Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers a highly capable, if occasionally GPU-bound, experience in Outriders. The measured frame rates across the twelve resolution and settings permutations show a clear pattern: the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary performance driver at 4K, while the Ryzen 9 5950X’s substantial core count ensures headroom at lower resolutions. The data positions this combo in the 223rd rank out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the upper tier of systems for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 170.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 148.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 22.4 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is far more dramatic, with the average collapsing to 75.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This 72.5 FPS decline between 1440p and 4K indicates that the rendering workload at 4K is overwhelming the GPU’s pixel throughput capabilities, despite its 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the combo achieves 153.1 FPS, which drops to 104 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 54.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 64.2% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. Conversely, the Low preset shows the smallest relative decline, going from 216.5 FPS at 1080p to 181.4 FPS at 1440p and finally 143.4 FPS at 4K. The smaller absolute delta at Low settings suggests that when the GPU workload is reduced, the CPU begins to play a more significant role.

The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is often CPU-limited or balanced, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS differences between Medium and High settings at these resolutions. For example, at 1440p, Medium yields 163.2 FPS while High produces 148.2 FPS, a difference of only 15 FPS. At 4K, however, the gap widens significantly: Medium produces 101.5 FPS while High drops to 75.7 FPS, a 25.8 FPS difference. This widening gap at 4K reinforces that the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck as resolution increases.

FAQ

*Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER maintain playable frame rates at 4K in Outriders?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium or High settings. The measured average at 4K High is 75.7 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 101.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 54.8 FPS, which may be below the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 49062, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600K's 49166 score. It is also 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-14600KF (49367) and 1.1% behind the AMD EPYC 4345P (49595), while being 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698).

Q: What is the GPU's performance standing relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 53610 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414). It is 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52505) and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52086).

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X's multi-threading advantageous for this game?

A: The CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads provide a high ceiling, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 38607 and 3DMark max-thread score of 11597. In Outriders, this translates to strong performance at 1080p, where the Low preset reaches 216.5 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a limiting factor.

Q: Which resolution offers the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: The 2560x1440 High preset appears optimal, delivering 148.2 FPS. This is significantly above the 4K High result of 75.7 FPS and still maintains high visual fidelity. The 1080p Ultra preset yields 153.1 FPS, but 1440p High offers a higher resolution with only a 5 FPS penalty.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth impact 4K performance?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s bandwidth and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory are substantial. However, the benchmark data shows that at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 54.8 FPS, suggesting that memory bandwidth is sufficient but raw compute throughput limits extreme settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best measured experience, the 2560x1440 High preset stands out as the most balanced option. It delivers 148.2 FPS, which is comfortably above 144 Hz refresh rates and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution costs only 15 FPS (from 163.2 to 148.2), making High the superior choice for image quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, yielding 101.5 FPS. This is nearly double the 54.8 FPS achieved at Ultra and 25.8 FPS higher than High. The visual difference between Medium and High at 4K is likely less noticeable than the frame rate gap, making Medium the pragmatic choice for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset at 4K should be avoided due to its sub-60 FPS average.

For competitive play or maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset provides 216.5 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the 1080p Medium preset still achieves 189.9 FPS, offering better visuals with only a 26.6 FPS reduction. The 1440p Low preset at 181.4 FPS is also a viable option for players prioritizing speed over fidelity, as it maintains a high frame rate while using a higher resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset produces an average of 216.5 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all tests. Medium yields 189.9 FPS, High produces 170.6 FPS, and Ultra delivers 153.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 63.4 FPS, showing that the CPU and GPU combo can handle even the most demanding settings at this resolution with ease.

At 2560x1440, the results show a moderate decline. Low settings produce 181.4 FPS, Medium yields 163.2 FPS, High delivers 148.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p represents a significant 44.2 FPS drop from High, indicating a steep performance cliff when enabling all visual features. The 1440p results are still very strong, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset still achieves 143.4 FPS, but Medium falls to 101.5 FPS, High drops to 75.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 54.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 41.9 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 25.8 FPS. The Ultra preset’s sub-60 FPS average is the only measured configuration that falls below typical 60 Hz display thresholds. The progression from 1080p to 4K at each setting shows a consistent pattern of diminishing returns, with the most significant absolute drops occurring between 1440p and 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the decisive component in Outriders at 4K resolution. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s textures at all tested presets. The GPU’s boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz contribute to its measured performance, but the architectural capabilities are more telling.

The GPU’s 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs allow for high pixel throughput, rated at 285.6 GPixel/s, yet the 4K Ultra result of 54.8 FPS indicates that the shader workload, not the pixel fill rate, is the bottleneck. The 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the key metric here, as rendering Outriders at 4K with Ultra settings demands more compute than the GPU can deliver to maintain high frame rates. This is evident in the 46.7 FPS gap between 4K Medium (101.5 FPS) and 4K Ultra (54.8 FPS), a difference that cannot be attributed to memory bandwidth limitations.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile of 88 compared to all GPUs, with an average score of 53610, places it ahead of rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 0.2% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 0.4%. This performance headroom is reflected in the game’s 1080p results, where the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, allowing frame rates to exceed 200 FPS on Low settings. However, the 4K results show that even this high-end GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at Ultra, making settings adjustments necessary.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X provides a robust foundation for Outriders, particularly at lower resolutions. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are substantial, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 38607 and Geekbench multi-core score of 12084. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10810 further confirms its strong parallel processing performance.

At 1080p, the CPU’s role is critical. The measured 216.5 FPS at Low settings shows that the processor can feed the GPU efficiently, even at high frame rates. The single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecks in a game that relies on a primary rendering thread. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures responsive frame pacing.

The CPU’s impact diminishes at 4K, where the GPU is the clear bottleneck. However, the Ryzen 9 5950X’s average benchmark score of 49062 places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with a negligible 0.2% difference from the Intel Core i5-14600K. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, such as 1080p gaming with a powerful GPU, the 5950X performs nearly identically to its closest rival. The CPU’s 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support further ensure that data delivery is not a limiting factor, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential when resolution is lowered.