Ready Or Not

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B570 pairing delivers a playable, if not flawless, experience in Ready Or Not. The measured data shows this combination is capable of high frame rates at mainstream resolutions, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, examines the role of the CPU and GPU, and provides practical settings advice based strictly on the benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly highlights where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 152 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 96 FPS, a reduction of 56 FPS. At 4K High, the average falls to 50 FPS, which is 102 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical for a system where the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

The effect is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 107 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 67 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 35 FPS. That is a 72 FPS swing from 1080p to 4K, a 67% reduction in performance. The data indicates that the Intel Arc B570’s rendering throughput is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, as the frame rate plummets despite the CPU’s capabilities remaining constant.

Looking at Low settings reveals a similar trend. At 1080p Low, the system hits 192 FPS, which is an excellent result for a tactical shooter where reaction time matters. At 1440p Low, it drops to 121 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 63 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 71 FPS loss, while the jump to 4K costs another 58 FPS. This confirms that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU is the dominant factor in determining performance at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset offers the only complete data set with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 105 FPS with a minimum of 90 and a maximum of 121. At 4K Medium, the average is 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 63. The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium are particularly telling, as 47 FPS is below the threshold for smooth, consistent gameplay in a fast-paced shooter.

The resolution scaling data suggests that 1080p and 1440p are the intended operating range for this combination. At 4K, the system only approaches playable frame rates at Low settings, and even then, the average of 63 FPS leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS is effectively unplayable for a game that requires precise aiming and quick reactions. The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and uses the BMG-G21 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process from TSMC. It has 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU operates at a fixed base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the textures and assets in Ready Or Not, but the bandwidth and capacity become limiting factors at 4K Ultra where the game demands more from the frame buffer.

The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. It also includes 18 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 23.04 TFLOPS (2:1). These raw compute figures are modest compared to higher-tier cards, and the benchmark results reflect this. The PassMark G3D score is 14195, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2649. These scores place the Arc B570 in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer.

In Ready Or Not, the GPU’s role is central to the frame rate, especially at higher resolutions. The measured FPS shows that the card is capable of excellent performance at 1080p, where it can exceed 150 FPS on High settings. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are overwhelmed, leading to the sharp performance drops observed. The 10 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for this game, but the 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth may cause stuttering or texture pop-in on Ultra presets at 4K, though the data does not explicitly confirm this.

The GPU’s nearest rival in the benchmark database is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, with a delta of 0.1% and an average score of 20534 versus the Arc B570’s 20556. This means the Arc B570 performs essentially identically to a mobile RTX 3070 in synthetic benchmarks. It also sits close to the Intel Arc A750, which has a delta of -0.1% and an average score of 20582. These comparisons suggest that the Arc B570 is a solid performer for its class, but it is not designed to handle 4K Ultra settings in demanding titles.

The GPU’s clock behavior is unusual in that the base and boost clocks are identical at 2500 MHz. This suggests that the card runs at a constant clock speed under load, which is beneficial for consistent frame pacing. However, the fixed clock also means there is no dynamic overclocking headroom, so the performance is predictable but not exceptional. The 150 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector indicate that this is a power-efficient card, but the performance ceiling is what it is.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with High settings. The average of 152 FPS provides a smooth and responsive experience, well above the refresh rate of most monitors. The jump to Ultra at 1080p costs 45 FPS, dropping to 107 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns in visual fidelity for a significant performance hit. For competitive play, Low settings at 1080p yield 192 FPS, which is ideal for maximizing frame rate, but the visual quality will be noticeably reduced.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. The average of 105 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS ensures that the game remains fluid even in intense firefights. High settings at 1440p produce 96 FPS, which is also acceptable, but the Medium preset’s higher minimum frame rate (90 vs. unrecorded for High) suggests better consistency. Ultra at 1440p drops to 67 FPS, which is borderline for a tactical shooter where split-second reactions are critical.

At 4K, the options are limited. Low settings produce an average of 63 FPS, which is technically playable but not ideal. Medium at 4K drops to 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS, which will feel stuttery in busy scenes. High at 4K yields 50 FPS, and Ultra is a poor 35 FPS. For 4K gaming, the recommendation is to stick with Low settings if frame rate is the priority, or accept that the experience will be compromised. The data shows that this combo is not suited for 4K Ultra or High, and even Medium is marginal.

The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 167 FPS, which is only 25 FPS less than Low but provides better visuals. At 1440p, Medium’s 105 FPS is a solid target. At 4K, Medium’s 55 FPS is the highest playable average outside of Low. Therefore, the recommendation is to use Medium settings for a consistent experience, with the expectation that 4K will require a drop to Low for smoother gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 192 FPS, Medium averages 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 and a maximum of 192, High averages 152 FPS, and Ultra averages 107 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 85 FPS, showing that the game scales well with settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 121 FPS, Medium at 105 FPS with a minimum of 90 and a maximum of 121, High at 96 FPS, and Ultra at 67 FPS. The drop from 1080p is consistent across settings, with an average loss of about 40-50 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 90 FPS is the only recorded minimum at this resolution, indicating that the frame rate is stable enough to avoid major dips.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 63 FPS, Medium at 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 63, High at 50 FPS, and Ultra at 35 FPS. The 4K results show a dramatic reduction in performance, with the Ultra preset barely reaching a playable threshold. The Medium preset’s minimum of 47 FPS is concerning, as it suggests that the game can drop below 50 FPS in demanding moments.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Arc B570 delivers strong performance at 1080p, acceptable performance at 1440p with reduced settings, and marginal performance at 4K. The highest measured frame rate is 192 FPS at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 35 FPS at 4K Ultra. This range of 157 FPS illustrates the wide performance envelope of this combo, but the playable range is effectively limited to 1080p and 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2361 out of 2947 total combos tested in Ready Or Not. This places it in the bottom 20% of all combinations, which is a surprising result given the individual components’ specifications. The CPU ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, so the hardware is not weak. However, the combo’s rank suggests that other pairings of similar or lower-tier components may yield better results in this specific game.

The rank of 2361 out of 2947 means that 586 other combos perform better. This could be due to the game’s optimization for NVIDIA or AMD hardware, or it could indicate that the Intel Arc drivers are not fully optimized for this title. The data shows that the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, but the rank suggests that many other systems can exceed this performance. The percentile ranking of the CPU (85th) and GPU (65th) does not translate to a proportionate game rank, highlighting that synthetic benchmarks do not always correlate with real-world gaming performance.

The nearest rivals for the CPU are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with an average score of 36945 and a delta of 0%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, with a delta of -0.2% and a score of 37018. These CPUs are statistically identical in performance, so the choice between them has little impact on Ready Or Not. The GPU’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which has an average score of 20534 and a delta of 0.1%, meaning the Arc B570 is essentially tied with it. However, the RTX 3070 Mobile may have different driver characteristics that could improve its in-game performance.

The combo’s low rank is a cautionary note for builders. Even though the individual parts are respectable, the overall system performance in Ready Or Not is below average. This could be attributed to the game’s engine favoring other architectures, or it could be a driver issue that may be resolved with future updates. The measured FPS at 1080p is high, so the rank may be skewed by the 4K results, where the GPU is clearly outclassed.

CPU Role

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 from TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The TDP is 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1851. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. It also has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes for GPU and storage connectivity.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 25891 in multi-core and 3655 in single-core. In PassMark, the multithread score is 30459, and the single-thread score is 4412. The average benchmark score is 36938, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. These numbers indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the computational demands of Ready Or Not, which is not a particularly CPU-intensive game.

In this game, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle AI and physics. The 10 cores and 10 threads are sufficient for modern games, and the high boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for game logic. The L3 cache of 20 MB is adequate, though not large by modern standards. The memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is also sufficient, as the game does not heavily rely on memory throughput.

The measured FPS results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system hits 192 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game, but the GPU is still able to keep up. At 4K Ultra, the CPU’s performance is irrelevant because the GPU is severely limited. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has the same average score, and the Intel Core i9-12900T, which has a delta of -0.5%. This means the Ultra 5 225 is competitive with other mid-range CPUs, but its performance in Ready Or Not is not exceptional.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution. The CPU’s 10 cores and 10 threads are adequate for the game, and the high boost clock ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s demands at lower resolutions. For builders, this means that upgrading the CPU would not yield significant gains in Ready Or Not; the GPU is the component to focus on for better 4K performance.