Undisputed

# Undisputed with Intel Core i9-14900K + Intel Arc B580

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a peculiar performance profile in Undisputed, a sports title that scales more aggressively with resolution and settings than typical for the genre. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 221 FPS average, dropping to 85 FPS at 1080p Ultra — a 62% performance reduction driven primarily by GPU load. The Arc B580, with its 12 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes the clear limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the 24-core, 32-thread i9-14900K remains largely underutilized. This pairing ranks 2794th out of 3718 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower third of the database despite the CPU's 95th percentile standing among all processors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep resolution scaling curve that points directly at the GPU as the bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 132 to 95, a 28% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at High settings, the average falls to 60 FPS — exactly half of the 1080p result. This halving of frame rate from 1080p to 4K at identical settings is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario, where pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low result of 221 FPS drops to 160 FPS at 1440p, then to 101 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 54%, slightly less severe than at High settings (55% drop), but still substantial. This suggests that even at the lowest graphical preset, the Arc B580 cannot maintain frame rates that would fully engage the i9-14900K's capabilities. The CPU, with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz across 24 cores, is clearly not the constraint here — the frame rate ceiling is set by the GPU's rendering throughput.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete min/max data in the pack. At 4K Medium, the average is 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 84. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 115 FPS with a range of 98 to 132. The 1080p Medium result shows 159 FPS average, with min/max of 135 and 183. The spread between minimum and maximum frames widens at lower resolutions — 48 FPS at 1080p versus 22 FPS at 4K — which indicates that at higher resolutions the GPU is consistently saturated, while at lower resolutions there is more variance, likely due to CPU-driven frame pacing or scene complexity fluctuations.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 39, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. The 1440p Ultra result of 61 FPS barely clears that bar, while 1080p Ultra delivers 85 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is significant: 60 FPS versus 39 FPS, a 35% reduction for the highest preset. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately tax the Arc B580's 20 ray tracing cores and 80 ROPs, even though the game is not primarily ray-tracing focused based on the data available.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. Its clock behavior is unusual: both base and boost clocks are listed at 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). This fixed clock profile suggests the GPU operates at a constant frequency under load, which simplifies thermal management but may limit boost headroom compared to competitors that dynamically scale clocks.

With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the B580 provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is substantial for the GPU's performance class, but in Undisputed at 4K Ultra, the data shows the memory subsystem is not sufficient to prevent the frame rate from collapsing to 39 FPS. The GPU's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 27.34 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio) represent the raw processing capability, yet the game's demands at higher settings exceed what this hardware can deliver at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 68 among all GPUs places it above median but far from top-tier. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avg score 22895, deltaPct 0.6%) and the RTX 3080 (avg score 23172, deltaPct -0.7%). These deltas are remarkably small — within 1% of the B580's average score of 23021 — yet in Undisputed, the B580's 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS suggests that real-world gaming performance can deviate from synthetic averages. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 15748 and DirectX 12 score of 76 indicate moderate DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant since Undisputed likely utilizes this API.

The B580's memory configuration — 12 GB at 456.0 GB/s — is ample for this game at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor across all settings. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s provide theoretical ceilings that the measured FPS data suggests are being approached at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 190 W TDP with a suggested 450 W PSU indicates power is not the constraint; rather, it is the raw shading and rasterization throughput that caps performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2794th out of 3718 tested combos in Undisputed, placing it in the 75th percentile of all combinations (lower rank number is better, so 2794/3718 means it is worse than roughly 75% of combos). This ranking is notably lower than what the CPU's individual standing would suggest — the i9-14900K sits in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the B580 sits in the 68th percentile among GPUs.

The discrepancy between component-level percentiles and combo-level ranking indicates that this pairing is suboptimal for this specific game. The CPU's nearest rivals — the i9-14900KF (avg score 79371, deltaPct -0.3%), Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (avg score 79574, deltaPct -0.6%), and AMD EPYC 7413 (avg score 80041, deltaPct -1.2%) — are all within 1.2% of the i9-14900K's average score of 79097, showing that the CPU sits in a tightly clustered group of high-performance processors. Conversely, the GPU's nearest rivals span a wider effective range: the RX 580 2048SP (avg score 23061, deltaPct -0.2%) and RTX 2080 (avg score 22895, deltaPct 0.6%) bracket the B580 closely, but the RTX 3080 (avg score 23172, deltaPct -0.7%) also falls within 1% — despite being a much more powerful GPU in most games.

The combo's rank of 2794 suggests that in Undisputed, the B580 holds the combo back significantly. With 3718 total combos tested, this pairing lands in the bottom quarter, which is surprising given the CPU's top-tier status. This indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound, and the B580's mid-range performance caps the entire system. For context, a combo with the same CPU but a top-tier GPU would likely rank much higher, though no such data is provided in the pack.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60+ FPS on High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the combo delivers 95 FPS average, and at 3840x2160 High it drops to exactly 60 FPS. For a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, 1440p High is the highest resolution that provides a substantial buffer, while 4K High sits right at the 60 FPS threshold with no headroom.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 85 FPS versus 132 FPS on High, a 36% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra gives 61 FPS versus 95 FPS on High, a 36% drop. At 4K, Ultra produces 39 FPS versus 60 FPS on High, a 35% reduction. The relative cost of Ultra is consistent across resolutions at roughly one-third fewer frames.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K the bottleneck in this pairing?

A: No. The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 221 FPS, which is far below what the i9-14900K could theoretically support given its 6.00 GHz boost clock and 24 cores. The FPS scales dramatically with resolution and settings in ways that track GPU load, not CPU capability.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at Medium settings, and how does it vary by resolution?

A: The only min/max data available is for Medium settings. At 4K, minimum FPS is 62 with an average of 73. At 1440p, minimum is 98 with an average of 115. At 1080p, minimum is 135 with an average of 159. The minimum FPS stays above 60 at all resolutions for Medium settings.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its closest rivals based on average benchmark scores?

A: The B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021. Its nearest rivals are the AMD RX 580 2048SP (23061, deltaPct -0.2%), NVIDIA RTX 2080 (22895, deltaPct 0.6%), and NVIDIA RTX 3080 (23172, deltaPct -0.7%). All are within 1% of the B580's average score, indicating very similar synthetic performance.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game, and what does it imply?

A: The combo ranks 2794th out of 3718 tested combos in Undisputed. This places it in the bottom 25% of all combinations, which is notable given the CPU's 95th percentile standing. The rank implies that the GPU is severely limiting the system's performance in this game, preventing the CPU from showing its full potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows the combo's capability at the lowest resolution. Low settings produce 221 FPS average, Medium produces 159 FPS with a range of 135 to 183, High produces 132 FPS, and Ultra produces 85 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a stepwise reduction: 221 → 159 → 132 → 85. The gap between Medium and High is 27 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 47 FPS, indicating that Ultra imposes a disproportionately heavy load compared to the step from Medium to High.

At 2560x1440, the same settings order yields 160 FPS at Low, 115 FPS at Medium (min 98, max 132), 95 FPS at High, and 61 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 45 FPS, from Medium to High is 20 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 34 FPS. This pattern differs from 1080p — the Medium-to-High gap narrows while the High-to-Ultra gap remains significant. The 1440p Ultra result of 61 FPS is barely above the 60 FPS mark, making it the boundary condition for playable frame rates at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 101 FPS at Low, 73 FPS at Medium (min 62, max 84), 60 FPS at High, and 39 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 28 FPS drop, Medium to High is 13 FPS, and High to Ultra is 21 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings cannot reach 120 FPS, and High settings barely hold 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 39 FPS, is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, but it is a significant miss — 35% below the 60 FPS target.

Comparing across resolutions at each setting: Low settings show 221 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. This is a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. Medium settings show 159 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K — drops of 28% and 37% respectively. High settings show 132 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K — drops of 28% and 37% again. Ultra settings show 85 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K — drops of 28% and 36%. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests a uniform resolution scaling factor driven by pixel count, confirming the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings 24 cores and 32 threads across its Raptor Lake-R architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration, combined with DDR4 and DDR5 dual-channel memory support, provides ample headroom for gaming workloads that rarely scale beyond a handful of threads.

In Undisputed, the CPU's role appears minimal based on the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low, where CPU-bound scenarios typically emerge, the combo hits 221 FPS — but this is still below the CPU's theoretical ceiling. The i9-14900K's benchmark scores are elite: Cinebench R23 multi-core of 39399.5 and single-core of 2262.5, Geekbench multi-core of 21697 and single-core of 2655, and Passmark multi-thread of 58674 with single-thread of 4697. These scores place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all processors, yet the combo's in-game rank of 2794 out of 3718 shows that the CPU's power is largely untapped.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the i9-14900KF (79371, deltaPct -0.3%), Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79574, deltaPct -0.6%), and AMD EPYC 7413 (80041, deltaPct -1.2%). The i9-14900K's average score of 79097 is 0.3% below the 14900KF, which is a negligible difference. In Undisputed, swapping to the KF variant would likely produce identical FPS results because the game is not CPU-limited at any measured setting.

Evidence for GPU-limited performance comes from the FPS scaling pattern. If the CPU were the bottleneck, FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions at a fixed setting. Instead, the data shows FPS dropping by 28% from 1080p to 1440p and another 37% from 1440p to 4K at every setting level. This is a purely pixel-driven scaling pattern that indicates the GPU is saturated while the CPU waits. Even at 1080p Low with 221 FPS, the CPU is not the constraint — a stronger GPU would likely push this number higher.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 221 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 4K, Low settings produce 101 FPS, making this the only 4K preset that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS. If the goal is maximum smoothness with minimal visual compromise, Medium settings at 1440p (115 FPS average, 98 minimum) provide an excellent balance — the minimum FPS stays well above 60, and the visual upgrade over Low is substantial based on the FPS cost of 45 FPS at 1440p.

For players with 60 Hz displays, High settings at 4K delivers exactly 60 FPS average, but this leaves no headroom for scene complexity spikes. The Medium preset at 4K offers 73 FPS with a 62 FPS minimum, which is a safer choice for maintaining a stable 60 FPS experience. The data shows that Medium at 4K provides a 22% FPS improvement over High while presumably sacrificing some visual fidelity — the tradeoff is clear from the numbers.

Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where 85 FPS is achieved. At 1440p, Ultra's 61 FPS is borderline, and at 4K, the 39 FPS result is below playable thresholds for most users. The step from High to Ultra costs 35-36% of frame rate at every resolution, which is a steep price for the final preset tier. Given that High at 1440p delivers 95 FPS and High at 1080p delivers 132 FPS, the recommended path is to use High settings at 1440p for a strong visual-to-performance ratio, or Medium at 4K if resolution is the priority.

The sweet spot in the measured data is 1440p Medium: 115 FPS average with a 98 FPS minimum. This configuration keeps frame times consistent (the 98-132 range shows only 34 FPS variance) while providing a resolution that benefits from the 12 GB VRAM and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth of the Arc B580. For competitive play or high-refresh displays, 1080p Low at 221 FPS is the undisputed choice, while 4K Medium at 73 FPS is the best option for cinematic quality without dropping below 60 FPS.