Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a highly capable Outriders experience, with the data clearly indicating that the 1440p Medium preset offers the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 2560x1440, the Medium setting produces an average of 112 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay, while the High preset at the same resolution drops to 84 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 61 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding combat scenarios. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset achieves 245 FPS, but this comes at a significant cost to visual quality, making 1440p Medium the recommended choice for the best overall experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for Outriders shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an exceptional 245 FPS average, while Medium drops to 178 FPS, High to 134 FPS, and Ultra to 97 FPS. This progression indicates that the RTX 4060 is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, but the visual improvements from Low to Medium are substantial enough to justify the 67 FPS sacrifice. The Medium preset at 1080p, with its 152 FPS minimum, ensures that even the most intense firefights remain fluid.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance curve becomes more telling. The Low preset at this resolution achieves 155 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play, but the Medium preset at 112 FPS (minimum 96 FPS) offers a far richer visual experience with only a 43 FPS penalty. The High preset at 84 FPS remains very playable, but the step from Medium to High costs 28 FPS for diminishing returns in graphical fidelity. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is borderline for a looter shooter where reaction times matter, making it less ideal for sustained play.

At 4K (3840x2160), the RTX 4060 begins to show its limitations. The Medium preset produces 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is technically playable but not ideal for a fast-paced game. The High preset drops to 44 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K achieves 81 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the resolution when graphical settings are minimized, but the visual compromise is severe. Given that the 1440p Medium preset provides a 112 FPS average with a 96 FPS minimum, it stands out as the sweet spot where the game looks good and plays smoothly without requiring compromises.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on a 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics calculations in Outriders. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4691 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong per-core capability that prevents CPU bottlenecks in most gaming scenarios.

The 9700F's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration supports efficient data access patterns for the game's enemy AI and loot generation systems. The processor's PassMark multithread score of 36470, with a physics score of 2122, demonstrates that it can handle the background tasks and streaming requirements of Outriders without impacting frame delivery.

In the context of this combo, the CPU's performance is more than adequate for the RTX 4060 at all tested resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 245 FPS, which is primarily limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than the CPU. The 9700F's 94th percentile ranking and its nearest rival comparisons—being 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700K—confirm that this processor is in the top tier of gaming CPUs. The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensure that the CPU does not starve the GPU of data, even in data-intensive scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Outriders?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings provides the best balance, achieving 112 FPS average with a 96 FPS minimum. This is the highest resolution where the frame rate stays comfortably above 90 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without requiring the visual compromises of 1080p.

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

A: At 3840x2160, the system achieves 44 FPS on High settings and 59 FPS on Medium settings. While the Medium preset is technically playable, the 50 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips that could affect gameplay. For a consistently smooth experience, 1440p is recommended over 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17639 places it 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7790, 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M, 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 560, and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 460. This indicates it sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck for the RTX 4060?

A: No. The CPU's single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470, combined with its 94th percentile ranking, ensure it can feed the GPU sufficiently. The 245 FPS result at 1080p Low demonstrates that the CPU is not limiting performance, as this is a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 84 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 61 FPS. This represents a 23 FPS reduction for the Ultra preset, which is a 27% performance decrease. The visual upgrade from High to Ultra is typically subtle in Outriders, making High the more efficient choice.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 1080p scale with settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 245 FPS, Medium achieves 178 FPS, High achieves 134 FPS, and Ultra achieves 97 FPS. The scaling pattern shows that each settings tier costs approximately 40-50 FPS, with the gap between Low and Medium being the most significant at 67 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1391 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 52nd percentile of all possible pairings. This mid-pack ranking reflects the fact that while the CPU is exceptional (94th percentile), the GPU is more modest (61st percentile), creating a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming but not at the extreme high end.

The CPU's competitive positioning against its nearest rivals is noteworthy. The 9700F shows a negligible 0.2% difference from both the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Intel Core i7-14700KF, and it outperforms the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X by 0.7% and the Intel Core i7-14700K by 0.9%. This indicates that the processor is performing at the level of much more expensive CPUs, making it a strong foundation for the system.

The GPU's ranking of 61st percentile, with an average benchmark score of 17639, places it in the lower-mid range of graphics cards. Its nearest rival comparisons show it is statistically tied with the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% slower), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% faster), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7% faster). This suggests that the RTX 4060 is positioned at the entry level of modern gaming GPUs, which aligns with the observed performance in Outriders where 4K Ultra is not achievable at playable frame rates.

The combo's ranking of 1391 out of 2913 indicates that there is significant room for improvement if a more powerful GPU were paired with the 9700F. However, within the constraints of this specific pairing, the system delivers solid 1080p and 1440p performance, with the 1440p Medium preset being the standout configuration for quality and speed.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system averages 178 FPS. Increasing the resolution to 2560x1440 at the same settings reduces the average to 112 FPS, a 37% decrease. Moving to 3840x2160 at Medium settings further drops the average to 59 FPS, a 47% decrease from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system goes from 245 FPS at 1080p to 155 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) and then to 81 FPS at 4K (48% drop). At High settings, the progression is 134 FPS at 1080p, 84 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 44 FPS at 4K (48% drop). The Ultra settings show 97 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 32 FPS at 4K (48% drop). This uniform percentage drop across all settings strongly suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate, rather than the CPU, are the primary constraints.

The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as evidenced by the Ryzen 7 9700F's robust performance metrics. The processor's 5.50 GHz boost clock and 32 MB shared L3 cache ensure that even at 1080p with 245 FPS, the CPU can maintain frame delivery without becoming a bottleneck. The data indicates that the 9700F is capable of supporting much higher frame rates if paired with a more powerful GPU, as its 94th percentile ranking and PassMark scores suggest it has headroom beyond what the RTX 4060 can deliver.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Outriders with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 provides a complete picture of the system's capabilities across all resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 245 FPS, representing the maximum performance ceiling for this combo. The Medium preset delivers 178 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS, ensuring no noticeable stuttering even in particle-heavy encounters. The High preset averages 134 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 97 FPS, which remains smooth but demonstrates the performance cost of maxed-out settings.

The 2560x1440 results show more variation. The Low preset averages 155 FPS, making it a viable option for competitive play at higher resolutions. The Medium preset achieves 112 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 84 FPS is still very playable, but the 28 FPS difference from Medium makes the latter more attractive. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is at the edge of playability, with potential dips below 60 FPS in intense combat.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is playable but requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset achieves 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, indicating occasional frame drops that could affect gameplay. The High preset at 44 FPS is below the playability threshold for a fast-paced looter shooter. The Ultra preset at 32 FPS is not recommended for any serious gaming session.

The data shows that the RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K, where the memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and 128-bit bus width become limiting factors. The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for the lower resolutions but insufficient for 4K Ultra settings. The Ryzen 7 9700F's performance metrics, including its PassMark multithread score of 36470 and 94th percentile ranking, confirm that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. This system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the 1440p Medium preset offering the most balanced experience.