Outriders

# Outriders with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + Intel Arc B390

This combination pairs a flagship 24-core desktop processor with an integrated graphics solution, creating an extreme asymmetry that shows up clearly in Outriders. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs — meaning roughly 91% of tested graphics cards are faster. Meanwhile, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 84003. The result is a system where the CPU is far ahead of what the GPU can utilize, and the measured frame rates reflect that bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can I expect at 1920x1080 with Low settings?

A: The measured data shows 115 FPS average at 1080p Low, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combination. This is more than double the 45 FPS average seen at 1080p Ultra.

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: Barely, and only at the cost of visual quality. At 3840x2160 Low, the average FPS is 38, which is playable but not smooth. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 15 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (score 1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (score 1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (score 1443). These are all extremely low-end parts, so the Arc B390 is competing in the entry-level segment.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a balanced experience at 2560x1440?

A: Medium settings at 1440p deliver 53 FPS average with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset that stays above 30 FPS average while offering moderate visual quality.

Q: Does the CPU make up for the GPU's weakness in this game?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 24 threads with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, but Outriders is primarily GPU-bound at the resolutions tested. The data shows that frame rates drop dramatically as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of GPU limitation rather than CPU limitation.

Q: How many tested combinations does this setup rank above in Outriders?

A: This combo ranks 2582 out of 2913 tested combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly 331 other CPU-GPU pairings in this game. That places it in the bottom 12% of all tested combos.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor in this pairing. Its architecture is Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process from Intel, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

Crucially, the memory configuration is "System Shared" — there is no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning the GPU borrows from system RAM. This has a profound impact on Outriders, a looter shooter that streams textures and geometry continuously. The shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and at higher resolutions the demand for texture storage grows, which likely contributes to the steep FPS drops observed.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 puts the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all NVIDIA parts from the GT 700 and 800 series era, with the Arc B390 leading them by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%. These are not modern gaming GPUs; they are legacy entry-level parts. In the context of Outriders, which released in 2021, this GPU is far below what the game expects for smooth performance at high settings.

The clock behavior matters here. The base clock of 300 MHz is very low, but the boost clock of 2500 MHz is respectable on paper. However, the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 115, which suggests the GPU is working hard but still cannot push much beyond that. At 1080p Ultra, the average collapses to 45 FPS, indicating that the GPU's shading and texture units are overwhelmed by the higher preset's demands. The 12 ray tracing cores are present, but with only 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, ray tracing effects in Outriders would be extremely costly.

The TDP of 80 W is low, and the slot width is listed as "IGP" with no power connectors, confirming this is an integrated solution. The display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," which reinforces that this GPU is not designed for desktop gaming towers. Yet the benchmark data is measured, and the numbers are what they are: this GPU can run Outriders, but only at low resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on Arrow Lake Refresh with a 3 nm process from TSMC. It has 24 cores and 24 threads — note there is no hyperthreading, so thread count equals core count. The base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The TDP is 125 W, and it uses Intel Socket 1851.

The cache hierarchy is substantial: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 115.2 GB/s bandwidth, and ECC memory is supported. The processor has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU. It also includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units, though the system under test uses the separate Arc B390 GPU.

Benchmark results show this CPU is a powerhouse. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51731 multi-core and 7303 single-core. Cinebench R20 shows 21727 multi-core and 3067 single-core, while Cinebench R15 shows 5214 multi-core and 736 single-core. PassMark results include 60860 for multithread, 4823 for single-thread, 214760 for floating point math, 166194 for integer math, and 698346 for data compression. The average benchmark score is 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (score 83807), 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (score 83090), and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135 (score 82980). It is 1.3% behind the AMD EPYC 7F72 (score 85072). These deltas are tiny, meaning the 290K Plus is essentially on par with the best available CPUs in general compute.

In Outriders, however, this CPU power is largely wasted. The game's frame rates are dictated by the GPU, not the CPU. At 1080p Low, the CPU could theoretically push hundreds of frames, but the Arc B390 caps the average at 115 FPS. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes even more of a bottleneck. The 24 cores and 24 threads are irrelevant to a game that is GPU-limited at these settings; Outriders does not scale well beyond a handful of cores, and the massive single-thread performance (7303 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is not the limiting factor here.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s is shared with the GPU's "System Shared" memory, which could create contention. When the GPU needs to access textures stored in system RAM, it competes with the CPU for the same memory controller. This is likely a reason why frame rates drop so steeply from Low to Ultra settings — the GPU is not only rendering more complex scenes but also pulling more data through the same memory path.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Outriders, this pairing ranks 2582 out of 2913. That places it in the bottom 12% of all tested combos. The rank of 2582 means it outperforms 331 other combinations, but those are likely pairings with even older or weaker GPUs.

The combination of a 96th percentile CPU with a 9th percentile GPU creates a massive imbalance. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 is dwarfed by the GPU's 1482, and in gaming, the GPU's score is far more predictive of Outriders performance. The data confirms this: no measured preset at any resolution exceeds 115 FPS average, and the highest resolution (4K) falls below 40 FPS on every preset.

This rank is expected given the GPU's position in the 9th percentile. The nearest GPU rivals — GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, GT 710 — are all parts from a decade ago, and they would similarly struggle with Outriders. The CPU's strength does not boost the combo because the game cannot utilize the CPU's headroom when the GPU is the bottleneck.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals (285K, EPYC 4584PX, EPYC 9135, EPYC 7F72) would show nearly identical Outriders performance when paired with the same GPU, because the GPU is the limiting factor. The 0.2% to 1.3% CPU deltas would be invisible in frame rates. The ranking is therefore almost entirely determined by the Arc B390's capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the best experience depends on your resolution priority. At 1920x1080, Low settings provide 115 FPS average, which is smooth for a looter shooter. Medium at 1080p drops to 83 FPS, still playable, while High gives 63 FPS and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. For competitive or fast-paced play, Low at 1080p is the clear choice.

At 2560x1440, the options narrow. Low gives 72 FPS, Medium gives 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, High gives 40 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is the best balance — it stays above 45 FPS minimum and offers better visual quality than Low. The min FPS of 45 means the game will rarely stutter below playable levels.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets are truly comfortable. Low gives 38 FPS, Medium gives 28 FPS, High gives 21 FPS, and Ultra gives 15 FPS. If you must play at 4K, Low is the only option that approaches playability, but even that is borderline. The data suggests 1080p is the intended resolution for this GPU.

For the best overall experience, 1080p Low is the safest recommendation — it maximizes frame rate and minimizes the risk of drops. If visual fidelity matters more, 1080p Medium at 83 FPS is still smooth, and 1440p Medium at 53 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced exploration. Avoid Ultra presets at any resolution, as they all drop below 45 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are consistently poor. Low settings average 38 FPS, which is the highest 4K result. Medium averages 28 FPS with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 32 FPS. High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. None of these are suitable for sustained play, and even the Low preset will feel choppy during combat with multiple enemies on screen.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the picture improves but remains limited. Low averages 72 FPS, which is playable. Medium averages 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS, providing a stable experience. High averages 40 FPS, which is borderline. Ultra averages 29 FPS, which falls below the 30 FPS threshold many consider the minimum for playable frame rates.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination shows its best performance. Low averages 115 FPS, which is excellent for a looter shooter. Medium averages 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS — the minimum here is higher than the average of many other presets. High averages 63 FPS, still smooth. Ultra averages 45 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid than the lower presets.

The scaling pattern is consistent: moving from Low to Ultra at any resolution costs roughly 60-70% of the frame rate. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 70 FPS (115 to 45). At 1440p, it is 43 FPS (72 to 29). At 4K, it is 23 FPS (38 to 15). This linear degradation suggests the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU.

The Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot for most players: 83 FPS average, 71 FPS minimum, and 96 FPS maximum. The minimum FPS of 71 is higher than the average FPS of the High preset at the same resolution, meaning Medium will feel smoother in the worst-case scenarios. Similarly, 1440p Medium's minimum of 45 FPS is higher than 1440p High's average of 40 FPS, making Medium the better choice for consistency.

The data shows no min or max values for Low, High, and Ultra presets at most resolutions, which means only the Medium presets have measured frame time variance. That said, the averages alone are enough to guide settings choices. This system is capable of running Outriders, but it asks the player to make significant compromises — either accept lower resolutions or lower settings. The CPU is not the constraint; the integrated-class GPU is.