Archeage

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination delivers exceptional performance in Archeage, securing the #2 spot out of 2,761 tested combos. This pairing of a 24-core processor with a flagship Blackwell GPU produces frame rates ranging from 52 FPS at 4K Ultra to 321 FPS at 1080p Low, revealing a system with substantial headroom across all settings. The data indicates that Archeage, despite its 2014 release, scales aggressively with modern hardware, and this particular combo sits at the very top of the performance hierarchy, outperformed by only a single other configuration in the database.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

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. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz provide the raw single-thread speed that Archeage's game logic and rendering threads demand. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 pool, which helps maintain high instruction throughput during the complex calculations typical of an MMORPG environment with many entities on screen.

In synthetic benchmarks, the chip achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested. The Passmark multi-thread score of 60,860 and single-thread score of 4,823 further corroborate its balanced performance profile. The processor's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores an average of 83,807 versus the 290K Plus's 84,003, a mere 0.2% delta, indicating that the Plus variant offers only a marginal uplift in general compute tasks. This tight margin suggests that in Archeage, where CPU-bound scenarios like crowded cities or large-scale raids are common, the 290K Plus's advantage over its predecessor may be minimal, but its absolute performance is clearly sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D at all tested resolutions.

The 24 threads are noteworthy because Archeage, while not a modern multi-threaded showcase, does benefit from additional cores for background tasks, asset streaming, and network processing. The data from the measured FPS points to the CPU rarely being the bottleneck, even at 1080p where frame rates reach 321 FPS in Low settings. The 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support ensure that the CPU can quickly access game data, a critical factor given the massive thread counts and the need to keep the GPU pipeline saturated.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 2nd out of 2,761 tested configurations in Archeage, a position that places it within the top 0.1% of all systems evaluated. This near-top ranking is consistent with the hardware's specifications: the CPU sits in the 96th percentile of all processors, and the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile of all graphics cards. The gap between this combo and the #1 spot is not quantified in the data, but the fact that it outperforms 2,759 other combinations underscores the effectiveness of pairing this specific CPU and GPU.

Examining the GPU's nearest rivals provides context for the graphics card's contribution. The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (score 76,904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (score 78,940). Interestingly, the deltaPct values show the 5090 D trailing the RX 6850M XT by 1.6% and the Tesla P100 variants by 2.1% and 2.4%, suggesting that in raw synthetic compute, the mobile and older data-center parts can edge it out. However, in the real-world Archeage data, the 5090 D's combination of 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth proves far more impactful for gaming performance than the raw compute scores would suggest. The combo's #2 rank implies that the full system, with its high-bandwidth memory and fast CPU, outperforms configurations built around those seemingly competitive GPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals also paint a picture of the processor's market position. The 290K Plus is 0.2% faster than the 285K, 1.1% faster than the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% faster than the AMD EPYC 9135, while being 1.3% slower than the AMD EPYC 7F72. These deltas are all within a narrow band, showing that at the top of the CPU stack, performance differences are incremental. For Archeage, the data suggests that the combo's rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU's immense memory bandwidth and shading power than by the CPU's marginal lead over its immediate competitors.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals how the combo scales across resolutions, indicating where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 321 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 219 FPS, a 31.8% reduction, and at 4K Low, it falls to 125 FPS, a 61.1% drop from 1080p. This pattern is consistent with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, because the CPU has ample headroom to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The Medium settings tell a similar story: 1080p yields 289 FPS, 1440p yields 195 FPS (a 32.5% drop), and 4K yields 112 FPS (a 61.2% drop). The consistency of these percentage reductions across Low and Medium settings strongly implies that the frame rate is scaling inversely with the pixel count, a hallmark of GPU-bound operation. At 1080p, the CPU is likely doing more work per frame relative to the GPU, but the absolute FPS numbers—289 to 321—are so high that the CPU is clearly not a constraint.

For High settings, the drop from 1080p (197 FPS) to 1440p (132 FPS) is 33.0%, and from 1080p to 4K (76 FPS) is 61.4%. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 1080p delivers 134 FPS, 1440p drops to 90 FPS (a 32.8% reduction), and 4K falls to 52 FPS (a 61.2% reduction). The near-identical percentage drops across all four presets—approximately 32-33% for 1080p to 1440p and 61% for 1080p to 4K—are a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component across the board. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB frame buffer is not being saturated, as evidenced by the playable 4K Ultra frame rate, but the sheer pixel throughput at 4K overwhelms the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, capping performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 321 FPS on Low, 289 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 246 and maximum of 333), 197 FPS on High, and 134 FPS on Ultra. These numbers place 1080p gameplay firmly in high-refresh-rate territory, even at the most demanding preset. The gap between Low and Ultra is 187 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load increase, but the system never drops below 134 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS counts are 219 on Low, 195 on Medium (min 166, max 224), 132 on High, and 90 on Ultra. The 1440p results show a clear step down from 1080p, but even the Ultra preset maintains a 90 FPS average, which is smooth for most displays. The Medium preset's minimum of 166 FPS provides a comfortable margin above typical 144 Hz refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 125 FPS on Low, 112 FPS on Medium (min 95, max 128), 76 FPS on High, and 52 FPS on Ultra. The 4K data reveals the RTX 5090 D's limits in this title: while Low and Medium are playable at high frame rates, the Ultra preset dips to 52 FPS, which may be below the threshold for competitive play but remains playable for casual exploration. The minimum FPS of 95 at 4K Medium is particularly notable, as it indicates the system maintains high frame times even under load.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently shows a minimum FPS that is roughly 85-87% of the average, suggesting good frame pacing. The absence of minimum FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra presets leaves some questions about worst-case performance, but the average values alone paint a picture of a system that is either GPU-bound at 4K or CPU-bound only at extremely high frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Its memory subsystem is the standout feature: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This enormous bandwidth is critical for Archeage, which can load large textures and draw distances, and it explains why the combo maintains high frame rates even at 4K where memory pressure is highest.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS (with FP16 at 1:1 ratio) is substantial, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the card still drops to 52 FPS, indicating that even this massive compute is insufficient for fully maxed settings at 4K in this decade-old title, which likely lacks modern optimization. The 5 nm process node and 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die underscore the GPU's complexity, but the real-world gaming results are what matter.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 44,065, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 310,674 and Vulkan score of 376,915 further validate its compute prowess. However, its nearest rivals in the benchmark database—the RX 6650M XT and RX 6850M XT—are laptop-class GPUs, and the Tesla P100s are data-center parts. The fact that the 5090 D trails those by 1.6-2.4% in average score is misleading for gaming; the Archeage data shows this desktop GPU delivering frame rates that those rivals could not plausibly match, thanks to its 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 32 GB VRAM.

The GPU's 575 W TDP and suggested 950 W PSU are not directly part of the FPS data, but they contextualize the performance: this is a power-hungry part designed for maximum output. The 12-pin power connector and dual-slot design are physical characteristics, but the benchmark results are what confirm its status as a top-tier gaming GPU.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 321, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Archeage?

A: It ranks 2nd out of 2,761 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.1% of all systems.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the frame rate drop below 60 FPS?

A: Only at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 52.

Q: What is the performance difference between the CPU and its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in average benchmark score.

Q: Does the GPU have a significant advantage over its nearest benchmark rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average score of 77,712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 95, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual fidelity across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 289 FPS with a minimum of 246, providing an exceptionally smooth experience that exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1440p, Medium maintains 195 FPS (min 166), which is ideal for 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays, and the minimum of 166 FPS ensures there are no noticeable hitches. At 4K, Medium produces 112 FPS (min 95), which is playable on high-refresh-rate 4K panels and offers a substantial improvement over the High preset's 76 FPS.

The High preset is a reasonable choice for 1440p users who prioritize image quality over frame rate, as it still delivers 132 FPS, but the step from High to Ultra at 1440p drops the frame rate to 90 FPS, which may be noticeable on 144 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p users with standard 60 Hz displays, as it provides 134 FPS, but the 52 FPS at 4K Ultra is too low for smooth gameplay. For 4K users, the Low preset at 125 FPS is an option for competitive play, but Medium at 112 FPS offers a better visual experience with only a modest FPS penalty. The data strongly suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo in Archeage, balancing the GPU's capabilities with the game's demands across all three resolutions.