Outriders

# Outriders Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The measured frame rates for this combination reveal a system that scales predictably across Outriders' four preset levels, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening dramatically as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (261.1 FPS) and Ultra (134.3 FPS) is substantial but manageable, while at 4K that same gap becomes a chasm, with Low delivering 111.8 FPS versus Ultra's 41.8 FPS. This pattern suggests a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at lower resolutions. The combo sits at rank 256 out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the top 15% of all pairings, which aligns with the CPU's 89th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 81st percentile among all graphics cards.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent across settings, with the scaling factor varying by preset. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (185.8 FPS) to 1440p (114.2 FPS) represents a 38.5% reduction, while moving from 1440p to 4K (59.3 FPS) costs another 48.1%. At Ultra, the scaling is even more punishing: 134.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 83 FPS at 1440p (a 38.2% drop), then to 41.8 FPS at 4K (a 49.6% drop from 1440p). This quadratic degradation pattern is classic GPU-limited behavior, where pixel count increases exponentially while the renderer's workload follows suit. At Low settings, the scaling is less severe in percentage terms: 261.1 FPS at 1080p becomes 212.3 FPS at 1440p (18.7% drop) and 111.8 FPS at 4K (47.3% drop from 1440p). The comparatively mild 1080p-to-1440p penalty at Low suggests that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully at lower graphics loads, but by 4K even Low settings push the GPU to its limits. The data implies that for this pairing, 1440p is the resolution where the balance between CPU and GPU workload is most efficient, particularly at Medium and High presets where frame rates remain above 114 FPS.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory over a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for Outriders' asset streaming at all tested settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base of 1920 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, deliver the raw throughput that the resolution scaling analysis indicates. At 4K Ultra, the 41.8 FPS result is the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, suggesting that the combination of higher pixel count and Ultra's additional effects push the GPU past its comfort zone. The 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present but Outriders does not appear to leverage them heavily, as the frame rates at High versus Medium at each resolution show a consistent step rather than a cliff. The GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, places it close to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, 0.6% higher) and notably ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, -2.2% relative). This positioning suggests the desktop RTX 4070 is a solid mid-to-high-tier performer, but the 4K Ultra result reveals its ceiling in demanding titles. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate explain why 4K at Medium (82.6 FPS) is achievable while Ultra (41.8 FPS) falls short — the extra effects likely exceed what the 64 ROPs can sustain at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 7700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and boost of 5.40 GHz, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with Zen 4 architecture. Its 32 MB shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth support DDR5, and the benchmark scores reflect strong multi-threaded capability: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30325 and single-core of 4281, with a Geekbench multicore of 15538 and single-core of 2985. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 8859 and 2-thread score of 2112 indicate excellent scaling, which matters for Outriders' enemy-heavy combat scenarios. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 34313, places it just 0.4% above the Intel Core i5-13500 (34175) and 0.8% above the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34136), while sitting 0.8% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34584). This tight clustering suggests the 7700X is competitively positioned. In game performance, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where 261.1 FPS indicates the renderer is not CPU-bound even at high frame rates. The 5.40 GHz boost clock and 16 threads provide enough headroom that Outriders' AI-driven encounters and physics calculations do not bottleneck the GPU until 4K Ultra, where the GPU's workload dominates. The 105 W TDP and AM5 socket platform are consistent with a modern desktop processor that can sustain high clocks under gaming loads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 256th out of 1693 tested combos, placing it in the 84.9th percentile of all pairings tested. This is a strong result that aligns with the individual component rankings: the CPU at the 89th percentile and GPU at the 81st percentile. The gap between the combo's 84.9th percentile and the CPU's 89th percentile suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, which the resolution scaling data confirms — at 1080p the system produces over 260 FPS on Low, but at 4K Ultra it drops below 45 FPS. The rank of 256 means there are 255 combinations that outperform this pairing, likely including systems with higher-tier GPUs such as the RTX 4080 or 4090, though those are not in the provided rival data. Within the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37283 is 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371) and 0.6% below the RX Vega 56 (37507), indicating that the GPU sits in a competitive mid-range tier. The combo's position suggests that for Outriders specifically, this pairing delivers very good but not top-tier performance, with the CPU providing ample headroom for potential GPU upgrades without creating a significant bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to High as the optimal preset for most users, as it delivers 185.8 FPS at 1080p, 114.2 FPS at 1440p, and 59.3 FPS at 4K — all playable, with the 4K result just at the edge of smoothness. Medium offers a meaningful improvement: 228.6 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p, and 82.6 FPS at 4K, making it the better choice for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1440p or for maintaining 60+ FPS at 4K with headroom. Ultra provides 134.3 FPS at 1080p and 83 FPS at 1440p, but the 41.8 FPS at 4K is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider acceptable. Low settings are only advisable for competitive play at 1080p, where 261.1 FPS maximizes refresh rate potential, but the visual compromise is substantial. For 4K displays, Medium is the clear recommendation, as it more than doubles the Ultra frame rate (82.6 vs 41.8) while likely retaining most of the visual quality enhancements. For 1440p, High at 114.2 FPS is the balanced choice, but Ultra at 83 FPS may be preferable for those prioritizing visuals over frame rate. At 1080p, the choice between High (185.8 FPS) and Ultra (134.3 FPS) depends on whether the display supports refresh rates above 144 Hz.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the settings ladder shows: Low delivers 261.1 FPS, Medium 228.6 FPS, High 185.8 FPS, and Ultra 134.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 32.5 FPS, Medium to High costs 42.8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 51.5 FPS, with each preset adding progressively more GPU load. At 2560x1440: Low produces 212.3 FPS, Medium 154 FPS, High 114.2 FPS, and Ultra 83 FPS. The 1440p results show a more uniform drop pattern, with the Low-to-Medium step costing 58.3 FPS, Medium-to-High 39.8 FPS, and High-to-Ultra 31.2 FPS. At 3840x2160: Low achieves 111.8 FPS, Medium 82.6 FPS, High 59.3 FPS, and Ultra 41.8 FPS. The 4K results reveal that the Low-to-Medium step costs 29.2 FPS, Medium-to-High 23.3 FPS, and High-to-Ultra 17.5 FPS — the narrowing gaps at higher resolution indicate the GPU is approaching its saturation point, where each additional setting level has diminishing absolute impact. Across all resolutions, Low settings maintain a 2.3x to 2.7x advantage over Ultra, with the ratio being most extreme at 1080p (261.1/134.3 = 1.94x) and least at 4K (111.8/41.8 = 2.67x), confirming that Ultra's effects scale more heavily with pixel count.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Outriders at 4K 60 FPS?

A: At Medium settings, the system produces 82.6 FPS at 4K, comfortably exceeding 60 FPS. At High settings, it drops to 59.3 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 41.8 FPS, so Medium is required for a smooth 4K experience.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this system?

A: High settings at 1440p deliver 114.2 FPS, which is ideal for 120 Hz displays. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 83 FPS, still smooth for 60 Hz or 75 Hz monitors but with a 31.2 FPS penalty compared to High.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34313, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-13500 (34175) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34136). It sits 0.8% below the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34584) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (34599).

Q: Is the RTX 4070 a bottleneck at 1080p in Outriders?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 261.1 FPS, indicating the CPU and GPU are well balanced. The 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 7700X with its 5.40 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid limiting the GPU at lower resolutions.

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

A: At High settings, the frame rate drops from 185.8 FPS at 1080p to 114.2 FPS at 1440p (a 38.5% reduction), then to 59.3 FPS at 4K (a 48.1% reduction from 1440p). The total loss from 1080p to 4K is 126.5 FPS, representing a 68.1% decrease.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 256 out of 1693 indicate about its overall standing?

A: The rank places this pairing in roughly the top 15% of all tested combinations in Outriders. This aligns with the CPU's 89th percentile and GPU's 81st percentile rankings, suggesting the system is well-matched for this title, though not at the absolute top tier of performance.