Outriders

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 produces a highly capable setup for Outriders, placing in the 1293rd position out of 2913 tested combinations. This puts the combo in the upper-middle tier of tested hardware, indicating that it is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay at most settings. The data shows a wide performance envelope, from 34 FPS at 4K Ultra to 212 FPS at 1080p Low, which demonstrates that the limiting factor shifts depending on the resolution and graphical preset chosen. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of each component, and provides guidance on how to get the best experience from this specific pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU and GPU in Outriders?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1440p with High settings provides an excellent balance, yielding an average of 89 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, while 4K High drops to 47 FPS, which may feel less fluid.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 212 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves an average of 102 FPS. This represents a drop of 110 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the GPU or the CPU the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at 4K. The average FPS drops significantly from 142 at 1080p High to 47 at 4K High, a reduction of 95 FPS. This large drop with increasing pixel count indicates that the Radeon RX 7700's rendering capabilities are being saturated.

Q: Can this combo maintain a 144 Hz refresh rate at 1080p?

A: Yes, for most settings. The measured average FPS at 1080p is 212 for Low, 189 for Medium, and 142 for High, all of which exceed 144 FPS. Only the Ultra preset, with an average of 102 FPS, falls short of that target.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. Its closest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, scores 13492, showing a 0% difference. It is 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i5-9500 and 1.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-1250U, but 0.7% slower than the Intel Core 5 120UL.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only measured minimum FPS values are for the Medium preset at each resolution. The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 53 at 3840x2160 (4K) Medium. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 101 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Medium, it is 160 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For a standard 60 FPS experience, the data shows that 4K Medium is viable with an average of 62 FPS and a minimum of 53 FPS. However, for a smoother and more consistent experience, 1440p High is the standout recommendation, achieving an average of 89 FPS. This preset provides a significant visual quality boost over Medium while maintaining a frame rate that is 27 FPS higher than the 4K Medium option.

For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors (144 Hz or higher), the High preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 142 FPS, which is sufficient to take advantage of such displays. While the Low and Medium presets offer higher frame rates (212 and 189 FPS respectively), the graphical fidelity is compromised. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 102 FPS, is a viable option for those prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, but it does not fully utilize a 144 Hz panel.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The High preset's 47 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset, with a 62 FPS average and a 53 FPS minimum, is the most balanced option for 4K, providing playable performance without the significant visual downgrade of the Low preset, which runs at 86 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended for smooth gameplay, as its 34 FPS average will likely feel stuttery. The sweet spot for this hardware is clearly 1440p, where the GPU has enough headroom to run High settings comfortably.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 11860 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1674 points in single-core. These scores, combined with its 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs, indicate a solid entry-level processor with strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and frame pacing.

In the context of Outriders, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, where the GPU has more headroom, the frame rates are extremely high (e.g., 212 FPS on Low). This indicates that the 4-core processor is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve these frame rates. The performance difference between the 1080p Low and 1080p Ultra presets (a 110 FPS drop) is almost entirely attributable to the increased graphical load on the GPU, not the CPU.

However, the CPU's limitations become apparent when looking at its performance relative to other processors. Its average benchmark score of 13494 places it just 0.3% above the Intel Core i5-9500 and 1.1% above the Intel Core i7-1250U. This shows that while it is competitive in its class, it does not have the massive multi-core headroom of higher-end chips. The data suggests that in this specific game, the 8 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a major bottleneck, as evidenced by the high average FPS at lower resolutions where the CPU load is proportionally higher relative to the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination ranks 1293rd out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of the tested systems. This is a strong result for a pairing that uses a 4-core CPU, showing that the overall system is well-balanced for this title.

The ranking is a holistic measure of the system's ability to run the game. The data indicates that this combo is not at the top of the charts, which would be reserved for flagship CPUs and GPUs, but it is far from the bottom. It sits comfortably in the middle, suggesting it can handle the game's demands at a variety of settings, as confirmed by the measured FPS. The rank implies that users with this setup will have a good experience, especially at 1440p, without the need for extreme graphical compromises.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the clear driving force behind this system's gaming performance. It features a Navi 32 chip with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. Its boost clock is listed at 2459 MHz. The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores, such as 20974 in Passmark G3D and 2865 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, showing it is a mid-range to upper-mid-range performer.

The GPU's role is most evident in the scaling of frame rates with resolution. At 1080p High, the combo produces 142 FPS, but at 4K High, it drops to 47 FPS. This 95 FPS reduction is a direct result of the GPU having to render four times the number of pixels. The 16 GB of VRAM is ample for Outriders at any of the tested settings, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. Instead, the raw compute and fill-rate capabilities of the RX 7700 dictate performance at higher resolutions.

The GPU's performance is further contextualized by its rivals. It is 1.7% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in average benchmark score, and 1% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 9060. This places it in a competitive tier, confirming that its performance is in line with other established mid-range cards. In Outriders, this translates to a GPU that is powerful enough for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and solid 60 FPS 1440p gaming, but it will struggle to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 212 FPS average
• Medium: 189 FPS average (minimum 160, maximum 217)
• High: 142 FPS average
• Ultra: 102 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 164 FPS average
• Medium: 119 FPS average (minimum 101, maximum 137)
• High: 89 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 86 FPS average
• Medium: 62 FPS average (minimum 53, maximum 72)
• High: 47 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. At every resolution, the Low preset yields the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, providing a sense of frame time consistency. For instance, at 1440p Medium, the 101 FPS minimum suggests that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not drop below the 100 FPS mark.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. When moving from 1080p High to 1440p High, the average FPS drops from 142 to 89, a decrease of 53 FPS (37%). Moving from 1440p High to 4K High, the average FPS drops from 89 to 47, a decrease of 42 FPS (47%). This pattern shows that the frame rate penalty accelerates as resolution increases, a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K across all settings confirms this. For example, on the Low preset, the FPS drops from 212 at 1080p to 164 at 1440p and then to 86 at 4K. The halving of frame rates at 4K compared to 1080p (e.g., 142 to 47 on High) shows that the GPU is working much harder, and its performance is the primary constraint. The CPU, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, is capable of maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU cannot sustain the same level of output as the pixel count increases. This indicates that for users wanting to play at 4K, they must rely on the Medium preset to achieve a playable 62 FPS, whereas at 1080p, they can use the High preset for a high-refresh-rate experience.