Outriders

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Outriders with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 154.1 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it drops to 120 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls further to 63.5 FPS. This represents a 58.8% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the graphics card as the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The scaling behavior differs noticeably across settings presets. At Low settings, the frame rate only drops from 212.7 FPS at 1080p to 150.1 FPS at 4K, a 29.4% reduction. This smaller percentage drop at Low settings indicates that the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU when graphical load is light. The Ryzen 9 5950X, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is clearly not the bottleneck at Low settings even at 4K, since the 150.1 FPS result is still very high.

At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (192.5 FPS) to 4K (114.9 FPS) is 40.3%, while at High settings it goes from 169.3 FPS to 86.9 FPS, a 48.7% reduction. The trend is consistent: as settings increase, the resolution scaling penalty grows, confirming that the RTX 4090's rendering workload is what dominates performance scaling. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle 4K textures without capacity issues, so the FPS drops are purely from compute and rasterization load.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset at 4K, where the combo manages only 63.5 FPS. This is below the 86.9 FPS seen at High settings at the same resolution, indicating that Ultra settings impose a particularly heavy penalty in Outriders. The RTX 4090's boost clock of 2520 MHz and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are clearly being pushed hard at 4K Ultra, yet the game still demands more than the card can deliver for a locked 60 FPS experience with big headroom.

FAQ

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

A: At 1440p High, the combo delivers 146.1 FPS, which offers an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 4K High, it drops to 86.9 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 212.7 FPS while Ultra produces 154.1 FPS. That is a 38% advantage for Low, making it the clear choice for competitive play if maximum frame rate is the priority.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The data shows 212.7 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a very high frame rate. Given that the Ryzen 9 5950X has a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the RTX 4090 is 91st percentile among GPUs, the system is well-balanced, but the 1080p Low result suggests the GPU still has headroom before the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: Can this combo hit 120 FPS at 4K?

A: No. The highest measured 4K result is 150.1 FPS at Low settings, but at High settings it drops to 86.9 FPS and at Ultra it falls to 63.5 FPS. To reach 120 FPS at 4K, you would need to use Low or Medium settings, which yield 150.1 and 114.9 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Outriders?

A: It ranks 170th out of 1693 tested combos, placing it in the top 10% of all configurations tested for this game. This is a strong result, though not the absolute top tier.

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

A: At 1440p, Medium produces 165.8 FPS while High produces 146.1 FPS. The 19.7 FPS gap indicates that High settings impose a moderate additional load on the RTX 4090.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 plays the dominant role in Outriders performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for 4K textures and effects in this looter shooter. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, and the card's base clock of 2235 MHz boosts up to 2520 MHz under load.

The RTX 4090's compute resources are substantial: 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. These translate to 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s. In Outriders, the data shows that Ultra settings at 4K push the card to its limits, yielding only 63.5 FPS. This suggests that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU's rasterization pipeline, rather than on memory capacity or bandwidth.

The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present, but Outriders is not a ray tracing showcase, so their impact is likely minimal in the measured results. The card's 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate it is a high-power part, and the suggested 850 W PSU reflects that. The 16-pin power connector is the modern standard for this class of GPU.

At 1080p, the RTX 4090 is clearly overkill for Outriders. Even at Ultra settings, it produces 154.1 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. The GPU's performance is only truly challenged at 4K Ultra, where it falls below 70 FPS. This pattern confirms that the RTX 4090 is the primary performance driver in this combo, with the CPU providing ample support without becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 170th out of 1693 tested combinations for Outriders. This places it in the 90th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 90% of configurations in this game. The ranking reflects a very capable pairing, though not the absolute fastest combination tested.

The CPU's individual standing supports this result. The Ryzen 9 5950X has a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49062. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, scores 49166, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i5-14600KF is 0.6% higher at 49367, while the AMD EPYC 4345P is 1.1% higher at 49595. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.7% lower at 48698. These tight margins show that the 5950X is right at the top of the CPU performance curve.

The GPU's ranking is slightly lower but still strong. The RTX 4090 has a 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 at 66733 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 67097 (0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 at 67320 (1.3% higher). The NVIDIA Tesla P40 is 0.5% lower at 66127. These are all professional or workstation cards, which highlights how the RTX 4090 compares favorably in gaming workloads.

The combination of a top-10% CPU and a top-10% GPU yields a top-10% result in Outriders. The 170th rank out of 1693 combos is a strong showing, and the measured FPS data confirms that this system can handle the game at high frame rates across all resolutions, with only 4K Ultra presenting a challenge.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 212.7 FPS, Medium produces 192.5 FPS, High produces 169.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 154.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58.6 FPS, showing that the RTX 4090 has plenty of headroom at this resolution. Even at Ultra, the frame rate is well above 144 Hz, making this an excellent setup for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show the GPU working harder. Low settings yield 183.4 FPS, Medium yields 165.8 FPS, High yields 146.1 FPS, and Ultra yields 120 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at Ultra, where the frame rate falls from 154.1 to 120, a 22.1% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is only 13.8%, from 212.7 to 183.4 FPS. This indicates that at 1440p, the GPU is still capable of driving high refresh rates on all presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. Low settings produce 150.1 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium produces 114.9 FPS, High produces 86.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 63.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 86.6 FPS, highlighting how demanding the Ultra preset is at this resolution. The 4K High result of 86.9 FPS is notable because it is below the 100 FPS mark, while 4K Ultra falls below 70 FPS.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 4090 handles Low and Medium settings with ease at any resolution, while High and Ultra settings at 4K push the card to its limits. The Ryzen 9 5950X never appears to be the limiting factor, as even the lowest frame rate of 63.5 FPS at 4K Ultra is still a respectable result for such demanding settings.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data shows that Ultra settings are viable with 154.1 FPS, but High settings at 169.3 FPS offer a better balance. The 15.2 FPS difference between High and Ultra is modest, but the visual improvement from Ultra may not justify the performance cost for competitive play. For the smoothest experience at 1080p, Medium settings at 192.5 FPS are excellent, though most users will find High to be the sweet spot.

At 1440p, High settings at 146.1 FPS provide an ideal combination of visual fidelity and high refresh rate. Ultra settings at 120 FPS are also excellent if you prefer maximum quality, since 120 FPS is still very smooth. Medium at 165.8 FPS is the choice for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals. Low at 183.4 FPS is unnecessary unless you are chasing every last frame.

At 4K, the recommendation depends on your display's refresh rate. For 60 Hz displays, Ultra at 63.5 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. High at 86.9 FPS is a safer choice, providing better frame pacing and headroom. For 120 Hz displays, Medium at 114.9 FPS is the best option, as it stays close to the 120 FPS target while maintaining decent visual quality. Low at 150.1 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 120 FPS at 4K.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is High settings at 1440p, which delivers 146.1 FPS with good visual quality. If you have a 4K display, High settings at 86.9 FPS offer the best balance of quality and performance, assuming you are not chasing high refresh rates. For competitive play, Low settings at any resolution provide the highest frame rates, with 212.7 FPS at 1080p being the maximum measured result.