Outriders

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 556th out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders. That places the combination in the top 19.1% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mobile CPU paired with a desktop-class GPU. The percentile ranking for the CPU itself is 95th among all processors, while the GPU sits in the 87th percentile among all graphics cards, so both components are performing near the upper end of their respective distributions.

The rank of 556 out of 2,913 is notable because it is not higher, given the hardware involved. The RTX 5080 is a top-tier Blackwell GPU, and the Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core Zen 4 part with a 5.40 GHz boost clock. Yet the combo rank suggests that in Outriders specifically, the pairing does not dominate the leaderboard the way its raw specifications might imply. This is partly explained by the game's engine characteristics, which we will examine through the measured FPS data. The rank reflects the measured data, not theoretical potential, and Outriders appears to be a title where the GPU's headroom is not fully utilized at every setting level.

Compared to the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 9 8945HX averages 76,212 in overall benchmark score, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX at 76,155. It is 0.4% behind the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX, and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. These are all extremely close margins, indicating that the 8945HX is competitively positioned among high-end CPUs. The GPU's rivals tell a similar story: the RTX 5080 averages 56,083, which is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S, 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, 2.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, and 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. The GPU's percentile rank is 87, meaning it outperforms 87% of all GPUs in the database.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 brings 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1875 MHz, running at 30 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. It has 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. The ray tracing core count is 84, and the tensor core count is 336. The GPU achieves a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 56.28 TFLOPS.

In Outriders, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions, but the measured FPS data reveals that the RTX 5080's capabilities are not always the limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 241 FPS on average, which is approaching the refresh rate ceiling of many displays. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average drops to 43 FPS, indicating a heavy GPU load that the RTX 5080 cannot fully overcome without settings adjustments. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Outriders, as the game does not appear to be VRAM-limited based on the measured results; the bottleneck at 4K Ultra is raw compute throughput rather than memory capacity.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its high-end positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 8,637. In Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, it scores 235,901 and 255,450 respectively. The Passmark G3D score is 36,565, and the GPU compute score is 21,789. The DirectX 11 score of 324 and DirectX 12 score of 151 are lower relative to other tests, which may reflect specific workload characteristics. The GPU's average benchmark score of 56,083 places it in the 87th percentile, confirming that it is a strong performer overall, even if Outriders does not always show it at its best.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the RTX 5080 scales from 1080p to 4K in Outriders. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 214 at 1080p to 153 at 1440p, a 28.5% reduction, and then to 80 at 4K, a 47.7% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, which is expected for a high-end card. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, suggesting that the GPU is reaching its limits at 4K.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute values. The average FPS goes from 182 at 1080p to 115 at 1440p (a 36.8% drop) and then to 60 at 4K (a 47.8% drop from 1440p). The 4K High result of 60 FPS is exactly at the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the RTX 5080 can handle 4K High but with no headroom. At Ultra settings, the scaling is more dramatic: 131 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p (a 36.6% drop), and 43 FPS at 4K (a 48.2% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result is unplayable for most users, suggesting that Ultra settings are not viable at 4K with this combo.

The resolution scaling analysis points to the GPU as the limiting component at 4K, particularly at higher settings. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, as evidenced by the relatively high frame rates that the Ryzen 9 8945HX must feed. The data shows that the combo is well-balanced at 1440p, where High settings deliver 115 FPS and Medium delivers 153 FPS, both smooth experiences. The 1080p results, especially at Low (241 FPS) and Medium (214 FPS), indicate that the CPU is capable of keeping up with the GPU's output, but the GPU is not the bottleneck at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 241 FPS, which is effectively uncapped for most displays. Medium settings yield 214 FPS on average, with a minimum of 182 FPS and a maximum of 246 FPS. High settings drop to 182 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 131 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 110 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at 1080p and that the CPU is likely the limiting factor at the lower settings. The minimum FPS at Medium (182) is still very high, showing consistent frame delivery.

At 2560x1440, the results are still strong but show the GPU taking on more load. Low settings average 206 FPS, which is a 14.5% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 153 FPS, with a minimum of 130 and maximum of 176. High settings average 115 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 83 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 123 FPS, a larger absolute spread than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is now more sensitive to settings changes. The minimum FPS at Medium (130) is still well above playable thresholds.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Low settings average 110 FPS, which is a 46.6% drop from 1080p Low and a 46.6% drop from 1440p Low. Medium settings average 80 FPS, with a minimum of 68 and maximum of 92. High settings average 60 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 43 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 67 FPS, which is the smallest absolute spread across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings. The 4K results show that the RTX 5080 can handle 4K Low and Medium comfortably, 4K High is borderline, and 4K Ultra is not recommended.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo in Outriders depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset at 214 FPS average is the sweet spot, offering a high frame rate with minimal risk of visual quality degradation. The High preset at 182 FPS is also excellent, and the Ultra preset at 131 FPS is still smooth for most users. The minimum FPS at Medium is 182, which ensures consistent frame pacing. At 1080p, there is no reason to use Low settings, as the GPU and CPU have ample headroom.

At 1440p, the High preset at 115 FPS is the recommended choice, as it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds most high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 153 FPS is even smoother, but the visual quality difference may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS is playable but does not leave much headroom for dips, and the High preset provides a better margin. The minimum FPS at Medium is 130, which is still very high, and the High preset likely maintains similar consistency given the average of 115.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 80 FPS is the best option, as it provides a smooth experience with a minimum of 68 FPS. The High preset at 60 FPS is borderline; it is technically playable but leaves no room for frame drops. The Low preset at 110 FPS is faster but sacrifices visual quality, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for gameplay. The data suggests that Medium at 4K is the optimal balance, as it delivers the highest frame rate that still maintains a playable minimum. For users with 4K displays, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Dragon Range codename) on a 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU's cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 64 MB of L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU has a TDP of 55 W, which is modest for a 16-core part, indicating it is designed for mobile platforms. It uses the AMD Socket FL1 and supports PCIe Gen 5 with 28 lanes from the CPU.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is significant at lower resolutions where the GPU is not saturated. The benchmark results show that the 8945HX is a high-performing processor, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,713 and a single-core score of 6,030. The Passmark multi-thread score is 51,405, and the single-thread score is 3,907. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle the game's logic and draw calls without bottlenecking the GPU at 1080p. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 241 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited to some degree, as the GPU is not fully utilized at such a high frame rate.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are all within 0.6% of the 8945HX, suggesting that the CPU is not a differentiator in Outriders when paired with the RTX 5080. The CPU's percentile rank of 95 means it outperforms 95% of all processors, so it is clearly not the weak link in this combo. The 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample parallel processing power, and the 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic. The measured FPS data at 1440p and 4K shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at those resolutions, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU up to 241 FPS, which is more than any current display can show.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Outriders?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 556th out of 2,913 tested combos, placing it in the top 19.1% of all systems.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 perform at 4K Ultra settings in Outriders?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, making it the recommended setting for 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor at lower settings, as the GPU has headroom. The combo achieves 241 FPS at Low settings and 214 FPS at Medium, suggesting that the Ryzen 9 8945HX's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock are sufficient to keep up with the GPU.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p display?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 115 FPS average, which is the recommended choice for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 153 FPS is also excellent, and the Ultra preset at 83 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5080 averages 56,083 in benchmark scores, which is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S, 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, 2.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, and 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 68, with an average of 80 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. This indicates consistent frame delivery even at 4K.