Outriders

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + Intel Arc B370 combination rank for Outriders?

A: This combo ranks 2679 out of 2913 tested combinations for Outriders, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems. The Arc B370 GPU alone sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, which explains the low overall ranking.

Q: What is the best playable settings/resolution combo for this system?

A: The only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS is 1080p Low, which delivers 104 FPS average. At 1080p Medium, the system drops to 75 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 65 FPS. For a smoother experience above 60 FPS, 1080p Low is the only reliable option.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its closest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186 (0.2% higher). The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), while the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower).

Q: What are the CPU's multi-threaded credentials?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz. In Cinebench R23, it scores 44253 multi-core and 2439 single-core, placing it at the 96th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in Outriders?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The CPU sits at the 96th percentile while the GPU sits at the 5th percentile. The frame rate drops from 104 FPS at 1080p Low to 19 FPS at 4K High, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound performance.

Q: Does this system support modern graphics APIs needed for Outriders?

A: Yes. The Intel Arc B370 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which covers Outriders' requirements. The GPU also has 10 ray tracing cores, though the low overall performance limits practical RT use.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the dominant component in this system's Outriders performance, and the data shows it is severely underpowered for this title. The GPU produces only 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. Its boost clock reaches 2400 MHz, but the memory configuration is "System Shared" with bandwidth described as "System Dependent" — meaning the GPU borrows from the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than having dedicated VRAM. This shared-memory design contributes to the performance ceiling observed in the measured results.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being legacy parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186) and ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190). These are all within 0.7% of each other, indicating the Arc B370 is competing with hardware from over a decade ago. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits, but Outriders' measured frames suggest real-world performance falls far below those ceilings at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 25 W TDP and IGP (integrated graphics processor) form factor mean it has no dedicated power connectors and relies on system memory. This is not a discrete graphics card but an integrated solution, which explains why it struggles in a demanding looter shooter like Outriders. The data shows a clear pattern: at every resolution, even Low settings struggle to maintain high frame rates beyond 1080p. The 4K Low result of 34 FPS average is the best 4K outcome, while Ultra at 4K drops to just 13 FPS. These numbers indicate the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for Outriders' particle effects and environmental rendering at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of playable configurations. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 104 FPS average, which is the only setting that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 75 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 64 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS recorded. High at 1080p falls to 57 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra at 1080p manages only 41 FPS.

For players prioritizing smoothness, 1080p Low is the recommended preset. It provides the largest frame rate margin and ensures consistent performance. The 104 FPS average at Low versus 75 FPS at Medium represents a 38.7% performance gain from lowering settings one tier, which is substantial. However, if visual fidelity matters more and the player can tolerate slightly lower frame rates, 1080p Medium at 75 FPS is a viable alternative that stays above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. Low settings deliver 65 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom. Medium at 1440p drops to 48 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in combat-heavy scenes. High at 1440p yields 36 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26 FPS — neither is recommended for this system. For 1440p gaming, Low settings are the only acceptable option, and even then, the 65 FPS average suggests the system is near its limits.

At 4K, no setting delivers a playable experience. The best result is 34 FPS at Low, followed by 25 FPS at Medium, 19 FPS at High, and 13 FPS at Ultra. All of these fall below the 30 FPS minimum for acceptable playability, and even Low at 4K will feel sluggish during Outriders' intense firefights. The recommendation is to avoid 4K entirely with this configuration and stick to 1080p for the best balance of performance and visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its strongest performance. Low settings produce 104 FPS average, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings yield 75 FPS average with a minimum of 64 FPS and maximum of 87 FPS, indicating reasonably stable performance with occasional dips. High settings drop to 57 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 60.6% performance loss, demonstrating that the GPU struggles significantly with higher-quality presets even at the lowest resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are pronounced. Low settings deliver 65 FPS average, which is 37.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 48 FPS average with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 55 FPS. High settings fall to 36 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 26 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a tighter frame range (40-55 FPS) compared to 1080p Medium (64-87 FPS), suggesting the GPU is hitting more consistent limits at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly overmatched. Low settings yield 34 FPS average, which is the only 4K result above 30 FPS. Medium settings drop to 25 FPS average with a minimum of 21 FPS and maximum of 29 FPS. High settings fall to 19 FPS, and Ultra settings produce just 13 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 61.8%, similar to the 1080p spread, but the absolute numbers are far too low for practical gaming.

The complete data set shows that the system's performance envelope is narrow. At 1080p, the GPU can handle Low and Medium presets with playable frame rates. At 1440p, only Low is playable. At 4K, nothing is playable. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings (64 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, 21 FPS at 4K) provide a useful gauge for worst-case scenarios, and they all trend downward consistently with resolution scaling.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound system. At Low settings, the progression is 104 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. That represents a 37.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 47.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. For a purely GPU-limited scenario, scaling from 1080p to 1440p should theoretically reduce frame rates by roughly 44% (since 1440p has 1.78 times the pixels), and from 1440p to 4K by another 44% (4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p). The observed drops are smaller than these theoretical values, suggesting some bottlenecks or efficiency variations, but the overall trend is clearly GPU-bound.

At Medium settings, the scaling is 75 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 47.9%. At High settings, the pattern continues: 57 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K — drops of 36.8% and 47.2%, respectively. At Ultra settings, 41 FPS at 1080p becomes 26 FPS at 1440p (36.6% drop) and 13 FPS at 4K (50% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings indicates a stable GPU-bound performance profile.

The fact that the CPU is not the limiter is confirmed by the CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 5th percentile. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads with a 5.50 GHz boost clock, which is far more capable than what Outriders requires. The 3.70 GHz base clock and 36 MB of shared L3 cache provide ample headroom for game logic and physics. The data shows that resolution scaling has a near-linear effect on frame rates, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload.

The limiting component is definitively the Intel Arc B370. Its System Shared memory configuration means it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and the "System Dependent" bandwidth figure suggests performance varies with memory configuration. The GPU's 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs are simply insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 4K. Even at 1080p, the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at High settings, indicating that Outriders' visual effects are taxing the hardware beyond its designed capability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a high-end desktop processor that is not the bottleneck in Outriders. With 24 cores and 24 threads, it offers exceptional multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253 places it at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and its single-core score of 2439 is similarly strong. The PassMark multi-thread score of 68574 and single-thread score of 5068 reinforce this position. The CPU's nearest rivals are all server-class parts: the Intel Xeon 6520P (0% delta), AMD EPYC 4564P (-1.5% delta), AMD EPYC 9175F (-1.9% delta), and AMD EPYC 4565P (-2.1% delta). These are all within 2.1% of the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's average benchmark score of 93785, showing the CPU competes with enterprise silicon.

For Outriders specifically, the CPU's capabilities far exceed what the game demands. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic, while the 24 threads handle background tasks and streaming without contention. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used data, and the 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the Arc B370's System Shared memory configuration. The CPU's 125 W TDP and 3 nm process node from TSMC indicate an efficient design that maintains high clocks without excessive power draw.

The data confirms the CPU is not limiting frame rates in any of the measured configurations. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 104 FPS, which is likely near the GPU's maximum output. The CPU could theoretically support higher frame rates, as evidenced by its PassMark data compression score of 804322 and floating point math score of 229491, which indicate strong computational throughput. However, the Arc B370's 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance caps the system's overall output.

The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's 24 cores include a mix of performance and efficiency cores, though the FACT PACK does not specify the exact configuration. The 192 KB L1 cache per core and 3 MB L2 cache per core provide substantial on-die storage, reducing latency for frequently accessed data. The 243 mm² die size and 17,800 million transistors indicate a complex design that delivers high per-core performance. For Outriders, which is a looter shooter with moderate CPU demands, this processor provides more than enough headroom. The system's performance is entirely constrained by the GPU, and upgrading the Arc B370 to a more capable discrete GPU would yield significant frame rate improvements across all resolutions and settings.