Archeage

# Archeage with Intel Core Ultra 9 185H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The measured frame rates for this combination across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is consistently GPU-limited at higher quality presets, yet capable of delivering high refresh rates at lower settings. With the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, the data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and smoothness, making preset selection critical depending on the target display.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is playable but leaves headroom for smoother output. The High preset at 1080p achieves 117 FPS, a substantial 46% improvement over Ultra. However, the Medium preset at 172 FPS and the Low preset at 193 FPS both far exceed the refresh rate of typical 144Hz monitors, making these the optimal choices for competitive or high-refresh gameplay. Given that the Low preset only yields a 12% increase over Medium at 1080p (193 vs 172 FPS), the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Ultra drops to 54 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh panels. High reaches 79 FPS, a 46% improvement over Ultra, but Medium at 116 FPS provides the best experience for 144Hz displays. The Low preset at 130 FPS offers diminishing returns over Medium, with only a 12% gain. Therefore, Medium at 1440p is the recommended preset, delivering a 43% improvement over High while maintaining visual quality that is noticeably better than Low.

At 3840x2160, the story changes dramatically. Ultra averages just 31 FPS, which is marginal for a 30 FPS console-like experience. High at 45 FPS is playable but not smooth, while Medium at 66 FPS is the first preset that approaches a playable 60 FPS baseline. Low at 74 FPS is the only 4K option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, but it does so at a significant visual cost. For 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS, ensuring that frame times stay within a playable range. High at 45 FPS is the fallback if visual fidelity is prioritized, but the data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for a consistent experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 116 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS, which is the only preset that consistently stays above the 100 FPS mark. High at 79 FPS and Low at 130 FPS both fall short of ideal for a 144Hz display, with Medium offering the best balance of performance and visual quality.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 31 FPS while High averages 45 FPS, a 45% improvement. However, neither reaches the 60 FPS target. The data shows that High is significantly more playable than Ultra, but Medium at 66 FPS is the first preset to exceed 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1080p?

A: The data suggests GPU-bound behavior at higher settings, but the scaling from Low (193 FPS) to Medium (172 FPS) to High (117 FPS) to Ultra (80 FPS) shows a consistent drop with each quality increase. The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom, as the FPS drop is proportional to the rendering load increase, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 98 FPS, with a maximum of 133 FPS. This tight range indicates stable performance without significant frame time spikes, making this preset suitable for competitive play.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 874th out of 2761 tested combos, placing it in the 68th percentile of all systems. This suggests it is a solid mid-to-upper tier performer, though not at the extreme top end.

Q: Does the Low preset at 4K provide a better experience than Medium?

A: Low at 3840x2160 averages 74 FPS compared to Medium's 66 FPS, a 12% improvement. However, Medium offers superior visual quality. If frame rate is the sole priority, Low is better, but for a balanced experience, Medium is recommended due to its higher minimum FPS of 56, which keeps frame pacing more consistent.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across the three resolutions reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 193 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p (a 33% decrease) and then to 74 at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's capacity is not exhausted at any resolution. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, with its 16 cores and 22 threads, provides enough processing power to feed the RTX 4080 even at lower resolutions where the CPU load is proportionally higher.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 172 FPS at 1080p drops to 116 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease) and then to 66 FPS at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the limiting factor, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p to shrink at lower settings, as the CPU would be overwhelmed at 1080p. Instead, the proportional drops indicate that the RTX 4080's workload scales predictably with resolution.

At High settings, the pattern holds: 117 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p (a 32% decrease), and 45 FPS at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute drop: 80 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease), and 31 FPS at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). This consistent ~33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~43% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for all resolutions, but the rendering load at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS falls below 35.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 193 FPS, which is the highest recorded at any resolution and settings combination. Medium settings average 172 FPS, with a minimum of 146 FPS and a maximum of 198 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery with only occasional dips. High settings average 117 FPS, a significant drop from Medium, while Ultra settings average 80 FPS. The gap between Medium and High (55 FPS) is larger than the gap between Low and Medium (21 FPS), suggesting that the High preset introduces a substantial increase in rendering complexity.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 130 FPS, which is still sufficient for high-refresh gaming. Medium settings average 116 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 133 FPS, making this the most balanced option at this resolution. High settings average 79 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for 144Hz monitors. Ultra settings average 54 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The relative differences between presets are similar to 1080p: Medium is 12% faster than High, and Low is 12% faster than Medium.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 74 FPS, which is the only preset that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS, providing a playable experience with occasional frame dips below 60. High settings average 45 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth, while Ultra settings average 31 FPS, which is only suitable for slower-paced content. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 58% performance drop, compared to a 59% drop at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's workload scales consistently with resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 874th out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This places the system in the 68th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms approximately two-thirds of the combinations in the database. The rank reflects a strong but not dominant position; there are 873 combos that achieve higher frame rates in this game. Given that the RTX 4080 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 40-series and the CPU is a mobile-focused chip, this ranking is consistent with expectations for a high-end laptop or compact desktop configuration.

The combo's rank is influenced by the game's optimization and the specific demands of Archeage. As an MMORPG released in 2014, the game's engine may not fully utilize the CPU's 16 cores, potentially limiting performance in CPU-bound scenarios such as large player gatherings. However, the measured FPS data shows that the system is GPU-limited in most settings, suggesting that the CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and 5.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient for this title. The rank of 874 out of 2761 combos indicates that while this system is capable, it does not reach the top tier of performance that would be occupied by desktop-class CPUs paired with higher-end GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 45 W. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample data throughput for gaming workloads. In the context of Archeage, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the measured data suggests it does so effectively up to the highest settings at 1080p.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multithreaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17984.5 and a Geekbench multicore score of 11657. Its single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1810.5, is also competitive. However, the data from the measured FPS indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 193 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would stress the CPU's ability to process game logic. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to plateau at a lower value regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, the FPS scales with resolution and settings in a GPU-bound manner.

The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads are more than sufficient for an MMORPG like Archeage, which is unlikely to scale beyond a handful of threads. The 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic, while the 24 MB L3 cache reduces memory latency. The CPU's percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs indicates it outperforms most processors, with nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X showing a delta of -0.7% in average benchmark score. This confirms that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 9728 shading units, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is rated at 48.74 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The card has a TDP of 320 W and requires a 700 W power supply.

In Archeage, the RTX 4080 is clearly the performance-limiting component at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the GPU can deliver up to 193 FPS at Low settings, but this drops to 80 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU averages only 31 FPS at Ultra, indicating that the rendering load at this resolution with maxed-out settings exceeds the card's capabilities. The 16 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor, as even at 4K Ultra, the game's memory footprint is unlikely to exceed this capacity.

The GPU's percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs places it in the top 14% of graphics cards, with its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, showing a delta of only 0.1% in average benchmark score. This indicates that the RTX 4080 is nearly identical in performance to its immediate successor. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 confirm its high-end positioning. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution, and the 45% drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (117 to 79 FPS) is consistent with the increased pixel count. The GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, particularly at 4K where even Medium settings only achieve 66 FPS.