Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a distinctive performance profile in Outriders, one that shifts its bottleneck characteristics dramatically depending on the resolution and quality preset selected. The measured data reveals a configuration where the GPU’s immense raw power is frequently tempered by the older Zen 2 processor, creating a scenario where frame rates scale in unexpected ways across the tested spectrum.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a configuration that is heavily CPU-limited at lower resolutions but gradually transitions toward GPU-bound behavior at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 165.9 FPS, which drops to 128.6 FPS at High settings and 119.1 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the Low preset yields 141.2 FPS, High produces 112.2 FPS, and Ultra maintains 102.1 FPS. At 4K, the numbers compress significantly: Low delivers 113.1 FPS, High drops to 86.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 63.1 FPS.

The scaling pattern is telling. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the frame rate declines by approximately 32%, while the same resolution jump at Ultra settings results in a 47% reduction. This disparity indicates that at lower quality presets, the CPU is the primary limiter—the RTX 4090 is not being fully exercised, so resolution increases have a muted effect. At Ultra settings, the GPU becomes more involved, and the resolution penalty grows accordingly. The 4K Ultra result of 63.1 FPS suggests the graphics card is finally approaching a more balanced workload, though the 3700X still appears to constrain peak performance given the GPU’s theoretical capabilities.

The Medium preset data reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 146.4 FPS, dropping to 126.6 FPS at 1440p and 99.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result sits 22% below the 1440p Medium figure, a steeper drop than the 14% decline seen between 1080p Medium and 1440p Medium. This nonlinear scaling points to the GPU taking on more responsibility as pixel count rises, but the overall frame rates remain below what the RTX 4090 alone would suggest, indicating the CPU’s persistent influence.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 3700X provides 8 cores and 16 threads, built on the Zen 2 architecture with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are modest by current standards, and the benchmark results confirm a processor that performs adequately but sits in the mid-range of the database. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087 and single-core score of 2694 place it at the 85th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28631.

The nearest rivals data shows the 3700X is essentially tied with several other processors: it scores 0.1% below the Intel Core i5-12600, 0.1% below the Intel Core i5-12600H, 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT, and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7203P. These negligible deltas indicate the CPU’s performance is well-known and predictable, but in Outriders, its single-thread and multi-thread capabilities appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p. The fact that 1080p Low (165.9 FPS) is only 17% higher than 4K Low (113.1 FPS) while 1080p Ultra (119.1 FPS) is 47% higher than 4K Ultra (63.1 FPS) suggests the CPU’s instruction throughput is capping frame rates when the GPU has spare capacity. The 3700X’s PassMark single-thread score of 2656 and multi-thread score of 22458 provide context—the processor can feed frames at a certain rate, but the RTX 4090 can render far more if the CPU could keep up.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a 5 nm Ada Lovelace part with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16,384 shading units provide enormous compute throughput, with FP32 performance rated at 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU’s 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores are the most capable in the database, and its PassMark G3D score of 38194 places it at the 91st percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473.

In the nearest rivals comparison, the RTX 4090 is 0.4% below the NVIDIA Tesla T4, 0.5% above the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, and 1.3% below the NVIDIA Quadro P6000. These close deltas are misleading because the rival GPUs are professional workstation parts with different driver optimizations, but the data shows the RTX 4090’s raw performance is substantial. In Outriders, the GPU’s role becomes apparent at 4K Ultra, where the 63.1 FPS result reflects the highest workload tested. The gap between 4K Medium (99.3 FPS) and 4K Ultra (63.1 FPS) is 36%, a substantial penalty that suggests the Ultra preset imposes significant rendering costs—likely heavy post-processing and shadow effects—that engage the GPU’s resources more fully. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s and pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s are more than adequate for this game, so the GPU is not memory-limited; rather, the CPU appears to prevent the GPU from reaching its ceiling at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 650th out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all configurations in the database. This ranking is notably lower than what the RTX 4090’s individual GPU percentile (91st) might suggest, and it reflects the 3700X’s position at the 85th CPU percentile. The rank indicates that while the GPU is elite, the overall system performance is dragged down by the CPU’s inability to fully feed the graphics card in this particular game.

The data suggests that this combo is not optimal for Outriders at lower resolutions. The 1080p results, ranging from 119.1 FPS at Ultra to 165.9 FPS at Low, are respectable but far below what the RTX 4090 could achieve with a more modern processor. The 4K Ultra result of 63.1 FPS is the only point where the combo approaches a GPU-bound scenario, and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS threshold that many users would consider a baseline for a high-refresh experience. The rank of 650 out of 1693 means there are 1,043 tested combinations that perform better, which is a substantial number given that many of those likely pair the 3700X with weaker GPUs or pair the RTX 4090 with stronger CPUs. The implication is clear: in Outriders, the 3700X is a bottleneck that prevents the RTX 4090 from demonstrating its full potential, and users seeking maximum frame rates would need to consider a different processor pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Outriders?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 165.9 at 1080p with Low settings. The 1440p Low preset produces 141.2 FPS, and 4K Low produces 113.1 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its nearest rival CPUs based on average benchmark scores?

A: The 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631. It is 0.1% below the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654) and Intel Core i5-12600H (28666), and 0.1% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28591) and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7203P (28583).

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s performance in this combo exceed its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473. It is 0.4% below the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733), 0.5% above the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127), 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097), and 1.3% below the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67320). The differences are minimal in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo produces 128.6 FPS at 1080p and 86.2 FPS at 4K, representing a 33% reduction. At Low settings, the drop from 165.9 FPS to 113.1 FPS is a 32% reduction.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 650th out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the 62nd percentile. This rank is lower than the individual GPU percentile of 91st, indicating the CPU limits overall performance.

Q: What is the strongest resolution and preset combination for this pairing?

A: The data shows that 4K Ultra produces the lowest average FPS at 63.1, while 1080p Low produces the highest at 165.9. The most balanced result appears to be 1440p Ultra at 102.1 FPS, which provides a high frame rate while utilizing more of the GPU’s capabilities.