Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, places very different demands on hardware than modern shooters. For the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, the benchmark results reveal a system that is consistently capable at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K. The data indicates a clear hierarchy: 1080p is smooth, 1440p is playable, and 4K is only viable on Lower settings. This combination ranks in the 61st percentile of all tested combos for this game, suggesting a balanced pairing that offers a solid, if not top-tier, experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Archeage shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers an average of 136 FPS. Scaling up to 1440p reduces that average to 92 FPS, and at 4K, it further drops to 52 FPS. This represents a 32% performance loss when moving from 1080p to 1440p and a 43% loss from 1440p to 4K on Low settings. This pattern strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count increase directly impacts the render workload.

The scaling behavior changes with higher graphical presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 82 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 32 at 4K (a 42% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the rendering pipeline is being taxed proportionally to the resolution, a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU workload would remain relatively constant while only the GPU load increases.

The 4K Ultra preset result is particularly telling. With an average of just 22 FPS, the game becomes effectively unplayable. This is a 60% reduction from the 4K High preset's 32 FPS. The difference between 4K High and 4K Ultra is more pronounced than the difference between 1440p High and 1440p Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset at this resolution introduces a massive amount of additional GPU work, likely through effects like shadows and post-processing that scale super-linearly with pixel count. The data makes it clear that 4K is only a viable option for this combo when settings are reduced to Low, and even then, the 52 FPS average is far from ideal for a smooth experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the central component in determining this combo's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is a crucial resource for texture streaming and rendering at high resolutions. The benchmark results show that at 4K Ultra, the system falls to 22 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is overwhelmed not only by the compute load but potentially by memory capacity or bandwidth limitations as well. The 8 GB frame buffer is a significant factor; at 4K with Ultra settings, texture data can easily exceed this capacity, forcing the system to rely on slower memory paging.

The GPU's clock speeds are set at a base of 1545 MHz and a boost of 1890 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 3072 shading units, produce an FP32 performance of 11.61 TFLOPS. This raw compute power is what drives the rasterization and shader work in Archeage. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to deliver high frame rates, with the Low preset hitting 136 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU is not the bottleneck. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's compute and memory resources are saturated, leading to the observed frame rate drops.

The GPU's position relative to its peers in synthetic benchmarks puts its performance into context. Its Passmark G3D score is 17469, and it holds a 67th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its closest rivals in the data are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which is 0.7% faster, and the Intel Arc B580, which is 1.3% faster. This places the RTX 4060 Mobile in a competitive mid-range segment. In Archeage, this translates to a GPU that can comfortably handle 1080p and 1440p gaming but is out of its depth at 4K with high presets, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS results at 4K High and Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Archeage, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4060 Mobile pairing is ranked 2265 out of 3708 total combos. This places it in the 61st percentile, meaning it performs better than 61% of all other tested systems in this specific game. This is a solid mid-pack ranking, indicating that while the combo is not a top-tier performer, it is far from being a weak one. It suggests that many other CPU and GPU pairings will deliver higher frame rates, but a significant portion will also perform worse.

The CPU's own performance metrics provide context for the combo's ranking. The Ultra 9 185H has a Passmark multithread score of 29376 and a single-thread score of 3697, placing it in the 85th percentile for all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark charts are all very close in performance, with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and Intel Core 7 250H being within 0.2% of its average score. This indicates that the CPU is a strong performer and is unlikely to be the main bottleneck in most gaming scenarios. The fact that the combo's in-game ranking (61st percentile) is lower than the CPU's standalone ranking (85th percentile) suggests that the GPU is holding the combo back from achieving a higher position.

This ranking data implies that for Archeage, the GPU is the primary constraint on performance. A system with a faster GPU, even with a slightly slower CPU, would likely rank higher. The data for the GPU shows it is in the 67th percentile, which is more in line with the combo's overall 61st percentile performance. The slight drop from the GPU's standalone percentile to the combo's percentile could be attributed to the game's engine or specific interactions with the CPU, but the overall trend is clear: the RTX 4060 Mobile is the limiting factor in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across all tested settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable. The Low preset delivers an average of 136 FPS, while Medium and High presets achieve 121 FPS and 82 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset, however, drops significantly to 56 FPS. This shows a massive performance cliff between High and Ultra at 1080p, suggesting that the Ultra preset enables features that are particularly demanding on the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are still playable but show a clear step down. The Low preset averages 92 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium averages 82 FPS, and High drops to 55 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 38 FPS, which is on the edge of playability for many users. The data shows a consistent pattern: each increase in preset level costs roughly 20-30 FPS at this resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum FPS of 69 and a maximum of 94, indicating some frame time variance but generally stable performance.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly struggling. The Low preset is the only one that achieves a playable average, with 52 FPS. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, and High drops to 32 FPS. The Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 22 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a min FPS of 40 and a max of 54, which shows that even in its best moments, it cannot maintain a stable 60 FPS. The data across all resolutions suggests that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, users should target 1080p with High settings or 1440p with Medium settings, as these are the highest settings that break the 60 FPS average threshold.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this resolution, the system can achieve over 60 FPS on High settings (82 FPS average) and over 120 FPS on Medium and Low presets. At 2560x1440, the frame rates are still playable, but the High preset drops to 55 FPS, which may not be ideal for all users.

Q: Can this combo run Archeage at 4K?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The only playable setting at 3840x2160 is Low, which achieves an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, but the High and Ultra presets drop to 32 FPS and 22 FPS, respectively, making them not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its closest rivals?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4060 Mobile has a Passmark G3D score of 17469. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.7% faster, and the Intel Arc B580 is 1.3% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is 0.8% slower, and the RTX 5060 Mobile is 1.3% slower, indicating they are all closely matched in raw performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system for Archeage?

A: The benchmark data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The GPU's standalone percentile (67th) is much closer to the combo's in-game rank (61st percentile) than the CPU's percentile (85th). The significant FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K also point to the GPU being the limiting factor.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 92 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 38 FPS. This represents a 58.7% performance reduction when moving from Low to Ultra settings, demonstrating the high graphical cost of the Ultra preset.

Q: How does the CPU's performance rank among all tested CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its Passmark multithread score is 29376. Its closest rivals, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and Intel Core 7 250H, are virtually identical in performance, with a deltaPct of -0.1% and -0.2%, respectively.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the user's target resolution and frame rate preference. For a 1080p display, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 82 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset, which averages 121 FPS. The Ultra preset, while offering the best visuals, drops to 56 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters on some displays.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 82 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The High preset is also viable, with an average of 55 FPS, but users sensitive to frame drops may prefer the extra headroom of Medium. The Low preset is not recommended at this resolution, as the visual sacrifice is significant for only a 10 FPS gain over Medium. The Ultra preset should be avoided, as its 38 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the options are limited. The only setting that provides a playable experience is Low, with an average of 52 FPS. This should be considered the maximum playable setting for this resolution. The Medium preset is borderline, with an average of 47 FPS and a minimum of 40 FPS, which will likely result in visible stuttering during intense scenes. For the best experience, users at 4K should accept the Low preset's visual compromises to maintain a reasonable frame rate. Ultimately, the data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for users who prioritize resolution over fluidity.