Outriders

Outriders on the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B390 combo delivers a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings, with the data showing a system heavily constrained by its graphics solution. The CPU provides ample processing headroom, but the integrated GPU’s performance ceiling becomes apparent as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This processor features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In the context of Outriders, a looter shooter that relies heavily on physics calculations and AI-driven enemy counts, the CPU’s single-thread performance is a critical factor. The benchmark data shows a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, placing it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, which suggests it has the headroom to feed frames to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor's multi-core capabilities are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891. This is relevant because Outriders uses multiple threads for streaming assets and handling the game world. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. For example, at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 115 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 38 FPS. This dramatic scaling points directly at the GPU as the constraint, as the CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution. The processor’s PassMark single-thread score of 4412 and multithread score of 30459 further confirm its capability to handle the game’s logic, leaving the Arc B390 as the clear performance ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Core Ultra 5 225 and Arc B390 ranks 3299 out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU itself sits in the 85th percentile for all processors. The data shows that the combo’s average benchmark score is 36938, which is nearly identical to the CPU's standalone average of 36938, underscoring the GPU’s lack of contribution. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a delta of 0% and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D with a delta of -0.2%, show that the processor is competitive with mid-range options from other brands.

However, the GPU tells a different story. The Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are legacy mobile parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (delta of 1.3%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (delta of 2.7%). This indicates that the GPU performs on par with integrated graphics from over a decade ago, making it unsuitable for modern gaming beyond the lowest settings. The combo’s rank of 3299 is a direct consequence of pairing a strong CPU with a very weak GPU, and the measured FPS data reflects this imbalance across all resolutions and presets.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the only settings that deliver a consistently playable experience are at 1080p with Low or Medium presets. At 1080p Low, the system averages 115 FPS, which is smooth and responsive for a looter shooter. Moving to 1080p Medium yields 83 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS, indicating stable frame pacing. The 1080p High preset drops to 63 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The 1080p Ultra preset falls to 45 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a fast-paced game.

At 1440p, the picture worsens significantly. The Low preset averages 72 FPS, which is acceptable, but the Medium preset drops to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, which can feel stuttery during intense combat. The High preset at 1440p averages 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS, making these presets unsuitable for a smooth experience. At 4K, all presets are unplayable, with Low averaging 38 FPS, Medium at 28 FPS, High at 21 FPS, and Ultra at 15 FPS. The recommended configuration is therefore 1080p Medium, as it offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, maintaining an average above 80 FPS with a minimum above 70 FPS.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 115 at 1080p to 72 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 38 at 4K (a 67% drop from 1080p). This steep decline is characteristic of a graphics processor that is overwhelmed by pixel throughput. The Arc B390’s memory is system-shared, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM, and its bandwidth is system-dependent, so higher resolutions place an increasing strain on the shared memory interface.

At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (83 FPS) to 1440p (53 FPS) is a 36% reduction, and to 4K (28 FPS) is a 66% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that the GPU’s compute and memory resources are the sole limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor’s workload is resolution-independent. The data shows that the Core Ultra 5 225 is not the constraint; instead, the Arc B390’s 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient to drive the game at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra preset’s 15 FPS average is a clear indication that the GPU cannot handle the pixel shader load.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel’s 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with a TDP of 80 W. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, no fixed bus width, and bandwidth that is system-dependent. This is a fundamental weakness for a game like Outriders, which has detailed environments and effects that require substantial memory bandwidth.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% faster), both of which are ancient parts. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are low by modern standards, explaining the poor performance at 4K. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is respectable, but the architecture’s limited execution resources and shared memory cripple its gaming potential. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU can achieve 115 FPS, but this drops to 45 FPS at 1080p Ultra, indicating that the shader and texture units are saturated quickly. The lack of dedicated VRAM also means that texture streaming and high-resolution assets will cause stutter, as seen in the 1080p Medium minimum FPS of 71.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p Medium provides the best balance, with an average of 83 FPS and a minimum of 71 FPS. 1080p Low is the only other playable option, averaging 115 FPS. Higher resolutions or preset levels result in averages below 63 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Core Ultra 5 225 has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and multi-core score of 25891, ranking in the 85th percentile. The Arc B390, however, ranks in the 9th percentile, and FPS drops of over 60% from 1080p to 4K confirm the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Outriders?

A: It ranks 3299 out of 3710 combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested. This low rank is directly attributed to the GPU’s performance, which is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, a legacy part.

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

A: No. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 38, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 15 FPS. All 4K presets produce averages below 40 FPS, which is not playable for a looter shooter requiring quick reactions.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The Arc B390 uses system-shared memory with no dedicated VRAM, a system-dependent bus width, and system-dependent bandwidth. This causes significant performance degradation at higher resolutions, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has a delta of 0%, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% slower, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is 0.4% slower, indicating the CPU is competitive with these mid-range parts.