Outriders

# Outriders with Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

The pairing of Intel's Core i5-13400F with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1070 creates a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics for Outriders, a looter shooter where the data reveals a system that shifts character dramatically depending on resolution and quality preset. With the CPU ranking in the 77th percentile against all processors and the GPU sitting at the 47th percentile, this is a combination where the graphics card is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions, yet the processor proves its worth at lower settings. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality tiers tell a story of a GPU that delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K, while the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions, with the scaling patterns varying significantly by preset. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 170 at 1080p to 107 at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then further to 56 at 4K, representing a 67% total drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that even at the lowest quality settings, the GTX 1070's rendering pipeline becomes saturated as pixel count increases, with the 256.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance struggling to feed the increasing resolution demands.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern but with a slightly shallower curve: 123 FPS at 1080p, 78 at 1440p, and 41 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition here costs 37 FPS, while the 1080p to 1440p transition costs 45 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's compute resources are being taxed more evenly across the resolution spectrum at this quality level. At High settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced at the top end: 93 FPS at 1080p drops to 58 at 1440p, then plummets to 31 at 4K — a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K that clearly demonstrates the GTX 1070's architectural limits (Pascal, 16 nm, 7,200 million transistors) when pushed to 3840x2160.

Ultra settings produce the most dramatic scaling, with 67 FPS at 1080p falling to 42 at 1440p and just 22 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 25 FPS (37%) and the 1440p to 4K drop of 20 FPS (48%) indicate that at Ultra, the GPU is the dominant constraint across all resolutions, with the 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs unable to keep pace with the combination of high-quality effects and increasing pixel throughput. The data suggests that resolution scaling in Outriders is heavily dependent on the preset, with Low settings allowing the CPU to demonstrate its capabilities at 1080p, while higher presets quickly expose the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p gameplay but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, particularly when the Medium preset at 3840x2160 shows a minimum FPS of 35 and maximum of 47, indicating frame time variance that suggests memory pressure. The card's boost clock of 1683 MHz (base 1506 MHz) delivers 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and the benchmark results show this is sufficient for 60+ FPS at 1080p on High (93 FPS) and even 107 FPS at 1440p on Low, but the 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS demonstrates the architectural ceiling.

The GPU's 47th percentile ranking against all GPUs places it below the median, and its nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD FirePro W5000 (0.2% slower) and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (0.5% slower), while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 and Tesla C2070 are 0.6% and 0.7% faster respectively. This positioning explains why the card delivers playable but not exceptional results in Outriders — it sits in a performance tier where 1080p gaming at high settings is achievable, but 4K requires significant compromises. The DirectX 12 benchmark score of 48 (via Passmark) is notably lower than DirectX 11's 100, which may explain why the game's performance at higher presets, which likely leverage more modern API features, degrades more steeply.

The 150 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector suggest the card operates within a modest power envelope, but the measured FPS data shows that the GPU's compute resources, rather than power delivery, are the limiting factor in Outriders. The 16 nm process node from TSMC, with 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, results in a transistor density of 22.9M per mm², and the 202.0 GTexel/s texture rate and 107.7 GPixel/s pixel rate provide the raw throughput that drives the observed frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS of 105 and maximum of 142 show the GPU maintaining consistent frame delivery, but at 1440p Medium (min 66, max 90) and 4K Medium (min 35, max 47), the variance increases, indicating that the card is approaching its effective limits.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions, providing the only rows with minimum and maximum FPS values that allow for frame time analysis. At 1080p, Medium delivers 123 FPS average with a range of 105 to 142, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. At 1440p, Medium provides 78 FPS average (66 to 90 range), which remains playable on high-refresh monitors, while the High preset at 58 FPS and Low at 107 FPS bracket it effectively. The 4K Medium result of 41 FPS (35 to 47 range) is borderline but represents the best compromise for 3840x2160 gaming, as High drops to 31 FPS and Ultra falls to an unplayable 22 FPS.

For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 170 FPS, which maximizes responsiveness, and even at 1440p Low produces 107 FPS — both figures suggest the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently at these settings. However, the visual quality trade-off may not be worth the frame rate gain for most players, as the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 47 FPS (from 170 to 123) but likely provides substantially better image quality. The High preset at 1080p (93 FPS) offers a middle ground that many players would find acceptable, though the data shows that Medium provides 30 more FPS at the same resolution.

At 4K, the choice is more constrained: Low (56 FPS) is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS, while Medium (41 FPS) and High (31 FPS) require a tolerance for sub-60 frame rates. The Ultra preset at 22 FPS is effectively unplayable, suggesting that the GTX 1070 cannot handle the game's maximum quality settings at any resolution above 1080p. The data supports a recommendation of Medium at 1080p for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, Medium at 1440p for those prioritizing frame rate over quality, and Low at 4K for those who must play at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i5-13400F and GTX 1070 ranks 3050th out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the bottom 18% of all pairings — a position that reflects the GPU's age and mid-range standing rather than any deficiency in the CPU. This ranking is consistent with the GPU's 47th percentile score against all GPUs, while the CPU's 77th percentile ranking suggests that the processor is capable of supporting far more powerful graphics cards. The discrepancy between the CPU's strong standing and the combo's low rank indicates that the GTX 1070 is the clear bottleneck in this pairing, and that upgrading the GPU would yield substantial performance improvements without requiring a CPU change.

The combo's rank of 3050 out of 3710 means that 660 tested combinations performed worse, which situates this pairing in the lower tier of systems tested for Outriders. This is unsurprising given that the GTX 1070's nearest rivals include professional and mobile workstation cards like the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, none of which are designed for high-end gaming. The CPU's benchmark scores — including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core of 3191, plus a Geekbench multicore of 11068 and single-core of 1996 — demonstrate that the processor is not contributing to the combo's low ranking.

The data implies that players with this combo will experience Outriders as a GPU-limited game, with the 1070's 8 GB VRAM and Pascal architecture constraining performance at higher settings and resolutions. The combo rank also suggests that the system is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the measured FPS values are consistently above 60 for all presets except Ultra (67 FPS), and even at Ultra the frame rate is playable. At 1440p, the system can handle Low and Medium presets well, but High and Ultra require compromises, while 4K is only viable at Low settings or with significant frame rate sacrifices.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its 10 cores (likely a hybrid configuration) and 16 threads, provides substantial processing headroom in Outriders, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (170 FPS) and 1440p Low (107 FPS). The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz and base clock of 2.50 GHz, combined with 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core, deliver the single-thread performance necessary for the game's core logic, while the 16 threads handle background tasks and streaming. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 place the CPU well above average, and its 77th percentile ranking against all CPUs confirms that it is not a limiting factor in this combo.

The CPU's 3DMark scores — 7314 for 16 threads, 5591 for 8 threads, 3459 for 4 threads, and 960 for single thread — show strong scaling across thread counts, which suggests that Outriders can leverage multiple cores effectively when the GPU is not the bottleneck. The Passmark multithread score of 25032 and single-thread score of 3634 further reinforce this capability, with the data encryption score of 16608 and compression score of 311364 indicating robust integer and data handling performance. The 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make this a mainstream processor, but its performance in synthetic benchmarks places it in the upper quartile of all CPUs.

In Outriders specifically, the CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing frame rates across resolutions at the same preset. At Low settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 63 FPS (170 to 107), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 51 FPS (107 to 56) — these reductions suggest that the GPU is increasingly the limiting factor as resolution rises, but the fact that 1080p Low achieves 170 FPS indicates the CPU can handle the game's logic at very high frame rates. The CPU's nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (0% delta), Intel Core 5 120 (-0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (-0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (0.4%) — all have similar average benchmark scores, confirming that the i5-13400F is competitive with other mid-range to high-end processors of its era.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves 170 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium produces 123 FPS with a minimum of 105 and maximum of 142, providing smooth gameplay with reasonable visual quality. High reaches 93 FPS, still comfortably above 60, while Ultra drops to 67 FPS — playable but approaching the threshold where frame drops become noticeable. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 103 FPS decrease (170 to 67), demonstrating the significant performance cost of higher quality settings at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably but remains playable for most presets. Low delivers 107 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p gaming. Medium achieves 78 FPS with a range of 66 to 90, providing a good balance of quality and responsiveness. High produces 58 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS threshold but still acceptable for many players. Ultra drops to 42 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced gameplay in Outriders' combat scenarios. The 1080p to 1440p transition at each preset costs 63 FPS (Low), 45 FPS (Medium), 35 FPS (High), and 25 FPS (Ultra), showing that lower presets are more affected by resolution increases due to the GPU's reduced per-pixel workload.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1070's limitations become fully apparent. Low achieves 56 FPS, which is the only preset that approaches playable frame rates at 4K. Medium produces 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47, indicating noticeable frame time spikes that could affect gameplay fluidity. High drops to 31 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gaming. The 1440p to 4K transition costs 51 FPS (Low), 37 FPS (Medium), 27 FPS (High), and 20 FPS (Ultra), demonstrating that the GPU's rendering resources are increasingly strained as pixel count grows.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Outriders?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides 123 FPS average (105 minimum, 142 maximum), offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. For higher resolutions, 1440p Low at 107 FPS is the most playable option, while 4K Low at 56 FPS is the only 4K preset that approaches 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo for Outriders?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile against all CPUs with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604, while the GPU ranks in the 47th percentile. The combo ranks 3050th out of 3710 tested combinations, indicating the GTX 1070's performance ceiling constrains the system, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9780, with its nearest rivals being the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803 (0.2% faster), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M at 9832 (0.5% faster), NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9724 (0.6% slower), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 at 9716 (0.7% slower).

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with this system?

A: At 2560x1440, the measured average FPS values are 107 for Low, 78 for Medium (66 to 90 range), 58 for High, and 42 for Ultra. The Medium preset provides the best experience, offering frame rates that are playable on most monitors while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the GTX 1070 in Outriders?

A: 4K gaming is only marginally viable. The Low preset achieves 56 FPS average, which is playable, but Medium drops to 41 FPS (35 to 47 range), High falls to 31 FPS, and Ultra is at 22 FPS. Players who prioritize frame rate over visual quality may find 4K Low acceptable, but most will prefer 1440p or 1080p for smoother gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's performance in Outriders compare to its synthetic benchmark results?

A: The CPU's strong synthetic scores — including a Passmark multithread score of 25032, Cinebench R23 multicore of 22604, and Geekbench multicore of 11068 — are reflected in the game's performance at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 170 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at high frame rates, though the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution and quality increase.