Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the Intel Arc B390 is a profoundly unbalanced combination for playing Outriders. The data places this combo at rank 2582 out of 2913 tested combinations, putting it in the bottom 11% of all systems. This is not a subtle deficit; it is a fundamental mismatch where a flagship-class 16-core CPU is completely hamstrung by a GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile of all tested graphics cards. The benchmark results show that the Arc B390, with its 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, acts as a severe bottleneck in every scenario, preventing the powerful processor from ever stretching its legs. The result is a system that, despite the CPU's 91st percentile ranking, delivers playable frame rates only at 1080p with the lowest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2582 out of 2913 is a stark indicator of its overall capability. With a percentile rank in the bottom 11%, this system sits far below the median experience for Outriders. The disparity between the components is the defining characteristic here. The Ryzen 9 5950X is a top-tier desktop processor, sitting in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-13900F, which scores 51730 (a 0.4% difference), and the Intel Core i7-14700, which scores 52301 (-0.7% difference). This places the CPU in elite company, with its 16 cores and 32 threads providing immense processing power. The GPU, however, is a different story entirely. The Intel Arc B390 scores a meager 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, a 1.3% delta) and the GeForce GT 710 (1443, a 2.7% delta). This means that for every frame the CPU can calculate, the GPU can only render a fraction, making the overall system ranking a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's strengths.

The benchmark results indicate that this pairing effectively wastes the potential of the Ryzen 9 5950X. In a game like Outriders, a looter shooter with demanding real-time effects, the graphics card is the primary driver of frame rates. The data shows that the system's performance is uniformly poor across the board, which is a classic symptom of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's high core count and clock speeds—with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz—are irrelevant when the GPU cannot process the data fast enough to keep up. Even with a CPU that can handle massive amounts of data, the Arc B390's 80W TDP and integrated graphics design (IGP) constrain it to a level where it struggles to maintain fluid motion in a modern title. This is a textbook example of a build where the component budget was not balanced, leading to a poor overall experience.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X or the Intel Arc B390 the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The data clearly indicates the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU scores place it in the 91st percentile. The measured frame rates are consistently low across all resolutions, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to render frames quickly enough, regardless of the CPU's high performance metrics.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this system at 1080p?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only viable option for a consistently playable experience. It produces an average of 115 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 83 FPS, which is still playable, but the High preset at 63 FPS and Ultra at 45 FPS are less optimal for maintaining high frame rates in a fast-paced shooter.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is marginally higher than its nearest rivals. It is 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, and 2.7% faster than the GeForce GT 625 OEM. These are all extremely low-performance parts, indicating that the B390 is in the entry-level segment of GPU performance.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate achieved is 38 FPS on the Low preset. On the Ultra preset, it drops to 15 FPS. These results are below the threshold for a smooth gaming experience, indicating that 4K is not a viable resolution for this title with this hardware configuration.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has 16 cores and 32 threads. It is based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) and is built on a 7 nm process node. This high core count is typical for a desktop workstation processor but does not translate to gaming performance when paired with a weak GPU.

Q: Does the CPU's memory bandwidth support affect the gaming results?

A: The memory bandwidth is a specification of the CPU, not a measured performance metric in the game. While the CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, the benchmark results for the game are solely determined by the GPU's rendering capacity. The data shows that frame rates are capped by the GPU's low performance, not by memory throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the severity of the drop highlights the GPU's weakness. At 1080p on the Low preset, the system achieves 115 FPS. Moving to 1440p on the Low preset, the frame rate drops to 72 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K on the Low preset, the frame rate falls to 38 FPS, a 67% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is being overwhelmed by the pixel count. The CPU's role is largely static across these resolutions, as it can easily feed frames to the GPU at all three. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the frame rate decreases proportionally with the increase in rendering resolution, demonstrating that the Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck.

This relationship is further confirmed by looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the frame rate is 45 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 29 FPS, a 36% reduction. At 4K, it plummets to 15 FPS, a 67% reduction from 1080p. The consistent percentage drops across different presets suggest that the GPU's rendering pipeline is saturated at all quality levels, and the extra work required for higher resolutions is directly impacting the output. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates that are relatively stable across resolutions, as the CPU's workload doesn't increase significantly with pixel count. The data shows the opposite, solidifying the conclusion that the Intel Arc B390 is the sole limiting factor in this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured results, the settings recommendations are straightforward but restrictive. For a playable experience, the Low preset is the only reliable choice. At 1920x1080, it delivers an average of 115 FPS, which is smooth for a shooter. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 83 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the jump to High at 63 FPS and Ultra at 45 FPS introduces noticeable dips that could be problematic in intense combat. The data suggests that the Arc B390 simply does not have the shading units or texture rate (120.0 GTexel/s) to handle the higher graphical loads of Outriders at higher presets without sacrificing frame rate.

For 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that provides a playable frame rate, with an average of 72 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 53 FPS, which is borderline for a fast-paced game, while High and Ultra at 40 and 29 FPS respectively are too low for a comfortable experience. At 4K, even the Low preset at 38 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, making it unsuitable for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable at 15 FPS. The recommendation is to stick to 1080p with the Low or Medium preset to get the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as higher resolutions require too many compromises to be practical.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all tested settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results. The Low preset averages 115 FPS. The Medium preset averages 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. The High preset averages 63 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 45 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 72 FPS. The Medium preset averages 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS. The High preset averages 40 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 29 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the weakest. The Low preset averages 38 FPS. The Medium preset averages 28 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 32 FPS. The High preset averages 21 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 15 FPS.

These numbers show a clear hierarchy. The system is only capable of maintaining a 60+ FPS average at 1080p on the Low preset. The Medium preset at 1080p is the only other configuration that achieves a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. All other settings and resolutions result in average frame rates below 60 FPS, with 4K and Ultra settings falling into unplayable territory.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. With a 64 MB L3 cache and support for dual-channel DDR4 memory, it has the specifications to be a powerhouse for multi-threaded workloads. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. In PassMark, it scores 45424 in multithread and 3470 in single-thread tests. These numbers place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, showing that it has ample processing power for any game.

However, in this specific configuration, the CPU's role is largely neutral. In Outriders, the bottleneck is so severe that the CPU's performance metrics are irrelevant. The data shows that the system's frame rates are consistently low, even at the lowest settings where the CPU would be most likely to become a limiting factor. The fact that the frame rates drop so drastically with resolution scaling confirms that the GPU is the sole determinant of performance. The Ryzen 9 5950X is not being utilized to its full potential, as it waits for the Arc B390 to render each frame. The CPU's high core count and clock speeds are wasted in this scenario, as the GPU cannot keep up with the processor's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic. The CPU's performance is a non-factor in the final results, which are entirely dictated by the GPU's 9th percentile ranking.