Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination lands at rank 173 out of 1693 tested combos for Outriders, placing it comfortably in the top 10% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a pairing that sits in the upper-middle tier of the database, and the frame rate data confirms that the RTX 5070 is doing the heavy lifting to push this looter shooter to very playable levels across most settings and resolutions. The combo’s percentile ranking of 93 for the CPU and 83 for the GPU in their respective global pools reinforces that this is a balanced, high-performing duo, but the measured results show some distinct characteristics worth analyzing.

How This Combo Ranks

The 173rd position out of 1,693 combos means this setup outperforms roughly 90% of all recorded configurations in Outriders specifically. That is a meaningful distinction because the game’s performance profile rewards both strong single-threaded CPU work and substantial GPU throughput. The Ryzen 9 7900X brings a single-thread 3DMark score of 1,093 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,168, which are elite numbers that keep the CPU from bottlenecking even at high frame rates. Meanwhile, the RTX 5070’s Passmark G3D score of 29,137 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077 indicate a GPU that can handle the game’s visual load without breaking a sweat.

What is notable is how the combo’s rank compares to its component-level rivals. The CPU sits within 0.8% of the Intel Core i9-13980HX and within 0.1% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, meaning swapping the processor for any of those would not materially change the outcome. The GPU is similarly tight against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, with only a 0.6% delta in average benchmark score. In practical terms, this combo’s rank is driven by the synergy of a very fast 12-core CPU and a 12GB GDDR7 GPU, and the measured FPS data shows that the pairing rarely leaves performance on the table.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is the star of this show in Outriders, and its memory configuration is the first clue. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card delivers 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That is critical for a game like Outriders, which loads large texture sets and particle effects during combat. The 28 Gbps effective memory speed and 2,325 MHz base clock (boosting to 2,512 MHz) provide the raw throughput needed to sustain high frame rates, and the data backs this up. At 1440p High, the combo hits 124.3 FPS, which drops to 90.3 FPS at Ultra — a clear sign that the GPU is the limiting factor when settings are maxed out.

The GPU’s 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs handle the game’s rendering pipeline efficiently, and the 48 RT cores are available for any ray-traced effects, though Outriders does not heavily rely on those features. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than adequate for this title. The most telling metric is the scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K: 122.2 FPS at Low versus 46.1 FPS at Ultra. That is a 165% performance swing entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload, confirming that the RTX 5070’s memory bandwidth and compute power are what determine the ceiling here.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot. It delivers 166.1 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate most gamers target, while still offering substantially better visuals than Low. Pushing to High at 1440p drops the frame rate to 124.3 FPS, which is still excellent, but the jump from Medium to High costs 41.8 FPS — a 25% reduction — for what is often a marginal visual improvement in a fast-paced looter shooter. At 1080p, Medium is even more compelling: 232.3 FPS leaves enormous headroom for any display, and High at 195.9 FPS is still perfectly smooth.

At 4K, the recommendation changes. Ultra is not viable at 46.1 FPS, but High at 62.3 FPS is playable if you prioritize resolution over settings. Medium at 4K offers 87.7 FPS, which is the best compromise for 4K users who want both quality and responsiveness. For competitive play, Low at 1080p produces 262.1 FPS, and even at 4K Low hits 122.2 FPS, so there is no situation where this combo feels underpowered.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Outriders?

A: Both are excellent, but 1440p is the better match for the hardware. At 1440p Medium the combo hits 166.1 FPS, while 1080p Medium reaches 232.3 FPS. The extra resolution at 1440p does not meaningfully compromise smoothness, making it the more visually rewarding choice.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to the RTX 3090 in this context?

A: The RTX 5070’s average benchmark score is 41,687, which is only 0.6% higher than the RTX 3090’s 41,441. In Outriders, the 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth give it a slight edge, but the two are effectively interchangeable in this game.

Q: Will the Ryzen 9 7900X bottleneck the RTX 5070 at 1080p?

A: No. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1,093 in 3DMark and 6,168 in Cinebench R23 single-core are strong enough to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low, where the combo produces 262.1 FPS. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads also handle any background tasks without issue.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this combo can achieve in Outriders?

A: The highest measured average is 262.1 FPS at 1080p Low. At 1080p Ultra it drops to 143.8 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. No setting tested produces a frame rate below 46.1 FPS, and that only occurs at 4K Ultra.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1440p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 124.3 FPS at 1440p to 62.3 FPS at 4K — a 50% reduction. At Medium, it goes from 166.1 FPS to 87.7 FPS, which is a 47% loss. This shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Outriders at 4K?

A: Yes. The game runs at 62.3 FPS on High at 4K without any indication of memory limitations. The 672.0 GB/s bandwidth and 12 GB capacity handle the game’s texture streaming effectively, though Ultra settings at 4K are limited by compute power rather than VRAM.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a clear pattern: this combo is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. Scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average FPS from 195.9 to 124.3, a 36.5% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High reduces it further to 62.3 FPS, another 50% loss. The total drop from 1080p High to 4K High is 68.2%, which is a steeper decline than what a CPU-bound system would show. At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 262.1 FPS at 1080p drops to 224.9 FPS at 1440p (14% loss) and then to 122.2 FPS at 4K (46% loss from 1440p). The fact that Low settings at 4K still produce over 120 FPS indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU up to that point, but the RTX 5070’s rendering load at 4K is what ultimately caps performance.

The Ultra preset tells the same story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 143.8 FPS; at 1440p Ultra it falls to 90.3 FPS; at 4K Ultra it bottoms out at 46.1 FPS. This is a 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K, and it strongly suggests that anyone aiming for 4K should stick to Medium or High settings. The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s performance headroom is ample even at the lowest settings where frame rates exceed 260 FPS.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture, running at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boosting to 5.60 GHz. Its 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (83.2 GB/s bandwidth) provide the memory bandwidth that Outriders benefits from during large-scale encounters. The CPU’s benchmark scores are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 43,695 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,952. In the context of this game, the single-thread performance is what matters most, and the 1,093 3DMark single-thread score ensures that even at 1080p Low with 262.1 FPS, the CPU is not holding the GPU back.

The nearest CPU rivals are all within 0.8% of the 7900X’s average benchmark score of 50,556, including the Intel Core i9-13980HX and the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT. That means the choice of CPU among these top-tier options would not change the Outriders experience. The 7900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for a game like Outriders, which is not heavily multithreaded, but the high boost clock of 5.60 GHz and the efficient Zen 4 architecture keep frame times consistent across all settings. The data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck in this combo; even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is working hardest, the frame rates remain above 260 FPS, indicating the processor has plenty of headroom left over.