Outriders

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a highly playable experience in Outriders, but the benchmark data reveals a clear performance hierarchy dictated by resolution and settings. The strongest results are found at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU has sufficient headroom to push high frame rates, while 4K performance struggles to maintain smooth gameplay, indicating that the system is best suited for high-refresh-rate monitors at lower resolutions rather than 4K displays.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic performance drop as resolution increases, which is typical for a mid-range GPU configuration. At 1080p with High settings, the system averages 103 FPS, but this falls to 65 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 34 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% reduction from 1440p to 4K, making 4K gameplay largely unviable for smooth experiences.

The scaling pattern across all settings reveals that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the system achieves 157 FPS at 1080p, 119 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is notably lower than the 1440p High result, suggesting that even with minimal graphical demands, the pixel count overwhelms the Radeon RX 6600’s capabilities. This is consistent with the GPU’s 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus, which are insufficient for the massive pixel throughput required at 3840x2160.

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 1440p are relatively moderate for all settings, with the smallest absolute drop occurring at Low (38 FPS) and the largest at Ultra (28 FPS). However, the jump from 1440p to 4K is consistently severe, with the Ultra preset dropping from 47 FPS to 25 FPS — a 47% reduction that makes the game feel stuttery and unresponsive. The data strongly indicates that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this configuration, while 1080p is where the system can fully stretch its legs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides solid multi-threaded performance that is more than adequate for Outriders, based on the benchmark results. The processor features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 10,283 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,451 points in single-core, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs tested.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% faster), Intel Core 7 160UL (0.3% slower), AMD EPYC 7552 (0.5% faster), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% slower). These close margins indicate that the i5-10400F sits in a highly competitive performance band, but its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for feeding the GPU in most gaming scenarios.

At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 157 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not heavily bottlenecked, as the frame rate is high enough to keep the GPU busy. However, the 3DMark benchmarks show a significant scaling from 2 threads (1,350) to 8 threads (3,929), with only a marginal gain from 8 threads to max threads (4,735). This indicates that Outriders likely benefits from up to 8 threads, and the i5-10400F’s 12 threads provide ample headroom without leaving performance on the table.

The CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by PassMark (2,541) and Geekbench (1,420), is competitive for its class, ensuring that the game’s physics and AI calculations are handled without stutter. The data does not show any significant CPU-related frame drops even at 4K Ultra, where the FPS drops to 25, which is more attributable to GPU limitations than CPU constraints.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the dominant factor in this configuration’s Outriders performance, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 1,792 shading units determining the overall capability. The GPU’s base clock of 1,626 MHz and boost clock of 2,491 MHz, combined with 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs, deliver a pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to a PassMark G3D score of 15,096, placing the GPU in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs.

The nearest rivals for the RX 6600 are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (0% difference), GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (0.1% slower), Tesla K20m (0.3% slower), and RTX 2000 Ada Generation (0.4% faster). This tight clustering suggests the RX 6600 is a well-balanced mid-range part, but its 128-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth become a clear limitation at 4K resolution.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not the primary issue, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed memory limits based on the consistent frame rates. Instead, the bottleneck is the raw compute throughput (8.928 TFLOPS FP32) and memory bandwidth. This is evident in the scaling from Medium to High settings: at 1440p, the FPS drops from 87 to 65 (a 25% reduction), while from High to Ultra it drops from 65 to 47 (a 28% reduction). These consistent percentage decreases indicate that the GPU is being pushed progressively harder with each preset, with no sudden cliff that would suggest VRAM overflow.

At 1080p, the GPU has enough headroom to deliver 138 FPS on Medium and 103 FPS on High, but the step to Ultra (75 FPS) shows a significant 27% drop. This suggests that Ultra settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU’s shading units, likely related to ray tracing or advanced lighting, though the RT cores (28) are present and the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Outriders at 4K smoothly?*

A: No, the data shows 4K performance is inadequate for smooth gameplay. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 34, and at Ultra it drops to 25. Even at 4K Low, the system only manages 62 FPS, which is below the typical 60 FPS target for smooth play.

Q: What is the best resolution for this configuration?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1080p is the optimal resolution, with all settings achieving at least 75 FPS. The 1440p results are also playable, with High settings reaching 65 FPS and Medium reaching 87 FPS, but 4K is not recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F performs nearly identically to its closest competitors, with a 0.2% advantage over the Intel Xeon 6756E, a 0.3% deficit to the Intel Core 7 160UL, a 0.5% lead over the AMD EPYC 7552, and a 0.6% deficit to the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C.

Q: Does the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: The data does not show any VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops. The consistent FPS scaling from Medium to High to Ultra suggests the 8 GB capacity is sufficient for Outriders, and the performance limitations are due to compute throughput and memory bandwidth rather than capacity.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance, with an average of 87 FPS and minimum of 74 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. The High preset drops to 65 FPS, which is still playable but less comfortable for fast-paced action.

Q: Is the frame rate consistent across different settings?

A: The data shows some variance. At 1080p Medium, the FPS ranges from 117 to 158, while at 1440p Medium it ranges from 74 to 100. Higher settings tend to have more consistent frame times, but the overall average FPS is the primary indicator of performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience with this configuration, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, which provides smooth, responsive gameplay without compromising too much on visual fidelity. The High preset at 1440p (65 FPS) is a viable alternative for those who prioritize visuals, but the lower frame rate may be noticeable in intense combat sequences.

At 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot, achieving 103 FPS average. This provides excellent visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p (75 FPS) is also playable and offers the best visual experience, but the 27% drop from High settings may not justify the graphical improvements for all users.

For 4K, the data suggests that no settings preset provides a satisfactory experience. Even the Low preset only manages 62 FPS, which is borderline, while Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 45 FPS. Users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or accepting significant compromises in visual quality and frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 157 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium settings deliver 138 FPS average, with a range of 117 to 158 FPS, showing some frame time variance but maintaining high performance. High settings average 103 FPS, which remains well above playable thresholds. The Ultra preset drops to 75 FPS average, which is still smooth but represents a significant step down from High.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings reach 119 FPS average, which is excellent for the higher resolution. Medium settings average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, providing consistent gameplay. High settings average 65 FPS, which is acceptable but requires some compromise in visual fluidity. Ultra settings drop to 47 FPS average, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the configuration struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings achieve 62 FPS average, which is marginally acceptable. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS average, with a range of 39 to 52 FPS, indicating noticeable stuttering. High settings average 34 FPS, making the game feel sluggish. Ultra settings plummet to 25 FPS average, which is not recommended for any serious gameplay. The data clearly shows that this system is not designed for 4K gaming in Outriders, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best results.