Outriders

# Outriders Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a compelling 4K-capable experience in Outriders, but the data reveals a nuanced picture where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads keep frame rates exceptionally high at 1080p. Measured results across four settings presets and three resolutions show this pairing ranks 46th out of 2,913 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 1.6% of all configurations. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom, while the i5-14600K's boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures the pipeline stays fed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, but the scaling behavior differs markedly across settings presets. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (263 FPS average) to 2560x1440 (226 FPS) represents a 14.1% drop, while moving further to 3840x2160 (172 FPS) costs another 23.9%. This translates to an overall 34.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low, indicating that even the most demanding resolution still leaves substantial GPU headroom at minimal graphical settings.

The Medium preset exhibits steeper scaling. From 1080p at 234 FPS average, the drop to 1440p at 201 FPS is 14.1%, and the subsequent decline to 4K at 125 FPS represents a 37.8% reduction from 1440p. The total decrease from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium is 46.6%, revealing that the additional shading and texture work at Medium starts to engage the RTX 5090 D more meaningfully. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 106, with a maximum of 144, showing a 38 FPS spread that suggests some scene-dependent variability.

High settings show the most aggressive scaling curve. At 1080p, the average is 211 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 180 FPS (a 14.7% reduction), and at 4K, it falls to 94 FPS (a 47.8% drop from 1440p). The cumulative loss from 1080p to 4K at High is 55.5%, which is the largest percentage decline across all presets. This indicates that High settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU at higher pixel counts, moving the bottleneck decisively toward the graphics card.

Ultra settings present the most constrained scenario. The 1080p average of 187 FPS drops to 130 FPS at 1440p (a 30.5% reduction), and then to 68 FPS at 4K (a 47.7% drop from 1440p). The total scaling loss from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 63.6%, the steepest of any preset. At 4K Ultra, the 68 FPS average indicates the RTX 5090 D is being pushed to its limits with this combination, though the frame rate remains playable.

The scaling analysis suggests that at 1080p, particularly at Low and Medium settings, the CPU becomes a more significant factor, as the GPU has excess capacity. The i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, are sufficient to drive frame rates above 230 FPS at 1080p Medium, but the data shows that as resolution climbs, the GPU's workload increases proportionally, and the CPU's role diminishes. At 4K Ultra, the 68 FPS result indicates that the RTX 5090 D's 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs are the limiting factor, not the processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 4K?

A: The highest 4K average FPS is 172, achieved at Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 125 FPS average, High produces 94 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D's memory configuration impact Outriders performance?

A: The GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This configuration ensures that memory capacity is never a constraint in Outriders, even at 4K Ultra, where the 68 FPS average is more likely limited by compute throughput than memory bandwidth.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 263 suggests the CPU is approaching its limit, as the GPU has significant headroom at that resolution. The processor's 5.30 GHz boost clock and 24 MB of shared L3 cache help maintain high frame rates, but the data indicates that the CPU becomes more relevant at lower resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 171 and a maximum of 231, with an average of 201. This 60 FPS spread indicates some variability, but the minimum remains well above 144 Hz, suggesting smooth gameplay for most displays.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Outriders?

A: The combination ranks 46th out of 2,913 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.6% of all configurations tested for this game. This high ranking reflects the GPU's strong absolute performance and the CPU's adequate support.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 4K provides 125 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS, making it the highest-quality preset that maintains triple-digit frame rates. High settings drop to 94 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 68 FPS, so Medium offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver averages above 187 FPS, with Low reaching 263 FPS and Medium at 234 FPS. For players with 240 Hz displays, the Low preset provides the highest frame rates, but Medium's 234 FPS average with a minimum of 199 FPS still comfortably exceeds 200 FPS for most of the experience. High at 211 FPS and Ultra at 187 FPS are viable for 144 Hz and 165 Hz displays, respectively.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. The 201 FPS average with a minimum of 171 FPS means even the worst-case frame times remain above 144 Hz, making this preset ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. The Low preset at 226 FPS offers even more headroom but sacrifices visual quality, while High at 180 FPS is still excellent for 144 Hz displays. Ultra at 130 FPS is playable but may not fully utilize a 144 Hz panel, as the average falls below that threshold.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations shift significantly. The Medium preset at 125 FPS average with a 106 FPS minimum is the only preset that maintains triple-digit averages at 4K. This makes Medium the recommended choice for 4K gaming, as it provides smooth frame rates while retaining moderate visual fidelity. High at 94 FPS is suitable for 60-90 Hz displays, and Ultra at 68 FPS is best reserved for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate on 60 Hz screens. Low at 172 FPS is unnecessary at 4K, as the visual degradation is substantial and the frame rate exceeds most display capabilities.

The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is best utilized at Medium or High settings at 4K, as Ultra settings introduce effects that reduce the average FPS to 68, which may cause perceptible stuttering on higher refresh rate displays. For the best overall experience, Medium at 4K or Medium at 1440p provides the most consistent frame delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages across presets are as follows: Low delivers 263 FPS, Medium provides 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 and maximum of 269, High reaches 211 FPS, and Ultra produces 187 FPS. The 76 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the GPU's capacity to handle even the highest settings at this resolution, with all presets exceeding 180 FPS.

The 2560x1440 results show a tighter grouping but with more pronounced differences between presets. Low averages 226 FPS, Medium averages 201 FPS with a 171 FPS minimum and 231 FPS maximum, High averages 180 FPS, and Ultra averages 130 FPS. The 96 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is larger than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's workload increases more steeply at higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance hierarchy becomes more distinct. Low averages 172 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS with a 106 FPS minimum and 144 FPS maximum, High averages 94 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The 104 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, particularly at higher settings.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium presets, shows that the 1080p Medium minimum of 199 FPS is 85% of its average, the 1440p Medium minimum of 171 FPS is 85% of its average, and the 4K Medium minimum of 106 FPS is 85% of its average. This consistency suggests that the frame time distribution remains relatively stable across resolutions for the Medium preset, with the 4K result showing the tightest absolute margin between minimum and average.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D serves as the dominant performance driver in this combination, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Outriders' texture and geometry demands at any resolution. The GPU's 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs provide the compute throughput necessary for the measured frame rates, with the 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance being the primary scaling factor between presets.

Clock speeds of 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost indicate that the GPU operates at a high frequency under load, and the 5 nm process node from TSMC allows for this performance within a 575 W TDP. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are directly relevant to Outriders' rendering workload, with higher resolutions benefiting from the GPU's fill rate capabilities.

The GPU's 92.2 billion transistors on a 750 mm² die represent a substantial investment in compute resources, and the benchmark results reflect this in the 4K Medium score of 125 FPS average. Compared to its nearest rivals in the average benchmark score, the RTX 5090 D's score of 77,712 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT's 76,904 and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT's 78,940. This places the GPU at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, indicating that its Outriders performance is consistent with its overall benchmark standing.

At 4K Ultra, the 68 FPS average suggests that the GPU is nearing its practical limit for this title, with the 32 GB memory capacity not being the bottleneck but rather the raw compute throughput. The 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores may contribute to certain effects, but the primary determinant of the 4K Ultra result is the FP32 shader performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K provides the processing foundation for this configuration, with 14 cores and 20 threads operating at base and boost clocks of 3.50 GHz and 5.30 GHz, respectively. The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game logic and physics calculations in Outriders.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24,491 and a single-core score of 2,064. The Geekbench multi-core score of 16,673 and single-core score of 2,491 further confirm the processor's capabilities. These scores place the i5-14600K at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,618.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600K's average score is 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H's 48,698 and 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 4345P's 48,470. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 0.7% lower, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 0.8% higher. This tight clustering indicates that the i5-14600K's processing power is competitive with other high-end CPUs, though not exceptional.

In Outriders, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the 263 FPS average suggests the processor is keeping up with the GPU's output. The 5.30 GHz boost clock provides strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for game logic that may be single-threaded. The 14 cores and 20 threads ensure that background processes do not interfere with frame pacing, as evidenced by the consistent minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions.

At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 68 FPS average at 4K Ultra is unlikely to be CPU-bound, given that the same processor achieves 187 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each preset shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions, with the GPU's workload dominating performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 46th out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 1.6% of all configurations tested for this game. This ranking reflects the strong absolute performance of the RTX 5090 D, which at the 92nd percentile among GPUs, combined with the i5-14600K's 90th percentile standing among CPUs, creates a system that excels in this title.

The rank of 46 indicates that only 45 other combinations of tested CPUs and GPUs achieve higher average frame rates in Outriders. Given the GPU's high benchmark scores and the CPU's competitive performance, this ranking is consistent with the expectation that the RTX 5090 D would be one of the top-performing GPUs in this game. However, the rank is not in the top 10, suggesting that some combinations with even higher-end CPUs or more optimized pairings may achieve better results.

The data shows that the combo's performance is more strongly correlated with the GPU's capabilities than the CPU's, as evidenced by the resolution scaling patterns. At 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, the frame rates are high but not record-breaking; at 4K, the GPU's dominance is clear, with the 125 FPS average at Medium representing a strong result for 4K gaming.

The ranking also implies that for players seeking the absolute highest frame rates in Outriders, there are 45 other configurations that perform better, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or GPUs. However, the 46th rank out of 2,913 combos represents an exceptional performance level, placing this pairing in the top tier of systems tested for this game. The combination's ability to maintain triple-digit average FPS at 4K Medium, while also delivering 263 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrates versatility across the resolution spectrum.