Outriders

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Outriders, but the data shows that the GPU becomes the decisive factor as resolution climbs to 4K. The combination ranks in the 67th percentile among all tested combos, placing it in the upper tier for this title, though the CPU's mid-range standing and the GPU's high-end compute power create a distinct performance profile that shifts depending on the settings and resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, running on a 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which provides sufficient single-thread performance for Outriders' game logic and physics. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain data flow for the game's many on-screen entities, though the architecture's modest core count relative to its generation means it is not the primary driver of frame rates in this pairing.

The processor scores 1,777 in Geekbench single-core and 7,737 in Geekbench multi-core, alongside a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,340. These figures place the i5-11400F at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a capable mid-range part. Benchmark results show that Outriders is not heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, as the measured FPS scales well when moving from 1080p to 1440p with the same settings. For instance, at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 163 at 1080p to 140 at 1440p, a relative decrease of roughly 14%, which suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at these levels.

However, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the low-resolution results. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 184 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire data set. This indicates that while the GPU is still capable of pushing high frame rates, the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at these settings. The processor's 3DMark scores, such as 5,619 for 16 threads and 868 for single-thread, corroborate its balanced performance profile. The nearest rival comparisons show the i5-11400F is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G and 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-12450H in average benchmark score, confirming it is a competitive mid-range option that will not hold back the RX 7900 XT in most Outriders scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Outriders?

A: The highest measured average is 184 FPS at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this pairing, with other 1080p settings yielding lower values: 163 FPS at Medium, 147 FPS at High, and 130 FPS at Ultra.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17,177, placing it 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17,120) and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17,074). It trails the Intel Core i5-12450H by 0.4% (17,239) and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G by 0.6% (17,278).

Q: Does the GPU bottleneck the CPU at any resolution?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 47, while the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates, indicating the GPU is the limiting component at this extreme setting. The data shows the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at higher resolutions, while the CPU's contribution remains consistent.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 158 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 91 FPS. This represents a 42.4% reduction in average FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest preset, demonstrating the significant impact of graphical fidelity on this GPU.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Outriders compare to the total number of tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1,206th out of 3,710 tested combinations, placing it in the upper 32.5% of all possible CPU-GPU pairings for this game. This indicates it outperforms the majority of systems tested in Outriders.

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

A: The only rows with min FPS data are: at 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 74 FPS; at 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 119 FPS; and at 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 139 FPS. No minimum FPS data is available for other settings, so the overall floor is unknown for those configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance that intensifies with resolution. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by 14% at Medium settings (163 to 140), 15% at High settings (147 to 125), and 14% at Low settings (184 to 158). These are relatively modest reductions, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom at these resolutions and the CPU is not a limiting factor.

The scaling becomes far more dramatic when moving from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 125 to 66, a 47.2% reduction. At Medium settings, it drops from 140 to 87, a 37.9% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 158 to 120, a 24.1% reduction. These larger percentage decreases at 4K strongly indicate that the RX 7900 XT's rendering workload is the primary constraint, as the CPU's performance remains constant across resolutions.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 130 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 91 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 47 FPS. The progression from 130 to 91 to 47 shows a multiplicative effect of resolution on frame rate, with each step roughly halving the performance. This pattern confirms that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, as the CPU's capabilities are far beyond what is required to sustain these frame rates. The 4K Medium result of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS shows that even at moderate settings, the GPU struggles to maintain smooth performance at this resolution, whereas the 1440p Medium result of 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS demonstrates far more stable performance.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows that the Ultra preset provides diminishing returns in Outriders for this combo. At 1080p, Ultra yields 130 FPS, which is only 11.6% lower than High's 147 FPS, but at 1440p, Ultra drops to 91 FPS, which is 27.2% lower than High's 125 FPS. At 4K, Ultra falls to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered necessary for smooth gameplay.

The best experience per the measured rows is the High preset at 1440p, which delivers an average of 125 FPS. This combines the visual fidelity of higher settings with a frame rate that comfortably exceeds standard display refresh rates. The 1440p Medium preset is also a strong option, offering 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 FPS, which provides a more consistent experience for competitive play. At 1080p, the High preset at 147 FPS is recommended over Ultra, as the 17 FPS difference (130 vs 147) is unlikely to be noticeable in gameplay, but the lower preset reduces GPU load.

For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset (120 FPS) is playable at high refresh rates, while Medium (87 FPS) is adequate for 60 Hz displays. The High preset at 4K (66 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra (47 FPS) is not recommended. The measured minimum FPS data supports this recommendation, as the 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 74 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target, whereas the 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum of 119 FPS, indicating a smoother frame delivery. Overall, the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the Medium preset at 1080p (163 FPS) serving as the best option for maximum frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 1,206th out of 3,710 tested combinations in Outriders. This places the combo in the 67.5th percentile of all possible pairings, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested systems. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU's mid-range standing and the GPU's high-end compute, resulting in a system that is well-suited for this game at 1080p and 1440p but not optimized for 4K Ultra.

The CPU's percentile of 71 among all CPUs indicates it is a better-than-average processor, while the GPU's percentile of 55 among all GPUs shows it is slightly above average in the broader context. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 13,745 is only 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13,543), suggesting it is a competitive high-end card. The combo's rank in Outriders is lower than the CPU's percentile would suggest, indicating that the GPU's performance characteristics, rather than the CPU's, are more influential in determining the final ranking for this title. The data shows that the combo's rank is driven by the GPU's ability to handle the game's rendering demands, which is strong at lower resolutions but falls off sharply at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 184 FPS. Medium settings yield 163 FPS, with a minimum of 139 FPS and a maximum of 188 FPS. High settings result in 147 FPS. Ultra settings produce 130 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 54 FPS, showing a 29.3% reduction from the lowest to highest preset.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but drops noticeably. Low settings average 158 FPS. Medium settings average 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS. High settings average 125 FPS. Ultra settings average 91 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 67 FPS, a 42.4% reduction, which is more pronounced than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor. Low settings average 120 FPS. Medium settings average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. High settings average 66 FPS. Ultra settings average 47 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 73 FPS, a 60.8% decrease, which is the largest percentage drop across all resolutions. The minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (74 FPS) are lower than the average FPS at 1440p Ultra (91 FPS), indicating that resolution has a more significant impact on frame consistency than settings alone. The measured data shows that this combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where it can maintain high frame rates across all presets, while 4K is only viable with lower settings.