Outriders

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a fascinating case study in Outriders, a looter shooter from 2021. The benchmark data reveals a configuration where the GPU is unquestionably the dominant force, yet the CPU’s capabilities still shape the upper limits of performance. This analysis examines how this specific pairing behaves across resolutions, where it stands among 1,693 tested combinations, and what the frame rate data implies about the underlying hardware bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking trend in the measured data is the dramatic FPS penalty as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 230 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 196.1 FPS, a reduction that shows the GPU beginning to take on more work. However, the real cliff appears at 4K, where the same Low preset falls to 158 FPS. This pattern—a 14.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 19.4% drop from 1440p to 4K—suggests that at lower resolutions, the system is partially limited by the CPU, preventing the RTX 5090 from stretching its legs fully.

The scaling becomes even more revealing at higher settings. At Ultra, the frame rate plummets from 162.8 FPS at 1080p to 120.9 FPS at 1440p, and then to 66.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is less than half of the 1080p Low result, indicating a clear shift toward GPU-bound rendering. The data implies that the RTX 5090’s immense compute resources are only fully taxed at 4K with demanding presets. At 1080p, even with Ultra settings, the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes a constraining factor, preventing the GPU from reaching what might otherwise be possible. The 89 FPS at 4K High versus 66.5 FPS at 4K Ultra shows that the gap between High and Ultra is larger than between Medium and High, hinting at specific rendering features in the Ultra preset that disproportionately impact the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1,693 tested combos for Outriders, this specific pairing holds rank 90. That places it in the top 5.3% of all tested configurations, an impressive standing that reflects the raw power of the RTX 5090. The CPU’s own benchmark percentile is 88, meaning it outperforms 88% of all CPUs tested, while the GPU sits in the 94th percentile. This slight imbalance—the GPU being relatively stronger than the CPU—is consistent with the resolution scaling behavior observed above.

The data suggests that while this combo is elite, it is not the absolute pinnacle. The rank of 90 implies there are 89 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in Outriders. Given the GPU’s standing, those higher-ranked combos likely feature more powerful CPUs, such as the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts, which would alleviate the CPU bottleneck seen at lower resolutions. The delta between this combo and the theoretical top is not quantifiable from the pack, but the rank alone indicates that the i5-14400F, despite its 10 cores and 16 threads, may leave some performance on the table when paired with a flagship GPU like the RTX 5090.

FAQ

Q: Why is the 4K Ultra frame rate so much lower than 1080p Low?

A: The data shows 66.5 FPS at 4K Ultra versus 230 FPS at 1080p Low. This 71% reduction reflects the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, as the RTX 5090’s rendering workload increases dramatically.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance in Outriders?

A: Evidence suggests yes, particularly at 1080p. The jump from 186 FPS at 1080p High to 230 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that lowering settings reduces GPU load, but the CPU’s frame delivery becomes the limiting factor, preventing even higher frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: For high frame rates, 1440p Ultra at 120.9 FPS offers a strong balance. At 4K, the High preset (89 FPS) is more playable than Ultra (66.5 FPS), suggesting that players should prioritize resolution over ultra settings for smoother gameplay.

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

A: It ranks 90th out of 1,693 combos, placing it in the top 5.3%. This is a strong result, but the gap between the GPU’s 94th percentile and the CPU’s 88th percentile suggests that some headroom is lost due to the processor.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for Outriders?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU appears underutilized, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains when lowering settings. The RTX 5090’s full potential is only realized at 4K, where it still delivers 158 FPS on Low, indicating that Outriders is not a demanding title for this hardware.

Q: What does the FPS difference between Medium and High tell us?

A: At 4K, moving from Medium (120.6 FPS) to High (89 FPS) costs 31.6 FPS, which is a larger drop than from Low to Medium (37.4 FPS). This implies that the High preset enables specific effects that heavily tax the GPU, making High a significant step up in visual complexity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 230 FPS on Low, 205.5 FPS on Medium, 186 FPS on High, and 162.8 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 67.2 FPS, showing that even at the lowest resolution, settings have a meaningful impact. At 2560x1440, the figures are 196.1 FPS (Low), 176.6 FPS (Medium), 157.2 FPS (High), and 120.9 FPS (Ultra). The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 36.3 FPS, the largest single-step reduction at this resolution. At 3840x2160, the results are 158 FPS (Low), 120.6 FPS (Medium), 89 FPS (High), and 66.5 FPS (Ultra). The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 31.6 FPS, while the High to Ultra drop is 22.5 FPS, indicating that High is a particularly taxing preset relative to Medium.

The data reveals that the RTX 5090 maintains over 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, a feat that underscores its flagship status. However, the 1080p results, where even Ultra exceeds 160 FPS, suggest that the i5-14400F is the limiting factor. The difference between 1080p Low (230 FPS) and 1440p Low (196.1 FPS) is 33.9 FPS, which is substantial, but the difference between 1080p Ultra (162.8 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (120.9 FPS) is 41.9 FPS—a larger absolute gap that points to the GPU becoming more involved as resolution climbs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial data storage for game logic. In the Cinebench R23 multi-core test, it scores 21,914, and in single-core, 3,093. These scores indicate strong all-around performance, but the single-core result is what matters most for Outriders, a game that relies heavily on a few threads for simulation and physics.

The benchmark data suggests that the CPU’s single-thread performance caps frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 230 FPS, but this is likely near the CPU’s limit for frame delivery. The fact that 1080p Ultra (162.8 FPS) is lower than 1080p Low (230 FPS) shows that the GPU is still doing work, but the CPU cannot push beyond a certain threshold. The Core i5-14400F’s percentile of 88 places it near rivals like the Intel Core i7-12800H (delta 0%) and AMD Ryzen 7 250 (delta -0.2%), indicating that it is a capable but not top-tier processor. In the context of this combo, the CPU is sufficient for 1440p and 4K gaming, but it leaves some performance on the table at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest frame rates, the 1080p Low preset at 230 FPS is the clear choice, though it sacrifices visual fidelity. At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 176.6 FPS, which is only 19.5 FPS lower than Low, making it a superior option for those who want a balance of quality and speed. The Ultra preset at 1440p (120.9 FPS) is still very playable and likely offers the best visual experience without significant compromise.

At 4K, the choice becomes more nuanced. The High preset at 89 FPS is the sweet spot, providing a substantial improvement over Medium (120.6 FPS) in visual terms while remaining above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 66.5 FPS is playable but close to the edge of smoothness, and the 22.5 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains. The data suggests that for this combo, 1440p Ultra is the best overall experience, offering 120.9 FPS with high-quality visuals. For 4K enthusiasts, High is recommended over Ultra to maintain a higher frame rate buffer.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It boasts 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, and its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. With a boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21,760 shading units, the GPU’s raw compute is staggering, evidenced by its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In the Passmark G3D benchmark, it scores 39,650, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

In Outriders, the RTX 5090’s capabilities are most evident at 4K. The jump from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (230 FPS to 158 FPS) shows the GPU taking on a heavier load, but the fact that it still exceeds 150 FPS at 4K Low indicates that the game is not fully utilizing the GPU’s potential. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Outriders requires, and the memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming is never a bottleneck. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 5090 D (delta 0.1%) and RTX 5050 Mobile (delta 0.2%), show that this is a top-tier part, but the combo rank of 90 suggests that even this GPU cannot overcome the CPU’s limitations at lower resolutions. The data implies that the RTX 5090 is wasted at 1080p, where the i5-14400F holds it back, but at 4K, it shines, delivering near-90 FPS on High settings.