Outriders

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT lands at rank 1147 out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is a curious position given the hardware's specifications. The ranking suggests that while this combination is far from the bottom, it is not competitive with the top-tier configurations that dominate the leaderboard. With 546 combos ranked below it, the setup offers a baseline experience, but the data indicates there is significant headroom above it in the performance hierarchy.

The CPU's percentile standing reinforces this middling position. The i5-11400F sits at the 75th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms three-quarters of processors in general benchmark workloads. Yet in Outriders specifically, the combo's rank of 1147 out of 1693 translates to roughly the 32nd percentile of tested combinations. This discrepancy between the CPU's standalone strength and the combo's in-game position hints that the GPU or the pairing itself is the limiting factor. The GPU's percentile of 63 among all GPUs aligns more closely with the combo's overall standing, suggesting the graphics card anchors the experience more than the processor boosts it.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each component adds another layer. The CPU's closest competitor, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores nearly identically with a delta of 0%, while the Intel Core i7-1260P trails by just 0.2%. On the GPU side, the RX 7600 XT sits within 0.6% of the standard RX 7600 and 1.9% ahead of the RTX 2060 SUPER. These tight deltas mean that swapping any of these near-identical parts would produce virtually the same in-game results, making the combo's rank more about the overall tier than any single component's dominance.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7600 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. That memory capacity is notably generous for a card in this performance class, and Outriders appears to respond to it well at higher resolutions where frame buffers get stressed. The card's clock speeds tell a story of aggressive boosting: a base of 1980 MHz, a game clock of 2470 MHz, and a boost up to 2755 MHz. This wide boost range suggests the card can dynamically scale its performance based on thermal and power headroom, which is crucial in a game that shifts between intense combat and quieter exploration.

The architecture behind this is RDNA 3.0 on TSMC's 6 nm process, with 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs. The pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for Outriders' particle-heavy effects and environmental destruction. The FP32 performance of 22.57 TFLOPS is solid for rasterization, though the game's engine does not heavily leverage ray tracing, so the 32 RT cores remain largely dormant in this title. The 16 GB frame buffer proves particularly relevant at 4K Ultra, where the measured 26 FPS likely reflects both memory pressure and compute limits.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. A Passmark G3D score of 17132 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348 indicate consistent DirectX 12 performance, which Outriders utilizes. The DirectX 12 Passmark score of 65 is notably lower than the DirectX 11 score of 167, suggesting the card's DX12 path may not be fully optimized in synthetic tests, yet the game still manages respectable frame rates. The 83114 OpenCL and 88301 Vulkan scores show the card's compute capabilities extend beyond gaming, though these matter less for Outriders specifically.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to Medium settings as the sweet spot for most players. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 153.7 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for high-refresh monitors while maintaining visual fidelity above the bare minimum. At 1440p Medium, the 96 FPS average remains smooth for standard 60 Hz displays and even touches 100 FPS territory, making it playable without sacrificing too much visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p is substantial—from 183.7 to 153.7 FPS—but the visual improvements justify the 30 FPS cost for most users.

High settings present a viable alternative for those prioritizing image quality over frame rate. At 1080p High, the 114.6 FPS average still clears 100 FPS, and at 1440p High, 75.1 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced looter shooter gameplay. However, Ultra settings are punishing across the board. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is nearly unplayable, and even 1080p Ultra drops to 85.6 FPS, which is a significant 44% reduction from Medium. The data suggests Ultra is designed for future hardware or for players who prioritize screenshots over sustained combat performance.

For 4K users, Low settings at 69 FPS is the only path to smooth gameplay, though that sacrifices most of the visual polish. Medium at 4K produces 53.2 FPS, which borders on acceptable for cinematic play but will struggle in intense firefights. The recommendation hierarchy is clear: Medium for competitive play, High for visual balance, and Low only as a last resort at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The 1080p results show a clear progression across settings. Low produces 183.7 FPS, Medium drops to 153.7 FPS, High comes in at 114.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 85.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 98.1 FPS, a 53% reduction that demonstrates the GPU's scaling under increasing load. Notably, the transition from Medium to High costs 39.1 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 29 FPS, indicating that High offers diminishing returns relative to the frame rate loss.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with compressed numbers. Low yields 134.8 FPS, Medium drops to 96 FPS, High reaches 75.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 50.7 FPS. The 1440p Low result is interesting—it beats 1080p Ultra by 49.2 FPS, showing that resolution matters less than settings in this game. The 1440p to 1080p scaling at each setting is roughly consistent: Low improves by 48.9 FPS, Medium by 57.7 FPS, High by 39.5 FPS, and Ultra by 34.9 FPS when dropping resolution.

The 4K numbers tell a harsher story. Low produces 69 FPS, Medium drops to 53.2 FPS, High falls to 40.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings costs 34.7 FPS, while at Ultra it costs 24.7 FPS. The 4K Low result of 69 FPS is barely playable, and anything above Medium becomes a slideshow. The data reveals that this combo is fundamentally a 1080p and 1440p performer, with 4K reserved for the lowest settings.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 144 Hz gaming at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. Low produces 183.7 FPS and Medium produces 153.7 FPS, both exceeding 144 Hz. High settings fall to 114.6 FPS, which misses the 144 Hz mark.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, which yields 69 FPS. Medium drops to 53.2 FPS, High to 40.4 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. For consistent 60 FPS at 4K, Low is the only viable option.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to the standard RX 7600?

A: The RX 7600 XT scores 0.6% lower than the RX 7600 in average benchmark scores, making them effectively equivalent in Outriders. The 16 GB memory difference does not translate to a measurable performance gap in this title.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance like?

A: The i5-11400F scores 868 in 3DMark single-thread and 2029 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores place it competitively for gaming workloads, though its multi-thread scores are more impressive relative to peers.

Q: Does the game favor the CPU or GPU more?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the FPS reaches 183.7, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 26, a 7x reduction. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU struggles with resolution increases, while the CPU maintains sufficient frame delivery.

Q: What is the best visual quality to performance ratio?

A: Medium settings at 1440p provides 96 FPS, which is the highest resolution and settings combination that stays above 60 FPS. At 1080p, Medium's 153.7 FPS offers the best margin for high-refresh displays without the visual degradation of Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F packs 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and boosting to 4.40 GHz. This Rocket Lake processor on the 14 nm node draws 65 W TDP, making it an efficient choice for gaming builds. The 12 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for Outriders' streaming needs. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 14372, while single-core hits 2029, and Geekbench multicore scores 7579 with single-core at 1979.

In Outriders specifically, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The 1080p Low result of 183.7 FPS shows the CPU can feed the GPU well above typical 60 Hz targets, and even the 1440p Low result of 134.8 FPS indicates the processor is not bottlenecking at lower settings. The CPU's percentile of 75 among all CPUs suggests it has enough headroom for most gaming scenarios, but the combo's rank of 1147 shows that the GPU's limitations cap overall performance. The CPU's nearest rivals—the Ryzen 7 5700U and Core i7-1260P—all score within 0.2% of each other, meaning any of these processors would produce identical results in Outriders.

The Core i5-11400F's Passmark multithread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981 indicate balanced performance for a 6-core part. The data compression score of 208472 and encryption score of 10247 show strong compute capabilities, though these are unlikely to affect game performance. The CPU's PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures the GPU can communicate at full bandwidth, which is essential for the RX 7600 XT's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system scales under increasing pixel load. At Low settings, 1080p produces 183.7 FPS, 1440p drops to 134.8 FPS (a 27% reduction), and 4K falls to 69 FPS (a 62% reduction from 1080p). At Medium settings, the progression is 153.7 to 96 to 53.2 FPS, with 1440p costing 38% and 4K costing 65%. High settings show 114.6, 75.1, and 40.4 FPS, with 4K representing a 65% drop. Ultra settings compress further: 85.6, 50.7, and 26 FPS, with 4K costing 70% of the 1080p performance.

This scaling pattern strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The consistent 60-70% performance loss from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests the RX 7600 XT's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and 22.57 TFLOPS compute are insufficient to maintain frame rates as pixel count quadruples. The CPU, meanwhile, shows no such degradation—at 1080p Low, the system achieves 183.7 FPS, which would require substantial CPU headroom to sustain.

The interesting anomaly is that the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is relatively modest (27-40%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is severe (49-62%). This suggests the GPU has enough resources to handle 1440p comfortably but hits a wall at 4K, likely due to memory bandwidth constraints. The 16 GB frame buffer does not help if the 128-bit bus cannot feed data fast enough. For players targeting 4K, Low settings at 69 FPS is the ceiling, and even that requires significant visual compromises. The data makes it clear: this combo is optimized for 1080p and 1440p, with 4K as a stretch goal only for the least demanding settings.