Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, responds to hardware in a way that clearly separates CPU-bound and GPU-bound scenarios. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals a system where the GPU is often left waiting at lower resolutions, while the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. This analysis walks through the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers indicate about the limiting component and the overall performance of this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The most direct way to identify the bottleneck in this system is to observe how the average FPS changes as resolution increases at a fixed settings preset. At Low settings, the drop from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 is significant, moving from 221 FPS down to 149 FPS. This is a 32.6% decrease. However, the subsequent jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 results in a much smaller relative drop, from 149 FPS to 85 FPS, which is a 42.9% decrease from the 1440p figure but a shallower curve than the initial step. This pattern indicates that at 1080p Low, the game is heavily constrained by the CPU. The RTX 5090 is capable of rendering far more frames than the processor can feed it, so the FPS is stuck at 221. As the resolution increases, the GPU has to work harder, and the load shifts away from the CPU, but even at 1440p Low, the system is still partially CPU-limited.

At High settings, the scaling pattern is more consistent. The average FPS drops from 134 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p, a 32.8% reduction. Then, moving to 4K, the FPS falls to 52, a 42.2% reduction from the 1440p score. This suggests that at High settings, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role, but the CPU is still a contributing factor, especially at 1080p where the 134 FPS cap is likely not a hard limit but a point of diminishing returns where the CPU's single-thread performance starts to throttle the frame rate.

The Medium preset provides the clearest data on this scaling. With frame ranges recorded, the average FPS at 1080p Medium is 197, with a minimum of 167 and a maximum of 227. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 133, with a range of 113 to 152. Finally, at 4K Medium, the average falls to 76, with a range of 65 to 87. The consistent drop in both average and minimum FPS across each resolution step shows a balanced load shift. The GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at 4K Medium, as the 76 FPS average is a more typical GPU-bound result for a demanding title. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 5090 is underutilized at 1080p and 1440p, and the Core Ultra 9 185H is the limiting factor in those scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of the entire benchmark database, this combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 556 out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This places the system in the top 20.1% of all tested configurations. While a top-20% ranking is certainly solid, it is not a top-tier result, which reflects the CPU bottleneck observed in the resolution scaling. The GPU is one of the most powerful available, but the processor is a mobile part, and its performance in this specific MMORPG limits the overall combo's standing.

The CPU's overall benchmark score places it in the 85th percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 35670. Looking at its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35719, a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728, a delta of -0.2%. This shows that the Core Ultra 9 185H is essentially performance-equivalent to these chips in general computational tasks. However, in Archeage, which often relies on single-threaded performance, these small differences can be amplified. The rank of 556 suggests that many other combos, likely with desktop-class CPUs, are able to push higher frame rates in this title, even if their GPUs are less powerful.

The GPU itself, the RTX 5090, is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs and has an average benchmark score of 79842. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (score 79605, delta 0.3%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (score 78940, delta 1.1%). This data confirms that the GPU is in the top tier of performance. The fact that the combo rank is not correspondingly higher is a direct indicator that the CPU is holding back the system in Archeage. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU's potential is not fully realized in this pairing, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's influence is greatest.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a mobile processor with 16 cores and 22 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. For a game like Archeage, which was released in 2014 and is an MMORPG, the single-core performance is often more critical than the multi-core capabilities. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz is beneficial for this, but the mobile design inherently limits sustained performance compared to a desktop processor.

In the measured data, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 221 FPS. This is a very high frame rate, but it is not limited by the GPU. The RTX 5090 is capable of far more. The 221 FPS figure is likely a ceiling imposed by the CPU's ability to process the game's draw calls and game logic. Even at 1080p High, the 134 FPS average demonstrates that the CPU is still managing to feed the GPU at a high rate, but the scaling from Low to High shows a 39.4% performance drop, which suggests that the CPU's workload increases with settings, further limiting the frame rate.

The CPU's general performance benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5, show a capable processor. However, the single-core score is not exceptionally high when compared to top-tier desktop CPUs. In Archeage, the data suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance is the primary bottleneck in the 1080p scenarios. The system does not scale perfectly to 1440p or 4K, but the fact that the FPS does drop significantly with resolution indicates that the GPU is not completely idle. The Core Ultra 9 185H provides enough throughput to keep the RTX 5090 productive at higher resolutions, but it prevents the system from reaching the extreme frame rates the GPU could theoretically produce at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Why is the FPS at 1080p Low so high, but the combo rank is only 556?

A: The 221 FPS at 1080p Low is a high number, but the rank of 556 out of 2761 is based on the combination's overall performance. Many other combos, likely with desktop CPUs, can achieve even higher frame rates in this CPU-bound scenario, pushing this mobile-CPU combo down the rankings despite its powerful GPU.

Q: Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 the main performance limiter in this system?

A: No. The data shows that the GPU is not the primary limiter at 1080p and 1440p. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a clear CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The RTX 5090 only becomes the main limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 35.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 9 185H compare to its closest rivals in terms of overall CPU performance?

A: The Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, a delta of -0.1%. The Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728, a delta of -0.2%. This indicates they are nearly identical in general compute performance.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Archeage with this hardware to get a high frame rate?

A: For the highest frame rates, 1920x1080 is the best choice. At Low settings, it averages 221 FPS, and at Medium settings, it still averages 197 FPS. The performance at this resolution is limited by the CPU, but it delivers the most frames.

Q: Does the game use the RTX 5090's massive 32 GB of VRAM effectively?

A: The measured FPS data does not include VRAM usage, so it is not possible to determine the VRAM utilization from this pack. The GPU's performance is more constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions, and by its raw compute power at 4K, rather than by memory capacity in these specific tests.

Q: Is the system more limited by the CPU or the GPU at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 76, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 87. This is a significant drop from the 1440p Medium average of 133 FPS. This scaling suggests that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck, as the increased resolution has finally loaded the RTX 5090 to a point where it cannot maintain the higher frame rates the CPU could provide.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship desktop GPU with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its architecture is Blackwell 2.0, and it has a boost clock of 2407 MHz. In this system, the GPU's role is to render the heavy graphical loads at high resolutions and settings. The data shows that it excels at this, but only when the CPU can keep up.

At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is underutilized. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the FPS does not scale as much as the GPU's raw power would suggest. For example, at 1440p High, the system averages 90 FPS. This is a solid frame rate, but it is not a signal of the RTX 5090's power, as a less powerful GPU would likely achieve a similar score in this CPU-bound scenario. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 79842 confirm its high-end status, but this potential is capped by the processor.

The GPU's role becomes more apparent at 4K. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 76, which is a playable frame rate for an MMORPG. At 4K High, the average drops to 52 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 35 FPS. These numbers show the GPU being pushed to its limits. The 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS indicates that the RTX 5090 is fully loaded and is the definitive bottleneck at that setting. The GPU is also responsible for the minimum FPS at Medium settings, which are recorded as 65 FPS at 4K, 113 FPS at 1440p, and 167 FPS at 1080p. These minimums show that the GPU can maintain a reasonable frame time even under load, but the overall performance is heavily dependent on the resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates at 1920x1080, the Low preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 221 FPS. However, the Medium preset is a more balanced option, offering an average of 197 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth and provides a better visual experience than Low. The High preset at 1080p is also viable, with an average of 134 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High results in a significant 32% performance drop for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in this older title.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It provides an average of 133 FPS and a minimum of 113 FPS, which ensures a smooth gameplay experience. The High preset at 1440p drops to an average of 90 FPS, which is still playable but less ideal for competitive or fast-paced scenarios. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as it brings the average down to 61 FPS, which is a substantial penalty for the visual fidelity gain.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals a more challenging situation. The Medium preset is the only sensible option for a playable experience, with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS. The High preset averages 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for a slower-paced MMORPG, but it is on the edge of playability. The Ultra preset is not recommended for general use, as the 35 FPS average would make the game feel sluggish. For a 4K experience, the Medium preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, as the higher presets incur too steep a performance cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact measured FPS for every configuration tested.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average FPS of 221.
• Medium: Average FPS of 197, with a minimum of 167 and a maximum of 227.
• High: Average FPS of 134.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 91.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average FPS of 149.
• Medium: Average FPS of 133, with a minimum of 113 and a maximum of 152.
• High: Average FPS of 90.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 61.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average FPS of 85.
• Medium: Average FPS of 76, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 87.
• High: Average FPS of 52.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 35.

These numbers confirm the analysis. The system is capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, but the CPU limits the maximum. The GPU's power is more evident as resolution increases, but even at 4K, the CPU's performance in this game prevents the system from achieving the extremely high frame rates that the RTX 5090 might otherwise deliver. The data shows a classic bottleneck scenario, with the mobile CPU being the constraining factor in a system paired with a top-tier desktop GPU.