Outriders

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in Outriders. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded headroom prevents it from becoming a bottleneck at any tested setting. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, the role of the GPU’s memory and clocks, and provides concrete settings recommendations based on the data.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, with average frame rates dropping by roughly 60-70% across all settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 245 FPS, but this falls to 81 FPS at 4K Low, a 67% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070’s rendering pipeline is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, while the CPU has ample capacity to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

The scaling is non-linear, which suggests the GPU’s compute and memory subsystems are being saturated progressively. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces average FPS from 134 to 84, a 37% drop. The subsequent jump to 4K High brings the average down to 44 FPS, another 48% reduction from 1440p. This compounding effect is typical for a GPU with a 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, which becomes increasingly strained as resolution demands more data throughput.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling is even more punishing. The 1080p Ultra average of 97 FPS falls to 61 FPS at 1440p (-37%) and then to 32 FPS at 4K (-48%). The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is below the playable threshold for most action games, confirming that the Ultra preset at 4K is reserved for screenshots, not gameplay. The data indicates that the RTX 4070’s 12 GB VRAM and 2475 MHz boost clock are sufficient for 1440p but are overwhelmed by the combined pixel and shader load of 4K Ultra.

The fact that 1080p Low achieves 245 FPS while 1080p Ultra only reaches 97 FPS highlights how settings, not just resolution, scale the GPU workload. The 148 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is larger than the 84 FPS gap between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra. This suggests that effects like shadows, reflections, and post-processing are more computationally expensive than the raw pixel count increase, which is a critical insight for optimizing settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p across all presets, but the 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS suggests the memory subsystem is a limiting factor at that extreme. The measured frame times at 4K Medium (50 FPS minimum) versus 4K High (44 FPS average) show how the GPU’s memory bandwidth and cache hierarchy are stressed as texture quality and asset streaming increase.

The GPU’s clock behavior is also relevant. With a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the AD104 chip can scale its frequency dynamically. At 1080p Low, the GPU is likely hitting its boost ceiling frequently, contributing to the 245 FPS result. As resolution and settings increase, the GPU’s power and thermal headroom are consumed by the memory controller and shader arrays, which likely causes clock rates to settle closer to the base figure. This explains why the 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is so low relative to 1080p Ultra — the GPU is not only doing more work but is also likely running at lower sustained clocks due to memory pressure.

The RTX 4070’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs are well-suited for Outriders’ particle effects and geometry. The 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient to drive 1440p High at 84 FPS, which is a smooth experience for a looter shooter. However, the 4K results show that the GPU’s 35,800 million transistors are just barely enough for 4K Medium (59 FPS) but not for 4K High (44 FPS). The data suggests that the VRAM capacity is not the primary issue (12 GB is not exceeded at these settings), but rather the bandwidth and fill rate.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 81 and its average benchmark score of 37648 place it in a competitive position. It sits just 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, but 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile. These margins are small, indicating that the RTX 4070 is in a tightly contested performance tier. In Outriders, this translates to the observed 44 FPS at 4K High, which is playable but not ideal, and 155 FPS at 1440p Low, which is excellent for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, the Medium preset is the only viable option for consistent gameplay, with an average of 59 FPS and a minimum of 50 FPS. The High preset’s 44 FPS average is borderline, and the Ultra preset’s 32 FPS is unplayable. Therefore, 4K users should select Medium to maintain a stable 50-68 FPS range.

At 1440p, the High preset offers the best balance, delivering 84 FPS average. This is sufficient for most monitors running at 75-100 Hz. The Medium preset provides a higher 112 FPS average, which is better for 1440p 120 Hz panels, but the visual fidelity drop may not justify the 28 FPS gain. The Low preset’s 155 FPS is overkill for most 1440p displays and sacrifices too much visual quality. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is playable but not optimal, as it falls below the 84 FPS of High.

For 1080p, the High preset is the clear recommendation, with a 134 FPS average that maximizes visual quality while remaining smooth. The Medium preset’s 178 FPS is ideal for 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors, but the Low preset’s 245 FPS is only useful for 240 Hz+ panels. The Ultra preset’s 97 FPS is playable but not as smooth as High, suggesting that Ultra’s incremental settings are not worth the 37 FPS cost. The data shows that High at 1080p provides 38% more FPS than Ultra while maintaining most of the visual enhancements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p: The Low preset delivers a 245 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 178 FPS, with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. The High preset averages 134 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 97 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 148 FPS reduction, indicating a 60% performance loss from the highest to lowest quality settings.

1440p: The Low preset averages 155 FPS, which is a 37% reduction from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 112 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. The High preset averages 84 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 61 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 23 FPS, which is proportionally smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more compute-bound at higher resolutions.

4K: The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is a 67% reduction from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, making it the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum frame rate. The High preset averages 44 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 32 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is a 67% reduction from 1080p Ultra, matching the Low preset’s scaling pattern.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo able to hit 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at the Medium preset, which averages 59 FPS. The High preset averages 44 FPS and Ultra averages 32 FPS, so 4K 60 FPS is not achievable at higher settings with this hardware.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The High preset at 84 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset provides 112 FPS if a higher refresh rate is preferred, but High maintains more graphical detail.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507), but 1.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: No, the 245 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has a multi-threaded score of 35314 in Cinebench R23, which provides ample headroom for single-threaded game logic.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded across all settings?

A: The only minimum FPS values recorded are at the Medium preset: 151 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. No minimum FPS data is available for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The data does not show VRAM capacity issues, as the 4K Medium preset maintains a 50 FPS minimum. The performance drop at 4K Ultra (32 FPS) is more likely due to memory bandwidth saturation on the 192-bit bus rather than capacity limits.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Strix Halo. With a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, this mobile processor provides substantial compute resources. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35314 places it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it has far more processing power than Outriders requires at any resolution.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals shows it is in a strong position. It scores 1.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76513 vs 77740 average benchmark score) and 1.6% higher than the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P, but 1.7% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900K. This places the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in the same performance tier as desktop flagship CPUs, which is remarkable for a mobile part.

In Outriders, the CPU’s role is to maintain consistent frame pacing, particularly in scenes with many enemies and physics objects. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU-induced stuttering, as the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (50 FPS at 4K) are close to the averages. The 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensure that the CPU can feed the GPU without delays, even at 1080p Low where the system is pushing 245 FPS.

The CPU’s single-threaded performance is also adequate, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2464 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2044. This is important for Outriders, which relies on a single main game thread for logic and input handling. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is high enough to prevent any per-thread bottleneck, as evidenced by the fact that the GPU is always the limiting factor across all tested configurations.