Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a distinctive performance profile in Outriders. The data shows a combination where the GPU’s immense capabilities are consistently tempered by the CPU’s mid-range throughput, resulting in frame rates that are high in absolute terms but reveal clear bottlenecks at lower resolutions. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data to explain how the system scales across resolutions and settings, where its limits lie, and how it ranks among 2,913 tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across the three resolutions tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling sits. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 151 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 130 FPS, a 13.9% reduction. Stepping up to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 94 FPS, which is a 27.7% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is unusual for a GPU as powerful as the RTX 5090 D; typically, such a GPU would show a much steeper decline from 1080p to 4K if it were the primary limiting factor.

The fact that the drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 21 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 36 FPS, suggests that the CPU is constraining performance at the lower resolutions. At 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5500’s six cores and 12 threads are likely maxed out, preventing the GPU from stretching its legs. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, is capable of far more than 151 FPS in this title. As resolution increases, the GPU workload grows, which alleviates the CPU bottleneck somewhat, but the 4K result of 94 FPS still indicates that the CPU is holding the system back from the GPU’s true potential.

Looking at the Low preset, the bottleneck becomes even more apparent. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 189 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 162 FPS, and at 4K Low it manages 131 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is just a 14.3% reduction, which is far less than the pixel count increase of 77%. This is a classic sign of a CPU limit at 1080p. The GPU is not being fully utilized because the CPU cannot feed it enough frames. The 4K Low result of 131 FPS is particularly telling — it is higher than the 4K High result of 94 FPS, showing that lowering graphical load helps, but the gap between the two presets at 4K (37 FPS) is smaller than at 1080p (38 FPS), indicating the CPU is a constant factor.

The frame rate variance also increases with resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a range from 143 to 193 FPS, a 50 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 122 to 166 FPS, a 44 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 99 to 133 FPS, a 34 FPS spread. This tightening of the variance at higher resolutions suggests that as the GPU becomes more loaded, the frame pacing becomes more consistent because the CPU bottleneck is less pronounced. The data indicates that the limiting component in this combo is the CPU, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is left waiting for instructions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. The High preset is the sweet spot for this combination. At 1080p High, the system produces 151 FPS, which is smooth for fast-paced action. At 1440p High, it delivers 130 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. Even at 4K High, the 94 FPS average is playable and does not dip below the minimums that would cause stutter, based on the available data.

The Ultra preset shows a significant performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 134 FPS, a 11.3% reduction from High. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 115 FPS, an 11.5% drop. At 4K Ultra, it plummets to 68 FPS, a 27.7% reduction compared to High. This last figure is critical: 68 FPS at 4K Ultra is borderline for a smooth experience, and the lack of a minimum FPS value for that row means we cannot verify frame stability. The jump from High to Ultra does not justify the performance loss, especially at 4K where the game becomes noticeably less fluid.

The Medium preset offers a middle ground but is not necessary given the High preset’s strong numbers. At 1080p Medium, the average is 168 FPS, which is only 17 FPS higher than High. At 1440p Medium, it is 144 FPS, 14 FPS higher than High. At 4K Medium, it is 116 FPS, 22 FPS higher than High. While Medium does provide a measurable boost, the High preset already delivers such high frame rates that the extra performance is unlikely to be perceptible on most displays, which typically cap at 144 Hz or 165 Hz. The data suggests that High is the recommended preset for balancing visual fidelity with performance, as it keeps the average FPS above 90 at all resolutions, while Ultra pushes 4K below the 70 FPS mark. The Low preset, while hitting 189 FPS at 1080p, sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain over High.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 130, with no minimum or maximum values provided for this specific configuration.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 189 FPS, while Ultra averages 134 FPS, making Low approximately 41% faster in this scenario.

Q: Does the combo maintain above 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 68, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, but the margin is slim and no minimum FPS data is available to confirm stability.

Q: What is the frame rate range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The measured minimum is 122 FPS, the maximum is 166 FPS, and the average is 144 FPS.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest relative drop from High to Ultra?

A: At 1440p, the drop from High (130 FPS) to Ultra (115 FPS) is 11.5%, while at 1080p it is 11.3% and at 4K it is 27.7%. The 1080p drop is technically the smallest, but 1440p is nearly identical.

Q: Is the 4K High preset playable according to the data?

A: Yes, the 4K High preset averages 94 FPS, which is well above standard playability thresholds, and the lack of a minimum FPS value does not suggest any severe dips.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination shows a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average at 189 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 168 FPS, with a minimum of 143 FPS and a maximum of 193 FPS. High settings produce 151 FPS, and Ultra drops to 134 FPS. The spread between the fastest and slowest presets at this resolution is 55 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary limiter since the GPU can handle any preset without significant effort.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still leads with 162 FPS. Medium follows at 144 FPS, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS. High settings yield 130 FPS, and Ultra falls to 115 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 47 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to take on more work. The Medium preset’s variance at this resolution is 44 FPS, which is tighter than at 1080p, pointing to more consistent frame delivery as the CPU bottleneck eases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset again leads with 131 FPS. Medium follows at 116 FPS, with a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 133 FPS. High settings produce 94 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS, the largest spread of any resolution, which confirms that the GPU is now the more significant factor. However, the 4K Medium variance of 34 FPS is the smallest of all Medium presets, indicating that at this resolution, the system is more balanced. The 4K Ultra result of 68 FPS is the lowest average recorded, and it highlights the steep cost of maxing out settings on this CPU-limited combo. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides a measurable improvement over High, but High remains the most balanced option given its strong averages.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a flagship-class GPU with specifications that are far beyond what Outriders requires. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it has 21,760 shading units alongside 680 texture mapping units and 176 render output units. The GPU’s FP32 compute is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s. These numbers place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712.

In the context of Outriders, the GPU’s role is largely underutilized due to the CPU constraint. The measured FPS at 1080p High (151 FPS) is far below what the GPU could theoretically produce. The GPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, deltaPct 1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, deltaPct -1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (79,396 and 79,605, deltaPct -2.1% and -2.4%). These deltas are small, but the RTX 5090 D’s raw power is not the deciding factor in this game.

The 32 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for any settings at 4K, and the memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is never a bottleneck. The GPU’s clock speeds are high, but they do not translate into proportionate FPS gains in this title because the CPU cannot keep up. The data shows that the GPU’s performance headroom is significant — even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is most stressed, the average FPS of 68 is likely limited by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls rather than the GPU’s rendering capacity. The RTX 5090 D’s benchmark percentile of 92% is not reflected in Outriders’ results, where the combo ranks much lower relative to other systems, underscoring that the GPU is not the limiting component in this pairing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a six-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, and it has a 16 MB L3 cache. The CPU’s TDP is 65 W, and it supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 16,429 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,319 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 19,593, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs.

The nearest rivals to the Ryzen 5 5500 include the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (avgScore 19,617, deltaPct -0.1%), the Intel Core i5-12500 (avgScore 19,668, deltaPct -0.4%), the Intel Core i7-10700F (avgScore 19,499, deltaPct 0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-11600KF (avgScore 19,723, deltaPct -0.7%). These deltas are within 1% of each other, showing that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a mid-range performer relative to its peers.

In Outriders, the CPU’s influence is dominant. At 1080p Low, the system hits 189 FPS, but at 4K Low, it still manages 131 FPS. This 30.7% reduction is less than the 4x pixel increase, which is a direct result of the CPU limiting the frame rate at lower resolutions. The six cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s multi-threaded workload, but the single-thread performance, evidenced by the 2,319 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is not high enough to fully feed the RTX 5090 D. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.20 GHz is moderate, and its L3 cache is smaller than some rivals, which can impact game performance. The data indicates that the CPU is the bottleneck in this combo, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains from lowering settings at 1080p and 1440p. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking does not align with the GPU’s 92nd percentile, creating a mismatch that limits overall system performance in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 592nd out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 20.3% of all systems. This rank is surprisingly low given the GPU’s capabilities, and it directly reflects the CPU bottleneck identified in the resolution scaling analysis. The combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but it does not compete with top-tier pairings that pair the RTX 5090 D with high-end CPUs like the Ryzen 7 or Core i7 series.

The rank of 592 suggests that many systems with weaker GPUs but stronger CPUs achieve better performance in this game. For example, a system with a mid-range GPU and a high-core-count CPU could produce higher average FPS at 1080p because the CPU would not be as restrictive. The data shows that this combo’s performance is heavily skewed by the CPU’s limitations. At 4K Ultra, where the GPU is most utilized, the combo still only manages 68 FPS, which is likely near the bottom of the performance curve for systems featuring the RTX 5090 D.

The combo’s rank is also affected by the game’s optimization. Outriders is a looter shooter that relies on consistent frame delivery, and the CPU’s 12 threads are adequate but not exceptional. The 592nd rank out of 2,913 means that roughly 2,321 other combos perform worse, but it also means that 591 combos perform better. Given the GPU’s top-tier status, this rank is a clear indication that the CPU is holding the system back. The data points to a significant imbalance: the GPU is capable of far higher frame rates, but the CPU prevents it from reaching its potential. For users of this combo, the practical takeaway is that the system is more than capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the CPU limit becomes a tangible barrier to a buttery-smooth experience.