Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 1227th out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it firmly in the upper third of all systems. This position reflects a pairing where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for high frame rates at 1080p. The data indicates a balanced system that can handle the game's demanding environments, but users should match their resolution and settings expectations to the GPU's capabilities rather than the processor's.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware pairings for Outriders, this specific Ryzen 7 9700X plus RTX 3070 setup sits at rank 1227 out of 3710 combinations. That places it in the 67th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly two-thirds of the tested combos perform at or below this level. The ranking is driven by the RTX 3070's position in the GPU hierarchy; the card holds a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. The CPU is comparatively stronger, holding an 86th percentile ranking among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 37943, so the bottleneck in this pairing is clearly the graphics card.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i9-14901E with an average score of 37911 (0.1% behind), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 at 37904 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core 5 211E at 37829 (0.3% behind), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 at 37804 (0.4% behind). These very small deltas show the 9700X is tightly clustered with other high-end processors, and none of these rivals would meaningfully change the combo's rank in Outriders. The GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17083 (0.7% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (1% behind), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019 (1.1% behind), while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c is 1.5% ahead at 17468. These comparisons show the RTX 3070 is closely matched with these alternatives, so swapping to any of them would produce similar frame rates in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Outriders at 1080p and 1440p, but it becomes a limiting factor at 4K where the game's texture-heavy environments demand more capacity. The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, provide the raw compute power needed for the game's effects. The card also includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, though Outriders does not heavily leverage ray tracing in the measured settings.

The RTX 3070's performance in Outriders is best understood through its benchmark scores: a Passmark G3D score of 22214 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162. These align with the card's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs. The 8 GB VRAM is the key constraint at 4K, where the Ultra preset drops to an average of 36 FPS compared to 92 FPS at Low settings. This performance cliff at higher settings is typical of a GPU with moderate memory capacity, as the game's assets exceed the available VRAM, causing stutter and reduced frame rates. At 1440p and below, the 8 GB capacity is adequate, and the card's bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s ensures smooth texture streaming during combat encounters.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 152 FPS, which drops to 96 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and further to 50 FPS at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 1440p and above, as the CPU has more than enough headroom to feed the graphics card at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low preset hits 278 FPS, which is so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor rather than the GPU.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At Medium settings, the combo delivers 128 FPS at 1440p but only 67 FPS at 4K, a 48% drop. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 69 FPS at 1440p to 36 FPS at 4K, a 48% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU's compute throughput, rather than memory bandwidth, is the primary constraint at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM also plays a role, as the Ultra preset at 4K likely exceeds the memory capacity, causing additional performance degradation beyond what raw compute scaling would predict.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 278 FPS average, while Medium hits 202 FPS with a minimum of 172 FPS and a maximum of 232 FPS. High settings produce 152 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 109 FPS. These numbers show that 1080p is well within the GPU's comfort zone, and even the most demanding preset maintains a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The CPU's 3DMark scores of 9771 for max threads and 1280 for single thread ensure that there is no processor bottleneck at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but start to show the GPU's limitations. Low settings deliver 175 FPS, Medium produces 128 FPS with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS, High achieves 96 FPS, and Ultra drops to 69 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 108 FPS is still smooth for most displays, but the Ultra preset's 69 FPS average indicates that users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors should stick to High settings or below. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 106 FPS, showing a significant performance range depending on the quality preset.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3070 struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings achieve 92 FPS, Medium delivers 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, High drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 57 FPS is near the edge of playability for a smooth experience, while the Ultra preset's 36 FPS average is not suitable for fast-paced combat. The 4K results clearly indicate that this GPU is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming without significant settings compromises.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests using Medium settings at 1440p as the sweet spot. This preset delivers 128 FPS average with a minimum of 108 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay during intense firefights while maintaining good visual quality. The minimum of 108 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider essential, and the maximum of 147 FPS provides headroom for less demanding scenes. At 1080p, High settings at 152 FPS offer an excellent balance, as the visual upgrade from Medium to High is noticeable but the frame rate remains well above 144 FPS for high-refresh-rate monitors.

For 4K users, Low settings at 92 FPS is the only viable option for competitive play, while Medium at 67 FPS is acceptable for casual gameplay. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 36 FPS average will result in stutter and input lag during combat. At 1440p, Ultra at 69 FPS is playable but not ideal, so users with 144 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors should choose High at 96 FPS to maintain a consistent experience. The measured data shows that the Medium presets at both 1080p and 1440p provide the most balanced performance, with minimum frame rates that stay above 100 FPS and visual quality that captures the game's environments without excessive GPU load.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor on the AM5 socket, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, combined with 32 MB of shared L3 cache, provide excellent single-thread and multi-thread performance for Outriders. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its strength: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and a single-core score of 2211, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 17906 and single-core score of 3023. These results place it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic, which this processor does with ease. The 1080p Low preset at 278 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can drive frame rates far beyond what the GPU can render at higher resolutions. The 16 threads ensure that background processes and streaming assets do not cause frame drops, while the high single-thread performance is crucial for the game's main thread. The 9700X's nearest rivals all score within 0.4% of it, so any of those processors would produce nearly identical results in this game. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC indicate efficient power delivery, allowing sustained boost clocks during long gaming sessions without thermal throttling.