Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Outriders, but the 8 GB VRAM and mid-range GPU architecture become the primary constraints at 4K. This combination ranks in the 65th percentile of tested systems, offering high refresh rate potential at lower resolutions while requiring settings adjustments for smooth 4K play.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta between 1080p and 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the system produces 271.9 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 174.1 FPS at 2560x1440 — a 36% reduction — and further to 92.3 FPS at 3840x2160, a 66% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep scaling curve indicates the RTX 3070 is the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The Medium settings tell a similar story: 203.1 FPS at 1080p, 125.7 FPS at 1440p, and 63.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, showing that even moderate graphical presets push this GPU to its limits at 3840x2160. High settings follow the pattern with 148.6 FPS, 94.8 FPS, and 47.9 FPS across the three resolutions.

Ultra settings expose the most severe scaling. The 111.2 FPS at 1080p is still highly playable, but 1440p drops to 69.2 FPS and 4K falls to 36.4 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is substantial — a 47% performance loss — suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and raw compute are insufficient for 4K Ultra. Notably, the 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Ultra figure, indicating that the RTX 3070's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz. This processor features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is particularly relevant for game performance. The 3DMark benchmarks show strong scaling from 1212 in single-thread to 10067 in max-threads, indicating the CPU can handle both lightly-threaded game logic and heavily-threaded background tasks.

In Outriders, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low yields 271.9 FPS — approaching the 3DMark max-threads score's implied headroom — suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical refresh rates. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and single-core score of 4800 further demonstrate the processor's capability to avoid becoming a bottleneck in this title.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 90 against all CPUs places it in the top decile, with nearest rivals including the Intel Xeon 6353P (-0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-13600KF (-0.7% delta). This indicates the 9800X3D is not the limiting factor in this combo; even at 4K Ultra where FPS drops to 36.4, the CPU is likely waiting on the GPU rather than vice versa. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration with 1 MB L2 cache per core provides ample processing power for Outriders' looter-shooter mechanics.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its 5888 shading units and 46 RT cores are built on the Ampere architecture with a base clock of 1500 MHz and boost of 1725 MHz. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it near the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% delta), showing it as a solid mid-range performer.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is the critical constraint at 4K. The measured FPS drop from 63.9 at Medium to 47.9 at High — a 25% reduction — suggests texture and memory pressure at higher settings. At Ultra, the 4K result of 36.4 FPS indicates the GPU is struggling with both compute and memory bandwidth. The 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance provides adequate raw power for 1080p and 1440p, but the memory subsystem cannot sustain frame rates at 4K with demanding presets.

The PassMark G3D score of 22214 and DirectX 12 score of 85 provide context for DirectX 12 Ultimate support. The GPU's 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 317.4 GTexel/s texture rate are well-matched to 1440p gaming, where the combo achieves 94.8 FPS at High settings. At 4K, these rates are insufficient for smooth gameplay, particularly with the 36.4 FPS Ultra result confirming the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU-GPU combination ranks 599th out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 65th percentile overall. This is a respectable position, though not elite — the ranking reflects the RTX 3070's mid-range status rather than the CPU's high-end positioning. The CPU alone ranks in the 90th percentile, while the GPU sits in the 72nd percentile, indicating the GPU drags down the combo's overall standing.

The rank suggests this system outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested configurations while trailing the top third. For a 1440p-focused build, this is a strong result, as the measured 94.8 FPS at High settings exceeds typical 60 Hz monitor capabilities. However, the 599th rank also implies that many combos — likely featuring higher-tier GPUs — achieve better 4K performance, where this system falls to 47.9 FPS at High.

The delta between CPU and GPU percentiles (90th vs 72nd) highlights an imbalance: the 9800X3D is capable of supporting a much faster GPU. In Outriders, this means the combo is GPU-limited in most scenarios, which is typical for a game that scales well with graphics hardware. The 3DMark max-threads score of 10067 and single-thread of 1212 suggest the CPU could sustain higher FPS with a more powerful GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers excellent performance across all settings: 271.9 FPS at Low, 203.1 FPS at Medium, 148.6 FPS at High, and 111.2 FPS at Ultra. These figures indicate the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, with even Ultra settings maintaining triple-digit FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's limits: 174.1 FPS at Low, 125.7 FPS at Medium, 94.8 FPS at High, and 69.2 FPS at Ultra. The 1440p Ultra result is still above 60 FPS, making this resolution viable for most settings, though the 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra (111.2 to 69.2 FPS) reveals increasing GPU pressure.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles at higher settings: 92.3 FPS at Low, 63.9 FPS at Medium, 47.9 FPS at High, and 36.4 FPS at Ultra. Only Low settings achieve a clearly smooth experience at 4K. The Medium result is borderline playable, while High and Ultra fall below the 60 FPS threshold. This breakdown confirms that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, with 1080p offering maximum headroom and 4K requiring significant compromises.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Outriders at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 92.3 FPS. Medium settings drop to 63.9 FPS, High to 47.9 FPS, and Ultra to 36.4 FPS, so 4K gaming requires reducing quality presets.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with 94.8 FPS at High settings and 69.2 FPS at Ultra. This provides smooth gameplay without requiring significant settings compromises.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile while the GPU ranks in the 72nd, and FPS scales steeply with resolution, indicating the RTX 3070 is the bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo compare to systems with similar GPUs?

A: The RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the RX 6600 XT (0.9% delta) and GTX 980 Ti (1% delta), but the 9800X3D's high performance ensures the GPU is fully utilized, ranking this combo in the 65th percentile overall.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves 111.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which is well above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at higher resolutions?

A: The FPS drop from 63.9 at 4K Medium to 47.9 at 4K High suggests memory pressure, and the 36.4 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates the 8 GB capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for maximum quality at that resolution.