Archeage

Archeage, a 2014 MMORPG, is not typically the title used to stress modern flagship hardware, yet the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals a complex performance curve. The benchmark results indicate that this combination produces a wide spread of frame rates, heavily dependent on the graphics preset and resolution, with the CPU and GPU trading the role of bottleneck depending on the settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand how this specific hardware pairing handles the aging, but still demanding, massively multiplayer world.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is the clearest indicator of where the performance limit lies for this configuration. At the "Low" preset, the scaling is dramatic and clearly shows a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 221, which drops to 149 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 32.6%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields 85 FPS, which is a 61.5% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline as pixel count increases is the classic signature of the graphics card being the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom at these lower settings to feed frames.

The scaling pattern shifts significantly when moving to the "High" preset. At 1080p, the average is 134 FPS, which falls to 90 FPS at 1440p (a 32.8% drop) and then to 52 FPS at 4K (a 61.2% drop from 1080p). The percentage drops are remarkably similar to the Low preset, suggesting that even at High settings, the GPU is still the primary constraint when scaling resolution. The consistent ~33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the ~61% drop from 1080p to 4K across both Low and High presets indicates a uniform GPU load scaling with pixel count.

However, the "Ultra" preset tells a different story. The frame rate at 1080p is 91 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 134 FPS seen at High settings. This suggests that at 1080p Ultra, the game is no longer purely GPU-bound; the CPU or another system component is likely introducing a bottleneck, preventing the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential. The drop to 61 FPS at 1440p is a 33% reduction, but the drop to 35 FPS at 4K is a 61.5% reduction from 1080p. The absolute numbers suggest that the Ultra preset's additional graphical features place an immense load on the GPU, making it the definitive bottleneck at 4K, while the 1080p result is likely constrained by other factors.

The data shows that the RTX 5090 scales as expected with resolution, but the game's engine and CPU begin to show their age at lower resolutions and higher settings. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with a 91 FPS average, is the only data point where the frame rate does not follow the expected GPU-bound scaling curve, indicating a CPU limit. Once the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU load becomes so high that it dominates the performance equation, and the scaling returns to a predictable pattern based on pixel throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a substantial frame rate boost over "High" and "Ultra" while maintaining visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 197 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS and a maximum of 227 FPS, which is a 47% improvement over High's 134 FPS. This makes it the ideal choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the 167 FPS minimum still comfortably exceeds 144Hz thresholds.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset's 133 FPS average (with a 113 FPS minimum) is exceptionally playable and remains smoother than the High preset's 90 FPS. The 152 FPS maximum shows that the hardware can still push high frames in less demanding scenes. For 4K gaming, Medium is the only preset that achieves a consistently playable frame rate, with an average of 76 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS. This is a significant jump from High's 52 FPS average, making Medium the definitive choice for a smooth 4K experience.

The "High" preset is a viable option for users who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, but the data shows it comes with a significant performance cost. At 1440p, the 90 FPS average is still fluid, but at 4K, the 52 FPS average dips into a range where fast-paced combat may feel less responsive. The "Ultra" preset is largely impractical for competitive or smooth play, with the 4K average of 35 FPS being nearly unplayable, and the 1080p result of 91 FPS being worse than the Medium preset at 1440p. The "Low" preset offers the highest frame rates, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for most players given that the Medium preset provides a massive improvement in fidelity for a relatively small frame rate cost.

The benchmark results indicate that for this game and hardware combination, Medium is the sweet spot. It unlocks the potential of the RTX 5090 to deliver high refresh rate experiences at 1080p and 1440p, while also being the only setting that makes 4K truly playable without dropping to Low. It provides the best experience per the measured rows, balancing the CPU and GPU loads effectively to avoid the bottlenecks seen in other presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, plays a dominant role in Archeage's performance at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is a critical asset for an MMORPG, where large textures and numerous character models in crowded scenes can quickly consume memory bandwidth. The 32 GB capacity is far beyond what Archeage requires, but it ensures that there is no risk of VRAM limitations, even at 4K Ultra, allowing the GPU to focus solely on rendering.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, are high for a flagship card. The benchmark data suggests that these clocks are effectively utilized, particularly at 4K resolution where the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (35 FPS) and 4K High (52 FPS) show a clear correlation with the GPU's workload. The performance difference between these settings indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are extremely taxing on the GPU's compute and shading units, which number 21,760.

The RTX 5090's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as its 39,650 score in Passmark G3D and its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, the data shows that in Archeage, its raw power is often held back by the game's engine or the CPU. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the 221 FPS average is likely capped by the CPU's ability to process the game's logic. This is further evidenced by the fact that the RTX 5090's nearest rivals in the benchmark database, such as the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, have similar average scores but are not representative of gaming performance.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution and settings increase. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings demonstrates the GPU's ability to handle the pixel throughput, but the absolute frame rates at 4K (52 FPS) are surprisingly low for a card of this caliber. This suggests that Archeage may have rendering inefficiencies or a lack of modern optimization that prevents the RTX 5090 from fully utilizing its 104.8 TFLOPS of compute power, resulting in frame rates that are lower than what the raw specs might suggest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide range of performance. The "Low" preset achieves the highest average FPS at 221. The "Medium" preset is next with an average of 197 FPS, a minimum of 167 FPS, and a maximum of 227 FPS. "High" drops the average to 134 FPS, while "Ultra" significantly reduces it to 91 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 63 FPS, which is a substantial 32% decrease in performance for the visual upgrade.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains the same but the frame rates scale down. "Low" yields an average of 149 FPS. "Medium" provides an average of 133 FPS, with a minimum of 113 FPS and a maximum of 152 FPS. "High" delivers 90 FPS, and "Ultra" falls to 61 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 43 FPS, which is a 32.3% reduction, showing a consistent performance cost for the High preset.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more demanding. "Low" is the only preset that provides a high refresh rate experience, with an average of 85 FPS. "Medium" is the most balanced, offering an average of 76 FPS, a minimum of 65 FPS, and a maximum of 87 FPS. "High" drops to 52 FPS, and "Ultra" is the most demanding, with an average of just 35 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 24 FPS, a 31.6% decrease, which is consistent with the other resolutions and confirms that the High preset's additional effects have a fixed performance cost relative to Medium.

The data reveals that the "Medium" preset is the only setting that provides a playable frame rate at all three resolutions, with the 4K minimum of 65 FPS being the lowest point. The "Ultra" preset is consistently the most demanding, and its 4K average of 35 FPS makes it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The "High" preset, while offering better visuals than Medium, imposes a consistent ~32% frame rate penalty across all resolutions, which is a significant trade-off for the visual improvements.

FAQ

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

A: The Medium preset is the best choice for 4K. It is the only preset that maintains an average FPS above 60 (76 FPS), with a minimum of 65 FPS. The High preset drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra to 35 FPS, making them less suitable for smooth play.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset provides an average of 61 FPS, while the High preset delivers an average of 90 FPS. This represents a 32.2% performance drop for the higher visual settings, suggesting that Ultra is significantly more demanding on the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p, especially on the Ultra preset. The 91 FPS average at 1080p Ultra is lower than expected compared to the 134 FPS at High, indicating that the CPU cannot keep up with the GPU's frame generation at this resolution and setting.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between the Low and Medium presets at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 221 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 197 FPS. The difference is 24 FPS, which is a 10.9% decrease in performance for the Medium preset's improved visual quality.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's performance in Archeage compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79,842, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. However, these are synthetic benchmark scores and do not directly translate to Archeage's specific performance.

Q: Does the 32 GB VRAM of the RTX 5090 provide a benefit in this game?

A: The 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Archeage. The data does not indicate any VRAM-related limitations, as the frame rates are consistent with what would be expected from the GPU's compute and bandwidth capabilities, not its memory capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, a mobile processor with 16 cores and 16 threads, plays a crucial role in determining the maximum frame rates in Archeage, particularly at lower resolutions. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz are key factors in single-threaded performance, which is often critical for MMORPGs due to their game logic and network code. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2200.5 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4280, indicate strong single-threaded capability.

However, the data shows that this CPU becomes a limiting factor in specific scenarios. At 1080p with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 91, which is significantly lower than the 134 FPS at High. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional CPU-side calculations, such as complex physics or AI, are causing the CPU to become the bottleneck. The CPU's 88th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 44,466, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, show that it is a high-performance part, but it has limits in this game.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,911 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 36,811, is more than adequate for the game's general workload. The 16 cores and 16 threads provide a solid foundation, but Archeage's engine may not be optimized to fully utilize all of them, leading to a reliance on single-core performance. This is supported by the fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low (221 FPS) is much higher than at 1080p Ultra (91 FPS), but the CPU is still the limiting factor at Low, as the GPU could likely render more frames if the CPU were faster.

The CPU's role is less prominent at higher resolutions, where the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck. At 4K, the CPU has more time to process each frame, allowing it to keep up with the GPU's rendering demands. The data shows that the CPU's clock speeds of 5.10 GHz boost are sufficient to avoid being a bottleneck at 4K, as the GPU's workload dominates the frame time. This is why the frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistent across presets, while the scaling from 1080p to 1440p can be affected by the CPU's limitations at the lower resolution.