58 FPS. Medium is the clear sweet spot here, providing frame rates comfortably above 60 FPS with a min of 106 FPS that ensures no noticeable stutter. High at 1440p is playable at 84 FPS but sacrifices the headroom that would prevent drops during crowded scenes typical of MMORPGs. Ultra at 1440p dips below 60 FPS, which is marginal for a game like Archeage where smoothness during large-scale battles is critical.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low delivers 80 FPS, Medium delivers 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, High delivers 48 FPS, and Ultra delivers 33 FPS. Medium is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, and its minimum of 60 FPS indicates that the frame rate is stable. High at 4K is borderline unplayable at 48 FPS, and Ultra is not viable at 33 FPS. For 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset, offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 23 FPS (32% reduction), which is not justified given the visual improvements are likely minimal in an older game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 713th out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the top 26% of all combinations, which is respectable but not exceptional. The rank reflects the fact that while the GPU is powerful, the CPU is a mobile-class processor with a 28 W TDP, which limits its sustained performance. The CPU's percentile rank among all processors is 83, and its average benchmark score is 32697, placing it near the Intel Core i5-14600T (deltaPct 0) and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (deltaPct 0.1).

The combo rank of 713 suggests that many other combinations achieve higher frame rates in Archeage. This is likely due to the CPU's thermal and power constraints limiting performance in a game that is single-thread bound at high FPS. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743 and multi-core score of 15028 indicate moderate performance, but the PassMark single-thread score of 3468 is the more relevant metric for Archeage. The combo's rank implies that pairing the RTX 5080 with a higher-clocked desktop CPU would yield better results, but within this specific pairing, the performance is consistent with expectations. The RTX 5080's 87th percentile GPU ranking does not translate to a similar combo ranking, highlighting the CPU's role as the limiting factor in many scenarios.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p with Medium settings provides the best overall experience, delivering 124 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, avoiding the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p and the GPU strain at 4K.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 4K Medium, the combo achieves 71 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 48 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS. Users targeting 4K should stick to Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the high frame rates that do not scale proportionally with the GPU's power. At 4K, particularly with High and Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as shown by the significant FPS drops.

Q: How does the RTX 5080's performance in Archeage compare to its overall benchmark standing?

A: The RTX 5080 ranks in the 87th percentile of all GPUs and has an average benchmark score of 56083. However, in Archeage, its performance is constrained by the game's older engine, which does not fully utilize modern GPU features. The PassMark DirectX 9 score of 389 is particularly low, indicating poor legacy API performance.

Q: What is the frame rate stability like at different settings?

A: The only settings with min/max data are Medium presets. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 157 to 212 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it ranges from 106 to 143 FPS. At 4K Medium, it ranges from 60 to 82 FPS. The tight min-max ranges at 1440p and 4K indicate good stability, while the 1080p range suggests more variance due to CPU limitations.

Q: How does the CPU's architecture affect Archeage performance?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has 16 cores and 22 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its PassMark single-thread score of 3468 is the key metric for Archeage, which is largely single-thread dependent. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps, but the 28 W TDP limits sustained boost clocks, potentially capping maximum frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all tested configurations. At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are as follows: Low settings deliver 80 FPS average, Medium delivers 71 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, High delivers 48 FPS average, and Ultra delivers 33 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline: 80 FPS to 71 FPS (11% drop) from Low to Medium, 71 FPS to 48 FPS (32% drop) from Medium to High, and 48 FPS to 33 FPS (31% drop) from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance is significantly better. Low settings deliver 140 FPS average, Medium delivers 124 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 143 FPS, High delivers 84 FPS average, and Ultra delivers 58 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 11% drop, from Medium to High is a 32% drop, and from High to Ultra is a 31% drop. The minimum FPS of 106 at Medium ensures a smooth experience even during demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo performs at its best. Low settings deliver 207 FPS average, Medium delivers 185 FPS average with a minimum of 157 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS, High delivers 125 FPS average, and Ultra delivers 86 FPS average. The scaling shows a 11% drop from Low to Medium, a 32% drop from Medium to High, and a 31% drop from High to Ultra. The 1080p Medium configuration offers the highest minimum FPS of any tested setting at 157 FPS, indicating excellent stability.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings reveals the scaling pattern. At Low settings, 1080p delivers 207 FPS, 1440p delivers 140 FPS (32% lower), and 4K delivers 80 FPS (61% lower than 1080p). At Medium settings, 1080p delivers 185 FPS, 1440p delivers 124 FPS (33% lower), and 4K delivers 71 FPS (62% lower). At High settings, 1080p delivers 125 FPS, 1440p delivers 84 FPS (33% lower), and 4K delivers 48 FPS (62% lower). At Ultra settings, 1080p delivers 86 FPS, 1440p delivers 58 FPS (33% lower), and 4K delivers 33 FPS (62% lower). The consistent 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 62% drop from 1080p to 4K suggests a predictable scaling behavior across all settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, built on the Meteor Lake architecture using a 7 nm process. It features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The CPU is not multiplier unlocked, meaning overclocking is not possible.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is critical at lower resolutions. The game's engine, released in 2014, relies heavily on single-thread performance. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 3468 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743 are moderate, but the 28 W TDP is a limiting factor. The CPU's percentile rank of 83 among all processors indicates it is above average, but not top-tier. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, deltaPct 0), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, deltaPct 0.1), AMD Ryzen 5 7400F (32750, deltaPct -0.2), and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812, deltaPct -0.4).

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 207 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate capability. The fact that 1440p Low only drops to 140 FPS (32% reduction) while 4K Low drops to 80 FPS (61% reduction) indicates that the CPU can still feed the GPU at 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering load becomes too high. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a PassMark multithread score of 24873 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028, is less relevant for Archeage, which does not scale well with additional cores. The CPU's integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG 128EU) are not used in this configuration, but the presence of the discrete RTX 5080 means the CPU's PCIe Gen 5 interface with 8 lanes provides sufficient bandwidth for the GPU. The CPU's release date of December 2023 and the GPU's release date of January 2025 indicate a modern pairing, but the game's age means the hardware is far ahead of what the engine can utilize.