Outriders

# Outriders with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a striking performance profile in Outriders, one that reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution climbs. At 1080p, this combo produces frame rates that approach the upper limits of high-refresh displays, while 4K Ultra drops to a level that suggests the GPU is carrying the load in a way that changes the entire experience. The measured data paints a picture of a system whose CPU headroom is vast, but whose GPU is pushed hard at the highest settings — a dynamic worth examining closely.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K tells a story of escalating GPU pressure. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 231 at 1920x1080 to 180 at 2560x1440, then to 94 at 3840x2160. That represents a 22% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 48% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear — the jump to 4K is disproportionately punishing, which is typical for a game that becomes pixel-bound at higher resolutions.

Low settings show an even more dramatic curve. The system hits 289 FPS at 1080p, drops to 248 at 1440p (a 14% reduction), and then falls to 172 at 4K (a 31% reduction). The fact that Low settings at 4K still outpaces High settings at 1440p (172 vs. 180) is notable — it indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is the limiting factor at 4K, not the CPU. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth appear sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline, but the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 overwhelms even this flagship.

Medium settings provide the only complete min/max data in the measured set, and it reveals consistency. At 4K Medium, the average is 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 144. At 1440p Medium, the average jumps to 220 with a range of 187 to 253. At 1080p Medium, it reaches 257 average with 218 minimum and 295 maximum. The spread between min and max widens as resolution drops — a 38 FPS gap at 4K, 66 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 1080p — suggesting that at lower resolutions, CPU-driven frame time variability becomes more visible, while at 4K the GPU smooths out the pacing.

Ultra settings are the most punishing. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 68, which is below the 94 FPS of High at the same resolution. This 26 FPS gap between High and Ultra at 4K is larger than the 15 FPS gap at 1440p (180 vs. 130) and the 26 FPS gap at 1080p (231 vs. 205). The data implies that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately impact the GPU at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU can compensate somewhat, but at 4K, the GPU is already saturated.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing for Outriders, especially at 4K. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is likely why High settings at 4K still achieve 94 FPS — the memory subsystem is not a bottleneck. The boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units provide the compute throughput needed for the game's effects, but the data shows that even this GPU cannot sustain 4K Ultra at playable frame rates (68 FPS average).

The GPU's FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS positions it as a compute monster, yet Outriders at 4K Ultra pushes it to its limits. The drop from High to Ultra at 4K (94 to 68 FPS) suggests that Ultra enables features like enhanced shadows, reflections, or post-processing that tax the GPU's pixel and texture units. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s are high, but the game's demands at 4K Ultra exceed what these units can sustain in real-time.

The GPU's VRAM capacity of 32 GB is far beyond what Outriders likely needs at any resolution, so memory capacity is not a factor. The bandwidth, however, matters — at 4K, the 1.79 TB/s throughput is what enables the 172 FPS average at Low settings. The fact that Low settings at 4K (172 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1440p (130 FPS) indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are sufficient when the render load is reduced, but the Ultra preset's added features create a bottleneck that resolution scaling amplifies.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 77712 confirm its high-end status, but the nearest rivals — AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76904 (1.1% delta) and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78940 (-1.6% delta) — are laptop-class parts, which is unusual. This suggests the RTX 5090 D's benchmark profile is distinct, and in Outriders, its real-world performance is what the measured FPS captures.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 10th out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. That places it in the top 0.3% of all configurations, which is expected given the flagship nature of both components. However, the rank is not first, which implies that other combos — likely those with even higher-clocked CPUs or different GPU configurations — achieve better frame rates in this title.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores provide context. The AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57555 (a -0.1% delta), the AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399 (0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115 (-1.1% delta), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323 (-1.4% delta). The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57498 is within 1.5% of all these parts, meaning the CPU performance is comparable to server and high-end desktop chips. Yet in Outriders, the combo rank of 10 suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, and the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals are all lower-tier parts in benchmark terms, with the RTX 5090 D's score of 77712 sitting between the RX 6650M XT (76904) and RX 6850M XT (78940). This narrow benchmark gap does not translate to Outriders, where the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM and Blackwell architecture likely provide advantages that synthetic benchmarks do not capture. The combo rank of 10 out of 2913 means that only 9 other combos outperform this one, and those are likely configurations with the same GPU but different CPUs, or possibly SLI-style setups that are not common in testing.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p High delivers 180 FPS average, which is smooth and visually rich. At 4K High, the average drops to 94 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid. The 1080p High result of 231 FPS exceeds most display refresh rates, making 1440p the sweet spot for balancing fidelity and speed.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much from High to Ultra at 4K?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 68, versus 94 at High. This 26 FPS decrease is larger than the 15 FPS drop at 1440p (180 to 130) and the 26 FPS drop at 1080p (231 to 205). The Ultra preset's additional rendering features disproportionately tax the GPU at higher resolutions, where pixel count amplifies the cost of each effect.

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

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 289 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The Medium settings show a min FPS of 218, indicating some frame time variability. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide ample headroom, so the bottleneck shifts to the GPU even at 1080p when settings increase.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 10th out of 2913 combos, placing it in the top 0.3% of all tested systems. The CPU's benchmark scores are within 1.5% of its nearest rivals, so the ranking is likely influenced by the GPU's performance in Outriders rather than CPU differences.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with different settings?

A: At 4K Low, the average is 172 FPS. At Medium, it drops to 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 144. High yields 94 FPS, and Ultra produces 68 FPS. The progression shows that each settings tier reduces performance significantly at 4K.

Q: Does the GPU's 32 GB VRAM matter for Outriders?

A: The 32 GB VRAM capacity is far more than the game likely requires, so it is not a limiting factor. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, however, contributes to the high frame rates at 4K Low (172 FPS) by ensuring the GPU can access textures and geometry quickly.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that High settings at 1440p offer the best balance for this combo in Outriders. At 180 FPS average, the experience is fluid and visually detailed, with no min FPS data indicating a problematic floor. The 4K High result of 94 FPS is also viable for players prioritizing resolution over frame rate, but it sacrifices 86 FPS compared to 1440p High.

For players who prefer maximum visual fidelity, Ultra at 1440p delivers 130 FPS, which is still smooth, while 4K Ultra at 68 FPS is borderline for fast-paced gameplay. The Medium presets provide a middle ground — 4K Medium at 125 FPS with a 106 FPS minimum is the best 4K option for consistent frame pacing, as it avoids the lower averages of High and Ultra.

At 1080p, all settings exceed 200 FPS, making this resolution ideal for competitive play. Low settings at 289 FPS and Medium at 257 FPS are the standout options, with Ultra at 205 FPS still being high. The data indicates that for most players, 1440p High is the recommended preset, as it combines the visual quality of the game with frame rates that exceed 144Hz displays. For those with 4K monitors, Medium is the safest choice to maintain a 60+ FPS floor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X plays a supporting role in Outriders, but its capabilities are evident in the high frame rates at lower resolutions. With 12 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, this Zen 5 processor provides the single-thread performance needed for game logic and the multi-thread headroom for background tasks. The benchmark scores support this — a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and single-core of 2253 indicate strong performance, while the 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and max-thread score of 13929 show balanced scaling.

At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more prominent. The 289 FPS average at Low settings suggests the CPU can process frames faster than the GPU can render them, which is why the frame rate is so high. The Medium settings at 1080p show a minimum FPS of 218, which is still high but indicates the CPU is not fully maxed out. The 5.60 GHz boost clock is likely the key factor here, as Outriders appears to benefit from high single-thread performance.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide the data throughput necessary to feed the GPU at high frame rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and 8-thread score of 9114 show that the CPU scales well with thread count, but Outriders likely does not use all 24 threads. The percentile ranking of 92nd among all CPUs confirms its high-end status, and in this combo, it ensures that the GPU is never starved for data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates. Low settings average 289 FPS, Medium averages 257 FPS with a minimum of 218 and maximum of 295, High averages 231 FPS, and Ultra averages 205 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, showing that settings have a significant impact even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 248 FPS for Low, 220 FPS for Medium (with 187 minimum and 253 maximum), 180 FPS for High, and 130 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 118 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p, indicating that resolution amplifies the cost of higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 172 FPS for Low, 125 FPS for Medium (with 106 minimum and 144 maximum), 94 FPS for High, and 68 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 104 FPS, which is less than at 1440p but still substantial. The Medium settings at 4K show the only complete min/max data for that resolution, with a 38 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, suggesting relatively consistent frame pacing.

The data shows that this combo is capable of high frame rates across all resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 68 FPS is the only measurement that falls below 60 FPS. The system's performance in Outriders is characterized by strong scaling from 4K to 1080p, with the GPU being the primary limiter at higher resolutions and settings. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS even at Ultra settings.