Outriders

# Outriders — Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The measured frame rates for this combination reveal a system that scales predictably across resolution and quality tiers, with the RTX 2070 SUPER acting as the primary constraint at higher settings while the i3-12100F keeps pace admirably at lower loads. Across twelve measured configurations, the data shows a clear hierarchy where the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens dramatically as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's computational and memory resources become the limiting factor well before the CPU's four cores and eight threads are saturated. The combo ranks 996 out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the absolute FPS figures demonstrate that this pairing remains viable for 1080p and 1440p gameplay across most settings, with 4K requiring significant compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, but the magnitude of the drop reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 213 at 1920x1080 to 143.6 at 2560x1440, then to 75.6 at 3840x2160 — a 33% reduction moving to 1440p and another 47% reduction moving to 4K. This pattern suggests that even at Low, the GPU is increasingly taxed by pixel count, though the absolute numbers remain playable throughout.

At High settings, the scaling is less forgiving: 122 FPS at 1080p drops to 79.8 at 1440p (a 35% decline) and then to 38.6 at 4K (a 52% decline from 1440p). The 4K High result falls below the 40 FPS threshold, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for smooth high-quality 4K output in Outriders. The Ultra preset tells a similar story with even harsher penalties: 89.7 FPS at 1080p, 55.6 at 1440p, and 29.2 at 4K — the latter being the only measured configuration below 30 FPS, confirming that this resolution and preset combination is effectively unplayable for most users.

The scaling behavior indicates that the CPU is not the primary limiter in most scenarios. The i3-12100F's 3DMark scores — 4051 for 16 threads and 4023 for maximum threads — show strong multi-threaded performance for a quad-core part, and its single-thread score of 893 is respectable. Since the FPS drops are proportionally larger when moving to 4K than when increasing settings at the same resolution, the data points to the GPU's pixel throughput and memory subsystem as the binding constraint at high resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 213 FPS result approaches what a 144 Hz display can use, but the CPU's ceiling becomes more relevant here; the fact that Ultra at 1080p still yields 89.7 FPS suggests the processor can keep feeding the GPU even under heavy draw calls.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the data supports Ultra as the optimal choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. The 89.7 FPS average at Ultra is comfortably above the typical 60 FPS target, and the gap to High (122 FPS) is modest enough that most users would prefer the extra detail. The Medium preset at 166 FPS is excessive for standard 60 Hz monitors, while Low at 213 FPS offers no practical benefit unless chasing maximum refresh rates on high-end displays; the visual quality loss from Low is substantial for a marginal FPS gain.

At 2560x1440, High settings provide the best balance. The 79.8 FPS average at High exceeds the 60 FPS threshold with enough headroom to avoid noticeable dips, while Ultra drops to 55.6 FPS — below the smoothness target for many players. Medium at 106.4 FPS is viable for those prioritizing frame rate, but High delivers a stronger visual experience at a still-fluid pace. Low at 143.6 FPS is unnecessary unless the user has a 144 Hz panel and insists on maximum smoothness over image quality.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation is Low, which yields 75.6 FPS — the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS bar. Medium at 54.4 FPS is borderline playable but risks stutter in busy combat scenes, while High at 38.6 FPS and Ultra at 29.2 FPS fall below acceptable thresholds for an action-oriented looter shooter. Users with 4K displays should either accept Low settings or consider this system as primarily a 1080p/1440p machine, with 4K reserved for less demanding titles.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Outriders at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 75.6. Medium drops to 54.4, High to 38.6, and Ultra to 29.2, so anything above Low will likely feel sluggish at 4K.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 2070 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary constraint. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, and the i3-12100F's multi-threaded score of 4051 in 3DMark indicates adequate compute for a quad-core part. At 1080p Low, the 213 FPS result shows the CPU can handle high frame rates, though it may cap extreme performance at very low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, which is 0.5% below the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307), 0.9% above the GTX TITAN Z (22006), 2.3% below the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729), and 2.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670). These small deltas indicate that the 2070 SUPER sits in a tight performance cluster.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144 Hz 1080p monitor?

A: High settings at 122 FPS is the highest preset that approaches 144 Hz, while Medium at 166 FPS exceeds it. Ultra at 89.7 FPS will not fully utilize a 144 Hz display. For maximum refresh rate utilization, Medium offers the best trade-off, though High is acceptable if visual quality takes priority.

Q: Does the CPU's 4-core/8-thread configuration limit performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p Low, the 213 FPS average suggests the CPU is still delivering sufficient throughput, but this is the only scenario where the processor might become relevant. The i3-12100F's single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and Cinebench R23 score of 1681 indicate strong per-core performance that likely prevents severe bottlenecks even when the GPU is less burdened.

Q: How does the system's overall rank of 996 out of 1693 reflect its real-world capability?

A: The rank places this combo in the lower-middle tier of tested combinations, but the measured FPS shows that this ranking masks the fact that it still handles 1080p and 1440p well. The rank likely reflects the prevalence of higher-end GPUs in the database rather than a deficiency in this specific pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings spectrum is available and playable. Low produces 213 FPS, Medium 166 FPS, High 122 FPS, and Ultra 89.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (44 FPS) and the smallest between High and Ultra (32.3 FPS). This suggests that the High-to-Ultra transition is relatively inexpensive in performance terms, making Ultra a reasonable choice for those with 60-100 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the numbers compress significantly. Low delivers 143.6 FPS, Medium 106.4 FPS, High 79.8 FPS, and Ultra 55.6 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 37.2 FPS, from Medium to High is 26.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 24.2 FPS — a more even distribution than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are starting to dominate. The 1440p Low result is still high enough for competitive play, while Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, only Low remains truly fluid. Low averages 75.6 FPS, Medium 54.4 FPS, High 38.6 FPS, and Ultra 29.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 21.2 FPS, Medium to High is 15.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9.4 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher settings indicate that the GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate are exhausted by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K, with the 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth unable to compensate.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER's specifications directly explain the measured results. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but strained at 4K, particularly at higher presets that increase texture detail and shadow complexity. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units, yield 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance — a figure that aligns with the observed 4K performance collapse when settings escalate.

The card's 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores are present in the silicon (Turing architecture on a 12 nm process with 13,600 million transistors), but Outriders does not appear to leverage them heavily based on the benchmark data. The measured FPS scaling is consistent with a traditional rasterization workload, where pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs provide a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s, which supports the strong 1080p performance (213 FPS at Low) but cannot sustain equivalent throughput at 4K.

The GPU's percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs and average benchmark score of 22206 place it just below the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729) and just above the RX 5700 (21670), with a 0.5% delta to the RTX A400. This positioning is reflected in the game results: the 2070 SUPER behaves like a mid-range card that excels at 1080p, handles 1440p with quality compromises, and requires substantial settings reductions at 4K. The 215 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are typical for this class, and the 550 W suggested PSU provides adequate headroom for the i3-12100F's 58 W TDP. The card's end-of-life production status and 2019 release date explain its absence from newer feature sets, but the DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 API support ensure compatibility with modern games like Outriders.