Outriders

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 lands at rank 2329 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. That places this configuration in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly weak showing given the individual components' benchmark positions. The CPU sits at the 71st percentile among all processors, and the GPU at the 65th percentile among all graphics cards, yet their combined performance in this specific title falls well below what those standalone numbers might suggest.

This rank disparity hints at a fundamental mismatch between what Outriders demands and what this combo delivers. The data shows the combo outperforming only about 584 other configurations, meaning the vast majority of tested systems achieve higher frame rates. The question becomes whether the bottleneck originates from the CPU, the GPU, or the interaction between them in this particular game engine.

Comparing to the nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provides context. The Core i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17177 sits within a fraction of a percent of several competitors: the AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120 (0.3% behind), the Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239 (0.4% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278 (0.6% ahead). These are essentially statistical ties, suggesting the CPU is not an outlier in raw compute capability. The Arc B570 similarly trades blows with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% difference) and the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% difference) in aggregate GPU benchmarks.

Yet in Outriders specifically, the measured FPS tells a more nuanced story. The combination of a mid-range 6-core processor with a 10 GB GPU produces frame rates that range from playable to marginal depending on resolution and settings. The combo's rank suggests that Outriders may be particularly sensitive to one of these components, and the resolution scaling data will help identify which one.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the table, built on Intel's Rocket Lake architecture using a 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz can boost up to 4.40 GHz, and the 12 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample room for game data. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is modest by current standards but adequate for a 2021-era desktop processor.

In synthetic testing, the i5-11400F shows a clear scaling pattern from single-thread to multi-thread workloads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 jumps to 1691 with 2 threads, 3171 with 4 threads, and 4691 with 8 threads, before plateauing at 5619 with 16 threads and 5652 at maximum threads. This plateau between 8 and 16 threads indicates that the 6 physical cores with hyper-threading are effectively saturated beyond that point. The Cinebench R23 results reinforce this: 2024 single-core and 14340 multi-core, showing approximately 7x scaling from one core to all cores.

For Outriders, a looter shooter that relies on physics, enemy AI, and particle effects, the CPU's thread utilization matters. The PassMark physics score of 842 suggests moderate physics processing capability. The multi-threaded PassMark score of 16908 places this CPU in a competitive position relative to its peers, but the game's actual thread usage may not align perfectly with what the CPU can offer.

The i5-11400F's 65 W TDP indicates this is not a high-power part, and its end-of-life production status means it represents older technology. The single-thread performance, measured at 2981 in PassMark single-thread tests, is respectable but not exceptional. In Outriders, where frame pacing and consistent frame times matter for smooth gameplay, the CPU's ability to feed the GPU becomes critical, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Outriders?

A: The measured data shows 2560x1440 at High settings achieving 61 FPS average, which is the highest resolution with a playable frame rate above 60. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 96 FPS average, providing a more comfortable margin above refresh rate thresholds.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750 (20582). The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, which is 0.5% higher, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, 0.4% lower.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 Low settings, the combo achieves 176 FPS average, suggesting the GPU has significant headroom. The drop to 96 FPS at High settings indicates the GPU becomes more involved, but the CPU's single-thread performance may cap maximum frame rates in less demanding scenes.

Q: What CPU is this i5-11400F most comparable to?

A: The i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17177 is nearly identical to several competitors. The AMD EPYC 7H12 is 0.3% behind, the Intel Core i5-12450H is 0.4% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% ahead. These differences are negligible in real-world terms.

Q: Does the combo choke at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured 3840x2160 Ultra preset yields only 23 FPS average, which is below playable thresholds. Even at 4K High, the 32 FPS average is marginal. The GPU appears to be the primary constraint at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the combo produces 128 FPS average with a minimum of 109 and maximum of 148. This 39 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates some frame pacing variance but remains within an acceptable range for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of the combo's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from 176 FPS at Low settings down to 70 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset delivers 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 and maximum of 148, while High settings achieve 96 FPS. This represents a smooth scaling curve where each step up in quality costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings produce 111 FPS, Medium delivers 81 FPS with a 69-93 range, High achieves 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44 FPS. The transition from Medium to High at 1440p is particularly steep, losing 20 FPS, which suggests a significant increase in shader complexity or texture bandwidth requirements at that quality level.

The 3840x2160 results show the combo struggling to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings yield 58 FPS, Medium drops to 42 FPS with a 36-49 range, High falls to 32 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 23 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35 FPS, indicating that the GPU is severely taxed at this resolution regardless of settings.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the most complete data with minimum and maximum values recorded. At 1080p, the 109-148 range shows a 36% variance from minimum to maximum. At 1440p, the 69-93 range shows a 35% variance. At 4K, the 36-49 range shows a 36% variance. This consistent variance pattern suggests the game's frame time spikes are relatively uniform across resolutions, pointing to a consistent source of stutter or heavy scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about the bottleneck. At High settings, the combo delivers 96 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase, which indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the pattern shifts. The combo achieves 176 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 37% from 1080p to 1440p and 67% from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the High settings scaling. This consistency suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the bottleneck, as the CPU does not appear to be capping performance at any resolution.

The Medium preset shows similar scaling: 128 FPS at 1080p, 81 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K, representing 37% and 67% drops respectively. Ultra settings follow the same trend with 70, 44, and 23 FPS across the three resolutions. The uniformity of these scaling percentages across all settings presets strongly implies that the Arc B570's rendering throughput, not the CPU's processing capability, determines the frame rate at every resolution tested.

The 10 GB VRAM capacity of the Arc B570 may factor into the 4K performance. At 4K Ultra, the 23 FPS result could indicate texture memory pressure, although the data does not explicitly confirm this. The GPU's 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 160-bit bus width are moderate, and the 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate suggests the card can fill pixels quickly but may struggle with the compute demands of higher quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 128 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides headroom for demanding scenes. The 109 FPS minimum ensures that even the most intense combat encounters stay above playable levels.

At 1440p, Medium produces 81 FPS average with a 69 FPS minimum, making it the only preset that maintains playable performance at this resolution while offering improved visual fidelity over Low settings. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 20 FPS, dropping to 61 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for frame time spikes.

For 4K, none of the presets achieve a consistently smooth experience. Low settings at 58 FPS approach playability but may suffer in heavy scenes. Medium at 42 FPS is marginal, while High at 32 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are below acceptable thresholds for a fast-paced looter shooter. Players wanting 4K would need to accept Low settings or consider lowering the resolution.

The Ultra preset appears to offer diminishing returns. At 1080p, Ultra achieves 70 FPS, which is 58 FPS lower than Medium. The visual improvements from Medium to Ultra may not justify the significant performance cost, especially when the 1080p Medium result already provides excellent frame rates. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, with High as a viable alternative at 1080p for those prioritizing visual quality over frame rate headroom.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 represents Intel's Battlemage architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process, featuring the BMG-G21 chip with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU operates at a fixed 2500 MHz clock for both base and boost, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is competitive for this class of GPU.

The Arc B570's compute capabilities include 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. The 18 ray tracing cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), and the GPU advertises 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate indicate strong fill rate capabilities, which should theoretically benefit a game like Outriders with its dense particle effects and environmental detail.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Arc B570's PassMark G3D score of 14195 places it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 provides a modern gaming workload reference. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514 and Vulkan score of 96844 show the GPU's compute capabilities, with Vulkan performing notably better than OpenCL.

The GPU's measured performance in Outriders, however, reveals a more complex picture. The 150 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest adequate cooling, and the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides sufficient bandwidth. The 450 W suggested PSU recommendation indicates this is not a power-hungry card, which aligns with its mid-range positioning.

The nearest rival comparisons show the Arc B570 trading blows with mobile and older desktop GPUs. The 0.1% difference from the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750 suggests these cards perform nearly identically in aggregate benchmarks. The 0.4% difference from the Quadro M4000M and 0.5% from the R9 M390X are similarly negligible. Yet in Outriders, the combination of this GPU with the i5-11400F produces results that rank in the bottom 20% of all combos, suggesting either the game has specific driver or architecture quirks that penalize Intel GPUs, or the CPU-GPU pairing introduces inefficiencies not captured by synthetic benchmarks.