Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but uneven experience in Outriders, with performance scaling that clearly exposes the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the combination is capable of excellent frame rates, but 4K Ultra performance falls below playable thresholds, indicating that this pairing is best suited for high-refresh 1080p or smooth 1440p gaming rather than 4K. The data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, a pattern consistent with the Arc B570’s mid-range positioning and its 10 GB memory buffer.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a dramatic and consistent drop in performance as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, with the GPU becoming the limiting component well before 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 96 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 36%, and then plummets to 32 FPS at 4K, which is exactly one-third of the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the Arc B570’s rendering throughput, not the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus’s processing power, is what governs performance at higher pixel counts.

The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops from 70 at 1080p to 44 at 1440p and finally to 23 at 4K. That 4K Ultra figure is below 30 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at maximum fidelity on this hardware. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra shows a 47.7% performance loss, while the 1080p to 1440p step costs roughly 37.1%, suggesting the GPU is being pushed past its efficient operating range at the highest resolution.

Low settings provide the clearest view of the CPU’s headroom, since the GPU load is reduced. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 176 FPS average, which is a strong result for a looter shooter, but 4K Low still only manages 58 FPS. The fact that 4K Low (58 FPS) is lower than 1080p Ultra (70 FPS) confirms that pixel count alone is the dominant factor, not the quality preset. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is clearly not the constraint here; even at 1080p Low, where CPU overhead is highest, the system delivers over 170 FPS, indicating the processor has ample headroom for this title.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 capable of running Outriders at 4K?

A: Only at Low settings does the combo achieve a playable 58 FPS average at 3840x2160. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 23 FPS, making 4K viable only with significant graphical compromises.

Q: What resolution provides the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: The data indicates 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At High settings, the average FPS is 61, which is smooth for a looter shooter, while Medium delivers 81 FPS, and Low reaches 111 FPS, offering flexibility for different refresh rates.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in Outriders at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 176 FPS average, which is a high result. Since the GPU is less stressed at this resolution, this figure indicates the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides sufficient processing power to avoid bottlenecking the Arc B570.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The only measured min/max values are for Medium presets. At 1080p, the range is 109 to 148 FPS (average 128), at 1440p it is 69 to 93 FPS (average 81), and at 4K it is 36 to 49 FPS (average 42), showing tighter consistency at lower resolutions.

Q: Is Ultra settings ever worth using on this hardware?

A: Only at 1080p, where the average FPS is 70. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 23 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, so Ultra is only practical at the lowest resolution.

Q: How does this combo’s performance compare to its overall ranking across all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2329 out of 2913 tested combinations for Outriders, placing it in the lower 20th percentile of all tested systems for this specific game, which aligns with the GPU’s mid-range positioning.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the definitive performance limiter in this pairing, with its memory configuration and clock speeds directly shaping the measured results. The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s, which is a modest figure for 4K gaming. The data supports this: at 4K High, the average FPS is 32, and at 4K Ultra, it is 23, both of which are below playable thresholds, indicating the memory bandwidth and 10 GB capacity are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering in Outriders.

The GPU’s clock speeds are fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is unusual but ensures consistent performance. The memory runs at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), which contributes to that 380.0 GB/s bandwidth figure. The shading units number 2304, with 144 texture mapping units and 80 raster output units, which explains the 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate. These specifications place the Arc B570 as a mid-range part, and the benchmark results confirm this: it scores 14195 in Passmark G3D and 2649 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a percentile ranking of 65 against all GPUs.

The GPU’s role is further clarified by the scaling behavior. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 176 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 58 FPS. This 67% reduction in performance from a 4x increase in pixel count shows that the GPU’s compute throughput is saturated at higher resolutions. The Arc B570’s FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS is the raw compute available, and the data suggests that Outriders is sensitive to this throughput, as even Low settings at 4K cannot maintain high frame rates. The 18 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but the measured data does not indicate any ray tracing workload, so the focus remains on traditional rasterization performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are strong across the board: Low settings yield 176 FPS average, Medium delivers 128 FPS (with a range of 109 to 148 FPS), High achieves 96 FPS, and Ultra falls to 70 FPS. This resolution is clearly where the Arc B570 thrives, with even Ultra settings remaining above 60 FPS, providing a smooth experience for competitive play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are significant but still playable. Low settings produce 111 FPS average, which is excellent for 1440p. Medium settings deliver 81 FPS (range 69 to 93 FPS), High settings achieve 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44 FPS. The 1440p results show that the combo can handle high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution, though Ultra settings require a compromise to stay above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls below the 60 FPS threshold for most settings. Low settings produce 58 FPS average, which is the only 4K preset that approaches playability. Medium delivers 42 FPS (range 36 to 49 FPS), High drops to 32 FPS, and Ultra goes down to 23 FPS. These 4K results indicate that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count, and even the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus’s strong processing power cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the step from Low to Medium costs 48 FPS, from Medium to High costs 32 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 26 FPS. At 1440p, these steps are 30 FPS, 20 FPS, and 17 FPS respectively. At 4K, the steps are 16 FPS, 10 FPS, and 9 FPS. This narrowing delta at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the quality preset has less impact when the pixel count is already stressing the hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2329 out of 2913 tested combos for Outriders, placing it in the lower 20th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range status, as the CPU is a high-end part. The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus alone scores in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785, but the Arc B570 only reaches the 65th percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 20556.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provide context for its processing power. The Intel Xeon 6520P scores 93786, a 0% delta, meaning the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is essentially tied with that server chip. The AMD EPYC 4564P scores 95183, which is 1.5% higher, and the AMD EPYC 9175F scores 95615, 1.9% higher. These deltas are small, indicating the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is competitive with high-end server processors in CPU-bound tasks, but this strength does not translate to a high game ranking because the GPU is the bottleneck.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show a similar picture. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, a 0.1% delta, making it essentially equivalent to the Arc B570. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480, 0.4% higher. These small deltas mean the Arc B570 is performance-parity with a previous-generation mobile RTX 3070 and the prior Arc A750, which explains why the game ranking is low; the GPU is not a high-end part despite the CPU’s capabilities.

The gap between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s mid-range percentile is the key takeaway. In Outriders, the game’s performance is heavily GPU-dependent at higher resolutions, so the combo’s rank of 2329 out of 2913 is a direct result of the Arc B570’s limitations. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains, while the CPU has headroom to support a faster graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the user’s target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings are viable, with an average FPS of 70, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This is the recommended preset for users who prioritize visual fidelity at 1080p, as the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Arc B570 can handle it without dropping below playable frame rates.

For 1440p gaming, High settings are the best choice, delivering an average of 61 FPS. This provides a good balance between visual quality and performance, as Medium settings (81 FPS) offer a smoother experience but with reduced fidelity, while Ultra (44 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 61 FPS average at High settings is adequate for most players, though those with high-refresh-rate monitors may prefer Medium settings to push closer to 100 FPS.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that Low settings are the only viable option, with an average of 58 FPS. Medium settings drop to 42 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while High (32 FPS) and Ultra (23 FPS) are not recommended due to the low frame rates. The 58 FPS at 4K Low is a marginal result, so users who want 4K should accept significant graphical compromises or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

The Medium preset offers the most consistent frame times across all resolutions, with the only available min/max data points. At 1080p, the range is 109 to 148 FPS, at 1440p it is 69 to 93 FPS, and at 4K it is 36 to 49 FPS. This consistency is valuable for players who prefer stable frame rates over peak performance. Overall, the data supports 1080p Ultra or 1440p High as the best settings for this combo, with 4K reserved for Low settings only.