Outriders

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 in Outriders produces a fascinating dataset that reveals a significant performance bottleneck. The benchmark results show a clear pattern where the GPU’s immense power is consistently held back by the CPU’s architectural limits, particularly at lower resolutions. This combination ranks at 457 out of 1693 tested combos, placing it in the upper 27% of all systems, but the data suggests the experience is far from optimized, with the CPU acting as a limiting factor that prevents the RTX 5080 from reaching its full potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 128.3 frames per second. This is a solid result, but notably lower than the 185.4 FPS achieved at Low settings, indicating a substantial performance cost for maxing out visual fidelity.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is statistically identical to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which scores 17189 with a deltaPct of 0. It also sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, showing it is competitive with these mobile-oriented chips.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 145.8. When the resolution is increased to 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 80.8. This represents a reduction of 65.0 FPS, or approximately 44.6%, when moving to 4K.

Q: Does the RTX 5080 have a large amount of VRAM?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This configuration is well-suited for high-resolution textures and demanding workloads.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile compared to all other GPUs?

A: The RTX 5080 sits in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its closest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, scores 58239, putting the RTX 5080 ahead by 1.6%.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded in the data?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 185.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds 180 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant piece of hardware in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. Its core configuration is formidable, featuring 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory operates at an effective speed of 30 Gbps, delivering a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is critical for handling the high-resolution textures and particle effects common in a looter shooter like Outriders. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, providing substantial raw computational power.

In the measured results, the GPU’s strength is most apparent at 4K resolution, where it still manages to deliver playable frame rates. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 80.8, which is a demanding workload that stresses the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a clear progression: 126.6 FPS at Low, 110.4 FPS at Medium, 80.8 FPS at High, and 61.5 FPS at Ultra. This 65.1 FPS drop from Low to Ultra demonstrates the GPU’s capacity to handle increased graphical loads, but the absolute numbers suggest that even the RTX 5080 is not fully immune to the game’s demands at 4K.

The data implies that the GPU is not the primary constraint in most scenarios. At 1080p, the frame rates are high, but the scaling between settings is not as pronounced as one might expect from such a powerful card. For instance, the difference between Low (185.4 FPS) and Ultra (128.3 FPS) at 1080p is 57.1 FPS, which is significant but less than the 65.1 FPS drop seen at 4K. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU begins to limit the GPU’s ability to produce higher frame rates, preventing the RTX 5080 from showcasing its full potential.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 457 out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the top 27% of all systems tested, which is a respectable position given the GPU’s high-end status. However, the ranking also reveals an inefficiency. The RTX 5080 alone is in the 89th percentile of GPUs, meaning it outperforms 89% of all graphics cards. If the combo were perfectly balanced, one would expect the overall system ranking to be much higher, potentially in the top 10%.

The discrepancy between the GPU’s individual percentile (89) and the combo’s ranking (457/1693, or roughly the 73rd percentile) indicates that the CPU is a bottleneck. The Intel Core i5-11400F is in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, which is decent for a mainstream processor, but it is not powerful enough to keep pace with the RTX 5080 in a game like Outriders. The data suggests that this combo is held back by the CPU’s inability to feed the GPU enough data, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU’s workload is relatively higher compared to the GPU’s.

The ranking data implies that users would see better overall performance with a more powerful CPU to match the RTX 5080. While the current combo is functional and delivers good frame rates, it is not maximizing the potential of the GPU. The benchmark results point to a system that is unbalanced, with the GPU’s performance being constrained by the CPU’s processing limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 185.4 FPS (Low), 161.7 FPS (Medium), 145.8 FPS (High), and 128.3 FPS (Ultra). These numbers show that the system is capable of exceeding 120 FPS at all settings, making it suitable for high refresh rate monitors. However, the scaling is not linear; the jump from Low to Medium is a 23.7 FPS drop, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 17.5 FPS drop. This indicates diminishing returns as settings are increased.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 157.9 FPS (Low), 139.5 FPS (Medium), 127.5 FPS (High), and 110.7 FPS (Ultra). The performance here is still strong, with all presets delivering above 110 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings is consistent, averaging around a 20-25% reduction in FPS. For example, at Low settings, the FPS drops from 185.4 to 157.9, a reduction of 27.5 FPS (14.8%). At Ultra settings, the drop is from 128.3 to 110.7, a reduction of 17.6 FPS (13.7%).

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 126.6 FPS (Low), 110.4 FPS (Medium), 80.8 FPS (High), and 61.5 FPS (Ultra). This is where the RTX 5080’s power becomes more apparent, as the GPU is heavily stressed. The difference between Low and Medium is 16.2 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High is a substantial 29.6 FPS drop. The most significant drop is from High to Ultra, which is 19.3 FPS, resulting in a sub-60 FPS experience at 4K Ultra. This configuration is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, highlighting the extreme demand of 4K resolution with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At Low settings, the frame rates are 185.4 FPS (1080p), 157.9 FPS (1440p), and 126.6 FPS (4K). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 27.5 FPS (14.8%), and from 1440p to 4K is 31.3 FPS (19.8%). This shows that even at Low settings, where the GPU workload is minimal, the frame rate does not scale linearly with resolution. If the GPU were the only factor, one would expect a much larger drop at 4K, as the pixel count increases by 2.25x from 1440p to 4K.

At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 128.3 FPS (1080p), 110.7 FPS (1440p), and 61.5 FPS (4K). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 17.6 FPS (13.7%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 49.2 FPS (44.4%). This latter drop is much more pronounced, indicating that at Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K. The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is the primary constraint, as the frame rates are relatively close regardless of resolution. At 4K, however, the GPU’s workload increases dramatically, and the RTX 5080’s performance becomes the deciding factor.

This pattern is characteristic of a CPU bottleneck. At lower resolutions, the CPU must process the same number of game logic and draw calls, but the GPU can render frames faster, leading to a situation where the CPU cannot keep up. As resolution increases, the GPU takes longer to render each frame, giving the CPU more time to prepare the next frame. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the balance between CPU and GPU load is more equitable, resulting in high frame rates without excessive drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 12 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its benchmark scores show a single-thread score of 2029 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-thread score of 14372, indicating decent single-core performance but more modest multi-core capabilities.

In the context of Outriders, the CPU’s role is to manage game physics, AI, and draw calls. The benchmark data shows that the CPU is a limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p. For example, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 185.4 FPS, but this is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame output. The CPU’s inability to sustain higher frame rates is evident when comparing the 1080p Low result to the 1440p Low result (157.9 FPS). The drop of 27.5 FPS is significant, but it is less than the resolution increase would suggest, implying that the CPU is still the primary constraint.

The CPU’s performance relative to its rivals is competitive, with an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it in the 75th percentile. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, has nearly identical performance with a deltaPct of 0. This suggests that the i5-11400F is not a weak processor, but it is simply outclassed by the RTX 5080’s enormous processing power. The data implies that to fully utilize the RTX 5080, a higher-end CPU with more cores and higher clock speeds would be necessary, particularly for achieving higher frame rates at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this combo depends on the user’s resolution and performance priorities. At 1920x1080, the High preset offers an average FPS of 145.8, which provides a smooth experience on high refresh rate displays while maintaining good visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 128.3 FPS, which is still playable, but the 17.5 FPS difference may not justify the visual improvements for all users. For competitive play, the Medium preset at 161.7 FPS offers a better balance, but the Low preset at 185.4 FPS is the only option that exceeds 180 FPS, making it the choice for maximum responsiveness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 127.5 FPS, which is an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset at 110.7 FPS is still above 100 FPS, providing a high-quality experience for most players. The Medium preset at 139.5 FPS is a good option for those who prefer higher frame rates, while the Low preset at 157.9 FPS is the best for maximizing performance. Given the CPU bottleneck, there is little reason to drop below Medium settings at 1440p, as the frame rate gains are modest compared to the visual quality loss.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is clearer. The High preset at 80.8 FPS offers a solid 4K experience, but the Ultra preset at 61.5 FPS is borderline, with occasional drops below 60 FPS likely. The Medium preset at 110.4 FPS is the best choice for 4K gaming, as it provides a significant performance boost over High (29.6 FPS) while still looking much better than Low (126.6 FPS). The data suggests that 4K Ultra is not a viable option for consistent frame rates, and users should either stick to High or lower the resolution to 1440p for Ultra settings. Overall, the Medium preset at 4K or High preset at 1440p appears to deliver the most balanced experience for this hardware combination.