Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a compelling, though occasionally puzzling, experience in Outriders. This combination ranks in the 85th percentile of all tested system configurations for this title, placing it at position 434 out of 2,913 combos. The data reveals a system with immense raw power that behaves differently across resolutions, indicating a shift in bottleneck between the CPU and GPU as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The performance curve from 1080p to 4K shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but the magnitude of the drops is steep. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 193 FPS at 1920x1080 to 122 FPS at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 64 FPS, which represents a 48% decrease from the 1440p result and a 67% decrease from the 1080p figure.

This scaling indicates that at 1080p, the system is not fully utilizing the GPU's potential; the frame rate is likely being limited by the CPU or other system components. The Ryzen 9 8945HX, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, provides substantial processing power, but at lower resolutions, the graphics card is waiting for data. The jump to 1440p shows the GPU beginning to take over as the primary limiting factor, and by 4K, the RTX 5090 is working at its limit, evidenced by the significant frame rate penalty.

The Ultra preset provides a clear view of this bottleneck shift. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 140 FPS, which is lower than the 193 FPS at High. This suggests that the Ultra preset's increased graphical demands are beginning to strain the GPU even at 1080p. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 88 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 46 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, confirming that Ultra settings place a heavy load on the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable graphics processor, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU's boost clock is listed at 2407 MHz, with a base clock of 2017 MHz. This high bandwidth and large memory pool are crucial for handling the high-resolution textures and effects in Outriders.

The data shows the GPU's performance ceiling is tested at 4K. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 64 FPS, and at Ultra, it drops to 46 FPS. These are playable but not exceptionally high frame rates, indicating that the RTX 5090 is the limiting factor at this resolution. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is notable: Medium achieves 85 FPS, while High drops to 64 FPS. This 21 FPS gap shows that the High preset introduces rendering features that significantly tax the GPU.

The GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs are responsible for pixel and texture processing, and the benchmark results suggest they are being fully utilized at 4K. The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355, places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, in this specific game, the 4K results are more moderate, suggesting that Outriders may have specific rendering paths that are particularly demanding on the GPU's compute or memory subsystems.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a mobile processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with 16 cores and 32 threads. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache is substantial, and the CPU supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. This processor is designed for high-performance laptops and is not typically the bottleneck in gaming scenarios.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p. At this resolution, the system achieves 241 FPS on Low settings and 193 FPS on High settings. The difference between Low and High at 1080p is 48 FPS, which is a smaller gap than at 1440p or 4K. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU data fast enough to maintain high frame rates, and the GPU is not yet the primary limit.

However, the CPU's performance ceiling is shown by the 1080p Ultra result of 140 FPS. This is significantly lower than the 1080p High result of 193 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional graphical features are now GPU-limited, even at 1080p. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are not directly tested by this game's frame rate, but its strong performance in benchmarks like Cinebench R23 (multi-core score of 42,713) ensures it can handle the game's background tasks and streaming without causing frame hitches. The CPU's percentile ranking of 95th vs all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 76,212, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, confirms it is a top-tier processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 8945HX and RTX 5090 ranks 434th out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the top 15% of all systems tested, which is a strong result. This ranking is influenced by the fact that the database likely includes many desktop systems with more powerful desktop CPUs and GPUs, whereas this is a mobile CPU. The mobile nature of the Ryzen 9 8945HX, with its 55 W TDP, may limit sustained performance compared to desktop parts, even if its peak performance is high.

The data shows that the combo's performance is competitive with other high-end systems. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which has a 0.6% higher average benchmark score, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which is 0.1% lower. This indicates that the processor is performing at the expected level for its class. The GPU's nearest rivals are less relevant for gaming, as they include data center parts like the Tesla P100, but the RTX 5090's 3DMark and PassMark scores are in line with its high-end positioning.

The combo's rank is solid, but its performance in Outriders is not top-tier. This is partly due to the game's engine, which may not scale perfectly with the high core counts of the CPU. The fact that the 1080p results are not significantly higher than the 1440p results in some settings suggests that the system is hitting a performance wall that is not purely GPU-related.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a detailed picture of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions.

1920x1080:

• Low: 241 FPS average
• Medium: 214 FPS average, with a minimum of 182 FPS and a maximum of 246 FPS
• High: 193 FPS average
• Ultra: 140 FPS average

At 1080p, the system is highly capable, with even the Ultra preset delivering a smooth 140 FPS. The Low preset's 241 FPS is near the typical refresh rate ceiling for high-end monitors, and the frame times are consistent.

2560x1440:

• Low: 206 FPS average
• Medium: 163 FPS average, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS
• High: 122 FPS average
• Ultra: 88 FPS average

At 1440p, the system remains very strong. The High preset's 122 FPS is excellent for a high-refresh-rate 1440p monitor, and even the Ultra preset's 88 FPS is playable. The frame times at Medium show a minimum of 139 FPS, which indicates good consistency.

3840x2160:

• Low: 117 FPS average
• Medium: 85 FPS average, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS
• High: 64 FPS average
• Ultra: 46 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The High preset's 64 FPS is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset's 46 FPS is on the edge of smoothness. The Medium preset's 85 FPS is the recommended choice for a 4K display, as it provides a good balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. The minimum frame rate of 72 FPS at Medium ensures a mostly smooth experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Outriders?*

A: For a high-refresh-rate experience, 2560x1440 on High settings provides an average of 122 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset offers the best balance with an average of 85 FPS and a minimum of 72 FPS, while the High preset drops to 64 FPS.

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

A: At 1080p, the system is less GPU-bound than at higher resolutions. The fact that the 1080p High preset achieves 193 FPS, while the 4K High preset only achieves 64 FPS, indicates the GPU is not fully utilized at 1080p. The CPU is likely the limiting factor at this resolution, though its high core count ensures it can keep up.

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to other systems tested in Outriders?*

A: This combo ranks 434th out of 2,913 tested combinations, placing it in the top 15% of all systems. This is a strong result, though it is not in the top tier, likely due to the mobile nature of the CPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 64 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 46 FPS. This represents a 28% performance drop, indicating that the Ultra preset introduces significant graphical demands that heavily tax the GPU.

Q: Does the 32 GB of VRAM in the RTX 5090 provide an advantage in this game?

A: The data does not show a specific VRAM limitation in Outriders. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is more relevant to performance, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, suggesting that memory capacity is not a constraining factor in the tested scenarios.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 76,212 is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. This indicates it is a top-tier mobile processor, performing within a narrow margin of the best desktop and mobile chips.