Outriders

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and carries a 65 W TDP. The chip features an 80 KB L1 cache per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, with a rated memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and includes integrated Radeon Graphics.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9700X demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 20485, while the single-core score is 2211. Geekbench results show a multi-core score of 17906 and a single-core score of 3023. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 2525 in the 2-thread test to 9771 in the max-thread test, indicating that the processor efficiently utilizes its 16 threads. Passmark multi-thread score is 37161, and the single-thread score is 4654.

For Outriders, a looter shooter that typically relies on a balance of CPU and GPU work, this processor's 8-core/16-thread configuration is more than adequate for feeding frames. The high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1280) ensures that game logic, physics, and draw call processing do not become a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 115 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate in the dataset. This indicates that the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates when the GPU workload is light.

The 9700X's percentile ranking among all CPUs is 86, placing it above most desktop processors. Its nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i9-14901E (avg score 37911, delta 0.1%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (avg score 37904, delta 0.1%), the Intel Core 5 211E (avg score 37829, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (avg score 37804, delta 0.4%). The 9700X's average benchmark score is 37943, meaning it sits marginally ahead of these comparable chips by 0.1% to 0.4%. This tight grouping suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 9700X will perform nearly identically to these alternatives.

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

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake), manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines. It includes 12 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). The TDP is 80 W, and it uses system shared memory, meaning VRAM size, type, and bus width are all "System Shared" and bandwidth is "System Dependent."

The Arc B390's benchmark presence is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places the GPU at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, indicating that it performs below the vast majority of discrete graphics solutions. Its nearest rivals, based on average scores, are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (avg score 1463, delta 1.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (avg score 1460, delta 1.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (avg score 1446, delta 2.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (avg score 1443, delta 2.7%). The Arc B390 is ahead of these by 1.3% to 2.7%, which is a narrow margin. These rivals are all older, low-end mobile or entry-level desktop parts, which contextualizes the Arc B390's performance tier.

In Outriders, the GPU's limitations become apparent immediately. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 115 FPS, but this drops to 63 FPS at 1080p High and 45 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 61% reduction in frame rate (from 115 to 45 FPS). This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor for this combo, even at the lowest resolution. The 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is modest, and the system shared memory bandwidth, which is system dependent, cannot match the dedicated VRAM bandwidth of discrete GPUs. The 24 ROPs are also a constraint for pixel fill rate, especially at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on settings selection. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 115 FPS average, which is smooth for a looter shooter. Medium drops to 83 FPS (with a min of 71 and max of 96), High delivers 63 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. For a game like Outriders, where responsiveness matters in combat, the Low preset at 1080p is the only one that consistently exceeds 100 FPS. Medium at 83 FPS is still playable, but the drop from Low is 32 FPS, which is a 28% reduction. High at 63 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced moments, but it may feel less responsive during intense firefights.

At 1440p, the situation degrades. Low delivers 72 FPS, Medium drops to 53 FPS (min 45, max 61), High falls to 40 FPS, and Ultra is at 29 FPS. The 1440p Low result is the only one above 60 FPS, and it is 43 FPS below the 1080p Low result. Medium at 53 FPS is borderline, with the minimum of 45 indicating potential stutters. High and Ultra are not recommended for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 4K (3840x2160), all presets produce sub-60 FPS results. Low achieves 38 FPS, Medium 28 FPS (min 23, max 32), High 21 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. None of these are playable for a fast-paced game. The 4K Medium minimum of 23 FPS suggests significant frame pacing issues.

The best experience per the measured rows is the 1080p Low preset at 115 FPS average. If visual fidelity is prioritized, 1080p Medium at 83 FPS provides a balance, but the 32 FPS penalty over Low is steep. For 1440p users, Low at 72 FPS is the only viable option. The data shows that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming in Outriders, as even Low falls below 40 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2582 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. The rank indicates that the Arc B390 GPU severely limits the overall performance, despite the capable CPU.

The CPU alone is well-positioned, with a percentile rank of 86 among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 37943. In contrast, the GPU's percentile rank is 9, with an average score of 1482. The disparity between these two components is stark. The CPU is in the top 14% of processors, while the GPU is in the bottom 9% of graphics solutions. This mismatch explains the combo's poor overall rank.

The combination's rank of 2582 out of 2913 suggests that most other tested combos, even those with weaker CPUs, outperform this pairing in Outriders because they pair those CPUs with more capable GPUs. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation: the GPU's limits are reached at 1080p Low, where the CPU is nowhere near its maximum capacity. The 9700X's 3DMark max-thread score of 9771 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 indicate it can handle far more than the 115 FPS ceiling imposed by the Arc B390 at 1080p Low.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 115, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443).

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X a high-performing CPU relative to its peers?

A: Yes, the 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943, which is slightly higher than its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i9-14901E (37911, 0.1% slower), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (37904, 0.1% slower), Intel Core 5 211E (37829, 0.3% slower), and AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (37804, 0.4% slower). It sits at the 86th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in the dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 23, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings (average 28 FPS, max 32 FPS). The only other preset with a recorded minimum is 2560x1440 Medium, which has a minimum of 45 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Outriders at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 38 at Low settings, and it drops to 15 at Ultra. All 4K presets produce average FPS below 40, which is not suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 2582 out of 2913 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations tested in this game.

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

1920x1080 (Full HD):

• Low: 115 FPS average
• Medium: 83 FPS average, 71 FPS minimum, 96 FPS maximum
• High: 63 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

2560x1440 (Quad HD):

• Low: 72 FPS average
• Medium: 53 FPS average, 45 FPS minimum, 61 FPS maximum
• High: 40 FPS average
• Ultra: 29 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K UHD):

• Low: 38 FPS average
• Medium: 28 FPS average, 23 FPS minimum, 32 FPS maximum
• High: 21 FPS average
• Ultra: 15 FPS average

The dataset includes no minimum or maximum FPS values for the Low, High, and Ultra presets at any resolution, except for the Medium presets. This means the variability data is only available for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the range from minimum to maximum is 25 FPS (71 to 96). At 1440p Medium, the range is 16 FPS (45 to 61). At 4K Medium, the range is 9 FPS (23 to 32). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that frame times become more consistent as the GPU becomes more uniformly bottlenecked, but the average FPS also drops significantly.

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

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 115 at 1080p to 72 at 1440p, then to 38 at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pixel count increase from 1080p to 1440p is 78%, and from 1080p to 4K it is 400%. The FPS does not drop proportionally to the pixel count, which would be expected if the GPU were the sole limiting factor. However, the consistent decline across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 83 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p (36% reduction) and 28 at 4K (66% reduction). High settings show a drop from 63 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p (37% reduction) and 21 at 4K (67% reduction). Ultra settings drop from 45 at 1080p to 29 at 1440p (36% reduction) and 15 at 4K (67% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings is notable. Regardless of the preset, the FPS reduction from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 36-37%, and from 1080p to 4K it is approximately 66-67%.

This pattern suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the bottleneck at all settings. The CPU is not being stressed differently across resolutions because the game's CPU workload does not scale with resolution in the same way the GPU workload does. The 9700X's strong single-thread and multi-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 2211, multi-core 20485) is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output demands, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing 115 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the FPS continues to rise as resolution drops, indicating that the GPU never becomes idle waiting for the CPU.

The Arc B390's system shared memory is a key contributor to this scaling behavior. Since memory bandwidth is "System Dependent," the GPU's access to data is constrained by the system's memory configuration. At higher resolutions, the GPU needs to access more texture and geometry data, and the shared memory bandwidth cannot keep up with the increased demand. This is reflected in the steep drop from 115 FPS at 1080p Low to 38 FPS at 4K Low, a 77 FPS difference that highlights the GPU's inability to scale with resolution.

In summary, the data unequivocally identifies the Intel Arc B390 as the limiting component in this combo for Outriders. The CPU's ample headroom is evidenced by its high benchmark scores and its ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low, while the GPU's low percentile rank (9) and its rivals' vintage (GT 520MX, GT 710) confirm its entry-level positioning. For users seeking higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K, the measured FPS data indicates that this combo cannot deliver a smooth experience, and the GPU would need to be replaced with a more powerful solution.