Outriders

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a top-tier Outriders experience, ranking 3rd out of 1693 tested combos. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions but still capable of exceptional frame rates at 1080p, making it a versatile choice for high-refresh-rate displays across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 194.1 FPS, which drops to 123.6 FPS at 1440p and further to 61.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 68.2% reduction in performance from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K imposes a heavier relative penalty than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, which is typical for a game that is heavily reliant on fill rate and memory bandwidth.

The pattern shifts when examining lower settings. At Low settings, the frame rate only drops from 287.8 FPS at 1080p to 165 FPS at 4K, a 42.7% decrease. This smaller relative drop suggests that at Low settings, the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU, and the system is less constrained by the rendering workload. The 1080p Low result of 287.8 FPS is the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, showing that the Ryzen 9 9900X can push the RTX 5090 to its limits when the graphical load is reduced. The data indicates that at 1080p, the limiting component shifts between CPU and GPU depending on the preset, whereas at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor across all settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 172.1 FPS, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate threshold. 4K High is also viable at 86.5 FPS, but 1440p provides a more comfortable margin for competitive play.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample resources for 4K textures. The measured 4K Ultra frame rate of 61.8 FPS is not constrained by memory capacity or bandwidth, but rather by the raw compute demands of the game.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The evidence suggests it is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 287.8 FPS, and at Medium it hits 257.7 FPS. These high numbers indicate the 12-core, 24-thread processor can feed the GPU effectively. The 3dmark max threads score of 13929 and single thread score of 1286 support this conclusion.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 3rd out of 1693 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the top 0.2% of all systems. This is a dominant position, indicating that only two other CPU-GPU pairings have produced higher average frame rates in this title.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra preset at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 4K yields 61.8 FPS, which is a significant 28.6% drop from the High preset's 86.5 FPS. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU, and the performance cost may not be worth the visual gain for many users.

Q: Does the CPU's boost clock help in this game?

A: The CPU's boost clock of 5.60 GHz is a key contributor to the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions. The 3dmark single thread score of 1286 indicates strong single-core performance, which is essential for the game's physics and game logic threads, helping maintain high minimum frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination holds the 3rd position out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This placement is exceptional, reflecting a near-optimal pairing for this title. The CPU's percentile rank of 94 among all CPUs and the GPU's percentile rank of 94 among all GPUs indicate that both components are in the top 6% of their respective categories. The combination of two top-tier parts results in a system that outperforms the vast majority of configurations.

The data shows that the combo is not merely good, but exceptional. The 4K High result of 86.5 FPS and the 1440p High result of 172.1 FPS are both strong indicators of the system's capability. When compared to the nearest rival GPUs, the RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84306 is only 0.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D, but 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6600. This narrow margin at the top of the GPU hierarchy means that the CPU choice has a more measurable impact on the final ranking. The Ryzen 9 9900X's average score of 54450 is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F, which can translate to a few extra frames in CPU-bound scenarios like 1080p Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its peak performance. Low settings produce 287.8 FPS, Medium yields 257.7 FPS, High reaches 229 FPS, and Ultra dips to 194.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 93.7 FPS, showing that the GPU has headroom even at this resolution. The 1080p results are all well above the 144Hz refresh rate, making this resolution ideal for esports-style play with maximum responsiveness.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low settings produce 246.6 FPS, Medium reaches 219.5 FPS, High hits 172.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 123.6 FPS. The 1440p High result is particularly notable as it exceeds the 165Hz refresh rate common on many high-end monitors. The 1440p Ultra result of 123.6 FPS is still smooth and playable, but it is the first setting where the frame rate falls below the 144Hz threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is fully saturated. Low settings yield 165 FPS, Medium drops to 116.4 FPS, High falls to 86.5 FPS, and Ultra stumbles to 61.8 FPS. The 4K results show a steep decline as settings increase, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of the Low preset. The 4K High result of 86.5 FPS is suitable for a 60Hz display or a 90Hz display, but it does not reach the heights of the lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the card has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is more than sufficient for Outriders at any resolution. The base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz, and the card's FP32 performance is rated at 104.8 TFLOPS. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411 confirms the card's raw compute power.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rate drops are directly correlated with the increased pixel count, and the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The 32 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game, as the 4K Ultra result of 61.8 FPS is due to shading and rasterization workload, not memory exhaustion. The card's performance percentile of 94 means it outperforms 94% of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 84306 is only 1.6% lower than the top-scoring NVIDIA CMP 40HX. This places the RTX 5090 at the apex of the GPU market, and the measured FPS data in Outriders reflects this position.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X serves as the supporting pillar of this combo. With 12 cores and 24 threads, it offers substantial multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and 3dmark max threads score of 13929. The CPU's base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost of 5.60 GHz, and its single-thread performance is strong, scoring 6555 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1286 in 3dmark single thread. These scores are critical for Outriders, which relies on a few heavily-threaded tasks for game logic.

The CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough to expose any CPU bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 287.8 FPS indicates that the CPU can generate frames faster than the GPU can render them at that setting. The CPU's average benchmark score of 54450 is only 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, its closest rival, but 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F. This margin, while small, can contribute to the combo's overall ranking. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth are also important for feeding the GPU with data at high frame rates, preventing stutters and maintaining consistent frame times.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets for this combo. For users with 1440p displays, the High preset at 172.1 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. It provides a fluid experience well above the 144Hz threshold, and the gap to the Ultra preset's 123.6 FPS shows that High avoids the most demanding effects without sacrificing much visual quality. At 4K, the High preset at 86.5 FPS is the recommended choice for a stable experience. The Ultra preset at 61.8 FPS is playable but may result in noticeable frame drops in intense combat scenes, making High the safer option for consistent performance.

For users with 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 257.7 FPS is the most optimal choice. It provides a massive frame rate headroom, ensuring that the system never dips below refresh rate limits, and it avoids the potential CPU bottleneck that could occur at Low settings. The 1080p Ultra preset at 194.1 FPS is also viable, but the 63.6 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra suggests that the visual gains are not worth the performance cost for competitive play. The Low preset is not recommended at any resolution, as the frame rate gains over Medium are minimal (30.1 FPS at 1080p) and the visual degradation is significant. The data shows that the High preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering a consistent frame rate that is approximately 30-40% higher than Ultra while maintaining a high level of detail.