Outriders

# Outriders with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

This pairing combines AMD's flagship 16-core Zen 5 processor with NVIDIA's Turing-based RTX 2060, a combination that produces a heavily GPU-limited experience in Outriders at higher resolutions. The benchmark data shows this combo ranks 2881st out of 3710 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of all systems tested for this game. The RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus become the primary constraint as resolution climbs, while the Ryzen 9 9950X3D's 16 cores and 32 threads remain largely underutilized throughout the tested scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, average FPS falls from 103 at 1920x1080 to 65 at 2560x1440, then to 34 at 3840x2160. That represents a 67% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, with the largest single step occurring between 1440p and 4K where performance nearly halves. This steep decline indicates the RTX 2060's rendering throughput, not the CPU, is the limiting factor.

The scaling pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the combo delivers 189 FPS at 1080p, 119 at 1440p, and 62 at 4K — again a roughly two-thirds drop from the lowest to highest resolution. The fact that even at Low settings 4K performance falls to 62 FPS, barely above the 60 FPS threshold, underscores how resolution dominates this GPU's capabilities. At Medium settings, the spread is 137 FPS at 1080p, 87 at 1440p, and 45 at 4K, with the 1440p result showing a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS.

Ultra settings tell the most telling story: 74 FPS at 1080p, 47 at 1440p, and just 24 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is effectively unplayable, while even 1440p Ultra sits below 50 FPS. The consistent pattern — roughly 50% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and another 50% from 1440p to 4K at every settings level — points squarely at the GPU's pixel-pushing limits. The CPU's massive headroom, evidenced by its 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, never becomes relevant in this title.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 operates with a base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz, built on the TU106 chip at TSMC's 12 nm process. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus yields 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes a critical constraint at higher resolutions where texture data demands grow. The card's 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance include the GTX 580 (0% delta), Radeon 680M (0.1% delta), RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% delta), and RX 7600 (0.8% delta). This clustering shows the RTX 2060 sits in a tightly contested performance tier, though its 6 GB VRAM capacity is the smallest among modern contenders.

In Outriders specifically, the VRAM allocation becomes apparent at 4K. The jump from Medium (45 FPS) to High (34 FPS) to Ultra (24 FPS) at 3840x2160 suggests that beyond raw compute, memory bandwidth and capacity are straining to feed the higher-detail assets. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed, while respectable for the era, cannot compensate for the 192-bit bus width when pushing 8.3 million pixels. At 1080p, the same settings progression yields 137, 103, and 74 FPS respectively — a much gentler curve that indicates the GPU has sufficient resources at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2881 out of 3710 tested systems places this configuration in the bottom 22% of all tested combos for Outriders. This ranking reflects the GPU's modest standing more than the CPU's capabilities. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D itself sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 75779 and nearest rivals including the Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (0.1% delta), Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (0.1% delta), EPYC 8224P (0.3% delta), and Core Ultra 9 285 (0.4% delta). The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42018 and single-core score of 2259 demonstrate exceptional processing power that Outriders cannot fully exploit.

The GPU, by contrast, ranks at the 58th percentile with an average benchmark score of 15290. This mismatch — a top-tier CPU paired with a mid-range GPU — produces a system that is dramatically underutilized in this game. The measured FPS data confirms the bottleneck: even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the least work relative to the GPU, the combo reaches 189 FPS, but this is still far below what the 9950X3D could theoretically support with a stronger graphics card. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 16374 and max-thread score of 17184 for the CPU suggest immense parallel processing capability that Outriders' engine simply does not demand.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Outriders at 4K smoothly?

A: No. At 4K, the best result is 62 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 45 FPS on Medium, 34 FPS on High, and 24 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset approaches playability, and even that falls below 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Outriders with this setup?

A: 1080p is the sweet spot. At High settings the combo delivers 103 FPS, at Medium 137 FPS, and at Low 189 FPS. Even Ultra at 1080p produces 74 FPS, which is playable.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest GPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta) and Radeon 680M (15270, 0.1% delta). It sits slightly ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.6% delta) and RX 7600 (15171, 0.8% delta).

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9950X3D the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 58th percentile. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 87 FPS average, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS. This is a solidly playable experience for most users.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested systems in Outriders?

A: It ranks 2881st out of 3710 tested combos, placing it in the lower 22% of all configurations tested for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results. Low settings yield 189 FPS average, Medium settings 137 FPS (minimum 117, maximum 158), High settings 103 FPS, and Ultra settings 74 FPS. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the RTX 2060 has enough bandwidth and compute headroom to maintain high frame rates across all quality presets, with even Ultra staying above 70 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops substantially. Low settings deliver 119 FPS, Medium 87 FPS (minimum 74, maximum 99), High 65 FPS, and Ultra 47 FPS. The Medium preset remains comfortably playable, and Low exceeds 100 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below the 70 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth. The 1440p Medium minimum of 74 FPS shows some frame-time variance, though the average remains healthy.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become stark. Low settings produce 62 FPS, Medium 45 FPS (minimum 38, maximum 52), High 34 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches 60 FPS, and even that falls short. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS indicates noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. High and Ultra results are effectively unplayable for most users, with sub-35 FPS averages that would cause visible judder in a looter shooter's fast-paced combat.

The progression across all resolutions shows linear scaling with settings: Low to Medium typically adds 25-40% more FPS, Medium to High adds another 20-30%, and High to Ultra subtracts 25-35%. This consistent behavior suggests the game's settings presets scale predictably with GPU load, without any anomalous spikes or drops that would indicate driver or memory issues.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D brings 16 cores and 32 threads based on Zen 5 architecture at a 4 nm process node, with base clock of 4.30 GHz and boost clock of 5.70 GHz. Its 128 MB L3 cache, split as 1 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core, provides substantial on-die storage for game assets. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth, along with PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. This processor was released in January 2025 with a launch MSRP of $699.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is minimal given the GPU bottleneck. The 9950X3D's benchmark results — 3DMark single-thread score of 1292, 2-thread 2549, 4-thread 4963, 8-thread 9259, and max-thread 17184 — show strong scaling across thread counts. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42018 and single-core score of 2259 further confirm this processor's ability to handle any CPU-bound scenario. However, the measured FPS data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting factor, as even the lowest FPS results at 4K Ultra (24 FPS) are far below what the CPU could potentially feed.

The PassMark scores reinforce this assessment: multithread score of 70255, single-thread score of 4737, physics score of 5670, and floating-point math score of 159724 all indicate massive computational headroom. The CPU's 170 W TDP and TSMC 4 nm process provide efficiency alongside performance, though this system's practical performance is constrained entirely by the RTX 2060's capabilities. For Outriders specifically, the 9950X3D's 3D V-Cache advantages — while impactful in other titles — do not manifest here because the game never stresses the CPU enough to benefit from additional cache or core count.