Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable Outriders experience, but the data shows that settings management is critical to hitting high refresh rates. This combination ranks in the 1413th position out of 1693 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of the database. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a system that is heavily influenced by both resolution and preset, with the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM acting as a significant constraint at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the "High" preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot for this hardware. It delivers an average of 65.4 FPS, which is smooth for a looter shooter where precision matters. Moving up to "Ultra" at this resolution drops the average to 48.6 FPS, a noticeable step down that sacrifices fluidity for marginal visual gains. The data suggests that "Ultra" is not viable for competitive play here.

At 1920x1080, the "High" preset achieves 103.7 FPS, which is an excellent target for high-refresh-rate monitors. The "Medium" preset at 1080p reaches 124.3 FPS, providing a solid buffer above 120 FPS if you have a display that supports it. The "Low" preset at 1080p hits 139 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is rarely worth it given the "High" preset's performance. For the best balance of visual fidelity and responsiveness, "High" at 1080p or 1440p is the recommended starting point.

The data shows that "Ultra" is a performance killer across all resolutions. At 3840x2160, "Ultra" produces an unplayable 21.3 FPS average. Even at 1080p, "Ultra" only manages 71.8 FPS, which is lower than the "High" preset at 1440p. The performance gap between "High" and "Ultra" is significant, indicating that the game's highest preset includes effects that heavily tax the RTX 2060's memory bandwidth and compute resources.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1413 out of 1693, this pairing sits below the median in the database. This is expected given the age of both components, but the data reveals it is still capable of respectable performance in Outriders. The Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score of 19616 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, showing it remains a relevant processor. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-11600KF with an average score of 19740 (a -0.6% delta) and the Intel Core i7-10700F at 19485 (a 0.7% delta). This indicates the 2600's overall compute capability is within a tight band of newer mid-range parts.

The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 16074, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest competitors are the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996, 0.5% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (16351, -1.7% delta). This suggests the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing relative to its generation, but it is still the primary bottleneck in Outriders at higher settings. The low combo rank is more a reflection of the CPU's aging architecture than a sign that the system is incapable of running the game well.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This is a crucial specification for Outriders, as the data shows a steep drop in performance when moving from "High" to "Ultra" settings. The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The memory operates at 1750 MHz, effectively 14 Gbps.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor at 4K. At 3840x2160, even the "Low" preset only achieves 59.4 FPS, while "Medium" drops to 46.9 FPS. This suggests that at this resolution, the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth and capacity, causing severe frame rate penalties. The 48 ROPs and 120 TMUs on the TU106 chip also struggle to keep up with the pixel and texture demands of 4K, resulting in the sub-60 FPS numbers seen in the data.

The RTX 2060's FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The data confirms this, as the card maintains over 100 FPS at 1080p on "High" settings. The GPU's 1920 shading units are well-utilized at these resolutions, but the card is clearly not designed for 4K gaming, where the average FPS across all settings is below 60.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Outriders at 60 FPS on a 1440p monitor?

A: Yes, but only on the "High" preset, which delivers an average of 65.4 FPS. The "Medium" preset also achieves 83.8 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60. "Ultra" at 1440p falls to 48.6 FPS, so it should be avoided.

Q: Is the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM enough for Outriders?

A: The data shows it is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 4K, performance is poor across all settings, with the highest average being 59.4 FPS on "Low". This indicates the VRAM capacity and bandwidth are inadequate for 4K.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1080p high-refresh-rate display?

A: The "High" preset at 1080p produces 103.7 FPS, which is ideal for 100Hz+ monitors. If you want to push past 120 FPS, the "Medium" preset at 124.3 FPS is the better choice, though it comes with reduced visual quality.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1413th out of 1693 combos, placing it in the lower half. The CPU is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, indicating the GPU is the more limiting component.

Q: Should I use the "Ultra" preset at 1080p?

A: The data shows "Ultra" at 1080p averages 71.8 FPS, which is lower than the "High" preset at 1440p. The visual uplift from "High" to "Ultra" does not justify the significant FPS loss.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p "Low", the CPU manages 139 FPS, but the GPU limits performance at "Ultra" to 71.8 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor across all presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K. At the "High" preset, the average FPS drops from 103.7 at 1920x1080 to 65.4 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 37%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average falls to 31.5 FPS, which is a 70% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2060 is overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K.

The "Low" preset shows a similar trend, with 139 FPS at 1080p, 119.2 FPS at 1440p, and 59.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is less than half of the 1440p score, highlighting the exponential cost of resolution scaling. The "Medium" preset follows the same pattern: 124.3 FPS at 1080p, 83.8 FPS at 1440p, and 46.9 FPS at 4K. The "Ultra" preset is the worst performer, dropping from 71.8 FPS at 1080p to 48.6 FPS at 1440p and finally 21.3 FPS at 4K.

These numbers suggest that the limiting component changes with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU, allowing it to reach high frame rates. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth become the primary constraints. The 4K results are uniformly poor, confirming that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache is a modest amount by modern standards, but it is sufficient for a game like Outriders. The processor's dual-channel DDR4 memory support provides a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that at 1080p "Low", the system achieves 139 FPS, which is likely close to the CPU's limit in this scenario. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 indicate it has adequate processing power for this title. However, the 77th percentile ranking versus all CPUs suggests it is not a top-tier performer.

The Ryzen 5 2600's performance is competitive with newer parts, as shown by its nearest rivals. It is only 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-11600KF and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F in average benchmark score. This means the CPU is not a significant bottleneck in Outriders at standard resolutions. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU at 1440p and above, as evidenced by the FPS scaling. The CPU's 12 threads are well-utilized by the game's looter shooter mechanics, which often involve numerous on-screen enemies and particle effects. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 2600 provides a stable foundation for this GPU, allowing it to perform near its potential up to 1440p "High" settings.