Archeage

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a highly capable Archeage experience, dominated by the CPU at lower resolutions and transitioning to a GPU bottleneck at 4K. The measured frame rates show a wide performance envelope, from 36 FPS at 4K Ultra to 227 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the combination's strengths are best utilized with settings adjustments. The data shows this combo ranks in the 82nd percentile among 2,761 tested configurations for this MMORPG.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Archeage?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 227 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 84,003 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83,807.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this configuration?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 36 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark average place it above or below its nearest listed competitor?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13,745, which is 1.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT's score of 13,543, meaning the RX 9070 XT is slightly ahead.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium settings at 1080p and 4K?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average frame rate is 202 FPS, while at 4K Medium, it drops to 78 FPS, representing a significant 124 FPS decrease when moving up in resolution.

Q: Is the GPU's performance percentile higher or lower than the CPU's?

A: The GPU's percentile is 55, which is significantly lower than the CPU's percentile of 96, indicating the GPU is a weaker link relative to its own market segment.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This high core count and substantial boost capability are central to its performance in Archeage. The processor's average benchmark score of 84,003 places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, showing its strength in general compute tasks. In synthetic tests, the CPU achieves a single-core score of 7,303 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-core score of 51,731 in the same test, indicating robust performance in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded scenarios.

Benchmark results indicate that the CPU's role in Archeage is most pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, reaching 227 FPS on Low settings and 202 FPS on Medium. This suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates, and the limiting factor at this resolution is likely the GPU's ability to render frames. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4,823 further supports its strength in handling the primary game logic and draw calls that MMORPGs like Archeage are known for, which are often single-thread dependent.

The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and the 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide the data throughput needed for large, complex scenes typical of an MMORPG. When the resolution increases to 1440p, the CPU still keeps pace, as evidenced by the 153 FPS average on Low settings. The data reveals a pattern where the CPU is not the primary bottleneck until the settings and resolution push the GPU workload significantly. The processor's high percentile rank relative to all CPUs, combined with its performance in the benchmark suite, underscores that it provides a solid foundation for this game. The gap between the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 55th percentile ranking suggests that the processor is operating well above the performance level of its graphics counterpart, making it a less likely source of frame rate limitations in this pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. This memory capacity and bandwidth are substantial, but the GPU's average benchmark score of 13,745 places it in only the 55th percentile of all GPUs. This is a critical data point, as it indicates that while the card has strong specifications, its overall performance ranking is mid-pack, which is reflected in the game's results.

In Archeage, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings rise. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate plummets to 36 FPS, a clear sign that the graphics card is struggling with the combined load. The transition from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium shows a drop from 202 FPS to 78 FPS, a 61% decrease. This demonstrates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is less stressed, and the frame rates are high, but at 4K, the pixel count and shading demands overwhelm the card.

The GPU's 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 84 RT cores are notable, but its percentile ranking suggests that synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture its gaming performance. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XT's average score is 1.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile. This places it in a competitive but not dominant position. The 20 GB VRAM is a key feature for high-resolution textures, but it is not enough to prevent the frame rate from dropping to 53 FPS at 4K High settings. The GPU's performance is the deciding factor for achieving smooth gameplay at 4K, and the data suggests that users will need to lower settings to obtain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT holds a rank of 498 out of 2,761 tested combos in Archeage. This places it in the top 18% of all configurations tested for this game. The rank is a composite measure of the CPU and GPU's ability to work together to produce frame rates. Given the CPU's high percentile (96th) and the GPU's more moderate percentile (55th), the combo's rank suggests that the overall performance is dragged down by the GPU, but the CPU's strength ensures the system does not fall further.

The data indicates that this combo performs best in scenarios where the CPU is the primary driver, such as at 1080p with lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 227 FPS, which is a very high score and likely contributes positively to its rank. However, at 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS result is a significant detractor. The combo's rank of 498 suggests that while it is a strong performer, many other configurations—likely those with more balanced or higher-tier GPUs—can outperform it in this specific game. The delta between the CPU and GPU performance is a key factor; a more powerful GPU would likely push this combo higher in the rankings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which has a 1.5% higher score, and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile, which has a 0.5% higher score. This shows that the RX 7900 XT is not at the top of its class, and this is reflected in the combo's overall rank. The system's performance is competitive, but not elite, and the rank of 498 out of 2,761 is a reasonable outcome given the hardware's specifications and benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, the average frame rates are high across all settings, ranging from 94 FPS at Ultra to 227 FPS at Low. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop but remain solid, with a range of 63 FPS at Ultra to 153 FPS at Low. At 4K, the performance takes a significant hit, with averages falling to between 36 FPS at Ultra and 87 FPS at Low. This pattern indicates a progressive shift in the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases.

At 1080p, the CPU's strong performance is able to keep the frame rates high, even at Ultra settings, where the average is still 94 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is not fully maxed out at this resolution, and the CPU is doing a significant portion of the work. The jump from 1080p to 1440p shows a moderate decrease in performance, with the Low settings average dropping from 227 FPS to 153 FPS, a 32% reduction. This is a typical scaling curve, indicating that the system is becoming more balanced between CPU and GPU load.

The most dramatic scaling occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the average drops from 92 FPS to 53 FPS, a 42% decrease. At Low settings, the drop is from 153 FPS to 87 FPS, a 43% decrease. This steep decline at 4K points to the GPU becoming the clear limiting factor, as the pixel fill rate and shading requirements overwhelm the RX 7900 XT's capabilities. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, users will need to use Low or Medium settings to achieve frame rates above 60 FPS, and even then, the average is only 87 FPS at Low, which is not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The resolution scaling analysis shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, and that 4K is only viable with significant settings compromises.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. On Low settings, the average frame rate is 227 FPS. Medium settings yield an average of 202 FPS, with a minimum of 172 FPS and a maximum of 232 FPS. High settings produce an average of 137 FPS. Ultra settings drop the average to 94 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the combo is capable of very high refresh rates, making it suitable for competitive play or high-speed displays, provided the settings are not maxed out.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but steps down. Low settings average 153 FPS. Medium settings average 136 FPS, with a range of 116 to 156 FPS. High settings average 92 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 63 FPS. The 1440p results indicate a good balance for high-quality gaming, with High settings still providing a smooth experience above 90 FPS, and Ultra being playable but closer to the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 87 FPS. Medium settings average 78 FPS, with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. High settings average 53 FPS. Ultra settings average just 36 FPS. These 4K numbers show that the system is not ideal for 4K gaming without making significant compromises. The Medium settings result is the most playable at 4K, but the frame rate is still below the 100 FPS mark. The Ultra setting at 36 FPS is nearly unplayable for a smooth experience. The breakdown across all resolutions and settings illustrates a system that excels at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, confirming the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher demands.