Archeage

# Archeage with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 places at rank 56 out of 2761 tested combos in Archeage, putting it in the top 2% of all configurations evaluated. The data reflects measured performance from actual benchmark runs, and the results show a system that is heavily GPU-limited at most settings, with the CPU rarely becoming the bottleneck except at the lowest graphical presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 56 out of 2761 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems benchmarked for Archeage. This is a percentile position that indicates the hardware pairing delivers performance in the 98th percentile of all tested configurations. Given that the CPU alone sits at the 96th percentile versus all CPUs in general benchmark scores, and the GPU sits at the 88th percentile versus all GPUs, the combined result in this specific game is slightly better than what either component's individual percentile might suggest.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus posts an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is a 0.2% advantage over the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83,807), a 1.1% lead over the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090), and a 1.2% edge over the AMD EPYC 9135 (82,980). Against the AMD EPYC 7F72, the 290K Plus trails by 1.3% (85,072 vs. 84,003). These margins are small, indicating the CPU is competitive with top-tier alternatives, but the real story in Archeage is the GPU's dominance.

The RTX 4090's nearest rivals in general GPU benchmarks show a different picture. Its average benchmark score of 60,347 is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta), 0.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140), 2.5% below the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896), and 2.9% above the AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657). These rival deltas are negligible in real-world gaming terms, but the measured FPS in Archeage tells a more useful story about how this combo actually performs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing for Archeage, and the measured frame rates reflect that. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. The architecture is Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die.

In Archeage, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the frame rates across settings. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 298 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are more than sufficient to push this MMORPG to very high frame rates at lower resolutions. The 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate also contributes to smooth rendering at higher resolutions.

The RTX 4090's 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs are all fully utilized when the settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 47, showing that even this flagship GPU struggles with the highest settings at the highest resolution. The 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present but less relevant for Archeage, which is not a ray-traced title. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far more than the game needs, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any measured configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 298 at 1080p to 200 at 1440p to 115 at 4K — a 61.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions, though the CPU is still contributing at 1080p where the frame rate ceiling is very high.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but slightly less steep: 265 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K. That is a 61.5% drop from 1080p to 4K. The min-max range at 1080p Medium is 225-305 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it is 152-205 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 87-117 FPS. The consistency of the frame rate range narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

At High settings, the pattern continues with 180 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K — a 61.7% drop. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 123 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K, representing a 61.8% drop. The remarkable consistency of these percentage drops across all settings (all falling between 61.4% and 61.8%) indicates that the performance scaling is almost entirely resolution-driven, with the GPU being the primary constraint throughout.

The 4K to 1080p ratio shows that at any given setting, the 4K performance is roughly 38-39% of the 1080p performance. This is a strong indicator that the RTX 4090's bandwidth and compute resources are being taxed uniformly as pixel count rises, and the CPU's role becomes less significant as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. At 1080p, even Ultra settings deliver 123 FPS average, which is well above the typical 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. High settings at 1080p give 180 FPS, and Low gives 298 FPS. Given that the game is an MMORPG where frame consistency matters for competitive play, the Medium preset at 1080p offers an excellent balance with 265 FPS average and a min of 225 FPS, ensuring no drops below 200 FPS.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 83 FPS average, which is still smooth but leaves less headroom. The High preset at 1440p delivers 121 FPS, which is a strong recommendation for players with 144Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 178 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays. Low at 1440p hits 200 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is substantial.

At 4K, the situation changes significantly. Ultra settings produce only 47 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings at 4K give 69 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced combat. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays — it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining decent visual quality. Low at 4K hits 115 FPS, but the visual degradation is severe for a game that relies on world detail.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions: 265 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K. It consistently delivers frame rates that are roughly double the High preset's results while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 298 FPS average
• Medium: 265 FPS average, 225 FPS minimum, 305 FPS maximum
• High: 180 FPS average
• Ultra: 123 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 200 FPS average
• Medium: 178 FPS average, 152 FPS minimum, 205 FPS maximum
• High: 121 FPS average
• Ultra: 83 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 115 FPS average
• Medium: 102 FPS average, 87 FPS minimum, 117 FPS maximum
• High: 69 FPS average
• Ultra: 47 FPS average

The 1080p Low result of 298 FPS is the highest in the dataset, approaching the 300 FPS mark that would be limited by legacy game engine timers. The 1440p Low result of 200 FPS shows a significant drop, while 4K Low at 115 FPS is still very playable. The Medium preset's min-max ranges are the only ones provided in the data, showing tight frame pacing: at 1080p the range is 80 FPS wide, at 1440p it is 53 FPS wide, and at 4K it is 30 FPS wide. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame delivery as the GPU becomes fully saturated.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Archeage at 4K with high settings?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The measured average FPS at 4K High is 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 47 FPS, which is below 60 FPS and may feel less responsive in combat scenarios.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 178 FPS average with a 152 FPS minimum, ensuring the frame rate stays above 144 FPS consistently. The High preset at 121 FPS would not fully saturate a 144Hz display.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in general benchmarks?

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 (83,807) and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3% (85,072).

Q: Does the GPU become the bottleneck at any resolution?

A: Yes. The consistent 61.4-61.8% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at every resolution and preset combination tested. The CPU's influence is minimal beyond 1080p.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 123 FPS. This is well above 60 FPS and suitable for most displays, though it is less than half of the 298 FPS achieved at 1080p Low.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM sufficient for Archeage?

A: The 24 GB GDDR6X memory capacity is far more than Archeage requires at any tested resolution or setting. The game's performance is not limited by VRAM capacity, as evidenced by the consistent scaling patterns across resolutions.

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, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth, and features PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In Archeage, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 298 FPS, and the CPU's high boost clock of 5.80 GHz and strong single-thread performance are likely contributors to reaching this frame rate ceiling. The CPU's cinebench R23 single-core score of 7,303 and multi-core score of 51,731 indicate robust performance, though Archeage is not a heavily multi-threaded title.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, combined with an average benchmark score of 84,003, places it among the top processors available. Its nearest rival in general benchmarks, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores only 0.2% lower, indicating that the 290K Plus offers marginal performance gains over its predecessor. The 24 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for an MMORPG like Archeage, which typically uses only a few threads for gameplay logic and rendering.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support provide adequate data throughput for the game's asset streaming. The 36 MB of L3 cache helps reduce memory latency in scenarios with large world data. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor — the consistent FPS drops across resolutions point to GPU saturation as the primary constraint. At 1080p Low where the CPU is most likely to matter, the 298 FPS result suggests the processor is capable of feeding the GPU at very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.