Archeage

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a stark contrast in performance potential. The CPU is a flagship-class 24-core part, while the GPU is an integrated graphics solution that ranks near the bottom of the database. This pairing produces a heavily CPU-dominated system, and the measured frame rates in Archeage reflect that imbalance. The data shows a processor that can handle massive workloads, and a graphics component that struggles to translate that capability into playable visuals at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combo in Archeage?

A: The combo ranks 3297 out of 3708 tested combinations in this game. This places it in the bottom portion of the database, indicating that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU severely limits the overall gaming experience.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The data shows the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807. This is a very small performance delta, making them nearly identical in overall processing power.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B390 falls into the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This means it performs better than only a small fraction of the graphics cards in the database, confirming its position as a low-end, integrated solution.

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved by this combo in the measured data?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 71 FPS, which was achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. All other settings at this resolution and all presets at higher resolutions result in lower average frame rates.

Q: What is the maximum FPS observed in any of the measured test scenarios?

A: The highest maximum FPS recorded in the data is 73 FPS, observed at 1920x1080 resolution with the Medium settings preset. This is only slightly higher than the Low preset's average, showing the limits of the GPU.

Q: Does the CPU's performance vary significantly from its closest competitors in the database?

A: No. The nearest rivals list shows a deltaPct of 0.2% for the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, 1.1% for the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% for the AMD EPYC 9135. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% faster. These are all minor differences, placing the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus in a tightly packed performance tier.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 3297 out of 3708 tested combos in Archeage. This position, in the bottom 11% of all tested systems, is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited capabilities. The data indicates that the CPU is a top-tier part, with a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 84003. However, the GPU sits in the 9th percentile, with an average score of only 1482 on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This massive disparity means the combo's overall gaming performance is dictated almost entirely by the weakest link, the Arc B390.

The rank of 3297 is not a reflection of the CPU's power, but rather a signal of the GPU's severe bottleneck. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a deltaPct of 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4584PX with a deltaPct of 1.1%, all have significantly higher average scores. Yet, when paired with this specific integrated GPU, the gaming outcome is the same. This combo serves as an extreme example of system balancing, where a flagship processor is paired with a component that prevents it from demonstrating any of its gaming potential. The benchmark results clearly show that for Archeage, this pairing produces a low-performing system despite the presence of a high-end CPU.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process by Intel. Its role in this combo is the primary limiting factor for gaming performance. The GPU's memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. Its memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance can vary based on the system's memory configuration. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and can boost up to 2500 MHz. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older, low-end dedicated GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 and is 1.3% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which scores 1443 and is 2.7% slower. This context shows the Arc B390 is positioned at the very entry level of graphics performance, comparable to decade-old discrete solutions. In Archeage, this translates to the low frame rates observed across all tested settings. The GPU's shared memory architecture and low compute power mean it cannot handle the demands of the game at higher resolutions or detail levels, resulting in average frame rates that often fall below playable thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo's performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 71. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 43 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, brings the average down to 29 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for the highest detail level.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades further. Low settings produce an average of 48 FPS. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops it to just 20 FPS. This shows a consistent pattern where each increase in resolution or settings has a substantial negative impact on frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings yield an average of 28 FPS. Medium settings average 25 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. High settings average 17 FPS, and Ultra settings plummet to an average of 11 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K resolution is not viable for this combo, even at the lowest settings. The data shows a clear trend: the Arc B390 can only approach a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1080p with the lowest settings, and every step up in quality or resolution results in a major performance penalty.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The CPU has a large 36 MB shared L3 cache, with 3 MB of L2 cache and 192 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, offering a maximum memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. This is a flagship desktop part, as indicated by its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows exceptional performance. It scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 60860, and its single-thread score is 4823. These scores place it at the top of the CPU hierarchy. However, in this gaming combo, the CPU's role is largely underutilized. The data from Archeage shows that the CPU's immense power cannot overcome the GPU's limitations. The bottleneck is so severe that the CPU's performance is nearly irrelevant to the final frame rates.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a deltaPct of 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4584PX with a deltaPct of 1.1%, all perform within a 1.3% range of the 290K Plus. This shows that the 290K Plus is not significantly faster than its closest competitors. For a game like Archeage, which may be more dependent on single-thread performance, the CPU's high boost clock of 5.80 GHz and strong single-core scores are beneficial. However, the GPU's inability to render frames quickly enough means the CPU spends most of its time waiting, resulting in the low frame rates observed in the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo are at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS experience, with an average of 71 FPS. This is the recommended setting for a playable experience, as it offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 1080p also provides a playable average of 64 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users. The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 43 FPS, is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 29 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 48 FPS. This is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 43 FPS is also acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but the minimum of 36 FPS could lead to noticeable stutters. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution produce average frame rates of 29 and 20 FPS, respectively, which are too low for a comfortable experience. At 3840x2160, none of the settings are recommended for gameplay. All presets produce average frame rates below 30 FPS, with the highest being 28 FPS on Low settings. The data indicates that users should stick to 1080p resolution for this combo.

The choice between 1080p Low and 1080p Medium is the key decision. The Low preset offers a higher average FPS (71 vs 64) and is safer for maintaining a consistent frame rate. The Medium preset provides a higher minimum FPS of 54, which is still above the 30 FPS playability threshold. The data suggests that for a more stable experience, the Low preset is the best choice. For users who prioritize visual quality over a few frames per second, the Medium preset offers a reasonable compromise. The Ultra and High presets should be avoided at all resolutions due to their significant performance penalties.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and dramatic drop in performance as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 71. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 48 FPS, a 32.4% decrease. At 4K, the average further drops to 28 FPS, which is a 60.6% decrease from 1080p. This pattern is consistent across all settings. For example, with High settings, the average FPS goes from 43 at 1080p, to 29 at 1440p, and finally to 17 at 4K. This represents a 32.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 60.5% drop from 1080p to 4K.

This scaling behavior is a strong indicator of a GPU-limited system. When a system is CPU-limited, the frame rate does not typically change as dramatically with resolution, because the CPU's workload remains the same. However, here we see that increasing the resolution, which increases the GPU's workload, has a massive impact on performance. The Arc B390's limited pixel fill rate and texture rate are overwhelmed by the higher pixel counts. The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, which are low figures for modern gaming.

The data implies that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU, with its high clock speeds and 24 cores, is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The performance degradation from 1080p to 4K is almost perfectly proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU bound scenario. The game's engine, Archeage, is from 2014 and may not be optimized for modern hardware, but the data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint. The conclusion from the resolution scaling is that to improve performance, the GPU must be upgraded. The CPU has ample headroom to support a much more powerful graphics card, as its synthetic benchmarks are in the top percentile, and its performance is not the reason for these low frame rates. The system is severely unbalanced, and the resolution scaling data provides clear evidence of this fact.