Outriders

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a wide performance envelope in Outriders, but the relationship between resolution, settings, and frame rate reveals a system that shifts its bottleneck character dramatically. At 1080p, the combination produces very high frame rates that suggest CPU involvement, while at 4K the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. This analysis breaks down the measured data to show exactly where this combo excels and where its performance ceiling sits.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, pointing to a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 179.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 114.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.3%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 drops the average to 59.6 FPS, which is 66.8% lower than the 1080p result. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering throughput is the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

The Low settings row shows an even more telling story. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 223.9 FPS, but this falls to 190.6 FPS at 1440p and then to 111.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still more than double the 4K Ultra figure of 43.5 FPS, which reveals that graphical settings have a massive impact on the GPU workload. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings (a 41.4% drop) is less severe than the same resolution jump at High settings (a 48.0% drop), suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being taxed more uniformly at higher quality presets.

What stands out is the compression of performance at 1080p. The gap between Low (223.9 FPS) and Medium (196.9 FPS) is only 12.1%, while the gap between High (179.7 FPS) and Ultra (133.7 FPS) is 25.6%. This nonlinear scaling implies that at 1080p, the CPU can keep feeding the GPU up to a point, but the Ultra preset introduces enough additional GPU work to create a more pronounced frame rate penalty. The data suggests that 1080p Ultra is where the balance between CPU and GPU load starts to tip toward the graphics card.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for Outriders' high-resolution textures and effects. The 4K Ultra result of 43.5 FPS indicates that even this substantial bandwidth is insufficient to maintain smooth gameplay at maximum quality. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 10240 shading units deliver a theoretical FP32 performance of 34.10 TFLOPS, but the measured results show that Outriders at 4K Ultra demands more than this hardware can provide.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's percentile ranking at 83 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, scores 41441, a delta of -0.5%, meaning the 3080 Ti is essentially on par with the 3090 in synthetic tests. This near-identical performance carries into real-world gaming, where the 4K High result of 59.6 FPS aligns with what the synthetic scores would predict. The GPU's transistor count of 28,300 million on a 628 mm² die explains its ability to maintain competitive frame rates at lower settings, but the 350 W TDP and 1x 12-pin power connector hint at the electrical demands behind this performance.

The memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) combined with the 384-bit bus creates a memory subsystem that excels at bandwidth-intensive tasks. However, the 4K Ultra result shows that Outriders can saturate this bandwidth, especially when combined with the game's looter shooter mechanics that often load many on-screen elements simultaneously. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is fully utilized here, as Outriders is a DX12 title, and the measured framerates reflect that compatibility.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 114.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K High, the average drops to 59.6 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play. 1080p High offers 179.7 FPS, but the CPU becomes more involved at that resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 133.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 83.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 43.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Not in the traditional sense. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 223.9 FPS, which is extremely high. However, the smaller frame rate differences between Low and Medium at 1080p (from 223.9 to 196.9 FPS) suggest that the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are beginning to limit the maximum achievable frame rate.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 411 out of 1693 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the top 24.3% of all systems tested. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 and GPU's percentile rank of 83 indicate a well-balanced pairing for this title.

Q: What settings preset gives the highest frame rate at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 111.7 FPS, which is the highest of any 4K setting. Medium provides 78.5 FPS, High provides 59.6 FPS, and Ultra provides 43.5 FPS. The Low preset achieves a frame rate that is 2.6 times higher than Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU's performance match the GPU's capabilities?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, with its nearest rival being the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at 25365 (a delta of -0.5%). This close alignment with the GPU's synthetic scores suggests the pairing is well matched for Outriders, though the 1080p results hint at potential CPU limitations at very high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 223.9 FPS, Medium produces 196.9 FPS, High produces 179.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 133.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 40.3% reduction in performance, with the largest single step occurring between High and Ultra (25.6% drop). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately load the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clearer GPU limitation. Low settings deliver 190.6 FPS, Medium delivers 154.2 FPS, High delivers 114.5 FPS, and Ultra delivers 83.7 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra here is 26.9%, similar to the 1080p pattern, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board. The 1440p Low result of 190.6 FPS is still very high, indicating that the GPU has headroom when graphical demands are reduced.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 111.7 FPS, Medium produces 78.5 FPS, High produces 59.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 43.5 FPS. The 4K Low result is notable because it exceeds the 1080p Ultra result of 133.7 FPS by a substantial margin, showing that resolution scaling is less punishing than settings scaling at this hardware level. The 4K Ultra result of 43.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, indicating that users must compromise on settings to maintain playability at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 411 out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 75.7th percentile of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the system's ability to handle the game's demands across a range of resolutions and settings, though it is not at the absolute top tier. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 and GPU's percentile rank of 83 both sit in the upper quartile, suggesting that neither component is dragging the other down significantly.

The GPU's closest rival, the RTX 3090, scores 41441 compared to the 3080 Ti's 41224, a delta of -0.5%. This means the 3080 Ti is within half a percent of the 3090's average performance, which explains why the measured FPS results are so competitive at high resolutions. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, scores 25201 versus the i5-13400F's 25236, a delta of 0.1%, indicating that the two are essentially tied in synthetic benchmarks.

The rank of 411 out of 1693 means that 1282 other combinations tested faster in Outriders, but this places the combo ahead of roughly three-quarters of all systems. For a looter shooter that often features dense enemy encounters and particle effects, this ranking suggests the system can handle most gameplay scenarios without significant performance degradation, though the 4K Ultra result shows its limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture processor has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, which provides flexibility for system builders. The CPU's single-thread performance is demonstrated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004, while its multi-core score of 21279 shows strong parallel processing capability.

In Outriders, the CPU's role becomes evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 223.9 FPS, but the difference between Low and Medium settings is only 12.1%, suggesting that the CPU is nearing its limit in feeding the GPU. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 indicate that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is consistent, but the single-thread score of 960 shows that individual core performance is what matters for game logic.

The CPU's percentile rank of 82 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25236, places it just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. This tight grouping means that any of these CPUs would perform similarly in Outriders, and the measured FPS results reflect this. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz is critical for maintaining high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, and the data shows that at 1080p, the CPU can sustain frame rates above 200 FPS when the GPU is not the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing frame rate at 1080p, the Low preset provides 223.9 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate monitors. However, the Medium preset at 196.9 FPS offers a better balance between visual quality and performance, with only a 12.1% frame rate penalty. The High preset at 179.7 FPS is also viable, but the Ultra preset at 133.7 FPS introduces a significant drop that may not justify the visual improvements.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 114.5 FPS, which is the best combination of quality and performance for this resolution. The Medium preset at 154.2 FPS provides a higher frame rate with slightly reduced visuals, while the Ultra preset at 83.7 FPS still maintains playability. The Low preset at 190.6 FPS is available for competitive play, but the visual sacrifices are substantial.

At 3840x2160, users must make compromises. The High preset at 59.6 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline choice. The Medium preset at 78.5 FPS provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while the Low preset at 111.7 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience. The Ultra preset at 43.5 FPS is not recommended for regular gameplay, as the frame rate dips below the playability threshold for fast-paced looter shooter action. For the best overall experience, the data suggests that 1440p High settings provide the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance for this combo.