Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER pairing in Outriders presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, where a last-gen six-core processor meets a flagship current-gen GPU. The measured frames per second (FPS) data across resolutions and settings reveals a system that is rarely, if ever, fully GPU-bound, making the CPU's role in shaping the experience far more significant than its age might suggest. This analysis breaks down the measured rows to unpack what this specific combination means for gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is unusually gentle, a clear indicator that the CPU is a persistent limiting factor. At High settings, the average FPS only falls from 125.6 at 1920x1080 to 108 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 14%. The climb to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 77.6, which is still a substantial 38% drop from the 1080p figure, but the scaling pattern is not what one would expect from a purely GPU-bound scenario.

If the RTX 4080 SUPER were the sole bottleneck, the 4K result would typically be far lower relative to 1080p, as the GPU would be saturated with pixel work. The data suggests otherwise, with the CPU holding back performance even at 1080p. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is 49.2 FPS (158.5 vs. 109.3), while at 4K the same settings gap is 51.1 FPS (106.8 vs. 55.7). The fact that the absolute FPS difference between Low and Ultra remains nearly constant across resolutions implies that the CPU's frame production ceiling is being hit, and the GPU is simply rendering within that constraint. The RTX 4080 SUPER has immense headroom, but the Ryzen 5 3600 cannot feed it frames fast enough to make the GPU the limiting component at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark data shows a multithreaded Passmark score of 17700 and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045, placing it in the 76th percentile of all CPUs. These scores indicate a capable processor, but its nearest rivals reveal its position: it is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-11400, with a negligible deltaPct of -0.1.

In Outriders, a looter shooter that relies on consistent frame delivery for smooth combat, the CPU's 12 threads are likely being utilized, but the per-core performance is the critical factor. The single-thread Passmark score of 2562 is modest by modern standards. The data implies that the CPU cannot generate frames faster than a certain threshold, and this threshold is what caps the FPS in the lower-resolution tests. For instance, at 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 158.5. This is a high number, but it is the ceiling for this processor in this game; the GPU is capable of far more. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game logic, but the architectural limits of Zen 2 are visible in the scaling data. The processor's 65W TDP and 7nm process node are efficient, but efficiency does not translate to the raw frame generation needed to fully unlock the RTX 4080 SUPER.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows offer a clear hierarchy for an optimal experience. For a 60 FPS target at 4K, the High preset, which averages 77.6 FPS, is the only viable option that remains comfortably above the threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 55.7 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target and not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 95.2 FPS, is interesting, but it sacrifices visual fidelity for a frame rate that the High preset already achieves.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more flexible. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 93.9 FPS, which is a solid experience for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset provides 108 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 134.3 FPS. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, the Low preset is an option, but the visual hit is significant. The best balance at 1440p is the High preset, as it offers a substantial visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining an average above 100 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the CPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The Low preset averages 158.5 FPS, and the High preset averages 125.6 FPS. The Ultra preset still manages 109.3 FPS. The data suggests that for 1080p, the High preset is the sensible choice, as it provides a strong visual experience while the FPS difference between High and Low (33 FPS) is less impactful than the visual difference. The CPU's frame cap is the limiting factor, and the GPU is not being stressed. The recommendation is to prioritize the High preset at 1080p to get the best image quality without a major FPS penalty.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 755th out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 44th percentile of all pairings. This rank is surprisingly low for a GPU that sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy is a direct result of the CPU's performance. The Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 18129 is in the 76th percentile of CPUs, but its pairing with a top-tier GPU creates an imbalance.

The data shows that the combo is not performing to the level of the GPU's potential. The RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has a similar average score (53489 vs. 53610, a deltaPct of 0.2), but the overall system rank in Outriders is dragged down by the CPU. A different, more powerful CPU would likely push this combo much higher in the ranking. The 755th rank out of 1693 suggests that many other tested combinations, likely with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings, achieve higher average FPS. This makes the combo a case study in how a lower-tier CPU can negate the advantages of a flagship GPU in a specific title, resulting in a middling overall rank that belies the individual components' strengths.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER being fully utilized in this game at 1080p?

A: No. The FPS at 1080p Low is 158.5, but the scaling to 4K Low is only a drop to 106.8 FPS, indicating the CPU is limiting the frame rate before the GPU can be saturated.

Q: What is the best setting for a 4K 60 FPS experience?

A: The High preset at 3840x2160, which averages 77.6 FPS, is the only preset that safely exceeds the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 55.7 FPS, below the threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to its immediate rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has an average benchmark score of 18129, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400's score of 18150, a deltaPct of -0.1.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 134.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 93.9 FPS, a difference of 40.4 FPS.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low despite having a high-end GPU?

A: The combo ranks 755th out of 1693, and the data implies the CPU's frame generation ceiling prevents the GPU from performing at its full potential, bottlenecking the overall system performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 55.7. The GPU is working hard, but the CPU is still a factor. The data indicates the CPU's limitations are present at all resolutions, though the GPU becomes more of a constraint at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 106.8 FPS
• Medium: 95.2 FPS
• High: 77.6 FPS
• Ultra: 55.7 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 134.3 FPS
• Medium: 119.2 FPS
• High: 108 FPS
• Ultra: 93.9 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 158.5 FPS
• Medium: 141.6 FPS
• High: 125.6 FPS
• Ultra: 109.3 FPS

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a powerhouse on paper, with a boost clock of 2550 MHz, 10240 shading units, and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its Passmark G3D score is 34245, and it ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS is immense, suggesting it is more than capable of handling Outriders at any setting.

However, the measured FPS data reveals that the GPU's role is constrained. The fact that the FPS at 1080p Low (158.5) is only 48% higher than at 4K Low (106.8) points to the CPU being the primary bottleneck. The GPU is not the limiting component in most scenarios. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Outriders, and its memory bandwidth is excessive for this title. The data suggests that the GPU is essentially "waiting" for the CPU to send it draw calls. The GPU's role is to render what it is given, and it does so with high efficiency, but its vast computational resources are left underutilized, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU only becomes the primary limiting factor at the 4K Ultra preset, where the demand on its pixel and texture processing units finally exceeds the CPU's frame cap, resulting in the lowest measured average of 55.7 FPS.