Outriders

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 36938 places it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093). The Intel Core i9-12900T (37112) leads the group, but the Ultra 5 225 trails it by just 0.5%, indicating performance parity across these four processors.

Q: What is the GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score, and how does it rank?

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only 5% of the tested database. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), with the Arc B370 trailing both by less than 1%.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1080p for this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 104 FPS, while Medium drops to 75 FPS and High to 57 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 41 FPS. Based on the measured data, Low is the only setting that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS, though Medium remains playable for most users.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and a multi-core score of 25891. The multi-core result is roughly seven times higher, reflecting the 10-core, 10-thread design. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 further confirms strong single-core capability relative to its multi-thread score of 30459.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the CPU support, and does it affect gaming?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 with a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Since the GPU uses System Shared memory, this bandwidth directly impacts graphics performance. The shared memory architecture means the CPU’s memory subsystem is a critical bottleneck for the Arc B370, particularly at higher resolutions.

Q: How many combos does this setup beat in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 2679 out of 2913 tested combinations in Outriders. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested combos, indicating that while the hardware is functional, it is far from competitive for this title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel’s 3 nm process. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2400 MHz, yielding a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. Compute performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 and 12.29 TFLOPS for FP16.

Crucially, the Arc B370 uses System Shared memory rather than dedicated VRAM. Memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as System Shared or System Dependent. This means the GPU draws from the same DDR5 pool as the CPU, with bandwidth limited to the CPU’s 102.4 GB/s dual-channel interface. In Outriders, this shared memory arrangement has a pronounced effect: at 1080p Low, the combo manages 104 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 34 FPS. The lack of dedicated VRAM forces the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which becomes increasingly problematic as resolution and texture loads rise.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, a very low standing. Its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190) and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), with the Arc B370 trailing both by 0.5% or less. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not the limiting factor. Instead, raw throughput and memory bandwidth constrain performance.

In Outriders specifically, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: lowering settings from Ultra to Low at any resolution yields massive gains. At 1440p, for example, Ultra averages 26 FPS while Low averages 65 FPS, a 150% improvement. This indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as reducing graphical load directly translates to higher frame rates. The CPU, with its 85th percentile ranking, is not the limiting component in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS moves from 104 at 1920x1080 to 65 at 2560x1440 and 34 at 3840x2160. That is a 37.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the figures are 57 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K, representing a 36.8% drop and then a 47.2% drop respectively.

These scaling factors are typical for a GPU with limited memory bandwidth. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p requires roughly 78% more pixels, and the jump to 4K requires 4x the pixels of 1080p. The fact that FPS does not scale linearly with pixel count but instead drops more steeply suggests that memory bandwidth saturation occurs quickly. At 4K, even the Low preset struggles to hit 34 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The Medium preset provides a useful data point with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 75 FPS with a min of 64 and max of 87. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 48 FPS with a min of 40 and max of 55. At 4K Medium, the average is 25 FPS with a min of 21 and max of 29. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution rises, indicating that frame pacing becomes more consistent but at the cost of overall performance.

The resolution scaling analysis points to the GPU as the limiting component. The CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution, but the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth do. Since the Arc B370 relies on System Shared memory, the effective bandwidth available to the GPU decreases as more memory is consumed by the game’s assets at higher resolutions. This explains why the 4K Ultra preset yields only 13 FPS, a figure that is effectively unplayable.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the Arc B370 ranks 2679 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. This is a percentile rank of approximately 8%, meaning this combo outperforms only 92 combos in the database. The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a significant imbalance between the two components.

The combo’s ranking reflects its inability to deliver playable frame rates at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target most gamers consider smooth. At 1440p, even the Low preset only reaches 65 FPS, and at 4K, no setting exceeds 34 FPS. These results place the combo in the bottom 8% of tested configurations, alongside other low-end integrated graphics solutions.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all legacy parts from over a decade ago, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570. The Arc B370’s 3DMark score of 1184 is within 0.7% of these older GPUs, confirming that its raw graphics performance is comparable to hardware from 2010. In a modern title like Outriders, which was released in 2021, this level of performance is insufficient for anything beyond low-resolution, low-setting play.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all modern processors with similar average scores. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 all score within 0.4% of the Core Ultra 5 225. This indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo; it is the GPU holding the system back. If paired with a discrete graphics card, this CPU could likely perform far better in Outriders, but as configured, the combo ranks near the bottom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC’s 3 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and boosts to 4.90 GHz. The CPU has 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU performs well. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The PassMark multi-thread score of 30459 and single-thread score of 4412 further corroborate this. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, all score within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 225, indicating that the CPU is competitive with mid-range desktop processors.

In Outriders, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The game is a looter shooter with a focus on graphics effects and particle systems, which are primarily GPU-bound. The measured FPS data shows that changing resolution has a dramatic impact on performance, while changing settings also has a large effect. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck rather than a CPU bottleneck.

The CPU’s 10 cores and 10 threads are sufficient for modern games, and its 4.90 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 368 and R20 single-core score of 891 are respectable, and the PassMark physics score of 2342 indicates adequate compute for game logic and physics calculations. However, these capabilities are underutilized because the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s output.

The CPU’s memory support is also a factor. The Arc B370 uses System Shared memory, which means the CPU’s memory controller handles both system and graphics memory. The 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is shared between the CPU and GPU, creating a potential bottleneck when both are under load. In Outriders, this manifests as reduced performance at higher resolutions, where the GPU requires more memory bandwidth to render the scene.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its best results. The Low preset averages 104 FPS, which is playable on high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium drops to 75 FPS with a min of 64 and max of 87, still smooth. High averages 57 FPS, which is borderline for 60 Hz displays. Ultra averages 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may feel stuttery in combat.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low averages 65 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium averages 48 FPS with a min of 40 and max of 55, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. Neither High nor Ultra is recommended for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low averages 34 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a min of 21 and max of 29, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. None of these settings deliver a smooth experience, and even the Low preset is marginal at best. The 4K results confirm that the Arc B370 is not suitable for high-resolution gaming.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the min of 64 FPS and max of 87 FPS indicate a fairly consistent frame rate. At 1440p, the min of 40 FPS and max of 55 FPS show a tighter range but lower overall performance. At 4K, the min of 21 FPS and max of 29 FPS demonstrate that the GPU is severely constrained, with frame times likely inconsistent.

The data shows a clear linear progression: as resolution increases, FPS drops proportionally. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K. The Low preset is the least demanding, with 104 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. For playable performance, users should stick to 1080p with Low or Medium settings. At higher resolutions, the combo is not viable for anything beyond basic testing.