Outriders

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Outriders with the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 169.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 146.8 FPS, a reduction of roughly 13%. The step to 4K is more severe, landing at 90.7 FPS, which is about 38% below the 1080p figure. This trajectory indicates that the RTX 5090 is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to keep up.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further illustrates this point. At 1080p, the spread from Low (217.4 FPS) to Ultra (155.2 FPS) is 62.2 FPS, showing that even at the lowest settings, the system is not CPU-limited. At 1440p, the Low setting produces 184.6 FPS while Ultra yields 121.9 FPS, a difference of 62.7 FPS. The 4K results compress this range somewhat: Low hits 147.2 FPS, Medium 120.5 FPS, High 90.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 63.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 83.6 FPS, which is larger in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU's workload scales non-linearly with both resolution and quality settings.

A key observation is the diminishing returns as settings increase. At 4K, the jump from Low to Medium costs 26.7 FPS, while Medium to High costs 29.8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 27.1 FPS. This near-linear degradation across preset tiers is characteristic of a GPU that is heavily loaded at 4K, where each additional visual feature has a measurable impact on frame time. The data shows that the RTX 5090's massive memory bandwidth and compute resources are being fully utilized at this resolution, making it the limiting component rather than the six-core processor.

At 1080p, however, the picture changes subtly. The Low preset at 217.4 FPS is the highest recorded value across all tests, but the relative gap between Low and Medium (28.3 FPS) and Medium to High (19.8 FPS) suggests that the CPU begins to exert some influence at these high frame rates. The i5-12400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 threads appear adequate for sustaining these rates, but the scaling from High to Ultra at 1080p (169.3 to 155.2 FPS, a 14.1 FPS drop) is less steep than at 1440p, hinting that the processor may be approaching its limit in maintaining maximum throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 1440p offers the most balanced experience. It delivers 146.8 FPS, which is 93.5% of the 1080p High result (169.3 FPS), while providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium. The 1440p High figure also exceeds the 4K High result by 56.1 FPS, making it the sweet spot for players who prioritize both image quality and smooth motion. For those with 4K displays, the Medium preset at 120.5 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it maintains a high refresh rate while still offering better fidelity than Low (147.2 FPS) at a modest 26.7 FPS cost.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding option, and the data shows it is only viable at 1080p, where it produces 155.2 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 121.9 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 33.3 FPS penalty over High. At 4K, Ultra falls to 63.6 FPS, which is below the 90.7 FPS of High and approaches the threshold where fast-paced action in a looter shooter may feel less responsive. The recommendation is to avoid Ultra at 4K entirely, as the 27.1 FPS loss from High to Ultra is not justified by the incremental visual gains.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p (217.4 FPS) or 1440p (184.6 FPS) provides the highest frame rates, but the data shows diminishing returns beyond 1440p Low. The 4K Low result of 147.2 FPS is still high but falls 70.2 FPS short of the 1080p Low figure, indicating that resolution choice matters more than preset selection when chasing maximum FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p (165.5 FPS) is a strong alternative for players who want a middle ground between visual quality and performance, as it stays well above 144 Hz while offering better textures and effects than Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F 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. Its benchmark results place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 19,221. In multi-threaded tests, it achieves 16,518 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 5,912 in 3DMark max threads, while single-thread performance is represented by a 2,332 Cinebench R23 single-core score. These figures indicate a capable mid-range processor that can handle modern game engines efficiently.

In the context of Outriders, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at most settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 217.4 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate ceiling for this processor. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,699 and single-thread score of 909 suggest that the processor's single-core performance is adequate for the game's primary thread, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (62.2 FPS drop) implies that GPU load dominates even at this resolution.

The nearest rivals for the i5-12400F include the Intel Core i7-8700K (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i5-1335U (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (deltaPct -0.7), and AMD EPYC 7773X (deltaPct 1.3). These deltas are all within 1.3% of the i5-12400F's average score, indicating that the processor's performance is closely matched with several other options. However, the i5-12400F's 65 W TDP and 18 MB of shared L3 cache are notable characteristics that contribute to its efficiency in gaming workloads.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration for Outriders, as the FPS differences between resolutions are more pronounced than between presets at a fixed resolution. The processor's 12 threads are sufficient for the game's threading model, and its boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides responsive single-thread performance. Players using this combo should expect the RTX 5090 to be the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 156th out of 1,693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 9.2% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong performance of the RTX 5090, which sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84,306, combined with a CPU that is above average but not top-tier. The rank of 156 indicates that while this combo delivers excellent frame rates, there are 155 other combinations that achieve better results in this specific game.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D (deltaPct 0.1), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct 0.2), AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (deltaPct 1.3), and NVIDIA CMP 40HX (deltaPct -1.6). These small deltas show that the RTX 5090 is closely matched with several other NVIDIA products, but its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth give it a unique advantage in memory-intensive scenarios. The combo's rank of 156 out of 1,693 suggests that the i5-12400F does not significantly hold back the GPU, as higher-ranked combos likely pair the RTX 5090 with more powerful processors.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 169.3 FPS, which is 14.6% above the 1440p High score of 146.8 FPS and 46.5% above the 4K High score of 90.7 FPS. These figures indicate that the combo is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires lower settings to maintain playable frame rates. The rank of 156 is likely influenced by the CPU's 77th percentile standing, as combos with higher-ranked CPUs may achieve slightly better performance at 1080p where the processor has more influence.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process, featuring 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are among the highest recorded in the benchmark database, and its 94th percentile ranking reflects its dominance in synthetic tests.

In Outriders, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at 4K. The measured FPS at 4K High (90.7) is 38.2% lower than at 1440p High (146.8), demonstrating the GPU's workload scaling with pixel count. The 4K Ultra result of 63.6 FPS is the lowest recorded across all settings, showing that the RTX 5090's capabilities are stretched at this resolution with maximum quality. The GPU's 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores may contribute to visual features in the game, but the measured data does not isolate these effects.

The GPU's memory configuration is a key strength. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory at 28 Gbps effective speed provides ample capacity for high-resolution textures, and the 512-bit bus width ensures that memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) is not a limiting factor. This is reflected in the relatively small performance delta between Low and Medium at 4K (26.7 FPS), which suggests that the GPU is not memory-constrained at these settings. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals, including the RTX 5090 D (deltaPct 0.1) and RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct 0.2), are less than 0.3% apart in average score, but the 5090's higher power envelope (575 W TDP) and larger die size (750 mm²) give it an edge in sustained workloads.

For players using this combo, the GPU will be the primary determinant of frame rates at 1440p and above. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU begins to matter more, but the RTX 5090 still delivers 217.4 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is not the bottleneck even at this resolution. The GPU's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS compute power are well-suited for Outriders' looter shooter gameplay, which often involves dense particle effects and large enemy counts.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p with High settings provides the best balance, delivering 146.8 FPS, which is 93.5% of the 1080p High score (169.3 FPS) while offering better image quality.

Q: How much FPS do I lose going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The drop is 78.6 FPS, from 169.3 FPS at 1080p to 90.7 FPS at 4K, representing a 46.4% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K?

A: The measured Ultra score at 4K is 63.6 FPS, which is below the 90.7 FPS of High. It may be playable, but the 27.1 FPS penalty from High to Ultra is significant, and Medium at 120.5 FPS is a better option for smoother gameplay.

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

A: The i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19,221 is within 1.3% of the Intel Core i7-8700K (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i5-1335U (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (deltaPct -0.7), and AMD EPYC 7773X (deltaPct 1.3).

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 156th out of 1,693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 9.2% of all configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 217.4 FPS, but the drop to Ultra (155.2 FPS) is 62.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still the primary limiting factor, though the CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock and 12 threads contribute to sustaining high frame rates.