Undisputed

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 presents a classic mid-range 1080p gaming configuration from the previous hardware generation. In Undisputed, this combination delivers a playable experience that scales predictably with resolution and settings, though the data reveals a system that is clearly bound by its graphics card at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second across the three main resolutions and four quality presets provide a comprehensive picture of what this hardware can manage in a sports title that emphasizes visual fidelity and smooth animation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this pairing in Undisputed. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 71 FPS at 1920x1080 to 51.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 30.9 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 56.5% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to the highest resolution, a steep decline that confirms the RX 580's pixel-pushing limits are reached quickly as resolution increases.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The system manages 45.7 FPS at 1080p, drops to 32.6 FPS at 1440p, and falls to 22 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition alone costs roughly 32% of the frame rate, indicating that the GPU is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth at 4K. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the system still produces 57.1 FPS, but this is an outlier rather than a recommendation, as visual quality suffers significantly.

Notably, the resolution scaling is not linear. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings only costs 18.4 FPS (from 85.5 to 67.1), but moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings costs 26.2 FPS (from 67.1 to 40.9). This non-linear degradation points to the RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becoming a bottleneck as pixel count increases. The 8 GB of GDDR5 VRAM is sufficient for capacity, but the bandwidth ceiling is hit hard at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 provides a solid foundation for this game, though its influence on the measured results appears secondary to the GPU. This 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture offers a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 696 in 3dMark single-thread and 4605 in 3dMark 16-thread tests, showing balanced performance for both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

The CPU's multi-core capability, demonstrated by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045, suggests that Undisputed's game logic and AI calculations are well-handled. However, the 1080p Low preset result of 121.2 FPS versus the 1080p High preset of 71 FPS indicates that even at low settings, the GPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The CPU is not holding back performance here, as the frame rate scales significantly with graphics settings, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios.

The Ryzen 5 3600's single-thread score of 2562 in Passmark and its 3dmark single-thread score of 696 place it at the 76th percentile among all CPUs. This is sufficient headroom for a sports title like Undisputed, which typically does not require extreme single-thread performance. The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than adequate for feeding the GPU, and the data does not show any CPU-induced frame rate plateaus across the tested configurations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the dominant factor in these benchmark results. With a boost clock of 1340 MHz and 2304 shading units, this Polaris 20 chip delivers 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 2000 MHz provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the key specification that determines performance at higher resolutions.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 53 places it exactly in the middle of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 and the AMD Radeon Pro 455, with delta percentages within 1.1% difference in average benchmark score. This positions the RX 580 as a capable 1080p card that struggles at 1440p and beyond. The measured data confirms this: at 1080p, the card produces playable frame rates across all presets, but at 4K, only the Low preset achieves above 57 FPS.

The RX 580's 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs translate to a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. These figures explain why High settings at 1440p yield 51.9 FPS while Ultra at the same resolution drops to 32.6 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 19.3 FPS, a 37% reduction that highlights how the GPU's compute resources are overwhelmed by Ultra-level effects. The card's DirectX 12 support (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 compatibility mean it can run modern APIs, but its GCN 4.0 architecture lacks the efficiency of newer designs.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Undisputed at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves 57.1 FPS. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops to 40.9 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls to 30.9 and 22 FPS respectively, which are below playable thresholds.

*Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware in Undisputed?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the sweet spot, with all presets except Ultra achieving above 70 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium presets remain playable at 87.1 and 67.1 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400 and 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS. It sits at the 76th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the RX 580's VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The 8 GB GDDR5 capacity is adequate, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K. The frame rate drops from 40.9 at 4K Medium to 30.9 at 4K High, indicating bandwidth limitations rather than capacity issues.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average is 51.9 FPS. This is playable but not smooth for fast-paced action, and it represents a significant drop from the 71 FPS seen at 1080p High.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The evidence shows the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates scale dramatically with graphics settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, raising settings from Low to Ultra drops performance from 121.2 to 45.7 FPS, which is GPU-bound behavior.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset produces 121.2 FPS, which is smooth for any competitive or fast-paced gameplay. Medium settings yield 85.5 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for fluid motion. High settings drop to 71 FPS, which remains comfortable for a sports title. Ultra settings bring the frame rate down to 45.7 FPS, which is the first point where motion might appear less smooth to discerning eyes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease noticeably across all presets. Low settings still manage 87.1 FPS, providing an excellent experience at this resolution. Medium settings deliver 67.1 FPS, which is acceptable for most players. High settings fall to 51.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32.6 FPS. The 1440p High result of 51.9 FPS is approximately 27% lower than the 1080p High result, showing the cost of increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the RX 580 struggles significantly. Low settings produce 57.1 FPS, which is the only playable configuration at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 40.9 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in a game that requires precise timing. High settings fall to 30.9 FPS, and Ultra yields just 22 FPS, rendering these presets effectively unplayable. The 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS is less than one-fifth of the 1080p Low result, demonstrating the extreme performance penalty at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For players using this hardware, the optimal experience depends on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 71 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from Medium to High costs 14.5 FPS but provides a meaningful improvement in graphical fidelity for a sports title where player models and arena details matter. Ultra at 45.7 FPS is not worth the additional visual gain over High, as the frame rate drops below the 60 FPS target.

For 2560x1440 displays, the Medium preset at 67.1 FPS is the recommended choice. This maintains smooth gameplay while providing acceptable visual quality. High at 51.9 FPS is borderline, and players with high refresh rate monitors may find the lower frame rate noticeable. Low at 87.1 FPS is the best option for competitive play, but sacrifices significant visual detail that enhances the game's presentation.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 57.1 FPS is the only viable option. This delivers playable performance, but the visual quality is substantially reduced. Players with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience, as the Medium preset at 1440p produces 67.1 FPS with superior graphics compared to 4K Low. The data clearly indicates that this system is not designed for 4K gaming, and the best overall experience is achieved at 1080p with High settings, yielding 71 FPS with strong visual fidelity and smooth motion.