Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D in Outriders presents a study in extreme component asymmetry. The data shows a combination where a top-tier modern GPU is anchored by a 2018-era six-core processor, with the measured frame rates revealing exactly where the bottleneck lies. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows to determine the optimal settings, the role each component plays, and how this specific pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual fidelity for this specific CPU-GPU combination. While the Low preset delivers the highest raw frame rates, the jump from Low to Medium is relatively modest in percentage terms, whereas the jump from Medium to High costs a significant number of frames.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 123 FPS. This is only 15 FPS lower than the Low preset's 138 FPS, but it provides a substantial improvement in graphical detail. In contrast, the High preset drops to 110 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 98 FPS. The 1080p Medium result also shows a minimum FPS of 104, indicating a playable experience even during demanding scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern holds. Medium delivers 105 FPS on average, which is a 13 FPS reduction from Low (118 FPS) but a 10 FPS improvement over High (95 FPS). The 1440p Medium minimum of 89 FPS remains well within the range of smooth gameplay for most displays.

The argument for Medium is strongest at 3840x2160. Here, the Medium preset averages 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 80 FPS while offering more than the bare minimum visual settings. The Low preset at 4K averages 95 FPS, but the visual sacrifice is significant. The High preset drops to 76 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS, both of which are less ideal for a high-refresh-rate 4K experience.

The data suggests that the CPU limitation becomes more pronounced at lower resolutions, compressing the frame rate differences between presets. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 40 FPS. At 4K, that same gap narrows to 27 FPS. This indicates that as the GPU workload increases at higher resolutions, the CPU has more time to feed it, making the GPU the more dominant factor. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot where the CPU can still push enough frames to keep the RTX 5090 D adequately fed without the GPU being forced to render at Low quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a massive GPU, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its core configuration includes 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44,065 in Passmark G3D and 14,326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs.

In Outriders, the GPU's role is heavily dependent on the resolution. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is often waiting on the CPU. The RTX 5090 D is capable of far higher frame rates than the 138 FPS seen at Low settings, but the CPU cannot deliver the draw calls fast enough. The GPU's immense power is underutilized at this resolution.

The situation changes at 4K. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields 68 FPS, while the Low preset yields 95 FPS. This 27 FPS difference demonstrates that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM is far more than any current game requires, so capacity is not a limiting factor here. Instead, its raw compute power, reflected in its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate, is what determines the frame rate at higher resolutions. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales as expected with resolution when the CPU is not the constraint, confirming that the GPU is a high-end part that is being held back at lower settings by the older processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use with this CPU-GPU combo for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides an average of 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS, making it the most balanced option. The High preset drops to 95 FPS average, while Low offers 118 FPS average but with reduced visual quality.

*Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's large VRAM pool (32 GB) help in Outriders?*

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related performance issue. The frame rates are consistent with the GPU's compute capabilities. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is unlikely to be a limiting factor, as the performance differences between presets are more likely tied to shader complexity and render resolution.

Q: Why is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra smaller at 4K than at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 40 FPS (138 vs 98). At 3840x2160, the difference is 27 FPS (95 vs 68). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is a more significant bottleneck, limiting the GPU's ability to show a larger performance spread. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the workload increase from Low to Ultra has a more proportional impact on frame rate.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 holding back the RTX 5090 D?

A: Yes, the benchmark results strongly indicate a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low preset achieves 138 FPS, but this is likely near the CPU's limit. The GPU could likely render more frames, but the processor cannot keep up. This is less of an issue at 4K, where the GPU's workload is much higher.

Q: What is the minimum FPS I can expect at 4K Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 72 at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with an average of 85 FPS. This indicates that the game will rarely drop below 72 FPS, which is a smooth experience for most users.

*Q: How does this combo compare to other tested combos in Outriders?*

A: This specific configuration ranks 1561 out of 2913 tested combos. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is surprising given the high-end GPU. The ranking is likely brought down by the older CPU, which limits performance in CPU-bound scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across all three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high. The Low preset leads with an average of 138 FPS. Medium follows with 123 FPS, showing a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS. High drops to 110 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 98 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 40 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low averages 118 FPS. Medium averages 105 FPS, with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS. High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 84 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34 FPS. The 1440p results are, on average, about 15-16% lower than the 1080p results for each preset.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop more substantially. Low averages 95 FPS. Medium averages 85 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. High averages 76 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 27 FPS. The 4K results are significantly lower than the 1440p results, with the Low preset dropping by 23 FPS, Medium by 20 FPS, High by 19 FPS, and Ultra by 16 FPS. This shows that the GPU's workload scales heavily with resolution.

The data shows a consistent step-down in performance as settings increase. The largest single-precision drop occurs between Low and Medium at 1080p (15 FPS), while the smallest is between Medium and High at 4K (9 FPS). This indicates that the cost of moving from Low to Medium is relatively consistent, but the cost of moving from High to Ultra becomes more expensive at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 1561 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. This percentile placement is notably low for a system containing an RTX 5090 D, which is one of the most powerful GPUs available.

The ranking suggests that the Ryzen 5 2600 is a severe hindrance to overall system performance in this game. While the GPU is capable of producing high frame rates, the CPU's inability to keep up with the GPU's demands at lower resolutions means the system cannot achieve the top-tier performance that the GPU alone suggests.

The data shows that the combo performs better at higher resolutions. At 4K, where the GPU is more likely to be the bottleneck, the system is less constrained. However, even at 4K, the frame rates are not exceptional for an RTX 5090 D, as the Ultra preset only manages 68 FPS. This indicates that the CPU is still having some impact, or that the game's engine is not optimized for such a high-end GPU. The 1561st place ranking out of 2913 combos places this system in the 46th percentile, meaning over half of the tested combinations perform better. This is a clear indication that the CPU is the limiting factor, preventing this system from being a top performer in Outriders.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen+ architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its L3 cache is 16 MB shared, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 1,248 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 5,648 in Geekbench multi-core, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is to process game logic, physics, and draw calls. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 2600 is a significant bottleneck at 1080p. The maximum average FPS across all settings at 1080p is 138 FPS on Low. This is a relatively low ceiling for a game like Outriders, indicating that the CPU is hitting its limits. The fact that the 1080p Low preset does not achieve a higher frame rate suggests that the CPU is maxed out, and the GPU is waiting for instructions.

The CPU's impact is lessened at 4K. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are much lower, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K is 27 FPS, which is larger than the difference at 1080p. This indicates that the CPU can handle the workload at 4K, but the GPU cannot render the frames fast enough.

The Ryzen 5 2600's performance is below that of its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmark data. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V and 0.5% behind the Intel Core i9-11900H. This places it in a competitive position for its era, but its 2018 release date means it is outclassed by modern CPUs. In a game like Outriders, which is not heavily multi-threaded, the single-thread performance and IPC of the Zen+ architecture are limiting factors. The 3.90 GHz boost clock is not enough to feed the RTX 5090 D at high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals the shift in bottleneck from CPU to GPU. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops by approximately 15-16% across all settings. This is a relatively small drop, suggesting that the system is still somewhat CPU-limited at 1440p. The GPU is being pushed harder, but the CPU is still able to keep up with the increased demand.

From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the FPS drops are much more significant. The Low preset drops from 118 to 95 FPS, a 19.5% decrease. The Medium preset drops from 105 to 85 FPS, a 19% decrease. The High preset drops from 95 to 76 FPS, a 20% decrease. The Ultra preset drops from 84 to 68 FPS, a 19% decrease. This uniform ~19-20% drop indicates that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck at 4K. The GPU's workload scales with the number of pixels, and at 4K, it is fully saturated.

The data shows that the system is CPU-limited at 1080p, partially CPU-limited at 1440p, and GPU-limited at 4K. This is a classic sign of an imbalanced system. The RTX 5090 D is powerful enough to render Outriders at 4K with high frame rates, but the Ryzen 5 2600 cannot provide the necessary data to keep the GPU busy at lower resolutions. The result is a system that performs "okay" at 1080p but fails to leverage the GPU's full potential. The 4K performance, while lower in absolute FPS, is actually more representative of the GPU's true capability, showing a more linear scaling between settings. This analysis confirms that the CPU is the primary limiting factor for this combination in Outriders.