Undisputed

# Undisputed with Intel Core i7-13700K + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a decidedly unbalanced gaming experience in Undisputed, with the CPU demonstrating massive compute headroom while the GPU's 9th-percentile benchmark standing creates a hard ceiling on frame rates. The measured data shows this combination ranks 2491st out of 2813 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested. Across all resolutions and settings, the frame rates range from a low of 22 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 127 FPS at 1080p Low, revealing a system that can approach playability only at lower resolutions and settings, while the CPU's capabilities remain largely untapped.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in Undisputed?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 127 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next-best result is 92 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings, indicating that the Low preset consistently delivers the highest frame rates across all resolutions.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Undisputed?*

A: The combination ranks 2491st out of 2813 total tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all systems benchmarked for this game, which is consistent with the GPU's low performance percentile.

Q: What is the difference between the Ultra and Low presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 49 FPS, while the Low preset delivers 127 FPS. This represents a 78 FPS difference, with the Low preset being approximately 2.6 times faster than Ultra at this resolution.

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-13700K bottleneck the Intel Arc B390 in this game?

A: Benchmark data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i7-13700K has a 3DMark max threads score of 12412 and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745, while the GPU's only 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, putting it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU is the clear performance constraint.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 42, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. This is the only 4K configuration where min and max values were recorded.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971), 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022), 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654), and 0.5% higher than the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries a 30 MB shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB L2 cache per core and 80 KB L1 cache per core. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel memory bus, includes UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics, and was released on 2022-09-26 with a launch MSRP of $409.

In CPU-bound workloads, the i7-13700K demonstrates substantial capability. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 30745, while the single-core score is 2116. The Geekbench multicore score reaches 19429, and the single-core score is 2529. The PassMark multithread score stands at 45887, with a single-thread score of 4333. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1136 in single-thread to 12412 in max threads, indicating strong multi-threaded performance that should handle the physics and simulation demands of a sports title like Undisputed with ease.

However, the benchmark results in Undisputed suggest that the CPU's role in determining final frame rates is minimal. The CPU's 89th percentile standing among all CPUs (versus the GPU's 9th percentile) creates a massive imbalance. Even at 1080p Low, where frame rates reach 127 FPS, the CPU is likely not the limiting component. The data indicates that the i7-13700K's compute resources, including its 125 W TDP and 16 cores, are more than sufficient for this game's requirements, and the observed frame rate ceiling is imposed by the GPU rather than the processor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process node from Intel. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it features System Shared memory with bandwidth described as System Dependent. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster operation units, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its computed pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. The TDP is 80 W, and the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The GPU's benchmark presence is minimal: its only recorded 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% higher), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% higher). This places the Arc B390 in the company of very old, low-end discrete GPUs, which explains its performance constraints in Undisputed.

In the measured game data, the GPU's limitations are evident. At every resolution, the frame rate drops significantly as settings increase from Low to Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 78 FPS, at 1440p it is 57 FPS, and at 4K it is 36 FPS. This pattern suggests that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by higher-quality presets, while the CPU remains capable of feeding frames at all settings. The System Shared memory configuration means the GPU relies on system RAM, which further limits its ability to handle high-resolution textures and effects.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate for this combo in Undisputed. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 127 FPS, Medium delivers 91 FPS (with a range of 78 to 105 FPS), High delivers 76 FPS, and Ultra delivers 49 FPS. At 2560x1440, the values are 92 FPS for Low, 66 FPS for Medium (range 56 to 76), 55 FPS for High, and 35 FPS for Ultra. At 3840x2160, the values are 58 FPS for Low, 42 FPS for Medium (range 36 to 48), 35 FPS for High, and 22 FPS for Ultra.

For the best balance of playability and visual quality, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 appears to be the optimal choice. It delivers an average of 91 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, and it provides a 15 FPS improvement over High settings while maintaining a minimum of 78 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p (66 FPS average) is also viable for users prioritizing higher resolution, though the minimum of 56 FPS is closer to the edge of comfortable playability.

The Low preset is the only option that consistently delivers high frame rates across all resolutions, but it does so at the cost of visual fidelity. At 4K, only Low (58 FPS) approaches acceptable frame rates, while Medium (42 FPS), High (35 FPS), and Ultra (22 FPS) all fall below 60 FPS. Users with 4K displays should expect to use Low settings for a playable experience, or consider reducing resolution to 1440p where Medium becomes viable.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2491st out of 2813 tested combos in Undisputed. This ranking places the system in the bottom 11.5% of all tested configurations, which is a poor result for a CPU that individually ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors. The discrepancy between CPU and GPU performance tiers is stark: the i7-13700K's average benchmark score of 46881 places it near the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971) and ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654), yet the GPU's 1482 3DMark Steel Nomad score puts it behind even the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 in the nearest rivals list.

The combination rank reflects the GPU's dominance in determining overall gaming performance. A system with a high-end CPU and a low-end GPU will be constrained by the GPU in most gaming scenarios, and Undisputed appears to follow this pattern. The 2491st rank out of 2813 combos suggests that most other tested systems, even those with less powerful CPUs, achieve better results because they pair more capable GPUs with their processors. For users considering this build, the data indicates that the CPU's potential is largely wasted in this specific configuration for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 127, Medium at 91 (min 78, max 105), High at 76, and Ultra at 49. The progression shows a steady decline of roughly 15-18 FPS between each successive quality tier, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (15 FPS) and between High and Ultra (27 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 92, Medium at 66 (min 56, max 76), High at 55, and Ultra at 35. The drop from Low to Medium is 26 FPS, from Medium to High is 11 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 20 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium is 56, which is the only recorded minimum value at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low at 58, Medium at 42 (min 36, max 48), High at 35, and Ultra at 22. The decline from Low to Medium is 16 FPS, from Medium to High is 7 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 13 FPS. The 4K Medium configuration has the narrowest recorded range among all Medium settings, with only 12 FPS separating the minimum and maximum.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently shows the highest frame rates, while Ultra consistently shows the lowest. The Medium preset is the only configuration where min and max FPS values were recorded for all three resolutions, providing the most complete data set for frame time analysis.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution scaling on this combo is substantial and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average FPS from 127 to 92, a drop of 35 FPS or approximately 28%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings reduces the average from 92 to 58, a further drop of 34 FPS or approximately 37%. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 69 FPS, representing a 54% decrease in performance.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 91 FPS at 1080p drops to 66 FPS at 1440p (a 25 FPS reduction), then to 42 FPS at 4K (a 24 FPS reduction). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 49 FPS, or 54%. At High settings, the values are 76 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K, with a total reduction of 41 FPS (54%). At Ultra settings, the values are 49, 35, and 22 FPS respectively, a total reduction of 27 FPS (55%).

The consistent ~54-55% performance reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is scaling predictably with pixel count, suggesting it is fully saturated at all quality levels. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K would be much smaller, since higher resolutions put more load on the GPU and less on the CPU. Instead, the near-uniform percentage drop across all settings confirms that the Intel Arc B390's rendering capabilities are the bottleneck, and the i7-13700K's substantial compute resources are not being fully utilized at any resolution or quality setting.