Undisputed

# Undisputed with Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + Intel Arc B580

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a playable but uneven experience in Undisputed, with the data showing a clear pattern: the combination excels at lower resolutions and medium settings, but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K with maximum quality. Across all twelve measured configurations, the system ranks 2794th out of 3718 total CPU-GPU combinations tested in this game, placing it in the lower third of the field. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can consistently exceed 60 FPS at most settings, while 4K gaming requires significant compromises to remain playable.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that becomes progressively more GPU-bound as resolution increases, with the Intel Arc B580 acting as the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 132 at 1920x1080 to 95 at 2560x1440—a 28% reduction—and then falls further to 60 at 3840x2160, which represents a 55% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling pattern at Low settings tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. The system produces 221 FPS at 1080p Low, 160 FPS at 1440p Low, and 101 FPS at 4K Low. The percentage drops are 28% from 1080p to 1440p and 54% from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the High settings scaling. This consistency suggests that the resolution scaling penalty is largely independent of the quality preset, pointing to a fixed GPU throughput limitation rather than a settings-dependent bottleneck.

Medium settings show the most balanced scaling behavior, with average FPS of 159 at 1080p, 115 at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 73 at 4K (a 54% drop from 1080p). The Medium preset also provides the only complete frame time data in the measured set, with minimum and maximum values recorded at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers between 135 and 183 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 98-132 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it produces 62-84 FPS. These ranges indicate that frame pacing remains consistent even as the average frame rate declines with resolution.

Ultra settings expose the most severe scaling penalty. The system manages 85 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 61 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 28% drop), and only 39 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 54% drop from 1080p). The 39 FPS result at 4K Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered necessary for smooth gameplay, making this configuration essentially unplayable for competitive or fast-paced play. The consistent 28% and 54% scaling penalties across all four settings presets strongly indicate that the Intel Arc B580's rendering pipeline, rather than the CPU or memory subsystem, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's specifications directly explain the resolution scaling patterns observed in the measured frame rates. This GPU features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, operating at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K, particularly with higher quality settings that demand more memory bandwidth and fill rate.

The GPU's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are the key throughput metrics that determine how quickly the card can fill the increasingly large framebuffers at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the card delivers only 39 FPS, indicating that its pixel throughput is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum quality settings. The 80 ROPs must process four times the pixels at 4K compared to 1080p, and the data shows this translates to a 54% average FPS reduction across all presets.

The 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance and 27.34 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (2:1 ratio) place this card in a specific performance tier that the benchmark results confirm. The GPU's average benchmark score of 23021 places it at the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% lower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.7% lower). This clustering suggests the Arc B580 delivers performance roughly comparable to those established cards, which aligns with its measured FPS results in Undisputed.

The card's VRAM configuration of 12 GB GDDR6 is never explicitly stressed in the measured data, but the fact that even the Ultra preset at 4K does not show signs of texture thrashing or severe frame time spikes suggests the memory capacity is adequate for this game. The memory clock of 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) and 192-bit bus provide the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, which at 4K Medium produces a 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS, indicating the memory subsystem can keep pace with the GPU's rendering demands at that quality level.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Undisputed at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: The data shows 4K gaming is possible but requires quality reductions. At 4K Medium, the system averages 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, it averages 60 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to only 39 FPS average, which falls below typical playability thresholds.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination?

A: The measured results indicate 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with average FPS ranging from 85 at Ultra to 221 at Low. At 2560x1440, the system still performs well, with 61 FPS at Ultra and 160 FPS at Low, making 1440p viable for most settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, and 1% higher than the NVIDIA P106-100. These deltas are all within 1%, indicating near-parity performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The consistent 28% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and 54% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 221 FPS average indicates the CPU can feed frames quickly, but the GPU's throughput becomes the constraint as resolution increases.

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

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 95 FPS. This is a solid result that provides smooth gameplay for a sports title like Undisputed, with headroom above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Ultra preset viable at any resolution?

A: The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it averages 85 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 61 FPS, which is borderline. At 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS average is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 221 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 159 FPS average, with a minimum of 135 FPS and maximum of 183 FPS. High settings yield 132 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 85 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 136 FPS, indicating that quality settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance profile shifts downward while maintaining the same ordering. Low settings produce 160 FPS average, representing a 28% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings deliver 115 FPS average, with a minimum of 98 FPS and maximum of 132 FPS. High settings yield 95 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 61 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 99 FPS, showing that the settings impact narrows slightly at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. Low settings produce 101 FPS average, which remains playable. Medium settings deliver 73 FPS average, with a minimum of 62 FPS and maximum of 84 FPS. High settings yield 60 FPS average, which is exactly at the standard playability threshold. Ultra settings drop to 39 FPS average, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 62 FPS, demonstrating that quality settings have less impact on absolute frame rates at this resolution due to GPU saturation.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete frame time data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the frame time range is 48 FPS (135 to 183); at 1440p, the range is 34 FPS (98 to 132); and at 4K, the range is 22 FPS (62 to 84). This narrowing range with increasing resolution indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU approaches its throughput limit, which is a positive characteristic for gameplay smoothness.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality for this CPU-GPU combination. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 159 FPS average with a tight frame time range of 135 to 183 FPS, providing an excellent experience with substantial headroom. At 1440p Medium, the 115 FPS average with a range of 98 to 132 FPS remains well above the 60 FPS threshold, making this the recommended configuration for players with 1440p monitors.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only viable option that maintains smooth frame rates. The 73 FPS average at 4K Medium, with a minimum of 62 FPS, ensures that even demanding scenes stay above the playability threshold. While High settings at 4K also achieve a 60 FPS average, the lack of minimum frame data makes it riskier; the Medium preset's documented 62 FPS minimum provides greater confidence in consistent performance.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates at every resolution, with 221 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. However, the visual quality reduction is substantial, and the performance headroom provided by Low settings is unnecessary for a sports game like Undisputed, where reaction times are less critical than in competitive shooters. Players with high refresh rate monitors (144Hz or higher) might consider Low settings at 1080p to maximize frame rates, but the Medium preset's 159 FPS average already exceeds most standard monitor refresh rates.

The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions except perhaps 1080p, where the 85 FPS average is still playable. At 1440p Ultra, the 61 FPS average leaves virtually no headroom for frame rate drops, and at 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS average makes the game feel sluggish and unresponsive. The performance cost of Ultra settings—a 47% reduction from High at 1080p (85 vs 132 FPS) and a 36% reduction at 1440p (61 vs 95 FPS)—is not justified by the marginal visual improvements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K provides ample processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in Undisputed, as evidenced by the consistently high frame rates at 1080p where CPU load is typically highest. This processor features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 cache per core, provides the data locality necessary for maintaining high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its capability relative to other processors. Its average benchmark score of 70879 places it at the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Xeon 6511P (0.2% higher), Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (0.7% higher), Intel Core i7-14700KF (1% lower), and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (1.3% lower). In multi-core tests, the CPU scores 35850 in Cinebench R23, 20918 in Cinebench R20, and 5020 in Cinebench R15, while single-core results include 2020 in Cinebench R23 and 708 in Cinebench R15.

The 221 FPS average at 1080p Low settings indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with frames at a rate exceeding 200 FPS without becoming the limiting factor. Even at 1080p Ultra, which increases CPU overhead due to more complex scene management, the system still achieves 85 FPS, suggesting the CPU has significant headroom. The fact that the frame rate drops by almost exactly the same percentage (28% from 1080p to 1440p, 54% from 1080p to 4K) across all settings presets confirms that the GPU, not the CPU, determines performance scaling.

The 20-core, 20-thread configuration with a 125 W TDP and support for DDR5 memory at dual-channel bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s provides a solid foundation for gaming. The processor's architecture, built on a 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors, delivers the single-thread performance necessary for game logic and physics while the multi-core capability handles background tasks without impacting frame rates. The Geekbench scores of 23085 multi-core and 2713 single-core further confirm the CPU's balanced performance profile, which is well-suited for a sports title that requires consistent frame delivery rather than extreme burst performance.