Archeage

Archeage, an MMORPG released in January 2014, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. The data indicates a configuration that can deliver high refresh rates at lower resolutions but requires careful settings management for smooth 4K gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combo shows a clear progression of performance across the four tested presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields an average of 97 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 142 FPS average of the High preset. The High preset at this resolution represents the sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming, providing a 45 FPS advantage over Ultra while still maintaining a high level of visual fidelity. The Medium preset achieves 209 FPS, and Low hits 234 FPS, but these settings sacrifice significant visual quality for frame rates that exceed most display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with a narrower gap between presets. The Ultra preset drops to a 65 FPS average, which is playable but not optimal for competitive scenarios. The High preset, however, maintains a robust 95 FPS average, making it the best choice for 1440p gaming with this hardware. The Medium preset at 140 FPS is excellent for high refresh rate 1440p displays, while Low at 158 FPS provides the maximum measurable headroom.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The Ultra preset produces a 37 FPS average, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay in most genres. The High preset at 55 FPS is marginally playable but will feel stuttery in fast-paced situations. The Medium preset, with a 80 FPS average and a minimum of 68 FPS, is the only preset at 4K that delivers a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset at 90 FPS is the best option for maximizing frame rates at 4K, but it requires a significant reduction in visual quality.

Given these measurements, the best experience per the data is: at 1080p, use the High preset for a balance of quality and 142 FPS performance; at 1440p, the High preset at 95 FPS is the recommended choice, with Medium at 140 FPS as an option for higher refresh rate displays; at 4K, the Medium preset at 80 FPS with a 68 FPS minimum is the only setting that avoids the sub-60 FPS territory of High and Ultra. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it still achieves 97 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, which are substantial frequencies for a desktop processor. The CPU’s benchmark results, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, demonstrate its high throughput and strong per-thread performance.

In the context of Archeage, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 234 FPS, which indicates that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates. The fact that the 1080p Low setting (234 FPS) is significantly higher than the 1440p Low setting (158 FPS) suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes less of a bottleneck, but the CPU still has headroom.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. These deltas are small, indicating that the 290K Plus is competitive with the top of the CPU market, but the performance differences are not large enough to be a primary factor in game FPS.

The CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for an MMORPG like Archeage, which may not be heavily optimized for multi-threading. The high boost clock of 5.80 GHz is likely more impactful for single-threaded game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is more pronounced, pointing to the GPU as the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. Its memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz, effective at 21 Gbps. The GPU’s benchmark results include a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 and a Passmark G3D score of 29995.

The GPU’s role in Archeage is critical, as the game’s visuals scale heavily with resolution. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops significantly for each preset. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 142 at 1080p to 95 at 1440p and then to 55 at 4K. This is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance, where the rendering load increases with pixel count.

The 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the tested presets, as no resolution or settings combination appears to be limited by memory capacity in the data. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is also adequate for the game’s demands. The GPU’s clock speeds of 1980 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost are high, contributing to its strong rasterization performance.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43223, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile. It is 1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4070 SUPER is positioned closely to these other GPUs in raw compute, but its desktop form factor and cooling solution likely allow for sustained performance.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting component at 4K, where even the High preset only achieves 55 FPS. The GPU’s performance scales well from 1080p to 1440p, with a 33% drop in FPS at High settings, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 42%, indicating that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at the highest resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combo of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks at position 419 out of 2761 tested combos for Archeage. This places it in the top 15.2% of all tested system configurations, which is a strong result. The rank of 419 indicates that there are 418 other combos that achieve higher performance in this game, but the majority of the 2761 combos (2342) are slower.

The combo’s rank is a reflection of both the CPU and GPU’s capabilities. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs and the GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking against all GPUs contribute to this top-tier placement. The rank of 419 suggests that while this is a high-end configuration, there are more powerful combinations available, likely with higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or RTX 4080 SUPER.

This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. The combo can achieve high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it is not among the absolute fastest for 4K gaming. The rank of 419 out of 2761 means that for users seeking the absolute maximum performance in Archeage, there are better options, but for the vast majority of players, this combo will provide an excellent experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the combo’s performance scales with resolution. For the High preset, the average FPS is 142 at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, and 55 at 4K. This represents a 33.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 42.1% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the drop from 1440p to 4K being more severe.

For the Medium preset, the FPS is 209 at 1080p, 140 at 1440p, and 80 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33.0%, and from 1440p to 4K is 42.9%. This pattern is very similar to the High preset, indicating that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck as resolution increases.

The Low preset shows a similar trend: 234 FPS at 1080p, 158 at 1440p, and 90 at 4K. The drops are 32.5% and 43.0%, respectively. The Ultra preset has the most dramatic scaling: 97 FPS at 1080p, 65 at 1440p, and 37 at 4K, with drops of 33.0% and 43.1%.

The consistent pattern of a ~33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a ~43% drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets points to the GPU as the limiting component. The number of pixels at 4K (3840x2160) is 2.25 times that of 1440p (2560x1440), and the FPS drops are roughly proportional to this increase in rendering load. The CPU’s role is diminished at higher resolutions, as the GPU’s fill rate and shading power become the primary constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. Minimum and maximum FPS are provided where the data is available.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 234 FPS average
• Medium: 209 FPS average, with a minimum of 177 FPS and a maximum of 240 FPS
• High: 142 FPS average
• Ultra: 97 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 158 FPS average
• Medium: 140 FPS average, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 162 FPS
• High: 95 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 90 FPS average
• Medium: 80 FPS average, with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS
• High: 55 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

These numbers show that the Medium preset at 4K is the only settings combination at that resolution that maintains a minimum FPS above 60, with a minimum of 68 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset’s minimum of 119 FPS ensures a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors. At 1080p, all presets exceed 90 FPS, with the Ultra preset being the only one that dips below 100 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, making it the only 4K setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS, which are both below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K’s score of 83807. This indicates a negligible performance difference between the two processors.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the FPS drops consistently by roughly 33% from 1080p to 1440p and 43% from 1440p to 4K across all presets, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s high core count and clock speed are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking.

Q: What is the measured FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 95 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for most games, and the data does not include a minimum FPS for this specific configuration.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combos in Archeage?

A: The combo ranks at position 419 out of 2761 tested combinations. This places it in the top 15.2% of all tested systems, indicating strong overall performance.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER have enough VRAM for 4K gaming?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. The measured data shows that the 4K Medium preset achieves an 80 FPS average with a 68 FPS minimum, and there is no indication in the data that the 12 GB VRAM capacity is insufficient for the tested settings.