Outriders

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) using TSMC's 7 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts up to 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has 16 MB of L3 cache, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 64 KB of L1 per core. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and connects via PCIe Gen 3.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5500 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16,429 and a single-core score of 2,319. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 7,976 with a single-core score of 1,730. The processor's average benchmark score across all tests is 19,593, placing it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. This puts it close to several rivals: the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19,617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19,668 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19,499 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19,723 (0.7% higher). The Ryzen 5 5500 sits essentially at parity with these parts, meaning any performance differences in Outriders will be more attributable to GPU or settings than CPU choice.

For Outriders, a looter shooter that relies on rapid enemy spawns, physics interactions, and ability-driven combat, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient to feed a mid-range GPU. The game is not heavily threaded in a way that would stress 12 threads, but the 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost provide adequate single-thread performance for game logic. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,386 and max-thread score of 5,411 indicate that scaling beyond 8 threads (score 4,593) is minimal, which is typical for games that primarily use 4–8 threads. The single-thread 3DMark score of 836 and 2-thread score of 1,645 show that the CPU's per-core strength is modest but consistent with its class.

In Outriders specifically, the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combination hits 189 FPS average, which is well above any display refresh rate concerns. At 1080p High, it drops to 119 FPS, still very playable. These numbers suggest that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the frame rates scale dramatically with GPU load. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 19,330 and single-thread score of 3,058 reinforce that it can handle the game's demands without becoming a limiting factor in most scenarios.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture (chip GB207) using TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 2,560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units, along with 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2,317 MHz and boosts to 2,572 MHz, with memory clocked at 2,500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 82.30 GPixel/s, texture rate is 205.8 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 13.17 TFLOPS. The card has a 130 W TDP and requires a single 8-pin power connector, with a suggested 300 W power supply.

In synthetic tests, the RTX 5050 scores 25,02 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 90,334 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 89,381 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its PassMark G3D score is 17,326 with a GPU compute score of 9,184. The average benchmark score is 21,035, placing it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (score 21,153, 0.6% higher), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (score 21,237, 1% higher), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (score 20,713, 1.6% lower), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (score 21,379, 1.6% higher). These deltas are small, indicating the RTX 5050 performs in a tight band around these parts.

For Outriders, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth are relevant because the game's textures and effects can be demanding. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 86, which is respectable but not stellar for a modern GPU. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 28 FPS. These numbers indicate that the RTX 5050 is a 1080p-focused card for this game, with 1440p playable only at lower settings. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS is modest, which aligns with the observed performance scaling.

The ray tracing cores and tensor cores are present, but Outriders does not heavily utilize ray tracing, so their impact on measured FPS is minimal. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but at 4K Ultra, memory pressure could contribute to the low 28 FPS average. The bandwidth of 320 GB/s is sufficient for the game's asset streaming at lower resolutions but becomes a limiting factor as resolution increases.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern for this combination. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 189, which drops to 137 at 1440p Low (a 27.5% decrease) and further to 72 at 4K Low (a 47.4% decrease from 1440p). This steep decline with resolution indicates that the RTX 5050 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU can maintain high frame rates at 1080p.

At Medium settings, the pattern continues: 158 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p (a 36.7% drop), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to plateau at lower resolutions rather than scale so dramatically.

High settings show a similar trend: 119 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 39 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The 4K High result of 39 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this resolution is not viable for this setting. At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 86 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p (a 37.2% drop), and 28 FPS at 4K (a 48.1% drop from 1440p).

The data shows that the RTX 5050's performance scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU that is fully utilized. The CPU's role becomes less significant as resolution increases, because the GPU takes longer to render each frame, reducing the demand on the CPU to feed it. At 1080p Low, the 189 FPS average suggests the CPU can still deliver high frame rates, but the GPU is already working at its limit even at this resolution. The 4K results, ranging from 28 to 72 FPS depending on settings, confirm that this combination is not suited for 4K gaming in Outriders unless the user is willing to accept Low settings.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combination in Outriders?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra averages 86 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 54 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 28 FPS. For consistent 60+ FPS gameplay, 1080p is the recommended resolution.

Q: Can this setup handle 1440p gaming in Outriders?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 137, and at Medium it is 100. However, at High it drops to 75 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for many players. The data suggests 1440p Medium is the highest setting that maintains smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21,035. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which scores 20,713 (1.6% lower). The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21,153 (0.6% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21,379 (1.6% higher). These differences are within a few percentage points, indicating similar performance levels.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 5050 in Outriders?

A: The data suggests it is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 189 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The CPU's average benchmark score of 19,593 places it in the 73rd percentile, and its nearest rivals (Intel Core i5-12500 and AMD Ryzen AI 5 430) show deltaPct values under 0.5%, meaning the CPU is competitive.

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

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 189, while at Ultra it is 86. This represents a 103 FPS difference, or a 54.5% reduction in frame rate when going from Low to Ultra. The Medium setting averages 158 FPS, and High averages 119 FPS, showing a steady decline as settings increase.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5050 have, and is it enough for Outriders?

A: The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320 GB/s bandwidth. Based on the measured FPS data, this is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but 4K Ultra only achieves 28 FPS, which suggests memory bandwidth or capacity may be a limiting factor at that resolution.

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

The measured FPS data for Outriders with the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Here is the full breakdown:

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Low preset delivers an average of 189 FPS. The Medium preset averages 158 FPS, with a minimum of 135 FPS and a maximum of 182 FPS. The High preset averages 119 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 86 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are provided for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the Low preset averages 137 FPS. The Medium preset averages 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. The High preset averages 75 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 54 FPS. As with 1080p, only Medium includes min/max data.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the Low preset averages 72 FPS. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. Again, only Medium has min/max values.

This data shows a clear hierarchy: for each resolution, Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (189 FPS) and Ultra (86 FPS) is 103 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 83 FPS (137 versus 54). At 4K, the difference is 44 FPS (72 versus 28). The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 54.5% at 1080p, 60.6% at 1440p, and 61.1% at 4K.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 135 to 182 FPS, which is a 47 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 85 to 115 FPS, a 30 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 44 to 60 FPS, a 16 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time variance.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and the user's frame rate goals. For 1080p, all settings presets are playable, but the High preset at 119 FPS average offers a strong balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 86 FPS is still above 60 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra is 33 FPS, which may not justify the visual gains for some users. The Medium preset at 158 FPS is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, but the Low preset at 189 FPS is only 31 FPS faster, making Medium the better choice for quality-conscious players.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 100 FPS average is the sweet spot. It provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining decent visual fidelity. The High preset at 75 FPS is also playable, but the 25 FPS drop from Medium to High is significant. The Low preset at 137 FPS is very fast but sacrifices visual quality, and the Ultra preset at 54 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. For users with 144Hz displays, the Low preset at 137 FPS is the only option that approaches that refresh rate, but for standard 60Hz displays, Medium is the best choice.

For 4K, the Low preset at 72 FPS is the only setting that achieves playable frame rates above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is borderline, but the 44 FPS minimum suggests it may dip below 45 FPS in demanding scenes. The High preset at 39 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are not recommended for serious gameplay. If 4K is the target, Low settings are the only viable option, and even then, the experience may not be consistent. Alternatively, users should consider dropping to 1440p for a better balance.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1080p with High settings for the best combination of visual quality and performance, or 1440p with Medium settings for a higher resolution experience. The data indicates that this hardware combination is not suited for 4K gaming in Outriders beyond Low settings, and even that requires accepting significant compromises in visual fidelity. For users who value frame rate over resolution, 1080p Low at 189 FPS or Medium at 158 FPS provides the smoothest experience, while those who prefer higher resolution should stick to 1440p Medium to maintain 100 FPS average.