Archeage

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in Archeage?

A: This combination ranks 633rd out of 2,761 tested combos in Archeage, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holds a marginal 0.2% average benchmark score advantage over the Core Ultra 9 285K, with scores of 84,003 and 83,807 respectively.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all graphics cards, and which rival is closest in performance?

A: The RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a delta of just 0.1%, though the RTX 4070 has a slightly higher average score of 37,648 versus 37,628.

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo in Archeage?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 211 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all tested settings and resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The CPU shows strong multi-threaded scaling: in Cinebench R23, it scores 51,731 in multi-core and 7,303 in single-core, representing a roughly 7.1x multiplier from single-core to multi-core performance.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 secures the 633rd position out of 2,761 tested combinations in Archeage. This places the pairing within the top 22.9% of all configurations evaluated, which is a solid standing for a game that launched in 2014 and may not fully utilize the latest hardware capabilities.

The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU's strong overall compute performance and the GPU's mid-to-high tier positioning. The CPU itself ranks in the 96th percentile among all processors, indicating it is one of the more capable CPUs tested. The GPU, meanwhile, sits in the 81st percentile, which is respectable but not top-tier. This combination creates a system where the CPU has more headroom than the GPU in many scenarios, which the measured FPS data confirms.

When interpreting the rank, it is important to note that Archeage is an MMORPG, a genre that often depends heavily on CPU performance for handling many simultaneous players, world events, and game logic. The high CPU percentile suggests that this combo should handle these demanding scenarios well, even if the raw GPU ranking is lower. The 633rd rank out of 2,761 is not a reflection of poor performance but rather indicates that many other combinations—likely with higher-end GPUs—achieve better raw frame rates in this specific title.

The gap between the CPU's 96th percentile and the GPU's 81st percentile also suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield more significant FPS gains than upgrading the CPU, assuming the rest of the system remains unchanged. This is a classic sign of a CPU-heavy pairing where the processor is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

# 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 by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, providing substantial single-threaded and multi-threaded horsepower. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for MMORPGs like Archeage, which often require rapid context switching and handling of numerous small tasks.

In the context of Archeage, the CPU's single-threaded performance is particularly relevant. The game's engine, originally designed for earlier hardware generations, tends to favor fewer, faster cores over many slower ones. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7,303 points indicates strong per-thread performance, which helps maintain playable frame rates even in crowded areas with many players present. The multi-core score of 51,731 points, while not necessarily fully utilized by the game, ensures that background tasks and the game's auxiliary threads do not bottleneck the main rendering thread.

The CPU's passmark physics score of 3,315 and find prime numbers score of 503 further illustrate its compute capabilities. However, for Archeage, the more telling metrics are the single-threaded passmark score of 4,823 and the data encryption score of 52,563, which reflect the processor's ability to handle the kind of serialized workloads and network packet processing that MMORPGs rely on.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is essentially tied in average score (84,003 vs. 83,807, a 0.2% difference), while AMD EPYC server processors like the EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135 are slightly behind by 1.1% and 1.2% respectively. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is the only rival that edges ahead, by 1.3%. This suggests that the 290K Plus is among the fastest consumer-class CPUs available, and its performance in Archeage will be limited more by the game's engine than by the processor's capabilities.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers an average of 211 FPS on Low settings, 187 FPS on Medium, 127 FPS on High, and 87 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 159 FPS and a maximum of 215 FPS, indicating a tight frame time distribution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 142 on Low, 126 on Medium, 86 on High, and 58 on Ultra. The Medium preset again provides min/max data with 107 FPS minimum and 145 FPS maximum. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of roughly 33% on Low settings (211 to 142) and 32% on High settings (127 to 86), which is consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the averages fall to 81 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 49 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced: Low settings decline by 43% (142 to 81), while High settings decline by 43% (86 to 49). This indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the increased pixel workload overwhelms the RTX 4070's capabilities.

The difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution is substantial. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 87 FPS compared to 211 FPS on Low, a 59% reduction. At 1440p, the reduction is 59% as well (142 to 58). At 4K, the reduction is 59% (81 to 33). This consistent percentage suggests that the performance penalty for Ultra settings is uniform across resolutions, pointing to a GPU-bound scenario where the additional pixel count does not change the relative cost of the settings.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation processors. The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This configuration places the RTX 4070 in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,648.

In Archeage, the GPU's role becomes increasingly prominent as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 211 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the high frame rate. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 33 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,854 and the Passmark G3D score of 26,927 provide context for the GPU's overall rendering capabilities, but the game-specific results are more telling.

The RTX 4070's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% slower), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% slower), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3% slower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% faster. These deltas are all within a narrow band, suggesting that the RTX 4070 is positioned in a competitive mid-range tier where small differences separate adjacent products.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for Archeage's textures and assets, even at 4K Ultra, as the game's 2014 release date means it does not require the massive memory allocations of modern titles. The 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, however, may become a limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly when the game loads many high-resolution textures simultaneously. The measured FPS data supports this: the 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is the lowest recorded, and the gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K (72 vs. 33 FPS) is stark, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant memory bandwidth or fill-rate burden.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players prioritizing smooth gameplay at high refresh rates, the 1080p Medium preset is an excellent choice, delivering 187 FPS average with a minimum of 159 FPS. This ensures no noticeable stuttering and leaves headroom for demanding in-game scenes with many players.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a responsive experience. The High preset at 1440p drops to 86 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less fluid in fast-paced combat. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with 58 FPS, dips below 60 FPS and is not recommended for competitive play, though it may be acceptable for casual exploration.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 81 FPS is the only option that maintains a smooth frame rate. The Medium preset at 72 FPS is playable but approaches the 60 FPS boundary, while High at 49 FPS and Ultra at 33 FPS are not recommended for anything beyond static screenshots. Given that the game is an MMORPG with a heavy social component, the visual fidelity gains from High or Ultra at 4K may not justify the frame rate sacrifice.

The best overall experience across all resolutions appears to be the Medium preset. It provides a balanced mix of visual quality and performance, with frame rates of 187 FPS at 1080p, 126 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The min FPS values for Medium are also the only ones recorded across all resolutions, showing 159 FPS at 1080p, 107 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K, which indicates consistent frame pacing without severe drops.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 211 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p and then to 81 at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 62%. This scaling pattern indicates a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU would not experience such a significant frame rate drop purely from resolution increases.

At High settings, the same pattern emerges: 127 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 32% and 43% respectively, nearly identical to the Low settings scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor across all settings, and the CPU is not holding back performance at any resolution.

The fact that the FPS does not scale linearly with pixel count (4K has 4x the pixels of 1080p, but frame rates only drop by about 62%) indicates that other factors, such as CPU overhead and memory bandwidth, play a role. The 4K results of 81 FPS on Low and 49 FPS on High demonstrate that the RTX 4070 can still push respectable frame rates at 4K, but the 33 FPS Ultra result shows its limits.

The scaling data also suggests that the CPU's 24 cores and high clocks are sufficient to feed the GPU at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across resolutions at a given setting, which is not the case. The pronounced FPS drops with increasing resolution confirm that the RTX 4070 is the constraining component in this pairing, particularly at 4K where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the GPU are fully taxed.