Outriders

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Outriders. The data indicates this combination is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, with performance dropping sharply as resolution increases. The sweet spot is the Medium preset at 1440p, which balances frame rate and visual fidelity, while the Low preset at 1080p unlocks triple-digit frame rates for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results clearly show that the Ultra preset is too demanding for this hardware. At 1080p, Ultra yields an average of 73.9 FPS, which is acceptable but leaves performance on the table given the CPU’s capabilities. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 49.8 FPS, and at 4K it falls to a stutter-prone 26 FPS. The High preset is a better choice, offering 99.8 FPS at 1080p and 64.7 FPS at 1440p, but it still struggles at 4K with 35.5 FPS.

The best experience, however, comes from the Medium preset. At 1080p, Medium delivers 134.1 FPS, which is a 34% improvement over High and a massive 81% improvement over Ultra. At 1440p, Medium holds at 85 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Even at 4K, Medium manages 44.2 FPS, which is playable if not ideal. For users prioritizing frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p produces an exceptional 186 FPS, making it the choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal balance, as it provides a significant frame rate boost over High with minimal visual compromise.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 1680 MHz and 1920 shading units contribute to its performance, but the 12 nm Turing architecture is showing its age in this 2021 title. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a mid-range performer, and the measured data confirms this. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is stark: 60.6 FPS versus 26 FPS, a 133% difference that highlights how quickly the GPU saturates as graphical load increases. The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, but the performance ceiling is clear—this GPU is not designed for 4K gaming with this title.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Core i5-12600KF and RTX 2060 ranks 1393 out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the bottom 18% of all configurations, which is a poor showing for a system with a strong CPU. The ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU, as the CPU is a high-end part. The i5-12600KF has an 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827, putting it on par with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27829. In contrast, the RTX 2060’s 58th percentile ranking and average score of 16074 place it below rivals like the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which scores 16351. The combo’s rank reflects the GPU’s inability to keep pace with the CPU’s potential, making this a CPU-heavy pairing that is unbalanced for this game. Users would see better results with a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the RTX 2060 delivers strong performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 186 FPS, Medium hits 134.1 FPS, High reaches 99.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 152% reduction in frame rate, showing that the GPU is heavily taxed by the highest settings. At 1440p, the numbers drop significantly: Low produces 117.2 FPS, Medium 85 FPS, High 64.7 FPS, and Ultra 49.8 FPS. The 1440p results are still playable at Medium and below, but High and Ultra begin to show strain. At 4K, the GPU struggles across the board: Low yields 60.6 FPS, Medium 44.2 FPS, High 35.5 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches smoothness, while the other settings are below the 60 FPS target. The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step down from 1080p to 4K cuts performance roughly in half, which is consistent with the GPU being the limiting component.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, performance falls from 186 FPS at 1080p to 117.2 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 60.6 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the drop is more severe: 99.8 FPS at 1080p, 64.7 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 35.5 FPS at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). The scaling is not perfectly linear, but the trend is unmistakable—the RTX 2060 cannot sustain playable frame rates at 4K with this title. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has more than enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but as pixel count increases, the GPU’s 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus become the limiting factor. The data suggests that 1080p is the native resolution for this combo, with 1440p achievable at medium settings, and 4K only viable at the lowest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 4K, producing an average of 60.6 FPS. All other settings at 4K fall below 45 FPS, with Ultra dropping to 26 FPS.

Q: Can this combo achieve 144 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only with the Low preset, which delivers 186 FPS. The Medium preset provides 134.1 FPS, which is close to 144 FPS but not quite there, while High and Ultra fall short at 99.8 FPS and 73.9 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827, which is effectively identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851, -0.1% delta). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700H, which scores 27716 with a 0.4% delta.

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

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 58th percentile. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU limitations, not CPU performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and Low at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 117.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 49.8 FPS. This represents a 135% reduction in performance, indicating that the Ultra settings are too demanding for this GPU.

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

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, which is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700, both scoring 16351 with a -1.7% delta.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a formidable processor that is underutilized by this GPU pairing. With 10 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, the CPU has ample processing power. Its Alder Lake architecture and 20 MB of shared L3 cache contribute to strong synthetic scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309. In Outriders, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with data, and it does so effectively at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 180 FPS. However, as resolution increases, the CPU’s influence diminishes. The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking—the frame rate drops are entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking and parity with the Core i9-10900K indicate that it is not holding back performance. For users considering an upgrade, the GPU should be the first component replaced, as the CPU has the headroom to support a much more powerful graphics card in this title.