Outriders

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor based on the Zen 4 (Phoenix) architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 4.20 GHz and boosts up to 4.70 GHz, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core. This CPU sits in the 82nd percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 25,064. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, scores essentially identically at 25,057, a delta of 0%. The Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 is just 0.1% ahead, and the Ryzen 5 7500F trails by 0.3% with a score of 24,993.

The measured frame rates in Outriders reveal that this CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 204.5 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that indicates the processor can feed the GPU well beyond typical display refresh rates. The single-thread performance is solid, as shown by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,943, and multi-thread scaling is efficient, with the R23 multi-core score of 20,851 being roughly 7 times the single-core figure. This scaling suggests that the 6-core/12-thread configuration handles the game's thread scheduling effectively, even in demanding combat scenes where many entities are active.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 is adequate for feeding the GPU with draw calls and geometry data. In this title, which is a looter shooter with dense particle effects and numerous enemies, the CPU's ability to maintain high minimum frame rates is more important than raw peak throughput. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate is more than double the 4K Ultra result, which indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings, not the CPU.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU built on TSMC's 12 nm process, featuring 2,176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and it has 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads. The card comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is 7.181 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

This GPU sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 19,774. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, scores 19,706, a delta of 0.3% in favor of the RTX 2060 SUPER. The RTX 2070 is just 0.5% behind at 19,680, and the Quadro K5200 trails by 0.8% with a score of 19,623. These narrow margins indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER is positioned at a very competitive performance tier, but the Outriders results show it is the bottleneck at higher settings.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in Outriders. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages only 30.1 FPS, which is likely due to both raw compute limits and memory bandwidth saturation. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantial for a card of this class, but at 4K with Ultra textures, the memory subsystem is under heavy strain. The measured FPS at 4K High (39.5) versus 4K Medium (46.9) shows a stepwise degradation as settings increase, consistent with a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth or capacity. The card's 14 Gbps effective memory speed is respectable, but the data suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is more comfortable at 1440p and below.

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

The resolution scaling pattern in Outriders clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting component. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 110.6 to 71.7, a reduction of 35.2%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the FPS falls further from 71.7 to 39.5, a drop of 44.9%. This accelerating decline with increasing resolution is a classic signature of GPU-bound performance, where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant constraints.

The Low settings results provide a useful contrast. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 204.5 FPS, which is very high and indicates that the CPU can sustain a high frame rate ceiling. At 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 128.6, and at 4K Low, it falls to 65.6. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings shows a 49.0% reduction (128.6 to 65.6), which is less severe than the High settings drop of 44.9% from 1440p to 4K. This suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the relative workload increase from resolution scaling is more manageable when texture and shading complexity are reduced.

The Medium settings results follow a similar pattern: 146.9 FPS at 1080p, 92.8 at 1440p, and 46.9 at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 36.8%, and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 49.5%. These figures indicate that the GPU's compute and memory resources scale almost linearly with pixel count, with no evidence of a CPU limitation emerging even at lower resolutions. The CPU's role is to maintain a high enough frame rate ceiling, which it does, as evidenced by the 204.5 FPS at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1,230 out of 1,693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the bottom 27% of all combinations, which is a significant finding given that both components individually sit above the 60th percentile in their respective benchmark pools. The discrepancy between component-level percentiles (82nd for CPU, 63rd for GPU) and the combo's low game-specific rank suggests that Outriders is particularly demanding on the GPU, and this pairing is held back by the RTX 2060 SUPER's performance in this title.

The rank of 1,230 out of 1,693 means that 463 combos perform worse, while 1,230 perform better in this specific game. This is a below-average showing, and the measured FPS data confirms that the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, with only the Low preset exceeding 60 FPS at that resolution. At 1440p, the Ultra preset falls to 48.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve 83.5 FPS at Ultra and 110.6 FPS at High.

The combo's rank relative to other tested combinations highlights that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU is the limiting factor. The nearest CPU rival, the Ryzen 7 2700X, performs at parity in synthetic benchmarks, and the nearest GPU rival, the GTX TITAN, is also at parity. This suggests that swapping either component for a close rival would yield similar results in Outriders, but upgrading the GPU to a higher tier would provide a more substantial improvement.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 204.5 FPS, which is more than triple the 4K Ultra result. Medium settings yield 146.9 FPS, High settings produce 110.6 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 83.5 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 59.2% reduction in FPS, which is significant but still leaves the combo in a playable range at all presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases noticeably. Low settings average 128.6 FPS, Medium settings achieve 92.8 FPS, High settings produce 71.7 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 48.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first setting where the average FPS falls below 60, indicating that this resolution requires a compromise on quality settings. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 32.6% (71.7 to 48.3), which is a steep penalty for the additional visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher quality settings. Low settings average 65.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but Medium settings drop to 46.9 FPS, High settings fall to 39.5 FPS, and Ultra settings plummet to 30.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 54.1% reduction, and even the Medium preset is below 60 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, the frame rate is marginal.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset at 110.6 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, as it is well above the 60 FPS threshold and only 26.4% below the Medium preset's 146.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 83.5 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but it comes with a 24.5% performance penalty compared to High.

At 1440p, the High preset at 71.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS while delivering good visual quality. The Medium preset at 92.8 FPS is also acceptable, but it requires a reduction in visual settings. The Ultra preset at 48.3 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may exhibit noticeable stuttering in fast-paced combat.

At 4K, the Low preset at 65.6 FPS is the only option that stays above 60 FPS, but it comes with significant visual compromises. The Medium preset at 46.9 FPS is playable but not ideal, and the High and Ultra presets at 39.5 FPS and 30.1 FPS respectively are not recommended for action-heavy gameplay. For the best overall experience, the data suggests targeting 1080p High or 1440p High, depending on the display's native resolution and the player's tolerance for reduced visual settings at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU-GPU pairing in Outriders?

A: The measured data shows that 1080p High at 110.6 FPS or 1440p High at 71.7 FPS are the best options, as both stay above 60 FPS while maintaining good visual quality.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which averages 65.6 FPS. Medium settings drop to 46.9 FPS, High to 39.5 FPS, and Ultra to 30.1 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F scores 25,064 on average, which is essentially identical to the Ryzen 7 2700X at 25,057 (0% delta) and 0.3% ahead of the Ryzen 5 7500F at 24,993.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER a bottleneck in this combination?

A: Yes, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as FPS drops sharply with increasing resolution and settings, while the CPU maintains high frame rates at low settings.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 1,230 out of 1,693 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 27% of all pairings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 110.6 at 1080p to 39.5 at 4K, a reduction of 64.3%.