Undisputed

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 2491 out of 2813 tested combos in Undisputed. That places this configuration in the bottom 11.5% of all tested pairings, a decisive outcome driven almost entirely by the graphics side of the equation. The combo sits far below the median performer, and the data shows that this is not a competitive setup for players seeking high-refresh-rate boxing action.

The CPU is a top-tier part by any measure, ranking in the 96th percentile against all processors. Its average benchmark score of 84003 puts it slightly ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807, +0.2%) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, +1.1%), while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072, -1.3%) by a narrow margin. The GPU, however, is the bottleneck in the most extreme way possible. The Intel Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 placing it just 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1443). Those are legacy entry-level parts, and the Arc B390 is essentially competing at that tier.

The measured frame rates confirm the ranking. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 127 FPS average, which is playable. But at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 22 FPS. The spread between the best and worst measured results is enormous — from 127 FPS down to 22 FPS — which indicates a system that is severely constrained by the integrated graphics solution. The Arc B390 is an IGP with system-shared memory, and that fundamental design choice limits it to roughly the performance class of decade-old discrete GPUs. For Undisputed, a sports title that benefits from smooth animation and responsive input, this combo ranks where it does because the GPU cannot sustain competitive frame rates at higher quality settings.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank overall in Undisputed?

A: It ranks 2491st out of 2813 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average is 127 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 22 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 84003 on average, which is 0.2% ahead of the Core Ultra 9 285K (83807), 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090), and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135 (82980). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072) by 1.3%.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The measured FPS drops drastically as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for playable performance?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings yields 91 FPS average, while 1920x1080 with High yields 76 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 92 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p Medium appears to be the sweet spot.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 127 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 92 FPS, a 27.6% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 58 FPS, which is 54.3% below the 1080p Low result. The pattern is consistent across all settings: the higher the resolution, the more severe the frame rate penalty, which is the hallmark of a GPU that cannot feed pixels fast enough as the workload grows.

The High settings row tells the same story. At 1080p High, the combo manages 76 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 55 FPS (a 27.6% decrease), and at 4K High, it falls to 35 FPS (a 53.9% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets indicates that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. The CPU has ample headroom — its 24 cores and 24 threads with a 5.80 GHz boost clock are more than sufficient for a sports title like Undisputed — but the Arc B390's system-shared memory and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput simply cannot keep up as pixel counts climb.

The Medium settings row includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105. At 1440p Medium, the average is 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76. At 4K Medium, the average is 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48. The minimum frame rates scale proportionally with the averages, confirming that the GPU is consistently at its limit rather than experiencing occasional stutters. The frame time consistency is actually decent — the spread between min and max is roughly 30% of the average at each resolution — but the absolute values are too low for a satisfying experience at 4K.

The conclusion from the resolution scaling data is unambiguous: this combo is playable at 1080p, acceptable at 1440p with lowered settings, and marginal at 4K. The limiting component is the GPU, whose 9th percentile ranking and 1482 Steel Nomad score place it far below what modern sports titles demand at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of playable settings for this combo. At 1080p, the Ultra preset produces 49 FPS average, which is technically playable but below the smoothness threshold most sports gamers desire. High settings at 1080p yield 76 FPS, which is a substantial improvement and likely the best quality-to-performance ratio for this resolution. Medium settings push the average to 91 FPS with a minimum of 78, providing a more consistent experience with only a modest visual downgrade from High. Low settings at 1080p hit 127 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset, but the visual compromise is significant.

For 1440p, the recommendation shifts. Low settings produce 92 FPS average, which is the only preset at this resolution that clears the 90 FPS mark. Medium settings at 1440p average 66 FPS with a minimum of 56, which is playable but requires the user to accept occasional dips below 60. High settings at 1440p drop to 55 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS, which is not recommended for competitive or fluid gameplay. For 1440p, Low or Medium are the viable options, with Low offering the smoother experience.

At 4K, the options are severely limited. Low settings produce 58 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that approaches playability. Medium drops to 42 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 22 FPS. None of these are ideal, but if 4K is a requirement, Low is the only sensible choice. The data suggests that 1080p Medium or High provides the best overall experience: 91 FPS average with a 78 FPS minimum on Medium, or 76 FPS on High. Given that Undisputed is a sports title where animation smoothness matters for judging timing and reaction, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate stability. The minimum of 78 FPS ensures that the experience stays fluid even during intense exchanges.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured FPS dataset for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets, totaling twelve distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 127 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 78 and a maximum of 105, High averages 76 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with Ultra delivering only 38.6% of the Low preset's frame rate. The Medium preset's minimum of 78 FPS is notable because it stays above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating consistent performance without major frame time spikes.

At 2560x1440, the results shift downward across the board. Low averages 92 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76, High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra averages 35 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 56 FPS dips below 60, which may be perceptible as slight stutter in a fast-paced sports game. The High preset's 55 FPS average is marginal, and Ultra at 35 FPS is not recommended for actual gameplay. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average falls from 49 to 35 FPS, a 28.6% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest in the dataset. Low averages 58 FPS, Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 36 FPS indicates that the system can dip to very low frame rates during demanding scenes. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is from 58 down to 22 FPS, a 62.1% reduction. This is the largest relative drop across all resolutions, underscoring how quickly the Arc B390 saturates as pixel count increases.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate at the same settings, and each step up in settings costs a similar percentage at the same resolution. The combination of both factors — moving from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra — results in an 82.7% reduction in average FPS, from 127 to 22. This is a GPU-bound system through and through, with no evidence of CPU limitations at any resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a flagship desktop processor with 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process node with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3. It supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and it features PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates exceptional strength. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 51731, and its single-core score is 7303. Cinebench R20 scores are 21727 multicore and 3067 single-core. Cinebench R15 scores are 5214 multicore and 736 single-core. PassMark results show a multithread score of 60860, integer math at 166194, floating point math at 214760, data compression at 698346, and data encryption at 52563. The single-thread PassMark score is 4823. These numbers place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all processors, confirming that it is not a limiting factor in Undisputed.

For a sports title like Undisputed, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, physics, and AI for opponent boxers. The 24-core configuration with 24 threads is far more than this genre requires, and the high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance for the main game thread. The measured FPS data confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 127 FPS, which is a respectable frame rate, but the GPU's 9th percentile ranking means that any increase in resolution or settings immediately tanks performance.

The contrast between CPU and GPU capability is stark. The CPU ranks near the top of all processors, while the GPU ranks near the bottom. In Undisputed, this means the Arc B390 is the sole determinant of playable settings. The CPU's 3 MB L2 per core and 36 MB shared L3 cache provide ample data for the game's working set, and the 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for the CPU's needs. The GPU, however, uses system-shared memory, which means it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, further limiting its already modest 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput.

The data shows that this combo's rank of 2491 out of 2813 is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations. The CPU is a top-tier part that would pair well with a discrete GPU, but as configured with the Arc B390 IGP, it is wasted potential in this particular game. The 24 threads and 5.80 GHz boost clock are irrelevant when the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize them. For Undisputed, the CPU role is to feed the GPU with game state data, and it does so without issue — the bottleneck lies entirely on the graphics side.