Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in Outriders produces a clear performance hierarchy: the CPU is vastly overqualified for the workload, leaving the GPU as the definitive bottleneck at every resolution and settings level. The measured frame rates demonstrate that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high refresh rate experiences, while 4K Ultra remains beyond its reach.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component in this pairing. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 103 FPS at 1920x1080 to 65 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 38 FPS, and then further down to 34 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that is typical for a mid-range GPU struggling with the pixel count at higher resolutions.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the frame rate drops from 74 FPS at 1080p to 47 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a nearly unplayable 24 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 27 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 23 FPS, indicating that the GPU is being overwhelmed by the combination of high graphical fidelity and high resolution. The data suggests that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit memory bus are insufficient for 4K Ultra textures and effects in Outriders.

Interestingly, the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows that the CPU is never the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 189 FPS, and at 4K Low it still manages 62 FPS. These numbers indicate that the Zen 5 architecture of the Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data, even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically becomes more prominent. The bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU’s rasterization and memory bandwidth capabilities as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience at 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. The data shows an average of 137 FPS at Medium with minimums of 117 FPS and maximums of 158 FPS, which is a smooth and responsive frame rate for a looter shooter. High settings at 1080p still deliver 103 FPS, but the 34 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra suggests that the jump to Ultra’s extra effects is not worth the performance cost when Medium provides such a high baseline.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot, achieving an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS. This is just above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play, and the minimum frame rate indicates that even in intense combat scenarios, the system will not stutter significantly. High settings at 1440p drop to 65 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for dips, while Ultra at 47 FPS is too inconsistent for a fast-paced action game.

At 4K, the data suggests that only Low settings are viable for a playable experience, with an average of 62 FPS. Medium drops to 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS, which will feel sluggish, and High at 34 FPS is borderline unplayable. Given that the RTX 2060 is a 6 GB card, the texture memory demands of Outriders at 4K High and Ultra likely cause significant stuttering, making Low the only reasonable choice for 3840x2160 resolution.

FAQ

*Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo able to run Outriders at 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p with Medium settings. The measured average FPS is 137 at 1080p Medium and 87 at 1440p Medium. At 4K, only Low settings achieve 62 FPS, while Medium drops to 45 FPS.

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

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the best choice. At Medium settings, it provides an average of 137 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 87 FPS at 1440p Medium and the 45 FPS at 4K Medium.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 perform at Ultra settings in this game?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS is 74 at 1080p, 47 at 1440p, and 24 at 4K. The 4K result is not playable, and the 1440p result is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X bottleneck the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: No. The 1080p Low result of 189 FPS shows the CPU can deliver high frame rates; the bottleneck is the GPU, as performance drops sharply with increased resolution and settings.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS is 117 at 1080p, 74 at 1440p, and 38 at 4K. These minimums show that 1080p and 1440p provide consistent frame times, while 4K has significant dips.

Q: Is the 4K High setting playable with this combo?

A: No. The average FPS at 4K High is 34, which is well below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. The RTX 2060’s memory bandwidth is insufficient for this workload.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2881 out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the lower 22% of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s age and class, rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, the AMD Radeon 680M, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, with delta percentages of 0%, 0.1%, and 0.6% respectively.

In contrast, the Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end processor, ranking at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 57498. Its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 9015, AMD EPYC 7313, Intel Core i9-14900, and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, with delta percentages of -0.1%, 0.2%, -1.1%, and -1.4% respectively. This massive disparity in relative performance between the CPU and GPU means that the combo’s rank in Outriders is dragged down by the GPU’s inability to utilize the CPU’s full potential, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU is fully saturated.

The ranking of 2881 out of 3710 suggests that many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs will outperform this setup in Outriders, particularly those with newer mid-range or high-end graphics cards. The data implies that a user with this CPU would see a significant improvement in frame rates by pairing it with a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is not the constraining factor in this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. This level of performance is far beyond what is required for Outriders, which is a game that scales well with GPU power but does not heavily tax modern high-end CPUs.

In this specific pairing, the CPU’s role is to provide a stable, high-FPS foundation without introducing any frame pacing issues. The 1080p Low result of 189 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can push frame rates well above the refresh rate of most monitors, and the 1080p Medium result of 137 FPS shows that it can maintain high performance even with more complex rendering. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and the Geekbench single-core score of 3010 indicate that the CPU has excellent single-threaded performance, which is often a critical factor for game logic and draw call processing.

The CPU’s 64 MB of L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s ensure that data is fed to the GPU quickly, but the RTX 2060’s 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the limiting factor. The data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck; even at 4K Low with 62 FPS, the GPU is still the constraining component. The CPU’s high scores in benchmarks like Passmark Integer Math (181056) and Floating Point Math (120083) are irrelevant to the game’s performance because the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo in Outriders are as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 189 average FPS
• Medium: 137 average FPS, 117 minimum FPS, 158 maximum FPS
• High: 103 average FPS
• Ultra: 74 average FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 119 average FPS
• Medium: 87 average FPS, 74 minimum FPS, 99 maximum FPS
• High: 65 average FPS
• Ultra: 47 average FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 62 average FPS
• Medium: 45 average FPS, 38 minimum FPS, 52 maximum FPS
• High: 34 average FPS
• Ultra: 24 average FPS

The data reveals a consistent pattern: for every resolution, the jump from Medium to High costs roughly 30% of the frame rate, and the jump from High to Ultra costs another 30%. For example, at 1440p, the frame rate drops from 87 FPS at Medium to 65 FPS at High, and then to 47 FPS at Ultra. The only exception is at 4K, where the drop from Low to Medium is 17 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra is only 10 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling.

The minimum FPS values provided for Medium settings show that the system is stable at 1080p and 1440p, with minimums of 117 and 74 FPS respectively, which are close to the averages. At 4K, the minimum of 38 FPS is substantially lower than the average of 45 FPS, indicating potential stuttering in demanding scenes. These numbers collectively paint a picture of a GPU that is stretched to its limits at 4K, while the CPU’s potential remains untapped.