Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor shows its strength in maintaining high frame rates at lower settings. The measured FPS across resolutions and presets paints a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies for this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a dramatic and consistent performance drop that clearly implicates the GPU as the primary limiting factor. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 71 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 23 FPS, and then further down to 27 FPS at 4K. This pattern of halving performance as resolution increases is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the Radeon RX 6600's rendering capabilities are being saturated.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At High settings, the drop from 48 FPS to 27 FPS represents a 43.75% decrease in performance. This steep decline indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being pushed to their absolute limits at 4K. The data suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not the bottleneck here; if it were, we would expect to see a more muted response to resolution changes, as the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant.

Looking at the Low preset, the same trend emerges, but with higher absolute numbers. The system manages 118 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 79 FPS at 1440p and then to 45 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is 43%, mirroring the High preset's scaling. This consistency across settings strongly suggests that the resolution scaling is purely a function of the GPU's pixel processing throughput. The CPU, with its substantial multi-core capabilities, has no trouble feeding the GPU at any resolution, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p.

The single data point with min/max values—Medium settings at 4K—shows an average of 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. This narrow band indicates that while the frame rate is not high, it is relatively stable, suggesting the GPU is working at a consistent load without sudden spikes or drops that might be caused by CPU hitches. The data overall implies that for this game, the Radeon RX 6600 is the definitive performance ceiling, and any resolution scaling will directly and predictably impact the final frame rate.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. For a 2014 MMORPG, this memory configuration is more than sufficient in terms of capacity, but the bandwidth becomes a critical factor at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 19, which is a clear indication that the GPU is struggling to manage the increased memory traffic required for that resolution and preset.

The boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz are the frequencies at which the GPU operates during load. The gap between the 1080p Low result of 118 FPS and the 4K Low result of 45 FPS is not just about pixel count; it's about the amount of texture data and geometry that must be processed. At higher resolutions, the GPU's shading units, 1792 in total, must work harder to compute the final image, and the 8 GB VRAM buffer becomes more stressed. While 8 GB is not likely to be fully exhausted in a game from 2014, the bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is a limiting factor.

The GPU's performance percentile of 63 versus all other GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. In the context of this game, the data shows that the RX 6600 is capable of delivering playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on lower presets, but it is not a high-refresh-rate powerhouse. The 4K results, especially at High and Ultra settings, are firmly in the "not playable" territory, with averages of 27 and 19 FPS respectively. This suggests that the GPU's raw compute power, rated at 8.928 TFLOPS FP32, is insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in Archeage.

The fact that the GPU is "End-of-life" and has a successor in Navi III further contextualizes its position. It is a capable 1080p card that can handle 1440p with some compromises, but the 4K data in this pack clearly shows its limitations. The relationship between the GPU's 64 ROPs and the 4K pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s is also telling; at 4K, the system must output over 8 million pixels per frame, and the ROPs are simply not fast enough to keep up at high settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the grand scheme of all tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2165 out of 2761 combos. This places it in the lower 22nd percentile of all possible pairings, which is a significant finding. The rank indicates that while the CPU is a high-end part, the GPU drags the overall gaming performance down considerably for this specific title.

The CPU itself is a top-tier processor, scoring in the 96th percentile versus all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a deltaPct of 0.2%, are all within a 1.3% performance difference. This shows that the processor is not the limiting factor in the combo's ranking. The GPU, however, sits in the 63rd percentile versus all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 and GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, all within a 0.4% deltaPct. This mid-range positioning for the GPU is what drags the combo's rank down.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-level percentile is stark. The data implies that if this combo were paired with a much stronger GPU, its rank would improve dramatically. As it stands, the RX 6600 is the performance bottleneck, and its capabilities define the gaming experience. The combo rank of 2165 out of 2761 suggests that users with this build are likely experiencing performance that is typical of a mid-range GPU, despite having a flagship-level processor. This ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations in a game that appears to scale heavily with graphics hardware.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured FPS data, the most balanced experience appears to be at the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 and a maximum of 121. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that fully utilizes the CPU's capabilities while still giving the GPU a reasonable workload. The 89 FPS minimum ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81. This is another excellent choice, as it maintains a consistent 60 FPS floor while offering a higher resolution than 1080p. The 60 FPS minimum is exactly at the standard for smooth gameplay, making this a viable option for users with 1440p monitors. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 23 FPS on average, which is a significant trade-off for marginal visual gains.

For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable for actual gameplay, with an average of 45 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 40 FPS, and while it has a minimum of 34, this is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced action. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 19 FPS average is unplayable. The Low preset at 1080p, with 118 FPS, is the highest frame rate achievable, but the Medium preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance. The data indicates that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this combo, offering high frame rates at 1080p and playable, stable performance at 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete dataset provides a clear matrix of performance across all tested configurations. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 118 FPS. The Medium preset follows closely with an average of 105 FPS, a minimum of 89 FPS, and a maximum of 121 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 71 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings up the rear with an average of 49 FPS. This shows a smooth, predictable degradation as settings increase, with a 69 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 79 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 71 FPS, with a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 81. The High preset averages 48 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 33 FPS. The scaling here is less linear, with a 31 FPS gap between Low and Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset is particularly demanding on the GPU. The Medium preset's 60 FPS minimum is a notable data point, as it suggests a hard floor for this setting.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. The Low preset averages 45 FPS. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. The High preset averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 19 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, the difference between Low and High is 18 FPS, but the difference between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, suggesting that Ultra is a steep step that the GPU cannot handle. The 45 FPS at Low is the only 4K result that approaches playability, while the sub-30 FPS results at High and Ultra are clearly not suitable for gaming.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a powerhouse with 24 cores and 24 threads, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. Its high core count and boost clock of 5.80 GHz are more than sufficient for a game like Archeage, which is not known for being heavily multithreaded. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its strength, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. These numbers place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

The data from the game benchmarks suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 118 FPS, which is a high frame rate that demands strong single-thread performance. The CPU's single-core Cinebench R23 score of 7303 indicates it has ample headroom for this task. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 49 FPS, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as the CPU is likely waiting for the graphics card to finish rendering each frame.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per core L2 cache provide fast access to frequently used data, which helps in MMORPGs where many entities and players might be in the same area. The fact that the combo rank is so low (2165 out of 2761) is not a reflection of the CPU's gaming ability but rather the GPU's inability to keep pace. The CPU's performance is so strong that it effectively "wastes" its potential in this pairing, as the RX 6600 cannot fully utilize the frames the CPU can produce. The data shows that this processor has the capability to push much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU/GPU pairing to achieve a consistent 60+ FPS?

A: The measured data shows that the Medium preset at 1920x1080 achieves an average of 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, and the Medium preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS. These are the only configurations that meet the 60 FPS minimum threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holding back the AMD Radeon RX 6600 in this game?

A: No. The CPU is a top-tier processor in the 96th percentile, while the GPU is in the 63rd percentile. The performance scaling across resolutions indicates a GPU bottleneck, as the frame rate drops dramatically with increasing resolution, which is a characteristic of a graphics-limited scenario.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Archeage?

A: The data shows that only the Low preset at 4K comes close to playable, with an average of 45 FPS. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, while High and Ultra average 27 and 19 FPS respectively, which are not suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 2165 out of 2761 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 22nd percentile, a rank that is primarily due to the GPU's mid-range performance relative to other graphics cards.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 118 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 49 FPS. This represents a 69 FPS difference, indicating a significant performance cost for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Does the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM appear to be a limiting factor in the benchmark results?

A: The memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s and the 128-bit bus are likely more critical than the 8 GB capacity for this 2014 game. The sharp FPS drops at 4K suggest the GPU's memory subsystem is being saturated, rather than the capacity being exhausted.