Outriders

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core i5-12400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 in Outriders?

A: This combo ranks 2,269 out of 3,710 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the performance distribution.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 214 at 1080p with Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 158 FPS average, while High and Ultra produce 119 FPS and 86 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU act as the primary bottleneck at 4K?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the limiting component. The average FPS drops sharply from 214 at 1080p Low to 72 at 4K Low, indicating that the RTX 5050's rendering throughput caps performance as resolution increases.

Q: What is the only preset with reported minimum and maximum FPS values?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with full frame time data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 135 to 182 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 85 to 115 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 44 to 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rival in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score is 21,035, which is 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713) and 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21,153).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 ranks in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18,683.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It carries 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 5,890 at max threads, indicating solid per-core performance that is relevant for Outriders' game logic and physics.

In the context of this combo, the CPU's role in Outriders is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle enemy AI, loot calculations, and skill effects. The 12 threads allow for decent parallel processing, though the game is not heavily threaded. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,873 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 5,890, suggesting that the CPU saturates its scaling beyond 12 threads — but Outriders rarely uses that many. The single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and a Cinebench R23 single-core result of 2,257 points indicate that the i5-12400 has strong per-core throughput, which matters for the game's main simulation thread.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18,683 is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697) and 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730). It is 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F (18,519). This places the CPU in a competitive position for gaming workloads, though the differences are marginal. The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all processors confirms it is a mid-to-upper tier part, but not a flagship.

For Outriders specifically, the data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 214 FPS average, which is high enough that the CPU becomes more relevant in frame pacing. However, the measured FPS at higher settings and resolutions drops significantly, indicating that the GPU takes over as the limiting factor. The CPU's boost clock of 4.40 GHz is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5050 at most settings, except possibly at very low resolutions where the frame rate exceeds 200 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 214 FPS average suggests the CPU can keep up, but any faster GPU would likely expose the i5-12400's limits.

The CPU's TDP of 65 W and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) are not directly measured in the game data, but the architecture's efficiency helps maintain stable performance. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,692 and 4-thread score of 3,012 indicate that the CPU scales well with moderate thread counts, which aligns with Outriders' typical usage of 4 to 8 threads. The Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 6,715 and single-core score of 947 further corroborate that the CPU is balanced for both lightly and heavily threaded scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2,317 MHz with a boost clock of 2,572 MHz, and it includes 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores. The FP32 performance is 13.17 TFLOPS, which is a key metric for rasterized rendering in Outriders.

The GPU's role in Outriders is dominant across most settings. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the combo scales from 86 FPS at Ultra to 214 FPS at Low. This wide spread indicates that the RTX 5050's raw pixel throughput is the primary constraint as settings increase. The 8 GB VRAM is a consideration for Outriders at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 28 — likely due to memory capacity or bandwidth limitations, though the exact cause is not measured.

The RTX 5050's average benchmark score is 21,035, ranking in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713) and 1% faster than the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21,237 is not directly comparable due to the delta direction). The delta percentages show the RTX 5050 is 0.6% slower than the RX Vega M GL (21,153) and 1.6% slower than the RTX A4000 Mobile (21,379). These differences are small, meaning the RTX 5050 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

In Outriders, the GPU's boost clock of 2,572 MHz helps maintain high fill rates at 1080p and 1440p. The 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is adequate for 1080p Medium (158 FPS) and 1440p High (75 FPS), but the 4K results show a steep falloff. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 52 with a min of 44 and max of 60, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame pacing at that resolution. The 4K High average of 39 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 28 FPS further confirm that the RTX 5050 is not a 4K-capable card for Outriders at high presets.

The GPU's 20 RT cores are present, but Outriders does not heavily utilize ray tracing in the measured settings. The FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS is the main driver for the game's shader complexity. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and effects likely exceeds the memory capacity, contributing to the 28 FPS average. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17,326 and DirectX 12 score of 66 (which seems low but is a relative metric) provide additional context for its overall compute capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2,269 out of 3,710 tested combinations in Outriders, which places it in the 61st percentile of all tested systems. This is a below-median ranking, but the absolute FPS numbers show that the combo is still playable at 1080p and 1440p. The rank reflects the fact that Outriders is a demanding title, and many higher-end GPUs (e.g., RTX 4070-class or above) will outpace this combo.

The ranking is primarily dragged down by the GPU's performance at 4K, where the average FPS falls below 60 at all presets except Low (72 FPS). At 1080p, the combo's best average FPS of 214 at Low settings is competitive, but the Ultra preset's 86 FPS average is below the 100+ FPS threshold that many gamers target. The combo's rank of 2,269 suggests that it is not in the top tier for Outriders, but it is far from the bottom — 1,441 combos perform worse.

Compared to the CPU's 72nd percentile and GPU's 66th percentile, the combo's 61st percentile rank in Outriders indicates that the game is more GPU-bound than either component's general benchmark would suggest. The CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU in synthetic tests, but Outriders' rendering load shifts the bottleneck to the RTX 5050. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 214 FPS, which is 149% higher than at 1080p Ultra (86 FPS), highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to settings.

The rank also implies that for a smoother experience, users should prioritize GPU upgrades over CPU upgrades. The i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate for Outriders, as evidenced by the high FPS at low settings. The RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. In the context of all tested combos, this pairing is a mid-range option that delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience is achieved at 1440p Medium. This preset delivers an average FPS of 100 with a minimum of 85 and maximum of 115, providing a smooth and consistent frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p High preset drops to 75 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers 158 FPS average with a min of 135 and max of 182, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the 1440p Medium option offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance.

For users prioritizing maximum visual quality, 1080p Ultra yields 86 FPS average, which is acceptable but not optimal for competitive play. The 4K presets are not recommended: even at Low, the average FPS is 72, but the visual downgrade is severe, and at Medium, the 52 FPS average with a min of 44 is borderline. The 4K High (39 FPS) and Ultra (28 FPS) are not suitable for a smooth experience.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate is 158 FPS, which is 84% higher than High (119 FPS) and 84% higher than Ultra (86 FPS). At 1440p Medium, the 100 FPS average is 33% higher than High (75 FPS) and 85% higher than Ultra (54 FPS). The Medium preset provides a substantial performance boost over High without a proportional loss in visual quality.

The only measured preset with min/max data is Medium, which shows tight frame pacing: at 1080p, the range is 135-182 FPS (a 47 FPS spread), and at 1440p, the range is 85-115 FPS (a 30 FPS spread). This consistency is preferable for gameplay, as it reduces stuttering. The Low preset offers the highest FPS (214 at 1080p, 137 at 1440p, 72 at 4K), but the visual degradation may not be worth the performance gain for most users. Therefore, the recommended settings are 1440p Medium for the best overall experience, with 1080p Medium as an alternative for higher refresh rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across presets: Low (214), Medium (158), High (119), and Ultra (86). The Medium preset has a minimum of 135 and maximum of 182. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 60% reduction in average FPS (from 214 to 86), indicating that the GPU is highly sensitive to settings at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low (137), Medium (100), High (75), and Ultra (54). The Medium preset has a minimum of 85 and maximum of 115. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant: at Low, the FPS falls by 36% (from 214 to 137); at Medium, by 37% (from 158 to 100); at High, by 37% (from 119 to 75); and at Ultra, by 37% (from 86 to 54). This consistent percentage drop indicates that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the limiting factors, as the resolution increase adds a uniform load.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low (72), Medium (52), High (39), and Ultra (28). The Medium preset has a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60. The 4K results show a dramatic falloff: compared to 1080p, the FPS drops by 66% at Low (from 214 to 72), 67% at Medium (from 158 to 52), 67% at High (from 119 to 39), and 67% at Ultra (from 86 to 28). This consistent 66-67% reduction across all presets confirms that the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering in Outriders.

The only preset with full min/max data at all resolutions is Medium. At 1080p, the range is 135-182 FPS (a 26% spread from min to max); at 1440p, the range is 85-115 FPS (a 26% spread); and at 4K, the range is 44-60 FPS (a 27% spread). This consistency in frame pacing across resolutions suggests that the GPU's performance is stable, but the absolute FPS at 4K is too low for a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS decreases from 214 at 1080p to 137 at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 72 at 4K (a 66% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the progression is 158 to 100 to 52, representing a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the progression is 119 to 75 to 39, with the same 37% and 67% reductions. At Ultra settings, the progression is 86 to 54 to 28, again with 37% and 67% reductions.

The uniform percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU's performance scales inversely with the number of pixels. The 4K resolution has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, but the FPS drops by only 66-67%, not 75%. This suggests that the RTX 5050 is not purely pixel-bound; other factors, such as memory bandwidth and cache efficiency, play a role. However, the consistent 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p (which has 1.78 times the pixels) is close to the linear scaling expected from a fill-rate-limited GPU.

The resolution scaling data points to the GPU as the primary limiting component at all settings. The CPU's role is minimal, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS drops are consistent regardless of settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain more constant at lower resolutions (e.g., 1080p Low) and then drop sharply at higher resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops uniformly, confirming that the RTX 5050's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor.

The 4K results are particularly telling: even at Low settings, the average FPS is 72, which is below the 100 FPS target for smooth gameplay. At Medium, the 52 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold. This indicates that the RTX 5050 is not a 4K-capable GPU for Outriders, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p. The 1440p Medium preset offers the best balance, with 100 FPS average and a min of 85, which is well within acceptable frame time ranges. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are the key constraints, and upgrading to a GPU with more memory and bandwidth would be necessary for 4K playability.