Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 pairing in Outriders presents a clear picture of a system that scales predictably across resolutions, with the balance of load shifting from the CPU to the GPU as pixel count rises. The measured data shows a strong 1080p performer that remains capable at 4K, though the frame rate curve reveals where the architecture's limits begin to appear.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a substantial performance drop across all settings, indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 184 FPS at 1080p to 116 FPS at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then further to 61 FPS at 4K, marking a 67% total decline from the starting point. This steep descent is typical of a game where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, and the data confirms that the RTX 4070's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher pixel densities.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic. The system delivers 287 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 213 FPS at 1440p and 112 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p reduction of 74 FPS shows that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU still has to work harder to fill more pixels. However, the fact that 4K Low still achieves over 100 FPS suggests that the CPU is not holding the system back at this resolution, as the frame rate remains high enough to keep the GPU saturated.

The Medium preset offers the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 246 FPS with a minimum of 209 FPS and maximum of 283 FPS, a spread of 74 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 155 FPS with a range from 132 to 178 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a range from 69 to 93 FPS. The relative consistency of these ranges across resolutions indicates that frame time variance does not increase disproportionately as the load grows, which points to a stable rendering pipeline rather than erratic CPU or GPU behavior.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest scaling curve. From 133 FPS at 1080p, it falls to 84 FPS at 1440p and 44 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 44 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, confirming that this combination is not suited for maximum settings at the highest resolution. The data suggests that the limiting component at 4K Ultra is the GPU, as the RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are pushed to their capacity by the combined demands of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, provides the core rendering capability for this combo. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is the critical resource for Outriders at high resolutions. The measured frame rates show that the GPU's memory subsystem becomes increasingly important as resolution rises, with the 4K results demonstrating a clear ceiling that aligns with the memory bandwidth available.

The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, paired with its 5888 shading units, yields a FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS. This raw compute power is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the 184 FPS and 116 FPS averages at High settings, respectively. However, the 4K High result of 61 FPS shows that the architecture's compute throughput is taxed by the pixel count, and the 4K Ultra result of 44 FPS indicates that the GPU's resources are fully utilized at this extreme.

The GPU's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present but not directly measured in the Outriders data, as the game's rendering load appears to rely primarily on traditional rasterization. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is adequate for the High settings at 4K, where the average remains above 60 FPS, but the Ultra preset pushes the system to 44 FPS, suggesting that the memory allocation for maximum textures and effects exceeds what the GPU can comfortably manage at this resolution. The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 37648 is closely matched by rivals such as the NVIDIA Tesla P4 with a delta of 0.1% and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 with a delta of 0.4%, indicating that the RTX 4070 is a solid mid-to-high-range performer.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, provides the processing foundation for this combo. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, combined with 32 MB of shared L3 cache, ensure that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any measured resolution. The 1080p Low result of 287 FPS is the highest in the dataset and demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach this level, though the GPU still manages to keep pace.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 20485 in multicore and 2211 in single-core tests, while its Geekbench scores are 17906 for multicore and 3023 for single-core. These figures place the 9700X in the 86th percentile among all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, scoring 37911 with a delta of 0.1%. This close competition indicates that the 9700X is performing at the expected level for its class, and in Outriders, the CPU's high single-thread performance is likely what enables the strong 1080p results.

The fact that the frame rate drops from 287 FPS at 1080p Low to 213 FPS at 1440p Low shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU's pixel-filling workload increases. However, at 4K Low, the 112 FPS average still indicates that the CPU has ample headroom, as the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, but the performance data is what matters most: the 9700X provides enough processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in Outriders, even at the highest frame rates observed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for selecting the optimal preset based on resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with High at 184 FPS and Ultra at 133 FPS. The Low preset reaches 287 FPS, but this comes at the cost of visual fidelity, and the Medium preset at 246 FPS offers a balanced middle ground. For most users at 1080p, the High preset at 184 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a high frame rate while maintaining good visual quality, and the Ultra preset at 133 FPS is still smooth for fast-paced action.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 116 FPS is the standout option, offering a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 155 FPS is even higher, but the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable, so High is the better balance. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, and the Low preset at 213 FPS is excessive for most displays, as the visual degradation is not worth the extra frames.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The High preset at 61 FPS is barely above the 60 FPS target, making it the best option for those who want near-maximum quality with acceptable performance. The Medium preset at 81 FPS provides a more comfortable margin for frame rate fluctuations, and the Low preset at 112 FPS is the safest for maintaining high frame rates, though it sacrifices visual detail. The Ultra preset at 44 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate falls below the playable threshold for a fast-paced looter shooter. Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 4K is the best experience, offering a playable frame rate with the highest visual fidelity that the GPU can sustain.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 513 out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 14% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, with the CPU's high single-thread capability and the GPU's solid rasterization throughput working together effectively. The rank of 513 indicates that while there are many faster combos, this pairing is well above the median and provides a high level of performance for the game.

The CPU's percentile of 86 and the GPU's percentile of 81 both contribute to this ranking, with the system performing slightly better than the combined percentiles might suggest, likely due to the favorable balance between the two components. The nearest rival CPUs, such as the Intel Core i9-14901E and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, show deltas of 0.1%, indicating that the 9700X is competitive with other top-tier processors. The nearest rival GPUs, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile with a delta of -1.3%, suggest that the RTX 4070 is close in performance to some higher-tier mobile parts, though the desktop variant's power and cooling advantages are not reflected in the benchmark scores alone.

The comprehensive dataset, with measured FPS values across 12 resolution and settings combinations, confirms that this combo is well-suited for Outriders at 1080p and 1440p, and it remains viable at 4K with the appropriate settings. The rank of 513 out of 3710 places it in the upper echelon of tested systems, making it a reliable choice for this game.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Outriders?*

A: The highest average frame rate is 287 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this combination?

A: No, the 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943, while its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, scores 37911, a delta of 0.1%.

Q: What is the VRAM capacity of the RTX 4070 and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, and at 4K High settings the average frame rate is 61 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 44 FPS, suggesting that the memory capacity is sufficient for High but strained at Ultra.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU stop being a bottleneck for this game?

A: The CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as the frame rates drop consistently from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor across all tested settings.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440 resolution based on the measured data?

A: The High preset at 116 FPS is the best choice for 1440p, as it offers a high frame rate with better visual quality than Medium at 155 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average frame rates for each resolution and settings combination:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 287 FPS. The Medium preset averages 246 FPS, with a minimum of 209 FPS and maximum of 283 FPS. The High preset averages 184 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 133 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 213 FPS. The Medium preset averages 155 FPS, with a minimum of 132 FPS and maximum of 178 FPS. The High preset averages 116 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 84 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers an average of 112 FPS. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS. The High preset averages 61 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 44 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min and max data, showing consistent frame pacing across resolutions with a spread of approximately 24 FPS at each resolution. The High and Ultra presets lack min and max values, but the averages provide a clear trend of decreasing performance as resolution increases. The data confirms that the system is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, with 1080p Low exceeding 280 FPS, and remains playable at 4K with the appropriate settings, as the High preset maintains an average above 60 FPS.