Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, places specific and uneven demands on the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data reveals a configuration that is far more capable at lower resolutions, with performance collapsing as pixel count rises, particularly when settings are pushed to their limits. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested configurations to interpret what the numbers mean for real-world playability.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and non-linear, clearly indicating a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 110 FPS at 1920x1080 to 74 FPS at 2560x1440, a 32.7% reduction, and then further to 42 FPS at 3840x2160, another 43.2% drop from the 1440p figure. This progressive decline demonstrates that the Arc B570's rendering capabilities are being saturated as the pixel workload increases.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at Medium settings. The average FPS goes from 98 at 1080p, to 66 at 1440p, and finally to 38 at 4K. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs 32 FPS, while the step from 1440p to 4K costs 28 FPS. While the absolute drop is similar, the percentage loss grows, suggesting that the GPU is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions.

High settings show an identical trend, with averages of 66 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. This represents a 60.6% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K. The most extreme case is Ultra settings, where the average plummets from 45 FPS at 1080p to 31 FPS at 1440p, and then to a nearly unplayable 17 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured data point in the entire set, and the 4K High result of 26 FPS is barely above it.

These numbers indicate that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component at 4K across every setting. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is not the bottleneck here, as the frame rate scales directly with the GPU's workload. At 1080p, the story is different. The difference between Low (110 FPS) and Medium (98 FPS) is only 12 FPS, suggesting the CPU is starting to become a factor in keeping the GPU fed, though the GPU still has headroom. The data shows that for a smooth experience, 1080p is the target resolution for this combo, while 4K should be avoided except for Low settings, and even then, the 42 FPS average is a compromise.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance versus visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance. The 98 FPS average is comfortably playable, and the minimum FPS of 83 ensures that dips remain above the threshold for a smooth experience. The jump to High costs 32 FPS (down to 66 FPS), which is a significant sacrifice for what is typically a modest visual upgrade. The Low preset is the only one that breaks the 100 FPS barrier with a 110 FPS average, but this comes at the cost of the game's visual quality. Ultra at 1080p is the most demanding, yielding a 45 FPS average, which is a 53.1% drop from Medium.

At 2560x1440, the recommended preset is Low, with a 74 FPS average. Medium is the next option at 66 FPS, but the minimum of 56 FPS is close to the edge of what many would consider acceptable. High at 45 FPS and Ultra at 31 FPS are not viable for consistent gameplay. The data suggests that to maintain a high frame rate at 1440p, the user must significantly reduce graphical settings, highlighting the GPU's limitation at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, all presets are below the ideal playable range. Low is the best performer with a 42 FPS average, but Medium drops to 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, and High falls to 26 FPS. Ultra is the worst at 17 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming is not a realistic option for this combination, regardless of the settings used. The only scenario where 4K might be acceptable is on a slower-paced game, but for an MMORPG, the 42 FPS Low preset is the only one that approaches playability.

In summary, the best experience per the measured rows is at 1080p with the Medium preset, offering a high average frame rate with a solid minimum. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently smooth frame rate. At 4K, no preset provides a satisfactory experience, and users should consider lowering the resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the primary driver of the performance differences observed in the benchmark results. With a 10 GB GDDR6 memory pool on a 160-bit bus, the theoretical bandwidth is 380.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is likely a key factor in the game's performance at higher resolutions. The 4K results, which show a dramatic drop-off, suggest that the 10 GB frame buffer is not the issue at these settings, but rather the raw processing power and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the pixel throughput.

The GPU's clock speeds are fixed at a base and boost of 2500 MHz. This is a constant across all benchmarks, so the variance in FPS is due to workload. The GPU's 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs are responsible for the final pixel output. The pixel rate is listed as 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. These figures determine how quickly the GPU can fill the screen with rendered geometry and texture data.

The benchmark results show the GPU's performance ceiling. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and the Passmark G3D score of 14195 put the Arc B570 in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, with score deltas of 0.1% and -0.1% respectively. This places the Arc B570's raw compute power on par with these cards. However, in Archeage, the performance is heavily influenced by the game's engine, which may not be fully optimized for the Xe2-HPG architecture.

The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The average FPS drops by 46.7% from 1080p to 4K on High settings. This is a clear sign of GPU saturation. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is the same for all tests, and the 10 GB capacity is not exceeded at any setting, as the minimum FPS does not show signs of texture thrashing. The performance degradation is therefore a result of the GPU's compute and memory throughput limits, not a lack of memory.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 98, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. This is the highest average for a non-Low preset at 1080p.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that it is not a good experience. At 4K, the highest average FPS is 42 on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 38 FPS, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages only 17 FPS. All of these are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS, which is 14 FPS lower than the High preset's 45 FPS average. This is a 31.1% reduction in average FPS for the higher preset.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of the Intel Arc B570 among all GPUs?

A: The GPU has a percentile rank of 65, meaning it performs better than 65% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 20556.

Q: What is the lowest measured average FPS in the entire data set?

A: The lowest average FPS is 17, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset. This is the only data point in the teens.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 24 threads. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is a high-end desktop processor. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz are strong figures. The CPU's benchmark scores are substantial: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44253 and a single-core score of 2439. The Passmark multithread score is 68574, and the single-thread score is 5068. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a top-tier processor.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is to process game logic, network data, and draw calls. The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. For example, at 4K, the average FPS is nearly identical for Low (42 FPS) and Medium (38 FPS), showing that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not drop as much with increased GPU load.

However, at 1080p, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The difference between Low (110 FPS) and Medium (98 FPS) is 12 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High (66 FPS) is 32 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is able to feed the GPU enough data to push the frame rate to 110 FPS, but at Medium, the GPU starts to become the limiting factor. The CPU's 24 threads are likely sufficient for an MMORPG like Archeage, which may not be heavily multithreaded.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon 6520P with a 0% delta and the AMD EPYC 4564P with a -1.5% delta, have similar average scores. This indicates that the Ultra 7 270K Plus is in the same performance class as these server processors. The Passmark data compression score of 804322 and encryption score of 59097 are high, but these are not directly relevant to gaming performance. The data shows that the CPU has ample headroom for this game, and the frame rate is dictated by the GPU's performance at all but the lowest resolution and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a complete list of the measured average FPS for all tested resolution and settings combinations.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 110 FPS average.
• Medium: 98 FPS average, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS.
• High: 66 FPS average.
• Ultra: 45 FPS average.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 74 FPS average.
• Medium: 66 FPS average, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS.
• High: 45 FPS average.
• Ultra: 31 FPS average.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 42 FPS average.
• Medium: 38 FPS average, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS.
• High: 26 FPS average.
• Ultra: 17 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent pattern where increasing the resolution or the settings preset results in a lower average FPS. The only data points with minimum and maximum values are the Medium preset at each resolution. This suggests that the Medium preset is the most stable in terms of frame time variance. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS at 1080p Medium is 29 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 20 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 11 FPS. This indicates that as the GPU becomes more saturated, the frame rate becomes more consistent, albeit at a lower average.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the Intel Arc B570 is ranked 2983 out of 3708 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the bottom 20% of all configurations. This ranking is a direct result of the GPU's performance, as the CPU is in the top 4% of all CPUs. The ranking reflects the overall gaming experience, which is heavily weighted by the GPU's ability to render frames.

The GPU's percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs is misleading in the context of this game. While the Arc B570 is a mid-range card overall, its performance in Archeage is poor relative to other configurations. The combo's rank of 2983 is far below what the CPU's 96th percentile would suggest. This is because the GPU is the bottleneck, and its performance in this specific title drags the entire combo down.

The data shows that the GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, have average scores within 0.1% of the Arc B570. However, this does not translate to similar gaming performance in Archeage, as the game's engine may favor one architecture over another. The combo's rank of 2983 out of 3708 indicates that there are 725 other combinations that perform worse. This is a clear signal that for Archeage, this specific CPU-GPU pairing is not a strong choice. The high-end CPU is wasted in this configuration because the GPU cannot keep up with its potential, particularly at resolutions above 1080p.