Archeage

Archeage is a 2014 MMORPG, and this combination pairs a 24-core, 24-thread Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with an AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB GDDR5). The benchmark data shows this pairing is severely constrained by the GPU at higher settings and resolutions, making preset selection critical for a playable experience. The measured FPS values are the sole basis for the recommendations and analysis that follow.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the Low preset is the only universally playable option, while Medium is viable only at 1920x1080. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 69 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The Medium preset at the same resolution produces a 61 FPS average with a minimum of 52 FPS, indicating a stable experience that dips just below the 60 FPS threshold but remains well within acceptable range for an MMORPG. The High preset at 1080p drops to a 42 FPS average, which is noticeably less fluid, while Ultra falls to 28 FPS, which is not recommended.

At 2560x1440, the situation degrades sharply. The Low preset averages 46 FPS, which is borderline playable but subject to noticeable stutter in crowded areas. Medium at this resolution averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, making it a marginal choice for users who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness. The High preset at 1440p averages only 28 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 19 FPS.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets are playable by modern standards. The Low preset averages 26 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS, High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K is out of reach for this GPU in Archeage, regardless of the CPU's capability.

The practical recommendation is to use the Medium preset at 1920x1080. This yields 61 FPS average with a 52 FPS minimum, which provides the best balance between visual quality and smoothness. The 1080p Low preset is the safer choice for users who demand a consistent 60+ FPS experience, as the 69 FPS average leaves more headroom for GPU driver overhead or background tasks. For 1440p users, the Low preset at 46 FPS is the only reasonable option, but users should be prepared for occasional dips below 40 FPS in heavy combat scenarios. The Medium preset at 1440p is acceptable only if the user can tolerate a 35 FPS minimum.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves playable frame rates across multiple presets. At 1080p, Low averages 69 FPS, Medium averages 61 FPS, and High averages 42 FPS. At 1440p, the best average is 46 FPS on Low, and at 4K, the best average is 26 FPS on Low.

Q: Can this combo run Archeage at 4K?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 26 FPS on the Low preset, with Medium at 24 FPS, High at 16 FPS, and Ultra at 11 FPS. These are all below the threshold for a smooth experience, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus perform relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU has a percentile rank of 96 among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 84003. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. This indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck in this game.

Q: How does the RX 580 perform relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 580 has a percentile rank of 53 among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 12928. It is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, 0.4% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon 740M, and 0.6% slower than the AMD FirePro W5100. This places it in the mid-range of GPU performance.

Q: What is the limiting component in this combo at 1080p Medium?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 61 FPS average. Moving from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium drops the average from 61 FPS to 41 FPS, a 33% reduction. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU has ample headroom with its 24 cores and high benchmark scores.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever viable with this combo?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces the lowest average FPS at every resolution: 28 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. These are all below the minimum threshold for a playable experience, confirming that the RX 580 cannot handle the game's highest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2528 out of 2761 tested combinations in Archeage, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. This low ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance relative to the CPU's high-end positioning. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a top-tier processor with a 96th percentile rank among all CPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. This creates a significant imbalance where the CPU is vastly overqualified for the GPU's capabilities in this game.

The combo's overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU's inability to translate the CPU's computational power into high frame rates. Benchmark results indicate that the RX 580's average benchmark score of 12928 is roughly 15% of the CPU's average benchmark score of 84003. This disparity is evident in the measured FPS data, where even at 1080p Low, the combo only achieves 69 FPS—a figure that would be much higher if the GPU could keep pace with the CPU's processing speed.

In practical terms, this combo is positioned for users who already own the RX 580 and are upgrading their CPU for future GPU upgrades, or for those who play older or less demanding titles. For Archeage specifically, the combo's ranking suggests it is not a balanced pairing, as the CPU is capable of far higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves:

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 61 FPS average, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS
• High: 42 FPS average
• Ultra: 28 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the combo achieves:

• Low: 46 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS
• High: 28 FPS average
• Ultra: 19 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the combo achieves:

• Low: 26 FPS average
• Medium: 24 FPS average, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS
• High: 16 FPS average
• Ultra: 11 FPS average

The Medium preset rows are the only ones that include minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 52 FPS minimum and 70 FPS maximum show a 18 FPS spread, indicating relatively stable performance. At 1440p Medium, the 35 FPS minimum and 47 FPS maximum show a 12 FPS spread, which is tighter but at a lower overall level. At 4K Medium, the 20 FPS minimum and 27 FPS maximum show a 7 FPS spread, meaning the frame rate is consistently low but not wildly fluctuating.

The delta between presets at each resolution is consistent. At 1080p, dropping from Medium to Low increases the average by 8 FPS, while raising from Medium to High decreases it by 19 FPS. At 1440p, the same transitions yield a 5 FPS increase for Low and a 13 FPS decrease for High. At 4K, the transition from Medium to Low adds only 2 FPS, while Medium to High costs 8 FPS. These patterns indicate that the GPU is running out of headroom at higher resolutions, where even the Low preset cannot compensate for the pixel count.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component. At the Medium preset, the average FPS goes from 61 at 1080p to 41 at 1440p, a 33% reduction, and then to 24 at 4K, a further 41% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 61 FPS down to 24 FPS, a 61% decrease.

At the Low preset, the average FPS goes from 69 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p, a 33% reduction, and then to 26 at 4K, a 43% reduction from 1440p. The total drop is 69 FPS to 26 FPS, a 62% decrease.

At the High preset, the average FPS goes from 42 at 1080p to 28 at 1440p, a 33% reduction, and then to 16 at 4K, a 43% reduction from 1440p. The total drop is 42 FPS to 16 FPS, a 62% decrease.

At the Ultra preset, the average FPS goes from 28 at 1080p to 19 at 1440p, a 32% reduction, and then to 11 at 4K, a 42% reduction from 1440p. The total drop is 28 FPS to 11 FPS, a 61% decrease.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all presets—roughly 33% from 1080p to 1440p and another 42% from 1440p to 4K—strongly indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck. The resolution scaling follows the expected curve for a GPU-bound scenario, where the frame rate is inversely proportional to the pixel count. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would be more consistent across resolutions, but the data shows a clear and steep decline that matches the GPU's fill rate limitations.

The RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, combined with its 32 ROPs, are insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 4K. The GPU's 6.175 TFLOPS FP32 performance is also a limiting factor, as Archeage's rendering load increases exponentially with resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is an extremely capable processor for this game, but its performance is largely untapped due to the GPU bottleneck. The CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It has a 36 MB shared L3 cache, and its benchmark results are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, along with a PassMark single-thread score of 4823.

In Archeage, which is a 2014 MMORPG, the game's engine is not designed to utilize 24 cores effectively. The CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by the 4823 PassMark single-thread score, is more relevant for this game's typical workload. However, even this strong single-thread performance does not translate into higher frame rates because the GPU is the limiting factor at all tested settings.

The CPU's percentile rank of 96 among all CPUs places it in the top 4% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 84003 is more than six times the GPU's average score of 12928. This disparity confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck. The measured FPS values at 1080p Low (69 FPS) and Medium (61 FPS) are likely close to what the RX 580 can deliver in an absolute best-case scenario, regardless of the CPU.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 and dual-channel configuration provides 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is ample for feeding the GPU in this game. The 125 W TDP and 3 nm process node from TSMC indicate a modern, efficient design, but these attributes do not influence the game's performance in this particular configuration.

For users considering this combo, the CPU is a future-proof investment that will remain relevant for years, but it will not unlock additional performance in Archeage until the GPU is upgraded. The RX 580 is the definitive limiting factor, and the data shows that replacing the GPU would yield substantial FPS gains, whereas upgrading the CPU from a lesser model would produce negligible improvement in this game.