Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a wide performance arc in Outriders, scaling from highly playable frame rates at 1080p to a challenging experience at 4K. The measured data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases, a typical trajectory for a mid-range pairing in a visually demanding looter shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, decisively indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 188.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 127.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 61.2 FPS. Pushing to 3840x2160 at Low yields 69.6 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average drops from 81.2 FPS at 1080p to 50.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a demanding 27.3 FPS at 4K. The scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5500 has ample headroom to feed the GPU, but as pixel count increases, the RTX 2060 SUPER's processing capacity is saturated.

The transition from Medium to High at each resolution shows a modest performance cost, while the jump from High to Ultra is disproportionately expensive. For instance, at 2560x1440, Medium delivers 95.3 FPS, High drops to 73.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 50.9 FPS. At 4K, the gap between Medium (49.7 FPS) and High (37.3 FPS) is 12.4 FPS, but the gap between High and Ultra (27.3 FPS) is only 10 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth, making it unsuitable for smooth play at higher resolutions.

The data reveals that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any tested configuration. The Ryzen 5 5500's 6 cores and 12 threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture, provide sufficient computational power to maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is outputting 188.7 FPS at 1080p Low. The performance degradation observed is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's workload, as evidenced by the consistent and significant frame rate drops when resolution increases. The RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, begins to show its limits beyond 1080p, particularly when memory-intensive settings like Ultra are enabled.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Outriders, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER holds a rank of 1262 out of 1693 total combos. This places it in the lower-mid portion of the performance spectrum, indicating that a substantial number of other CPU-GPU pairings are capable of higher frame rates in this specific title. The rank suggests that while this combo is functional, it is not optimized for pushing the highest visual fidelity at high resolutions.

The GPU's performance percentile against all tested GPUs is 63, which places it above the median but not in the upper echelon. This is corroborated by its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, where the RTX 2060 SUPER's average score of 19774 is closely matched by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, which has an average score of 19680 and a deltaPct of 0.5. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER performs within a few percentage points of the RTX 2070 in synthetic benchmarks, suggesting that the performance gap in Outriders would be minimal. The CPU's percentile is higher, at 79 against all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897 with a deltaPct of -0.1. This confirms that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a capable processor that is unlikely to hold back the GPU in most gaming scenarios.

The combination's rank of 1262 out of 1693 means that roughly 75% of tested combos perform better in Outriders. This is not a surprising result given the GPU's mid-range status. The RTX 2060 SUPER is an end-of-life product, and its successor, the GeForce 30 series, offers significant improvements. In the context of Outriders, this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, but it will struggle to maintain playable performance at 4K with high or ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this combination is achieved at 1920x1080 with High settings, which yields an average of 110.8 FPS. This provides a smooth and responsive experience well above the 60 FPS threshold, while still maintaining a high level of visual quality. For users with a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the most balanced choice, delivering 95.3 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while keeping frame rates in a very playable range. Pushing to High at 1440p drops the average to 73.2 FPS, which is still acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The only settings preset that achieves a playable average frame rate is Low, which produces 69.6 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 49.7 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the ideal smoothness threshold. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they produce averages of 37.3 FPS and 27.3 FPS respectively, which are too low for a fast-paced looter shooter. The Ultra preset, in particular, should be avoided at all resolutions above 1080p, as it incurs a significant performance penalty for marginal visual gains. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 81.2 FPS, which is playable, but High offers a better balance of performance and fidelity, with a 29.6 FPS advantage over Ultra.

The data suggests that the "High" preset is the sweet spot for this hardware, offering a substantial improvement over Medium in visual quality without the severe performance hit of Ultra. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset provides a massive performance boost, nearly doubling the frame rate at 4K compared to High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER demonstrates its strength. The Low preset produces an average of 188.7 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor. The Medium preset yields 148.2 FPS, while High drops to 110.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p brings the average down to 81.2 FPS, which is still smooth but shows the cost of maximum settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a total performance loss of 107.5 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of graphical settings on the GPU's workload.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 127.5 FPS, which is a 61.2 FPS reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 95.3 FPS, and High averages 73.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 50.9 FPS, which is the first preset to dip below the 60 FPS mark. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 76.6 FPS, showing that the GPU is becoming more stressed as the pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 SUPER is clearly overburdened. The Low preset is the only one to remain above 60 FPS, with an average of 69.6 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 49.7 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay. High averages 37.3 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 27.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a total performance loss of 42.3 FPS, which is less severe in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, but the starting point is so low that all presets except Low are compromised. The data clearly shows that this combination is not suited for 4K gaming unless the user is willing to accept low settings and moderate frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive factor in this combination's performance in Outriders. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data shows it becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1470 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz, are modest by modern standards, and the measured frame rates reflect this. The high pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with demanding settings.

The 12 nm process node and the TU106 chip, while capable, are from a previous generation. The GPU's performance percentile of 63 against all GPUs indicates it is a solid mid-range part, but its end-of-life production status suggests it is not competitive with newer offerings. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a key constraint at 4K, as the data shows a significant drop in frame rates when resolution increases. The 256-bit memory bus provides adequate bandwidth for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the demand for texture data and geometry exceeds what the memory subsystem can deliver, resulting in the low frame rates observed.

The GPU's role is further highlighted by the CPU's performance. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory support, provides more than enough processing power. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, and its nearest rivals in the database, such as the Intel Core i5-12500, have nearly identical average scores. This confirms that the bottleneck lies entirely with the GPU. The RTX 2060 SUPER's compute capabilities, with 2176 shading units and 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, are well-suited for 1080p gaming, but the data shows they are insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at 4K with high or ultra settings. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern titles, but its raw performance is the primary limiting factor in Outriders.