Outriders

# Outriders Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Outriders, with the data indicating a clear GPU-bound profile at higher resolutions while the CPU demonstrates ample headroom at 1080p. The measured frame rates across four settings presets and three resolutions reveal a system that can comfortably handle 1080p High and 1440p Medium, but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a dramatic performance curve that strongly indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiting component as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 113 at 1920x1080 to 71 at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction, and then falls further to 37 at 3840x2160, representing a 67% decline from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a system where the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering throughput is increasingly saturated at higher resolutions.

The Low settings preset exhibits the most extreme scaling behavior, with average FPS starting at 207 at 1080p, dropping to 131 at 1440p, and settling at 68 at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 207 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate when graphical load is minimal, but the 4K Low figure of 68 FPS demonstrates that even with reduced visual complexity, the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are the binding constraint at 3840x2160.

Medium settings show a more moderate scaling curve: 150 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, by contrast, reveals the steepest degradation, falling from 81 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p and finally to 27 FPS at 4K. The fact that Ultra at 4K produces less than half the frame rate of High at 4K (27 vs. 37 FPS) indicates that the incremental settings between High and Ultra impose a heavy cost on the GPU's compute and memory subsystems.

For 1440p displays, the data shows that High settings are the boundary for smooth gameplay, with Medium providing a comfortable margin at 95 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K at any settings preset results in a performance halving or worse, emphasizing that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings compromises.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake desktop processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, demonstrates strong synthetic benchmark results that suggest it is not the bottleneck in Outriders at most tested configurations. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12380 points and single-core score of 1680 points indicate a balanced processor capable of handling both multi-threaded game logic and single-threaded render thread workloads.

The 3DMark results provide further context: a single-thread score of 909, a 2-thread score of 1699, and a 4-thread score of 3067 show solid scaling through four threads, while the 8-thread score of 4779 and max-thread score of 5912 demonstrate that the 12-thread configuration continues to extract performance. The PassMark multithread score of 19433 and single-thread score of 3481 reinforce the processor's capability to drive high frame rates when the GPU is not the limiting factor.

The key observation from the measured FPS data is that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 207 FPS average, which approaches the practical ceiling for many display refresh rates and indicates the CPU can feed the GPU with frames faster than the RTX 2060 SUPER can render them at low graphical loads. However, at 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 81 FPS, and at 1440p Ultra to 51 FPS, suggesting that even with a capable CPU, the GPU's rendering capacity becomes the constraining element as settings increase.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide adequate data locality for game workloads, and the dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support offers flexibility in platform configuration. The processor's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in a solid mid-to-upper tier, though the nearest rivals list shows it trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (deltaPct 0) and Intel Core 3 201E (deltaPct -0.1), indicating comparable overall computational performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the decisive factor in this combo's Outriders performance, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Built on the TU106 chip using TSMC's 12 nm process, this Turing architecture GPU features 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, alongside 34 RT cores and 272 Tensor cores. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base of 1470 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. The 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places this card in the mid-range tier of the current market, and the nearest rivals list shows it performing nearly identically to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (deltaPct -0.4) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct -0.5).

The measured FPS data confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER's capabilities are the primary determinant of playability. At 4K Ultra, the 27 FPS average is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay, while 4K High at 37 FPS remains borderline. The card's performance at 1440p is more respectable, with Medium at 95 FPS and High at 71 FPS providing viable options. The 1080p results are strong across the board, with even Ultra achieving 81 FPS average.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity appears adequate for the tested settings, as the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s supports the texture and geometry workloads in Outriders without evident stuttering or texture pop-in in the measured data. The card's end-of-life production status and 175 W TDP with a single 8-pin power connector make it a straightforward installation for most systems with a 450 W power supply recommendation.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2514th out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the benchmark database. This ranking reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER's position as a mid-range GPU from the previous generation, despite the capable i5-12400F processor. The combo's percentile position suggests that while the CPU is well-suited for gaming workloads, the GPU limits the overall system's ability to compete with higher-end pairings in this title.

The ranking context is important: the CPU alone sits at the 73rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. The combination's 2514th rank out of 3710 indicates that the GPU's lower relative standing drags the overall combo down, as many other tested systems pair similar or better CPUs with more powerful graphics cards. The data does not include direct comparison scores for this specific game, but the synthetic benchmark deltas to rivals suggest the GPU is the performance ceiling.

For Outriders specifically, the combo's rank implies that a significant number of tested combinations deliver higher frame rates, particularly at 1440p and 4K resolutions where the GPU's limitations are most apparent. However, the rank also shows that this combo outperforms roughly 32% of all tested configurations, meaning it is not at the bottom of the performance spectrum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across all resolutions and settings:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 207 FPS average
• Medium: 150 FPS average, with a range of 128 to 173 FPS
• High: 113 FPS average
• Ultra: 81 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 131 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average, with a range of 81 to 109 FPS
• High: 71 FPS average
• Ultra: 51 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 68 FPS average
• Medium: 50 FPS average, with a range of 42 to 57 FPS
• High: 37 FPS average
• Ultra: 27 FPS average

The Medium settings rows provide the only minimum and maximum FPS data in the dataset, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 128 to 173 FPS range shows a 45 FPS spread, indicating some variability but generally smooth gameplay. The 1440p Medium range of 81 to 109 FPS represents a 28 FPS spread, suggesting improved consistency at this resolution. The 4K Medium range of 42 to 57 FPS shows a 15 FPS spread, which is tighter in absolute terms but represents a larger percentage variation relative to the 50 FPS average.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p at each settings level shows consistent performance scaling: Low drops from 207 to 131 FPS (63% reduction), Medium from 150 to 95 FPS (63% reduction), High from 113 to 71 FPS (63% reduction), and Ultra from 81 to 51 FPS (63% reduction). The uniform scaling across settings suggests that resolution is the dominant factor in performance degradation, independent of graphical complexity.

Going from 1440p to 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced: Low drops from 131 to 68 FPS (52% reduction), Medium from 95 to 50 FPS (53% reduction), High from 71 to 37 FPS (52% reduction), and Ultra from 51 to 27 FPS (53% reduction). This steeper decline at 4K indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate become increasingly taxed at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings configuration depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 113 FPS average provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Players seeking maximum frame rates can utilize the Low preset at 207 FPS or Medium at 150 FPS, while the Ultra preset at 81 FPS remains playable for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

For 1440p displays, the Medium preset at 95 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it maintains smooth gameplay while preserving reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 71 FPS is also viable for players who prefer enhanced graphics, though it offers less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 131 FPS is excessive for most 1440p displays, and the Ultra preset at 51 FPS falls slightly below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less desirable for competitive or fast-paced play.

At 4K resolution, the data suggests significant compromises are necessary. The Low preset at 68 FPS is the only configuration that achieves a comfortable frame rate, while the Medium preset at 50 FPS is borderline playable but may exhibit noticeable stuttering in intense combat scenarios. The High preset at 37 FPS and Ultra preset at 27 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as they fall well below the 60 FPS target and even struggle to maintain 30 FPS in the case of Ultra.

For the best overall experience, the 1080p High preset delivers the most balanced combination of visual quality and performance, while 1440p Medium offers a good middle ground for higher-resolution displays. Players with 4K monitors should consider the Low preset or reduce resolution to 1440p for a more enjoyable experience.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p provides the most consistent experience, with the High preset achieving 113 FPS average and even Ultra maintaining 81 FPS. At 1440p, Medium at 95 FPS is the best balance, while 4K only offers acceptable performance at Low settings with 68 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: The measured results indicate that 4K gaming is possible but limited. The Low preset achieves 68 FPS average, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to 50 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 37 and 27 FPS respectively, making higher settings unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 207 FPS, showing the CPU can feed frames rapidly, but at 4K Ultra the frame rate drops to 27 FPS, demonstrating the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering capacity is the binding constraint at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What settings preset is recommended for 1440p displays?

A: The Medium preset at 95 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it provides smooth gameplay above 60 FPS. The High preset at 71 FPS is also viable, while the Ultra preset at 51 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is less desirable.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's nearest rivals show it performs nearly identically to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (deltaPct -0.4) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct -0.5), while slightly trailing the AMD Radeon RX 460 (deltaPct -1.5) and Intel Arc A770M (deltaPct -1.6) in average benchmark scores.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded for this combo?

A: The only rows with min/max data are the Medium settings: at 1080p, the range is 128 to 173 FPS; at 1440p, 81 to 109 FPS; and at 4K, 42 to 57 FPS. The other settings rows do not include min/max data in the measured results.