Outriders

Outriders on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 shows a clear pattern: this combination is a 1080p and 1440p performer, while 4K is only viable at reduced settings. The measured data covers twelve distinct scenarios, and the results indicate a GPU-bound experience at higher resolutions, with the CPU having ample headroom.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 148 FPS. This is a substantial jump from High’s 96 FPS average, and the minimum frame rate suggests a stable experience. While Low at 1080p hits 176 FPS, the visual quality loss is usually not worth the extra 48 FPS over Medium, especially when Medium already clears the 120 FPS threshold comfortably.

At 2560x1440, Medium remains the recommended preset. It produces an average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. This is playable for most users, and the 69 FPS minimum is above the 60 FPS target. High at 1440p drops to a 61 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. Low at 1440p reaches 111 FPS, but again, the visual compromise is significant for a looter shooter where environment readability matters.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests avoiding Ultra and High. Ultra averages only 23 FPS, which is not a playable experience. High averages 32 FPS, which is also below the playable threshold for most. Medium at 4K averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. This is borderline, but the minimum frame rate indicates it will dip into the 30s. Low at 4K averages 58 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches a smooth experience, though it comes with the lowest visual fidelity. If 4K is the target, Low is the only practical choice from this dataset.

The pattern is consistent: Medium offers the best balance of average, minimum, and maximum frame rates across all three resolutions. The gap between Medium and High is significant at every resolution (32 FPS at 1080p, 20 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K), while the gap between Medium and Low is smaller (48 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K). This indicates that the Medium preset is likely using a more efficient combination of rendering features, making it the default choice for this combo.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570’s role in these results is defined by its memory and clock specifications. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications place the Arc B570 at the 65th percentile among all GPUs in the database.

The 10 GB frame buffer is a key factor at 4K. The measured data shows a steep drop from 58 FPS at Low to 32 FPS at High, and then to 23 FPS at Ultra. This suggests that higher settings at 4K are exceeding the comfortable capacity of the 10 GB memory, forcing the GPU to work harder on memory management. The fact that Medium at 4K (42 FPS) is much closer to Low (58 FPS) than to High (32 FPS) supports this interpretation. The GPU’s bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the strong performance there, but it becomes a limiting factor at 4K with higher presets.

The GPU’s architecture is Xe2-HPG on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 11.52 TFLOPS. These figures align with the measured performance: the card is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions but lacks the raw throughput to maintain high settings at 4K.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the Arc B570’s average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, a 0.1% difference) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, a -0.1% difference). It is also close to the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, a -0.5% difference) and the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, a 0.4% difference). This places the GPU in a specific performance tier, and the Outriders results reflect that tier: good at 1080p, adequate at 1440p, and struggling at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2329 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the lower half of all tested combinations, which is expected given the GPU’s mid-range positioning relative to the CPU’s high-end positioning.

The CPU itself is a top-tier part. It sits at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807, a 0.2% delta), the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, a 1.1% delta), and the AMD EPYC 9135 (82980, a 1.2% delta), with the AMD EPYC 7F72 being slightly faster (85072, a -1.3% delta). This CPU is not the bottleneck in this system.

The GPU, however, is solidly mid-pack. At the 65th percentile among all GPUs, the Arc B570 is not a high-end part. The combo’s rank of 2329 out of 2913 suggests that the GPU is holding back the CPU’s potential in this specific game. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 176 FPS, which is high, but the CPU could likely push much higher if paired with a stronger GPU. The fact that the combo ranks in the bottom 20% of tested combos indicates that most other tested systems have either a better GPU or a more balanced pairing.

This ranking means that for Outriders, this combo is not a top-tier choice. It will deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it will not compete with higher-end GPU pairings. The data shows that the bottleneck is firmly on the GPU side, as the CPU’s benchmark scores are near the top of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the results are strong. Low settings produce an average of 176 FPS. Medium produces 128 FPS average, with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 148 FPS. High produces 96 FPS average. Ultra produces 70 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra is 176, 128, 96, and 70 FPS, showing a consistent and expected drop as visual quality increases. The 128 FPS at Medium is the standout number, as it provides a high refresh rate experience with better visuals than Low.

At 2560x1440, the results are still good but show the GPU’s limits. Low produces 111 FPS average. Medium produces 81 FPS average, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. High produces 61 FPS average. Ultra produces 44 FPS average. The progression is 111, 81, 61, and 44 FPS. The Medium result of 81 FPS is playable, and the 69 FPS minimum is acceptable. The drop from Low to Medium is 30 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 20 FPS, indicating that the High preset is more demanding relative to Medium.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low produces 58 FPS average. Medium produces 42 FPS average, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS. High produces 32 FPS average. Ultra produces 23 FPS average. The progression is 58, 42, 32, and 23 FPS. The 58 FPS at Low is the only playable option, and even that is not high enough for a 60 FPS lock. The Medium result of 42 FPS is borderline, and the 36 FPS minimum indicates it will be noticeable. The 32 FPS at High and 23 FPS at Ultra are not recommended.

The data also shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 109 to 148 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 69 to 93 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 36 to 49 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset has a more consistent frame time distribution, which is why it is the recommended preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the limiting component. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 128 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p, and then to 42 at 4K. This is a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p (128 to 81), and a 48% drop from 1440p to 4K (81 to 42). The overall drop from 1080p to 4K is 67% (128 to 42).

At Low settings, the progression is 176 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. This is a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p (176 to 111), and a 48% drop from 1440p to 4K (111 to 58). The overall drop is 67% (176 to 58). The percentage drops are nearly identical between Low and Medium, which indicates a consistent scaling pattern.

At High settings, the progression is 96 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. This is a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p (96 to 61), and a 48% drop from 1440p to 4K (61 to 32). The overall drop is 67% (96 to 32). Again, the pattern holds.

At Ultra settings, the progression is 70 FPS at 1080p, 44 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. This is a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p (70 to 44), and a 48% drop from 1440p to 4K (44 to 23). The overall drop is 67% (70 to 23).

The consistent 67% overall drop across all settings presets is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting factor. The resolution scaling does not change based on settings, which means the GPU’s rendering workload is scaling linearly with pixel count. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the drop from 1080p to 4K would be smaller, because the CPU would be able to maintain higher frame rates at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low only reaches 176 FPS, while the CPU is at the 96th percentile, suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is limiting the system. The CPU has more headroom, but the GPU cannot deliver more frames.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting preset for this combo at 1920x1080?

A: Medium is the best preset, delivering an average of 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 148 FPS. This provides a high frame rate with better visuals than Low, which hits 176 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Outriders at 3840x2160 smoothly?

A: No, not with high visual quality. The only playable option is Low, which averages 58 FPS. Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 FPS, which is borderline. High and Ultra are not playable, averaging 32 FPS and 23 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582, a difference of -0.1%. This indicates they perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, and the Outriders results should be similar.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU is at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a 0.2% difference. The GPU is the limiting component, as shown by the consistent resolution scaling.

Q: What is the average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 61. This is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Medium at 1440p is a better choice, averaging 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 2329 out of 2913 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of the database, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range performance relative to the CPU’s high-end performance.