Allods Online

Allods Online, a 2010 MMORPG, shows significant performance scaling across resolutions with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B570 combo. The data reveals a system that is heavily resolution-bound, with frame rates nearly tripling from 4K to 1080p, indicating that the graphics card is the primary constraint at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, ranking, and hardware roles to provide practical guidance for PC builders.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) data shows a clear and dramatic scaling pattern as resolution decreases. At 4K with Ultra settings, the combo averages just 19 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for an MMORPG. Dropping to High settings at 4K raises the average to 30 FPS, still below the smoothness threshold most players expect. The 4K Low preset, however, jumps to 61 FPS, demonstrating that the Arc B570 can handle 4K only when the graphical load is minimized. The Medium preset at 4K sits between these extremes at 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS, showing a playable but not ideal experience.

Moving to 1440p, the performance becomes much more viable. The High preset at 2560x1440 achieves 57 FPS, a significant improvement over the 30 FPS at 4K High. The Low preset at 1440p nearly doubles this to 116 FPS, and Medium reaches 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 104 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p remains demanding at 36 FPS, suggesting that the game's Ultra settings are exceptionally punishing even at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the system finally shows its full potential. The High preset averages 91 FPS, and Medium hits 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. The Low preset reaches 184 FPS, indicating that the CPU and GPU combo can push very high frame rates when not constrained by pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1080p still only manages 57 FPS, which is the same as High at 1440p, reinforcing that the Ultra preset is a bottleneck regardless of resolution.

The scaling from 1080p High (91 FPS) to 4K High (30 FPS) shows a 67% performance drop, while the drop from 1080p Medium (144 FPS) to 4K Medium (47 FPS) is similar at about 67%. This consistent percentage drop across presets indicates that the limiting factor is the GPU's raw rendering throughput rather than any CPU-side constraint. The fact that 1080p Low produces 184 FPS while 4K Low produces 61 FPS shows that even the lowest settings are heavily affected by resolution, confirming the Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 11.52 TFLOPS compute are the binding constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific combination at rank 2231 out of 2775 tested combos in Allods Online. This position in the 20th percentile of all tested systems is a strong indicator that this pairing is not optimized for this particular game. The data shows that while the CPU is a high-end part in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, the GPU sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, creating a significant imbalance that the game's engine does not favor.

The combo rank of 2231 out of 2775 means that roughly 80% of tested systems outperform this configuration in Allods Online. This is surprising given the hardware involved, but the measured FPS data explains why. The game appears to have a very high dependency on GPU rasterization power, and the Arc B570's performance profile, while competent for its class, does not excel in the specific workloads this MMORPG generates. The CPU's high benchmark scores do not translate into proportional gains in this title, as the game likely does not utilize the 24 cores and 24 threads effectively.

Comparing to the nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in average benchmark score, and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX. This means the CPU is performing essentially on par with its direct predecessor, so the low combo rank cannot be attributed to a weak CPU. The Intel Arc B570 is similarly close to its rivals: it is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750. This tight grouping suggests that the GPU is also performing as expected for its class, meaning the low rank is a characteristic of the game itself rather than a defective or poorly configured component.

The data indicates that Allods Online favors hardware configurations that are more balanced or that have different GPU architectures. The 19 FPS at 4K Ultra and 36 FPS at 1440p Ultra are particularly telling, as these settings appear to trigger some pathological rendering path in the game that tanks performance. The rank of 2231 reflects this, as other combos with similar GPU power but different CPUs likely achieve better results due to the game's specific optimization patterns.

Settings Recommendations

Based solely on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K gaming, the only viable option is the Low preset, which delivers 61 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K produces 47 FPS, which is playable but may feel slightly sluggish for fast-paced combat. The High preset at 4K at 30 FPS and Ultra at 19 FPS are both below acceptable thresholds for an MMORPG where reaction time matters.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, offering 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 104 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with good visual fidelity, as Medium is typically a reasonable compromise between quality and performance. The High preset at 1440p achieves 57 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth. The Low preset at 116 FPS is excellent for competitive play but sacrifices visual quality. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS should be avoided as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

For 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 91 FPS is also excellent, offering better visuals at a still-smooth frame rate. The Low preset at 184 FPS is the maximum performance option, ideal for players who prioritize frame rate above all else. The Ultra preset at 57 FPS is the only one that dips below 60 FPS at this resolution, so it is not recommended unless visual quality is paramount.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings provide the best balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. The jump from Low to Medium costs about 23% performance at 1080p (184 to 144 FPS), 22% at 1440p (116 to 91 FPS), and 23% at 4K (61 to 47 FPS), while the jump from Medium to High costs even more. The Ultra preset is disproportionately expensive, costing roughly 60% performance compared to High, which suggests it is not well-optimized for this GPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Allods Online at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produce 61 FPS. Medium settings at 4K drop to 47 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 30 FPS and 19 FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows that 1440p with Medium settings provides the best overall experience, delivering 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS. This resolution offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining a playable frame rate.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holding back the Intel Arc B570?

A: Not according to the data. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all CPUs and is only 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. The performance bottleneck in this game is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B570 is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 in average benchmark scores. This indicates it performs as expected for its class, and the low combo rank is not due to a defective GPU sample.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset?

A: No, not based on the measured data. The Ultra preset produces only 19 FPS at 4K, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 1080p. These are all below the 60 FPS threshold considered smooth for MMORPG gameplay.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured FPS is 184 at 1080p with Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p reaches 144 FPS, which is likely the best choice for players with high-refresh-rate monitors who want a balance of quality and speed.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the primary performance limiter in this configuration for Allods Online. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base and boost clocks are both locked at 2500 MHz, and the memory clock runs at 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. These specifications place the GPU in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534.

The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is sufficient for this game at the tested resolutions, as the data does not show any memory-related stuttering or crashes. The 160-bit bus width is narrower than many competitors, but the high memory clock partially compensates. The GPU's shading units number 2304, with 144 TMUs and 80 ROPs, which contribute to a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS is the key metric for traditional rasterization, and the data shows that this is simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with high settings.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks supports its mid-range positioning. It scores 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 14195 in PassMark G3D, and 7281 in PassMark GPU Compute. The DirectX 11 score of 118 is notably higher than the DirectX 12 score of 72, which is interesting because Allods Online is an older title that may rely on older DirectX paths. The DirectX 9 score of 164 is the highest among the PassMark DirectX tests, which could indicate that the GPU performs better on legacy APIs, but the measured FPS in-game does not reflect a particular strength in this area.

The GPU's power draw is rated at 150 W TDP, and it requires a 450 W power supply, but these figures are not directly relevant to the performance data. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8, which provides adequate bandwidth for the GPU's needs. The fact that the GPU is in the 65th percentile while the CPU is in the 96th percentile highlights the imbalance in this pairing for Allods Online, where the GPU's raw throughput is the deciding factor in frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-end processor that vastly outperforms the GPU in relative terms, yet its role in Allods Online is minimal based on the measured data. This CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The 24-core configuration is built on a 3 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 243 mm² containing 17,800 million transistors. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves impressive scores that place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 51731, and single-core is 7303. PassMark tests show a multithread score of 60860 and a single-thread score of 4823. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K at 83807, a difference of just 0.2%. This indicates that the 290K Plus is essentially a refresh of the 285K with no meaningful performance gain.

However, in Allods Online, this CPU power does not translate into high frame rates. The game is an MMORPG from 2010, and its engine is likely not capable of utilizing 24 cores effectively. The data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least constrained, the combo achieves 184 FPS. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see this number plateau regardless of resolution, but the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, confirming that the CPU has headroom to spare.

The memory support for this CPU includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for this game. The CPU also features integrated graphics in the form of Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, but these are not used when the discrete Arc B570 is present. The CPU's TDP is 125 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1851, which is part of the Arrow Lake Refresh codename. The fact that the combo ranks 2231 out of 2775 combos, despite having a top-tier CPU, underscores that the game's performance is determined by the GPU alone in this pairing.