Outriders

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing. Its AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process packs 76,300 million transistors across a 609 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a looter shooter like Outriders that streams environments and effects continuously.

Benchmark results show the RTX 4090 sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (delta -0.4%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (delta -0.9%), and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (delta -1.3%). The RTX 4090's closest competitor in the data, the Tesla P40, trails by only 0.5%, indicating that this GPU's raw compute is near the top of the tested field.

In Outriders specifically, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the measured FPS across settings. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low (93.1 avg FPS) and Ultra (62.1 avg FPS) is 31 FPS, a 33.3% drop. This scaling suggests the RTX 4090 is powerful enough that even at 4K, the GPU is not the primary constraint at lower settings — the CPU begins to matter more. The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate mean it can push Outriders' particle effects and post-processing without breaking a sweat.

The 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores are present but Outriders does not heavily utilize them in the measured data, which focuses on rasterized performance. The GPU's 450 W TDP and suggested 850 W PSU indicate a high-power part, but the benchmark results show it is effectively harnessed in this game. The RTX 4090's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and 176 ROPs ensure that even at 4K Ultra, the frame buffer operations remain efficient, though the 62.1 avg FPS at that setting shows the limits of pushing every visual feature simultaneously.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, built on the Zen+ architecture (Pinnacle Ridge) using a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It runs at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts to 3.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has 96 KB L1 cache per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 46.9 GB/s bandwidth.

Benchmark data places the Ryzen 5 2600 at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 19616. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-1345U (delta -0.4%), AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (delta +0.6%), Intel Core i5-11600KF (delta -0.6%), and Intel Core i7-10700F (delta +0.7%). The Ryzen 5 2600's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 indicate a capable mid-range processor, but one that is several generations behind the RTX 4090's tier.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is evident when comparing FPS across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (137.6 avg FPS) and Ultra (97.5 avg FPS) is 40.1 FPS, a 29.1% reduction. At 3840x2160, the same settings gap is 31 FPS (93.1 to 62.1), a 33.3% reduction. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 137.6 FPS while 4K Low hits 93.1 FPS shows that the Ryzen 5 2600 can feed the RTX 4090 adequately at lower resolutions, but the CPU's 16 MB shared L3 cache and PCIe Gen 3 interface (16 lanes) may create a bottleneck at higher settings where more draw calls and physics calculations are required.

The PassMark multithread score of 13160 and single-thread score of 2239 suggest the Ryzen 5 2600 has enough single-core performance for Outriders' game logic, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra (62.1 avg FPS), the CPU is likely not the limiting factor — the GPU's rendering load dominates. Conversely, at 1080p Low (137.6 avg FPS), the CPU is working near its practical limit, as the RTX 4090 could theoretically push higher frame rates if the processor could keep up.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, the Medium preset consistently offers the most balanced experience. At 3840x2160, Medium delivers 84.2 avg FPS, which is 22.1 FPS higher than Ultra (62.1) and only 8.9 FPS lower than Low (93.1). The visual quality improvement from Low to Medium is substantial in Outriders, but the performance cost is modest.

At 2560x1440, Medium produces 102.8 avg FPS, which comfortably exceeds 100 FPS for smooth gameplay. This is 15.6 FPS higher than High (95.6) and 15.6 FPS lower than Low (116.7), but the Medium preset provides a better balance of visual fidelity and responsiveness. At 1920x1080, Medium hits exactly 120 avg FPS, which is a significant milestone for high-refresh-rate monitors. This is 11.6 FPS above High (108.4) and 17.6 FPS below Low (137.6), but the Medium preset's visual enhancements are worth the frame rate trade-off.

For players with 4K displays, the data suggests that Ultra is not advisable, as 62.1 avg FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold for many gamers, and the visual leap from Medium to Ultra does not justify the 22.1 FPS loss. High at 4K (77.2 avg FPS) is a viable alternative, but Medium offers an additional 7 FPS headroom. At 1440p, High (95.6) is acceptable, but Medium (102.8) provides a safer margin above 100 FPS. At 1080p, the choice depends on monitor refresh rate: Medium (120) for 120 Hz displays, or Low (137.6) for 144 Hz panels.

The most efficient path is Medium across all resolutions, as it consistently sits within 8-15 FPS of Low while offering meaningfully better shadow quality, texture filtering, and ambient occlusion. The data indicates that the RTX 4090 is overkill for Low settings in this game, leaving performance on the table, while Ultra settings push the hardware unnecessarily hard for marginal visual gains.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 102.8, which is 15.6 FPS higher than High (95.6) and 13.9 FPS lower than Low (116.7) at the same resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473, placing it 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733) and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127) in the data.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 sufficient for 4K gaming with this GPU?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo achieves 77.2 avg FPS on High and 62.1 on Ultra, indicating the CPU is not the bottleneck at 4K; the GPU's rendering load dominates, and the processor's 12 threads handle the game's demands adequately.

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

A: The measured difference is 40.1 FPS, with Low averaging 137.6 FPS and Ultra averaging 97.5 FPS at 1920x1080.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 983rd out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle range of the database for this game.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1080p?

A: Low settings at 137.6 avg FPS is the only preset that exceeds 144 Hz, while Medium at 120 avg FPS is suitable for 120 Hz displays. Ultra at 97.5 avg FPS is not recommended for high-refresh-rate gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 983rd out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 58th percentile of all tested systems. This rank is notable because the GPU alone sits at the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs. The discrepancy between these percentiles and the combo's rank suggests that the pairing is not optimal — the RTX 4090's immense power is partially held back by the Ryzen 5 2600's older architecture.

The rank of 983 indicates that there are 710 tested combos that perform worse in Outriders, but also 982 that perform better. This places the combo in the middle of the pack, which is surprising given the GPU's top-tier status. The data implies that other combos with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings achieve better frame rates in this game, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1579) becomes a limiting factor.

At 1080p, the combo's 137.6 avg FPS on Low and 97.5 on Ultra show that the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized, as the CPU's Zen architecture (first-generation) cannot feed frames fast enough. At 4K, the combo's 93.1 avg FPS on Low and 62.1 on Ultra demonstrate that the GPU is more fully engaged, but the rank still reflects the overall performance across all tested configurations. The combo's position in the database suggests that players with high-refresh-rate monitors should consider a newer CPU to better complement the RTX 4090's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 93.1 avg FPS
• Medium: 84.2 avg FPS
• High: 77.2 avg FPS
• Ultra: 62.1 avg FPS

The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline of 8.9 FPS (Low to Medium), 7.0 FPS (Medium to High), and 15.1 FPS (High to Ultra). The largest single-step drop occurs between High and Ultra, indicating that Ultra settings introduce a disproportionately heavy rendering load.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 116.7 avg FPS
• Medium: 102.8 avg FPS
• High: 95.6 avg FPS
• Ultra: 87.2 avg FPS

At 1440p, the step from Medium to High (7.2 FPS loss) is smaller than the step from Low to Medium (13.9 FPS loss), but the step from High to Ultra (8.4 FPS loss) is moderate. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 29.5 FPS, a 25.3% reduction.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 137.6 avg FPS
• Medium: 120 avg FPS
• High: 108.4 avg FPS
• Ultra: 97.5 avg FPS

At 1080p, the differences are more pronounced: Low to Medium is 17.6 FPS, Medium to High is 11.6 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10.9 FPS. The total spread is 40.1 FPS, a 29.1% reduction from Low to Ultra.

Resolution scaling observations: At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 20.9 FPS (137.6 to 116.7), and from 1440p to 4K costs 23.6 FPS (116.7 to 93.1). At Ultra settings, the same transitions cost 10.3 FPS (97.5 to 87.2) and 25.1 FPS (87.2 to 62.1) respectively. This data shows that the RTX 4090 scales more efficiently at lower settings across resolutions, while Ultra settings amplify the performance penalty at higher pixel counts.