Outriders

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a wide FPS spread across resolutions in Outriders, and the shape of that spread tells you exactly where the bottleneck sits. At 1920x1080, the combo scales from 87.4 FPS on Ultra to 215.4 FPS on Low, a massive 128 FPS gap that indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor at the lowest settings. The CPU is clearly capable of pushing frame rates well past 200 FPS in this title when the render load is light. As resolution climbs, that headroom collapses: at 2560x1440 the same Low-to-Ultra range narrows to 140.5 down to 57.9 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it tightens further to 77.1 down to 27.1 FPS. The 4K numbers reveal a GPU-bound scenario, where even dropping from High to Low only recovers about 33 FPS, compared to the 93 FPS recovery available at 1080p. This is a textbook sign of a balanced mid-range pairing: the RTX 2070 SUPER becomes the ceiling at higher resolutions, while the i5-12400F has enough single-thread muscle to keep up at lower ones.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but predictable for this hardware generation. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 122.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 78.6 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 43.5 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 64.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High, which aligns with the pixel count increase outpacing what the TU104 chip can shade. The Low preset tells a different story: 215.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 140.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 77.1 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Low result is so high that it strongly suggests a CPU limit — the i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are being pushed to their ceiling, while the GPU idles waiting for draw calls. At 4K Low, the 77.1 FPS result is still playable, but the fact that it is only 33.6 FPS higher than 4K High (43.5 FPS) shows the GPU is now the dominant constraint. The Medium preset follows the same curve: 166.9 FPS at 1080p, 103.6 FPS at 1440p, and 53.9 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the outlier, with 87.4 FPS at 1080p dropping to 57.9 FPS at 1440p and collapsing to 27.1 FPS at 4K — that last number is the only one in the dataset that falls below the 30 FPS playability floor.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1693 tested combos for Outriders, this pairing sits at rank 995, which places it in the bottom 41% of the field. That ranking might surprise given the strong 1080p numbers, but it reflects the full resolution spectrum. The CPU's percentile ranking is 77, meaning it outperforms three-quarters of all tested processors in synthetic workloads, while the GPU's percentile is 65. The discrepancy between those two percentiles and the combo's low in-game rank suggests that Outriders' engine is not particularly friendly to this generation of NVIDIA hardware, or that the 8 GB GDDR6 memory buffer becomes a liability at higher settings. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks paint a clearer picture of the CPU's standalone strength: the i5-12400F scores 19221 on average, essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, 0.1% delta) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, 0.3% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19364) and beats the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18979). For the GPU, the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score of 22206 puts it in a tight cluster: it is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307), 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006), 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729), and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670). The combo's rank of 995 suggests that the CPU's strong synthetic showing does not translate to a top-tier gaming result in this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings 6 physical cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S part, built on Intel's 10 nm process with an 18 MB shared L3 cache, delivers synthetic scores that place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 are solid for a 65 W TDP part, and the 3DMark scores show scaling from 1699 at 2 threads to 5912 at max threads. In Outriders, the CPU's role becomes evident at 1080p Low, where the 215.4 FPS result is far beyond what the GPU could sustain if it were the bottleneck. The 2.50 GHz base clock is low, but the 4.40 GHz boost is what matters in gaming, and the single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2221, Passmark single-thread 3481) is sufficient to feed the RTX 2070 SUPER at lower resolutions. The memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with dual-channel configuration, gives builders flexibility, though the measured FPS data does not differentiate between memory types. The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the older i7-8700K, which it matches almost exactly (0.1% delta), confirming that this is a mature, well-balanced six-core design for gaming workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression: Low runs at 215.4 FPS, Medium at 166.9 FPS, High at 122.5 FPS, and Ultra at 87.4 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 48.5 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 35.1 FPS, indicating diminishing returns from High to Ultra. At 2560x1440, the spread compresses: Low delivers 140.5 FPS, Medium 103.6 FPS, High 78.6 FPS, and Ultra 57.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 36.9 FPS, similar in proportion to the 1080p gap. At 3840x2160, the numbers become more modest: Low hits 77.1 FPS, Medium 53.9 FPS, High 43.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27.1 FPS. The 4K results show that even the Low preset cannot reach 80 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the only configuration in the entire dataset that fails to maintain 30 FPS. The scaling factor from 1080p to 4K at High settings is roughly 2.8x (122.5 to 43.5 FPS), which is close to the 4x pixel count increase, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor at that settings tier. At Low settings, the 1080p-to-4K drop is 2.8x as well (215.4 to 77.1 FPS), but the absolute numbers are high enough that the CPU still has headroom at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle Outriders at 4K?

A: Only at Low or Medium settings. The measured data shows 77.1 FPS at 4K Low and 53.9 FPS at 4K Medium, but High drops to 43.5 FPS and Ultra falls to 27.1 FPS, which is below a smooth 30 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The evidence points to the CPU at Low settings. The 215.4 FPS result at 1080p Low is far higher than the GPU's 4K Low result of 77.1 FPS, indicating the RTX 2070 SUPER has spare capacity at 1080p that the i5-12400F cannot fully utilize when settings are minimal.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its closest rivals?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 19221, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, 0.1% delta) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19364) and beats the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18979).

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The data shows High at 78.6 FPS is a solid choice, while Medium at 103.6 FPS provides more margin for demanding scenes. Ultra at 57.9 FPS is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (995 out of 1693) despite strong component benchmarks?

A: The CPU's 77th percentile and GPU's 65th percentile rankings are based on synthetic tests, but Outriders' specific engine demands push this combo to the bottom 41% of tested configurations. The 4K Ultra result of 27.1 FPS drags down the overall ranking significantly.

Q: How much FPS is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, the gain is 128 FPS (87.4 to 215.4). At 1440p, the gain is 82.6 FPS (57.9 to 140.5). At 4K, the gain is 50 FPS (27.1 to 77.1). The smaller gain at 4K confirms the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p display, the Medium preset at 166.9 FPS is the sweet spot — it delivers well over 144 Hz refresh rates while staying far from the CPU-bound ceiling of Low. High at 122.5 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz monitors, but Ultra at 87.4 FPS is only worth it if visual fidelity trumps frame rate. At 2560x1440, High at 78.6 FPS is the recommended baseline for 60-75 Hz displays, while Medium at 103.6 FPS is better suited for 100 Hz+ panels. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 25 FPS, which is a meaningful hit for what is typically a modest visual upgrade in Outriders. Ultra at 1440p (57.9 FPS) is borderline for fast-paced gameplay. At 3840x2160, the data suggests only Low (77.1 FPS) or Medium (53.9 FPS) are acceptable. High at 43.5 FPS is playable for slower moments, but the 27.1 FPS Ultra result fails to meet a smooth gaming standard. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory buffer on the RTX 2070 SUPER is likely the constraint at 4K High and Ultra, given that the FPS drops are consistent with texture memory pressure. For a balanced experience across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best compromise between visual quality and frame rate, with the 1080p Medium result of 166.9 FPS and 1440p Medium result of 103.6 FPS both providing comfortable headroom. The 4K Medium result of 53.9 FPS is the only resolution where Medium dips below 60 FPS, but it remains smooth enough for a looter shooter's combat pacing.