Outriders

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers its most balanced experience at 1440p with Medium settings in Outriders. This pairing produces an average of 111.6 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while retaining enough visual fidelity to justify the resolution. At 1080p, the same settings yield 176.8 FPS, but the hardware is clearly capable of much more, making the higher resolution a better use of the GPU's resources. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, 1080p Low achieves 246.7 FPS, yet this sacrifices the game's visual detail for headroom that most displays cannot utilize. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot, offering a 29.8% performance increase over High settings at the same resolution while keeping the experience fluid.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy where the RTX 4060's performance scales predictably with graphical presets. At 1440p, the jump from Medium to High costs 25.6 FPS (from 111.6 to 86), while moving from Medium to Ultra costs 51.4 FPS (from 111.6 to 60.2). The most efficient configuration is 1440p Medium, which delivers 111.6 FPS—more than double the 4K Ultra result of 33.8 FPS—while maintaining a playable experience. At 1080p, Medium produces 176.8 FPS, which is 42.8 FPS higher than High at 134, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors, 1080p Low at 246.7 FPS is the fastest option, but the visual compromise is substantial. The data supports 1440p Medium as the best experience per the measured rows, balancing frame rate and image quality without pushing into the diminishing returns of Ultra settings, which at 4K drop below 40 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a critical factor in Outriders' performance scaling. At 4K Ultra, the GPU produces only 33.8 FPS, suggesting that the 8 GB frame buffer is saturated by the game's high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz are consistent across the tested settings, yet the frame rate variance from Low to Ultra at 4K is dramatic: 78.3 FPS at Low versus 33.8 FPS at Ultra. This 44.5 FPS gap indicates that the RTX 4060's compute resources—15.11 TFLOPS FP32 and 3072 shading units—are sufficient for lower presets but become overwhelmed by the rendering load of higher settings at 4K. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181, places it as a mid-range performer. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321 with a deltaPct of -0.6, meaning the RTX 4060 is effectively tied with that mobile part in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Outriders, the 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are the defining constraints, as evidenced by the steep performance drop when moving from Medium to High at 1440p (25.6 FPS loss) compared to the smaller drop from Low to Medium at the same resolution (42.8 FPS gain).

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides the best balance, achieving 111.6 FPS, which is 21.4% higher than 1440p High and 85.4% higher than 4K Medium.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 handle 4K in Outriders?

A: At 4K, the RTX 4060 struggles with higher presets. Low settings produce 78.3 FPS, but Medium drops to 59.3 FPS, High to 42, and Ultra to 33.8. The GPU is not capable of maintaining 60 FPS at 4K on Medium or higher.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 246.7 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 33.8 FPS. The CPU's strong single-thread score of 4642 in Cinebench R23 suggests it can feed the GPU, but the RTX 4060's performance ceiling is reached at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p delivers 134 FPS, while 1440p delivers 86 FPS. This represents a 35.8% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant penalty for the resolution increase.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181, placing it at the 66th percentile. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc B580, scores 23021 with a deltaPct of 0.7, meaning the RTX 4060 is 0.7% faster. The AMD Radeon 760M scores 22999 with a deltaPct of 0.8.

Q: Can this combo achieve high frame rates at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1080p, the combo produces 246.7 FPS on Low, 176.8 FPS on Medium, 134 FPS on High, and 93.4 FPS on Ultra. All presets exceed 60 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Outriders, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 865th out of 1693 combos. This places it in the 51st percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly half of all tested configurations. The ranking reflects a balanced but not top-tier setup. The CPU is a strong performer, sitting at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 49166. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with a score of 49062 and a deltaPct of 0.2, making the i5-14600K marginally faster. However, the GPU's 66th percentile ranking drags the combo down in the overall list. The RTX 4060's average score of 23181 is close to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M's 23321 (deltaPct -0.6), indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor for this combo's rank. In Outriders specifically, the mid-table ranking is consistent with the GPU's performance ceiling at higher resolutions, as the CPU's capabilities are only fully utilized at lower settings where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K illustrates a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, performance drops from 246.7 FPS at 1080p to 154.4 FPS at 1440p (a 37.4% reduction) and then to 78.3 FPS at 4K (a 49.3% reduction from 1440p). This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the most severe drop occurring between 1440p and 4K on High settings: 86 FPS to 42 FPS, a 51.2% decrease. The data shows that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K at medium-to-high presets, as the frame rates fall below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p, the combo is clearly CPU-limited at Low settings, where 246.7 FPS approaches the i5-14600K's rendering capability. The scaling suggests that the limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low to GPU at 1440p Medium and above, with the GPU becoming the sole bottleneck at 4K. Users targeting 4K should stick to Low settings (78.3 FPS) or accept sub-60 FPS performance on Medium (59.3 FPS).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 246.7 FPS, Medium achieves 176.8 FPS, High reaches 134 FPS, and Ultra drops to 93.4 FPS. The progression shows a 53.3 FPS difference between Low and Medium, a 42.8 FPS difference between Medium and High, and a 40.6 FPS difference between High and Ultra. At 2560x1440, the results are 154.4 FPS on Low, 111.6 FPS on Medium, 86 FPS on High, and 60.2 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 42.8 FPS, Medium to High is 25.6 FPS, and High to Ultra is 25.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, performance falls to 78.3 FPS on Low, 59.3 FPS on Medium, 42 FPS on High, and 33.8 FPS on Ultra. The differences are 19 FPS between Low and Medium, 17.3 FPS between Medium and High, and 8.2 FPS between High and Ultra. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 33.8 FPS is the only setting that falls below 40 FPS, indicating a hard performance wall. The 1080p Low result of 246.7 FPS is the highest measured, while the 4K Ultra result is the lowest, representing a 612.7% difference between the best and worst configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and single-core score of 4642 demonstrate strong computational capability, which is reflected in the high frame rates at lower resolutions. In Outriders, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 246.7 FPS—a rate that likely approaches the game engine's rendering ceiling. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49166, places it just ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (score 49062, deltaPct 0.2). This performance headroom means the CPU is rarely the bottleneck in this combo. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the frame rate drops that scale with resolution. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 20 threads provide ample bandwidth for Outriders' looter-shooter mechanics, which often involve many on-screen entities. At 4K Ultra, the CPU's potential is wasted, as the GPU's 33.8 FPS result is far below what the i5-14600K could support if paired with a more powerful graphics card. The data suggests that this CPU is overqualified for the RTX 4060 at higher settings, making the GPU the definitive performance ceiling.