Outriders

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti presents a compelling dataset for Outriders, a looter shooter that appears heavily optimized for high frame rates. The measured results show a configuration capable of exceeding 100 FPS at nearly every setting and resolution combination, yet the scaling patterns reveal a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint only at the highest fidelity settings. The data indicates that this combination ranks 517th out of 1693 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper third of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s older Rocket Lake architecture.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a textbook shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 184.6 FPS, which drops to 157.8 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 125.9 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 31.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, suggesting the i5-11400F is keeping pace reasonably well even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically becomes more pronounced. The Core i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 Ti without creating a severe bottleneck at these frame rates.

Moving to High settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p result is 148.2 FPS, dropping to 124.3 FPS at 1440p (a 16.1% decline) and then to 71.1 FPS at 4K (a 42.8% decline from 1440p). This steep drop at 4K High indicates the GPU is now the limiting factor, as the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth become stressed by the higher pixel count and increased shading complexity. The Ultra preset amplifies this trend: 129.3 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p, and just 52.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Ultra score, confirming that the GPU’s compute resources are fully saturated at that resolution.

The data reveals that the RTX 4070 Ti, with its 7680 shading units and 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance, is the primary driver of performance differences across resolutions. The i5-11400F’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for the task, as evidenced by the relatively modest frame rate drops between 1080p and 1440p across all settings. However, at 4K, the GPU’s 192-bit memory bus becomes a constraint, particularly at Ultra where the 52.3 FPS result shows the configuration struggling to maintain smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Outriders?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 provides the most balanced experience. At High settings, it delivers 124.3 FPS, which is 83.9% of the 1080p High score but only 57.2% of the 4K High result. This suggests 1440p leverages the RTX 4070 Ti’s capabilities without overwhelming it.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the i5-11400F’s 6-core/12-thread configuration with a 4.40 GHz boost clock manages to drive frame rates from 129.3 FPS (Ultra) to 184.6 FPS (Low). The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 55.3 FPS, indicating the CPU is not the primary limiter even at the lowest settings.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti the bottleneck at 4K?

A: Yes. The 4K Ultra result of 52.3 FPS is 59.5% lower than the 1080p Ultra score of 129.3 FPS. This dramatic drop, coupled with the GPU’s 285 W TDP and 35,800 million transistors, confirms the GPU is saturated while the CPU likely has headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gap is 55.3 FPS (184.6 vs. 129.3). At 1440p, it narrows to 56.8 FPS (157.8 vs. 101.0). At 4K, the gap shrinks to 73.6 FPS (125.9 vs. 52.3), showing the GPU struggles more with Ultra settings at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 517th out of 1693 combos, placing it in the 69.5th percentile. This indicates it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all tested configurations in Outriders, which is notable given the CPU’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Q: Is the i5-11400F holding back the RTX 4070 Ti in this game?

A: The evidence suggests minimal CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 184.6 FPS result is only 15.6% higher than the 1440p Low score, whereas at 4K Ultra, the 52.3 FPS result is 59.5% lower than 1080p Ultra. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU governs performance at higher resolutions, while the CPU keeps up at lower ones.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s ranking of 517 out of 1693 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper echelon of Outriders configurations. This represents the top 30.5% of all tested setups, which is a strong result for a mid-range CPU from 2021 paired with a high-end GPU from 2023. The i5-11400F itself sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181, while the RTX 4070 Ti is in the 85th percentile of GPUs with an average score of 44900.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals provides context for its performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scores 17189, a negligible 0% delta, while the Intel Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U both score 17212 and 17215 respectively, each showing a -0.2% delta. The Intel Core i5-1240U scores 17141, a 0.2% positive delta for the i5-11400F. These differences are within the margin of error, indicating the CPU’s performance is consistent with its peer group.

For the GPU, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile with a score of 45152, a -0.6% delta, while the Intel Arc A730M scores 45592 (-1.5%) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 44195 (1.6%). These tight margins suggest the RTX 4070 Ti is well-positioned among its contemporaries, though the mobile and professional variants show comparable raw compute scores.

The rank of 517 suggests that while the individual components are strong, the combination does not reach the top tier of Outriders performance. This is likely due to the CPU’s 14 nm process node and Rocket Lake architecture, which, despite 6 cores and 12 threads, cannot match newer designs in IPC or memory bandwidth. The DDR4 memory support and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, while adequate, also limit the system compared to configurations using faster memory.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 124.3 FPS average at 2560x1440 High is 22.9% higher than the 4K High result of 71.1 FPS, while still providing a substantial improvement over the 1080p Ultra score of 129.3 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness, the 1440p Medium preset at 140.1 FPS is a viable alternative, offering a 12.7% boost over High while likely maintaining acceptable visual fidelity.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 129.3 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the Medium preset at 163.9 FPS provides a 26.8% improvement that may be worth the visual trade-off for competitive play. The Low preset at 184.6 FPS is the maximum frame rate achievable, but it likely sacrifices too much visual detail for most players.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 71.1 FPS is the only reasonable choice, as the Ultra preset drops to 52.3 FPS, which may not provide a consistent experience on VRR displays. The Medium preset at 92.8 FPS offers a more comfortable margin, though it is still below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 125.9 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 120 FPS, but it does so at the cost of nearly all visual enhancements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 Ti demonstrates its limits. The Low preset achieves 125.9 FPS, which is a strong result for 4K, but the Medium preset drops to 92.8 FPS, a 26.3% reduction. High settings further reduce performance to 71.1 FPS, a 23.4% drop from Medium, while Ultra plunges to 52.3 FPS, a 26.4% decline from High. This progressive degradation shows that each step up in quality significantly taxes the GPU, with the Ultra preset nearly halving the Low preset’s frame rate.

The 2560x1440 results show a more forgiving pattern. Low settings deliver 157.8 FPS, Medium provides 140.1 FPS (an 11.2% reduction), High drops to 124.3 FPS (11.3% lower than Medium), and Ultra settles at 101 FPS (an 18.7% decline from High). The gap between Low and Ultra is 56.8 FPS, which is a 36% reduction, indicating that even at 1440p, the Ultra preset imposes a significant performance penalty.

At 1920x1080, the configuration shows its strongest performance. Low settings hit 184.6 FPS, Medium achieves 163.9 FPS (11.2% lower), High reaches 148.2 FPS (9.6% below Medium), and Ultra maintains 129.3 FPS (12.8% lower than High). The total spread from Low to Ultra is 55.3 FPS, a 30% reduction, which is the smallest relative drop across all resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU and GPU work together efficiently, with the RTX 4070 Ti’s 40.09 TFLOPS compute capability being the primary driver of the high frame rates.