Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B570 produces a playable but not universal experience in Outriders, depending heavily on resolution and quality settings. Measured results show this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, while 4K demands significant compromises. The data indicates a clear hierarchy: at 1920x1080, the combo delivers high frame rates across all presets, but at 3840x2160, only the Low preset approaches a consistently smooth experience. This analysis uses only the measured FPS rows and component specifications provided.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to Medium as the optimal starting preset for this CPU-GPU pairing. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS. This is a substantial jump from High’s 96 FPS average and only a step below Low’s 176 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 32 FPS at 1080p, which is a meaningful margin for a looter shooter where combat can get chaotic. The minimum FPS of 109 on Medium also means the frame rate rarely dips below the refresh rate of most standard 1080p monitors, ensuring smoother gameplay than High’s likely lower dips, though the High preset’s minimum is not listed.

At 2560x1440, Medium again looks like the sweet spot. The average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS, is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. High at 1440p drops to 61 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less headroom for intense firefights. Low at 1440p reaches 111 FPS average, but that preset typically sacrifices visual fidelity that matters in a game like Outriders, which relies on environmental detail and effects. Ultra at 1440p falls to 44 FPS average, which is below the smoothness most players would accept.

For 4K, the situation changes. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS, which is borderline for a shooter. High at 4K averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages just 23 FPS. Low at 4K averages 58 FPS, making it the only preset that approaches a standard 60 FPS target. If you must play at 4K, Low is the only reasonable choice based on the data. For most users, 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the measured rows show these settings deliver the highest frame rates while still using a mid-tier preset rather than dropping to Low.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570’s specifications directly explain its performance ceiling in Outriders. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units handle the rasterization workload. The GPU’s FP32 compute is 11.52 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which is relevant for a 2021 game like Outriders that uses modern rendering features.

The memory configuration matters more at higher resolutions. At 4K, the 10 GB frame buffer and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth face heavier pressure, which aligns with the steep FPS drops seen from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080, the GPU has ample bandwidth and capacity, allowing the 2500 MHz clocks to push high frame rates. At 3840x2160, the same clocks cannot compensate for the increased pixel load, and the average FPS on High drops from 96 at 1080p to 32 at 4K. This is a 67% reduction, showing that the GPU’s raw throughput, not its clock speed, limits 4K performance.

The B570’s benchmark scores place it in a specific performance tier. Its Passmark G3D score is 14195, with a percentile of 65 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 (avgScore 20582, deltaPct -0.1), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (avgScore 20662, deltaPct -0.5). The delta percentages are all within half a percent, meaning the B570 performs nearly identically to these GPUs in synthetic benchmarks. In Outriders, that translates to the observed FPS numbers, which are solid for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for high-refresh 4K on demanding presets.

The GPU’s 150 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU indicate it is a mid-range card, and its 272 mm length and dual-slot design are typical for this class. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is sufficient for the measured workloads, as the FPS data does not suggest a bandwidth bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p. The 19,600 million transistors on a 5 nm TSMC process give it efficiency, but the data shows that efficiency does not translate to 4K Ultra performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS shows a clear pattern of degradation as resolution increases, which points to the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the average is 96 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 61 FPS, a 36% reduction. Moving to 4K High drops further to 32 FPS, a 67% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the Arc B570’s shading units and memory bandwidth cannot keep up with the increasing pixel count.

The Low preset shows similar scaling but from a higher base. At 1080p Low, the average is 176 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 111 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops to 58 FPS, a 67% reduction from 1080p. The consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the resolution change has a proportional impact on performance, regardless of settings. This suggests the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU or the game engine’s draw calls.

The Medium preset, which has minimum and maximum FPS values recorded, illustrates the scaling more precisely. At 1080p Medium, the average is 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS. The minimum FPS values show that even in the worst-case moments, 1080p stays above 100 FPS, 1440p stays above 60 FPS, and 4K dips below 40 FPS. This reinforces that 4K is only viable on Low, where the 58 FPS average provides the only near-60 FPS experience.

The CPU’s role in resolution scaling is minimal here. The Core i7-12700K has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 19784 and singlecore score is 1850.5. These are strong numbers, and the CPU is unlikely to bottleneck at any resolution, especially since frame rates drop as resolution increases, which is the opposite of a CPU-bound pattern. The data shows that the limiting component shifts fully to the GPU at 1440p and 4K, where the FPS drops are more than proportional to the pixel count increase.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: Medium provides the best measured experience, with an average of 128 FPS and a minimum of 109 FPS. High averages 96 FPS, and Low averages 176 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual-to-performance balance than High while still maintaining high frame rates.

Q: Can this system handle 4K at a smooth frame rate?

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 58 FPS. Medium at 4K averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. None of these are ideal for a shooter, so 4K is not recommended unless you accept Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The B570 has a Passmark G3D score of 14195. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avgScore 20534, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 (avgScore 20582, deltaPct -0.1), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (avgScore 20662, deltaPct -0.5). All delta percentages are within 0.5%, indicating near-identical average scores.

Q: Why does performance drop so significantly from 1080p to 4K?

A: The Arc B570’s 10 GB GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, combined with its 2304 shading units, become the bottleneck as pixel count increases. The FPS drops by about 67% from 1080p to 4K across all presets, which is a GPU-bound scaling pattern.

Q: Is the CPU powerful enough for this game?

A: Yes. The Core i7-12700K has 12 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 19784 and singlecore score is 1850.5. The FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation, as performance scales consistently with resolution changes.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 36 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The lowest average FPS is 23 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, boosting to 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, with PCIe Gen 4 providing 20 lanes. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU.

Benchmark results place this CPU in the upper tier. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 19784, and singlecore is 1850.5. Geekbench multicore is 15790 and singlecore is 2308. The Passmark multithread score is 34404, with a single-thread score of 4013. Its percentile among all CPUs is 84, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T (avgScore 35305, deltaPct -0.1), the Intel Core i7-12700KF (avgScore 35365, deltaPct -0.2), and the Intel Core i7-13700T (avgScore 35403, deltaPct -0.3). All deltas are within 0.4%, showing this CPU is statistically tied with those models in average benchmark scores.

In Outriders, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the average reaches 176 FPS. This high frame rate indicates the CPU can handle even the lightest GPU load without bottlenecking. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 70 FPS, but that is due to GPU load, not CPU limitations. The CPU’s 20 threads help in scenes with many enemies or effects, but the game’s engine is not heavily threaded in a way that would stress this processor.

The Core i7-12700K’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz is critical for single-thread performance, which affects frame pacing in games. Its Cinebench R23 singlecore score of 1850.5 is strong, and the Geekbench singlecore score of 2308 confirms this. Since Outriders is a looter shooter with frequent combat encounters, the CPU’s ability to maintain high minimum FPS is important. The measured minimum FPS values, such as 109 FPS at 1080p Medium and 69 FPS at 1440p Medium, suggest the CPU is not causing frame drops. The combo rank of 2329 out of 2913 combos in this game indicates that while this pairing is not top-tier, it is far from the bottom, and the CPU is a key reason the 1080p results are strong.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 176 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS. High settings average 96 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra settings average 70 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. This resolution shows a wide spread between Low and Ultra, with a 106 FPS difference between the two extremes. The Medium preset’s minimum of 109 FPS means it rarely drops below 100 FPS, making it the most consistent option for high-refresh 1080p displays.

At 2560x1440, the data shows a step down. Low settings average 111 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Medium settings average 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS. High settings average 61 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra settings average 44 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. The Medium preset’s minimum of 69 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while High’s average of 61 FPS leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Low at 111 FPS is the only preset that feels truly smooth on a 1440p high-refresh monitor, but Medium offers a better visual experience at 81 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 58 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and maximum of 49 FPS. High settings average 32 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra settings average 23 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. The Medium preset’s minimum of 36 FPS is below the 40 FPS threshold for playable, and High and Ultra are outright slideshows for a shooter. Low at 58 FPS is the only preset that approaches a usable frame rate for 4K, but it does so by sacrificing most visual quality.

Comparing across resolutions, the Medium preset illustrates the full scaling curve. At 1080p, it averages 128 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 81 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K, it drops to 42 FPS, a 67% reduction from 1080p. The High preset follows a similar curve: 96 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop), and 32 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop). The Low preset also shows the same pattern: 176 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 58 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop). This consistency confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution.

The Ultra preset is the worst performer at every resolution. At 1080p, it averages 70 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced game. At 1440p, it averages 44 FPS, which is borderline. At 4K, it averages 23 FPS, which is unplayable. The gap between Ultra and High is significant: 26 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 9 FPS at 4K. This suggests that Ultra settings apply a heavy load that the Arc B570 cannot handle, and most players would be better served by High or Medium.

The combo’s overall rank in Outriders is 2329 out of 2913 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all CPU-GPU pairings for this game. This ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-tier position, as indicated by its 65th percentile among all GPUs and its near-identical scores to the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking is higher, but the overall combo performance is capped by the GPU, especially at higher resolutions. For 1080p gaming, this combo performs well, but for 4K, it requires the lowest settings to achieve a playable frame rate.