Outriders

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti holds rank 981 out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all configurations. This is a strong result, but the ranking reveals an interesting dynamic: the CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all processors, while the GPU reaches the 83rd percentile among all graphics cards. The combination lands between these two positions, suggesting the overall system performance is constrained by the lower-ranked component.

Benchmark data shows this combo outperforms several close CPU rivals in aggregate scores. The Core i3-12100F averages 13,494 across all benchmark tests, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% delta). It narrowly trails the Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594, -0.7% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1250U (13,351, 1.1% delta ahead). These margins are tight, meaning the CPU's competitive position is stable but not dominant.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080 Ti averages 41,187 across benchmark tests, placing it slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870, 0.8% delta ahead) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (40,377, 2% delta ahead). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (41,707, -1.2% delta) and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41,897, -1.7% delta). The GPU's percentile ranking of 83 is notably higher than the CPU's 68, confirming that the processor is the weaker link in this pairing.

# GPU Role

The RTX 3080 Ti brings substantial memory resources to Outriders, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus. Memory bandwidth is rated at 912.4 GB/s, which provides ample headroom for texture streaming and asset loading in a looter shooter that frequently loads new environments and enemy density. The GPU's clock behavior shows a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz, with memory operating at 1188 MHz or 19 Gbps effective.

The 8 nm Ampere architecture includes 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. The GPU also carries 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, though Outriders does not heavily utilize ray tracing features. Pixel fill rate is 186.5 GPixel/s, and texture fill rate is 532.8 GTexel/s, both of which support the game's particle effects and environmental detail.

The 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is substantial for a game like Outriders, which relies on rapid-fire ability effects and physics-based combat interactions. However, the data shows the GPU's advantage diminishes at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes the limiting factor. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings spans from 212 FPS to 132 FPS, indicating the GPU has significant headroom that the processor cannot fully utilize.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts between components. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 170 at 1920x1080 to 116 at 2560x1440, a 31.8% reduction. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 61 FPS, a 47.4% reduction from 1440p and a 64.1% reduction from 1080p. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the rendering load grows faster than the CPU's frame preparation time.

At Low settings, the scaling is less severe in absolute terms but shows the CPU limit more clearly. The average FPS at 1080p is 212, dropping to 182 at 1440p (14.2% reduction) and 111 at 4K (39.0% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Low result of 111 FPS is notably lower than the 1440p High result of 116 FPS, suggesting that even at Low settings, the 4K resolution imposes a GPU workload that prevents the CPU from reaching its full frame output potential.

The Medium settings rows include min and max FPS data, offering insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 189 FPS with a range from 160 to 217 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 154 FPS with a range from 131 to 177 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a range from 69 to 93 FPS. The spread between min and max frames remains proportionally similar across resolutions, indicating consistent frame delivery without sudden spikes or drops.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. Low averages 212 FPS, Medium averages 189 FPS with a min of 160 and max of 217, High averages 170 FPS, and Ultra averages 132 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, representing a 37.7% performance penalty for maximum visual quality. The Medium setting provides a balanced 189 FPS average, which is only 10.9% below Low while likely offering noticeably improved visuals.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 182 FPS for Low, 154 FPS for Medium (min 131, max 177), 116 FPS for High, and 84 FPS for Ultra. The Medium to High drop is 38 FPS (24.7% reduction), while the High to Ultra drop is 32 FPS (27.6% reduction). This resolution shows the GPU becoming more influential, as the gap between Low and Ultra expands to 98 FPS (53.8% penalty from Low).

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 111 FPS for Low, 81 FPS for Medium (min 69, max 93), 61 FPS for High, and 44 FPS for Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 30 FPS (27.0%), Medium to High is 20 FPS (24.7%), and High to Ultra is 17 FPS (27.9%). At 4K, even the Low preset produces a playable 111 FPS average, but Ultra falls to 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider minimum for smooth action.

# FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Outriders at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 4K Medium the average FPS is 81 with a minimum of 69, and at High the average is 61. Low settings reach 111 FPS. Ultra drops to 44 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced combat.

Q: Which component limits performance at 1080p?

A: The CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The Core i3-12100F ranks at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 3080 Ti ranks at the 83rd percentile. The 1080p results show only a 37.7% penalty from Low to Ultra, indicating the GPU has spare capacity that the CPU cannot feed.

Q: How does the Core i3-12100F compare to its closest rivals in aggregate CPU performance?

A: The Core i3-12100F averages 13,494 in benchmark scores, matching the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492) and trailing the Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594) by 0.7%. It leads the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452) by 0.3% and the Intel Core i7-1250U (13,351) by 1.1%.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 182 FPS while Ultra averages 84 FPS, a difference of 98 FPS. This represents a 53.8% performance penalty for enabling maximum settings.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti's memory bandwidth help in Outriders?

A: The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This supports the game's asset streaming needs, though the measured data shows the CPU becomes the bottleneck at lower resolutions regardless of memory bandwidth.

Q: Is the 1080p Medium setting a good target for this combo?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 189 with a min of 160 and max of 217. This provides a consistent frame rate well above display refresh rate capabilities while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset delivers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium averages 189 FPS with a minimum of 160, which ensures smooth frame delivery even during intense combat sequences with multiple enemies and ability effects. The min FPS of 160 exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors, meaning the combo will not experience visible frame drops.

At 1440p, Medium averages 154 FPS with a min of 131 and max of 177. This keeps frame rates above 130 FPS even in demanding moments, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution costs 38 FPS (from 154 to 116), which is a significant reduction for visual gains that may be difficult to notice during fast gameplay.

At 4K, Medium is the highest playable preset, averaging 81 FPS with a minimum of 69. This stays above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a comfortable margin for dips. High at 4K averages 61 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for particle-heavy encounters or multiplayer sessions with additional players. Low at 4K reaches 111 FPS but sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that relies on environmental readability.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution for this combo. At 1080p, Ultra averages 132 FPS, which is still playable, but the 80 FPS penalty over Low is substantial. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 84 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 44 FPS, which is below comfortable playability. The visual improvements from Ultra over High are typically subtle in Outriders, making the performance cost unjustified.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides 4 cores and 8 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core help maintain responsive frame times in Outriders, which features dense combat arenas and frequent enemy spawning. The CPU's 58 W TDP indicates efficient power draw, though this does not directly translate to gaming performance.

Benchmark results show the CPU's multithreaded capabilities are modest. Cinebench R23 multicore scores 11,860, while single-core reaches 1,674. Geekbench multicore is 7,252 and single-core is 1,932. The 3DMark results show 4,051 for 16 threads and 893 for single thread, with the max-thread score of 4,023 closely matching the 16-thread result, indicating the processor does not benefit from workloads beyond 8 threads.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 68 places it below the GPU's 83, confirming that the processor is the system's performance ceiling in Outriders. This is most evident at 1080p, where the FPS differences between settings are compressed. The 3DMark 4-thread score of 2,859 versus the 8-thread score of 4,026 shows that Outriders can utilize multiple threads, but the 4-core design limits peak throughput compared to higher-core-count processors.

The Core i3-12100F's passmark multithread score of 14,015 and single-thread score of 3,444 indicate solid single-core performance that helps maintain minimum frame rates. However, the CPU's limited core count becomes apparent in scenarios with many simultaneous game entities, where the 8-thread maximum constrains performance. The nearest CPU rivals show similar aggregate scores, meaning this processor is competitive within its class, but it cannot fully unlock the RTX 3080 Ti's potential in CPU-bound situations.