Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination in Outriders is a study in GPU-bound scaling, with the measured data showing that the RTX 4060 becomes the definitive limiting factor as resolution increases, while the 12-core CPU provides ample headroom to keep frame rates high at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and steep performance drop as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, confirming that Outriders places the primary workload on the GPU in this configuration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 245.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 157.2 FPS, a 36% reduction, and at 3840x2160 Low the average falls to 82.3 FPS, which is 66% below the 1080p Low result. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the rendering pipeline is heavily dependent on the RTX 4060's throughput.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is significant but not as severe as the jump to 4K. For High settings, the 133.1 FPS at 1080p drops to 85.6 FPS at 1440p, a 35.7% decrease, and then to 41.6 FPS at 2160p, a 68.7% decrease from the 1080p baseline. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 97 FPS at 1080p falling to 58.8 FPS at 1440p and then 32.5 FPS at 4K. This steep decline at 4K, where the Ultra preset fails to maintain 60 FPS, strongly suggests that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface of the RTX 4060 are working at their limits. The data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck here; the Ryzen 9 9900X's performance is sufficient to push frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU cannot sustain those levels as pixel count increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for this combo at 2560x1440 with High settings is 85.6 FPS, which is a smooth experience for most displays.

Q: Can this system run Outriders at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only with lower presets. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 82.3 FPS and Medium averages 60.5 FPS. The High preset drops to 41.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32.5 FPS, which may not be ideal for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's core count affect performance in this game?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X features 12 cores and 24 threads. The high frame rates at 1080p, up to 245.7 FPS on Low settings, indicate that the CPU provides more than enough processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in Outriders.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 245.7 FPS, while Ultra achieves 97 FPS. This represents a 60.5% performance reduction when moving to the highest visual quality preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a limiting factor at 1440p?

A: The data suggests it is a clear limiter at higher settings. At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 58.8 FPS, while Low achieves 157.2 FPS. The large gap between presets shows that the GPU struggles with the increased graphical load at this resolution.

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

A: This specific combo ranks 856th out of 1693 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the middle of the database for 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 scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and single-core score of 6555, demonstrate exceptional computational power. In Outriders, this CPU shows it is not the limiting factor. The evidence is in the 1080p Low setting result, which reaches 245.7 FPS. This frame rate is so high that it indicates the CPU can feed the GPU far beyond what the RTX 4060 can render at higher resolutions.

The 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for game logic and asset streaming. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and max-thread score of 13929 further confirm that the processor handles multi-threaded workloads efficiently. The data implies that even at 1080p Medium, where the average is 177.9 FPS, the CPU is not the constraint. The performance difference between presets at the same resolution is entirely attributable to the GPU's workload. The CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 3341, ensures that even the most demanding game logic does not stall the frame pipeline.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations for Outriders, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 856th out of 1693 combos. This places it slightly below the median of all tested systems, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's mid-range position rather than the CPU's high-end status. The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 94 among all processors, indicating that it is in the top 6% of all CPUs tested. However, the GPU's percentile rank is 66, showing that it is only better than 66% of all GPUs.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high ranking and the GPU's lower ranking explains the combo's middling position. The average benchmark score for the CPU is 54450, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which has an average score of 54681, a delta of -0.4%. For the GPU, the average benchmark score is 23181, with the closest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23321, a delta of -0.6%. This data suggests that the combo is held back by the GPU, and in a game like Outriders, which is heavily GPU-dependent at higher resolutions, this ranking is expected. The CPU's performance is not the issue; it is the pairing with a mid-range graphics card that limits the overall standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS across all presets is high. The Low preset averages 245.7 FPS, Medium averages 177.9 FPS, High averages 133.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 97 FPS. These numbers show that 1080p is well within the capabilities of this system, even at the highest settings, where the frame rate remains above 90 FPS. At 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable. The Low preset averages 157.2 FPS, Medium averages 109.9 FPS, High averages 85.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 58.8 FPS. The Ultra preset here is the first to fall below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating a need for settings adjustments for a smoother experience. At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060 struggles to maintain playable frame rates on higher presets. The Low preset averages 82.3 FPS, Medium averages 60.5 FPS, High averages 41.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 32.5 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: for 4K gaming, only Low and Medium presets deliver acceptable performance, while High and Ultra are not suitable for sustained action.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience for most players will be found at 2560x1440 with High settings, which yields an average of 85.6 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. For those with 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 97 FPS is the optimal choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. At 4K, the data strongly recommends using the Medium preset, which averages 60.5 FPS, as this is the only way to achieve a playable frame rate while retaining some graphical detail. The Low preset at 4K is also viable at 82.3 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. The High and Ultra presets at 4K should be avoided, as their average FPS of 41.6 and 32.5, respectively, will result in a compromised gameplay experience. For competitive play, the 1080p Low preset at 245.7 FPS offers the highest possible responsiveness.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the primary determinant of performance in Outriders for this combo. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1830 MHz, with a boost clock of 2460 MHz. Its 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs are tasked with rendering the game's visuals. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's limitations become apparent as resolution and settings increase. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and the Passmark G3D score of 19545 place this GPU in the 66th percentile, confirming its mid-range standing.

The VRAM capacity is a likely contributor to the performance drops at 4K. The jump from 1440p to 2160p results in a 51% performance decrease on High settings (from 85.6 FPS to 41.6 FPS), which is a steeper decline than the 35.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that the 8 GB VRAM buffer is being saturated at 4K, forcing the GPU to manage memory more inefficiently. The GPU's transistor count of 18,900 million and 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data indicates that for 4K, the RTX 4060 is the bottleneck. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, has a similar average score, highlighting that this is a competitive performance tier, but one that is not designed for high-end 4K rendering. The measured results show that the RTX 4060 is best utilized at resolutions of 1440p and below, where it can deliver high frame rates.