Outriders

Settings Recommendations

For Outriders, the measured data for this AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination shows a clear sweet spot at Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 202 FPS average, which is only 26 FPS below the Low preset’s 228 FPS but a substantial 41 FPS above the High preset’s 182 FPS. The Medium preset also provides the only complete FPS range data in the pack, with a minimum of 172 FPS and maximum of 233 FPS at 1080p, indicating stable frame pacing. The visual quality jump from Low to Medium is typically significant in a looter shooter where particle effects and environmental detail matter, and the performance cost is modest.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out with 174 FPS average, maintaining a 148 FPS minimum. This is 78% of the Low preset’s 195 FPS but represents a better balance of visual fidelity and headroom above 144 Hz displays. The High preset at 156 FPS still clears 144 Hz, but the margin shrinks considerably. At 3840x2160, Medium delivers 125 FPS with a 106 FPS minimum, which is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 68 FPS, which is playable but misses high-refresh targets.

The data suggests Ultra is disproportionately expensive: at 1080p, Ultra (161 FPS) is 20% slower than High (182 FPS), and at 1440p the gap widens to 17% (130 vs 156). At 4K, Ultra (68 FPS) is 28% slower than High (94 FPS). This scaling pattern indicates the Ultra preset’s additional effects tax the GPU heavily without proportional visual returns. For the best experience per measured row, Medium at any resolution offers the highest FPS-per-setting-cost ratio, with 1080p Medium providing the absolute smoothest gameplay at 202 FPS average.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 8000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a Phoenix codename. It operates on a 4 nm TSMC process with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU’s cache configuration includes 64 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3. This is a desktop segment chip on AMD Socket AM5 with DDR5 memory support and a dual-channel memory bus providing 83.2 GB/s bandwidth.

For Outriders, the CPU’s multithreaded capabilities are relevant. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and max-thread score of 6165 are nearly identical, suggesting the 12 threads are fully utilized but the workload saturates around that point. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 indicates solid sustained multi-core performance for a 6-core part. The single-thread Cinebench R23 score of 2943 shows strong per-core efficiency, which matters for the game’s main thread and physics calculations.

The CPU’s PassMark multithread score of 24389 places it in the 77th percentile versus all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, scores 24964 with a deltaPct of 0.2, meaning the 8400F is essentially tied with that chip. The Intel Core i7-11850H (24935, +0.3%) and Intel Core i7-13620H (24911, +0.4%) are also within a fraction of a percent. The AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, a -0.4% delta, showing the 8400F is statistically indistinguishable from all four rivals in aggregate CPU benchmarks.

In Outriders specifically, the CPU’s role is moderate. The measured FPS deltas between Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution are substantial (e.g., 228 vs 161 at 1080p), which indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor. However, the CPU’s 12 threads ensure that background tasks and the game’s enemy AI, loot calculations, and network code for co-op play do not become bottlenecks even when the GPU is rendering at high frame rates. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz provides the single-thread responsiveness needed for input latency-sensitive actions in a looter shooter.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU is built on a 5 nm TSMC process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The chip is GB202 based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, with 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs.

The RTX 5090 D’s benchmark profile shows it in the 92nd percentile versus all GPUs. Its PassMark G3D score of 44065 and average benchmark score of 77712 position it well above most competitors. The nearest rivals are notably different: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904, +1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79605, -2.4%). These deltas are small in percentage terms, but the rivals are all mobile or workstation parts, which underscores the 5090 D’s desktop-class performance.

In Outriders, the GPU’s VRAM capacity of 32 GB is far beyond what the game requires, even at 4K Ultra. The measured data shows the GPU handles all presets without memory-related stuttering, as evidenced by the Medium preset’s minimum FPS values being relatively close to averages (e.g., 106 min vs 125 avg at 4K). The GPU’s FP32 compute of 104.8 TFLOPS and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s provide ample raw throughput for the game’s effects-heavy combat scenarios.

The GPU’s role is clearly the limiting factor at higher settings, but only in the sense that Ultra presets demand more than even this card can deliver at 4K. At 1080p Low, the 228 FPS average suggests the CPU may start to become relevant, but the GPU still has headroom. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and ROP count of 176 are sufficient to drive the frame rates observed in the measured rows without bottlenecking.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 191st out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 6.5% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, but the rank is notable because the GPU alone sits in the 92nd percentile. The discrepancy between the combo’s 191st rank and the GPU’s high percentile suggests that the CPU is holding back the overall result in this game.

The CPU’s 77th percentile versus all CPUs is the weaker link. While the 8400F’s aggregate benchmark scores are competitive with its nearest rivals, the 6-core/12-thread configuration may not provide the same frame pacing as higher-core-count chips in Outriders’ more demanding scenes. The combo rank of 191 means there are 190 other combinations that achieve better measured performance, likely pairing the 5090 D with faster CPUs or pairing slightly weaker GPUs with much stronger CPUs.

The data indicates that the RTX 5090 D is capable of far higher frame rates than this combo achieves. At 1080p Low, the 228 FPS average is high but not exemplary for a GPU with 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The gap between the combo’s rank and the GPU’s potential suggests that the 8400F’s single-thread score of 951 in 3DMark and 2943 in Cinebench R23 single-core are adequate but not exceptional for feeding a GPU of this caliber. In a game like Outriders that relies on consistent frame generation, the CPU’s 16 MB L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient but not luxurious.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Outriders with this combo?

A: The measured data indicates 2560x1440 Medium provides the best balance, with 174 FPS average and a 148 FPS minimum. This exceeds 144 Hz refresh targets while maintaining visual quality above Low presets.

Q: How much faster is Low versus Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low delivers 228 FPS average while Ultra delivers 161 FPS, making Low 42% faster. The gap narrows at higher resolutions, with Low being 50% faster at 1440p (195 vs 130) and 131% faster at 4K (157 vs 68).

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

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 achieves 68 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. However, it does not provide the headroom needed for 120 Hz displays, and the minimum FPS data is not available for this preset.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F’s average benchmark score is 25005, which is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24964) and 0.3% above the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935). It trails the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103) by 0.4%, making all four chips statistically equivalent.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and why does it matter?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth from its 512-bit bus and 32 GB GDDR7 memory. This ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets in Outriders are not bandwidth-limited, which is consistent with the observed frame rates at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for frame rate differences between presets?

A: The GPU is the primary factor. At the same resolution, changing from Low to Ultra produces large FPS drops (e.g., 228 to 161 at 1080p), which indicates GPU-bound rendering. The CPU’s performance remains constant across presets, so it does not explain these variations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 228, Medium 202, High 182, Ultra 161. The Medium preset has the only complete min/max data, with a minimum of 172 FPS and maximum of 233 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 67 FPS, representing a 29% drop from the lowest to highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 195, Medium 174, High 156, Ultra 130. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 148 FPS and maximum of 200 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 65 FPS, a 33% reduction. The High preset at 156 FPS is notably close to the Medium preset’s 174 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns between Medium and High at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 157, Medium 125, High 94, Ultra 68. The Medium preset has a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 144 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 89 FPS, a 57% drop. The step from High (94 FPS) to Ultra (68 FPS) is the largest single-preset drop at any resolution, representing a 28% performance loss for the highest settings.

The data shows that resolution scaling is nonlinear. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 33 FPS (228 to 195), and from 1440p to 4K costs 38 FPS (195 to 157). At Ultra settings, the same resolution jumps cost 31 FPS (161 to 130) and 62 FPS (130 to 68) respectively. The 4K Ultra penalty is disproportionately large, indicating that the combination of high resolution and Ultra effects saturates the GPU’s capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 228 at 1080p to 195 at 1440p (a 14% reduction) and then to 157 at 4K (a 19% reduction from 1440p). The relatively modest percentage drops at Low settings suggest the CPU is providing a baseline limit — even with reduced GPU load, the frame rate cannot scale fully with resolution because the CPU must still process game logic.

At Medium settings, the progression is 202 (1080p) to 174 (1440p) to 125 (4K). The percentage drops are 14% and 28% respectively. The larger drop from 1440p to 4K indicates the GPU is becoming more involved as the resolution increases, but the CPU still holds the frame rate at 1440p and below.

At High settings, the FPS values are 182 (1080p), 156 (1440p), and 94 (4K). The drops are 14% and 40%. This is the first setting where the 4K penalty exceeds 30%, signaling that the GPU’s fill-rate and shading demands are dominating.

At Ultra settings, the values are 161 (1080p), 130 (1440p), and 68 (4K), with drops of 19% and 48%. The 4K Ultra result of 68 FPS is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result, demonstrating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects (likely volumetric lighting, shadows, and post-processing) scale poorly with pixel count.

The scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is a meaningful constraint — the difference between Low (228 FPS) and Ultra (161 FPS) is only 67 FPS, whereas at 4K the same preset range spans 89 FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU workload grows and the CPU becomes less of a factor, but the 8400F’s 6 cores still cap the maximum achievable frame rate at low resolutions. The RTX 5090 D is never fully utilized at 1080p, as evidenced by the sub-250 FPS results, but at 4K Ultra it is clearly the bottleneck.