Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a compelling case study in how a mid-range GPU handles a demanding looter shooter. The measured data for Outriders reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the processor provides ample headroom to push frame rates at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly identifying the Intel Arc B570 as the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 96 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 35 FPS. Scaling further to 3840x2160 yields just 32 FPS, which represents a 66% loss from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is a textbook example of GPU-limited scaling, where the rendering load outpaces the card's raw pixel throughput.

The Low preset tells a similar story, though with higher absolute numbers. The system produces 176 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 111 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 58 FPS at 4K. While the 1440p result remains playable, the 4K figure demonstrates that even with minimal graphical fidelity, the Arc B570 cannot maintain a smooth experience at that resolution. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 118 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are saturated well before the CPU becomes a limiting factor.

Medium settings provide the most granular data, with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1920x1080, the average is 128 FPS with a range of 109 to 148 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops the average to 81 FPS (range 69 to 93), and 3840x2160 sees the average fall to 42 FPS (range 36 to 49). The consistent delta between resolutions—roughly 47 FPS between 1080p and 1440p, and 39 FPS between 1440p and 4K—reinforces that the scaling is linear and entirely dependent on GPU fill rate and memory bandwidth.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, and the results are predictably harsh at higher resolutions. The card manages 70 FPS at 1080p, which is respectable, but this drops to 44 FPS at 1440p and a marginal 23 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is essentially unplayable, and even the 1440p result is below the threshold for a smooth competitive experience. The data shows that the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 160-bit bus are stretched thin by Ultra presets beyond 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Core i7-12700KF and Arc B570 ranks 2329 out of 2913 combos for Outriders. This places it in the lower half of the field, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than the CPU's high-end capabilities. The combo rank reflects the overall frame throughput, and since the Arc B570 is the limiting factor in most scenarios, the system's standing is dragged down by the graphics card's absolute performance ceiling.

The processor itself is a strong performer, sitting at the 85th percentile against all CPUs in the database. This suggests that the CPU is not the reason for the low combo rank. Instead, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. When examining the nearest rivals for the Arc B570, the data shows it trades blows with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% delta) and sits slightly below the Intel Arc A750 (-0.1% delta). These are all mid-range parts, and the combo rank indicates that Outriders is not a title where this pairing punches above its weight class.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (-0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-13600T (0.2% delta), which are lower-power variants of the 13th generation. The fact that the i7-12700KF is essentially tied with these parts in average benchmark scores, while having a higher boost clock, suggests that the synthetic benchmarks are not fully capturing the CPU's potential in gaming workloads. However, for Outriders specifically, this CPU performance headroom is largely irrelevant due to the GPU constraint at most settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate is achieved at Medium settings for most resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium provides 128 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors and only 48 FPS below the Low preset's 176 FPS. The visual uplift from Low to Medium is significant in Outriders, making this the sweet spot for high-refresh displays.

For 2560x1440, Medium is the recommended preset as well, delivering 81 FPS with minimums of 69 FPS. This keeps the experience fluid, though users with 144 Hz panels will need to accept that they cannot fully saturate their displays. High settings at 1440p yield 61 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 44 FPS, should be avoided unless the user prioritizes image quality over responsiveness.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. Low settings produce 58 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches playability. Medium drops to 42 FPS, and High falls to 32 FPS. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the experience will be suboptimal. The data suggests that this combo is not well-suited for 4K gaming, and users should either lower their resolution or accept compromised settings.

The High preset at 1080p, delivering 96 FPS, is a solid alternative for those who want better shadows and textures without the performance hit of Ultra. Ultra at 1080p, at 70 FPS, is only recommended for users with 60 Hz displays who want maximum fidelity. The measured data clearly shows that Medium offers the best experience across the board, providing a substantial frame rate advantage over High while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for Outriders with this hardware configuration reveals a consistent pattern across all settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces the highest average of 176 FPS, followed by Medium at 128 FPS (with a minimum of 109 and maximum of 148), High at 96 FPS, and Ultra at 70 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 106 FPS, indicating that the graphics settings have a massive impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages compress slightly. Low leads with 111 FPS, Medium follows at 81 FPS (minimum 69, maximum 93), High achieves 61 FPS, and Ultra trails at 44 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra narrows to 67 FPS, but the relative ordering remains unchanged. The Medium preset's minimum of 69 FPS is notable, as it suggests that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains a playable frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the results are dramatically lower. Low produces 58 FPS, Medium drops to 42 FPS (minimum 36, maximum 49), High manages 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 23 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 35 FPS, showing that at 4K, even the lowest settings cannot overcome the GPU's limitations. The Medium preset's minimum of 36 FPS is borderline, and the maximum of 49 FPS indicates significant variance in performance.

These numbers paint a clear picture of a GPU that excels at 1080p and struggles at 4K. The 1440p results are acceptable for Medium and Low presets, but the card is not capable of delivering high refresh rates at that resolution with higher quality settings. The measured data confirms that the Arc B570 is a 1080p-focused card, with 1440p being a secondary consideration for less demanding titles or lower presets.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process, is the decisive factor in this system's Outriders performance. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but proves inadequate for 4K Ultra textures. The card's 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, which are consistent with its mid-range positioning.

The boost clock of 2500 MHz is relatively modest, and the card's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is fully saturated at 4K, with the Low preset yielding only 58 FPS. This is not a driver optimization issue but rather a fundamental limit of the hardware's raw throughput. The card's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is intended for mainstream builds, and the performance aligns with that expectation.

The Arc B570's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc A750 (-0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% delta). This positioning indicates that the B570 is competitively placed within its class, but it does not have the headroom to compete with higher-tier cards. In Outriders, the GPU's role is to cap the frame rate at levels well below what the Core i7-12700KF can feed, particularly at 1440p and 4K. The 10 GB memory buffer is also a potential limitation for future titles, though it is adequate for this game at Medium settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and powerful gaming CPU. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 28838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4071 in single-core, placing it at the 85th percentile against all CPUs.

For Outriders, the CPU's role is to provide a solid foundation that never becomes the bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is pushing 176 FPS, the processor can keep up without causing frame drops. The 3DMark scores, including 9282 for 16 threads and 1043 for single-thread, indicate strong per-core performance that is well-suited for gaming workloads. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700T (-0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-13600T (0.2% delta), show that the 12700KF is competitive with newer, lower-power parts.

However, the CPU's performance is largely untapped in this specific game due to the GPU constraint. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 176 FPS, which confirms the CPU's ability to handle high frame rates. But at 4K, the CPU's contribution is minimal, as the GPU limits the system to 58 FPS at Low settings. The data suggests that the i7-12700KF is overkill for this GPU in Outriders, and users could pair it with a more powerful graphics card to fully utilize its capabilities. The processor's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a strong choice for high-refresh gaming, but in this combo, its potential is held back by the Arc B570.