Outriders

Outriders, a looter shooter released in 2021, presents a demanding workload that scales dramatically with both resolution and visual fidelity. When paired with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the benchmark data reveals a system capable of high refresh-rate play at 1080p and 1440p, but one that is heavily constrained by the GPU’s rendering load at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the combo’s standing among 1,693 tested configurations, and answers key questions about where the bottleneck lies.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of Outriders, the CPU’s role is to feed the RTX 5090 with draw calls and game logic, and the data suggests it does so without becoming a limiting factor at most settings. The processor’s multi-threaded capability is strong, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 15,636, while its single-thread performance — a key metric for game simulation — is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,643.

The i5-14600KF’s benchmark percentile of 93 versus all CPUs indicates it sits near the top of the performance pyramid. When examining the measured FPS in Outriders, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 261.1 FPS, and at 1440p Low, it reaches 224.2 FPS. These high frame rates suggest the CPU is capable of driving the RTX 5090 to its limits in less demanding scenarios. However, the processor is not entirely free of influence; the delta between 1080p Low (261.1 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (189 FPS) shows a 72.1 FPS drop, which is primarily a GPU-side effect, but the CPU must still maintain high instruction throughput to sustain those figures.

Notably, the i5-14600KF’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 0.4% higher on average, and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 0.6% higher. These differences are negligible for gaming, and the data shows the CPU is not the primary constraint in Outriders. The processor’s architecture, with its high boost clock and substantial cache, ensures that the RTX 5090 is fed adequately across all tested configurations, and the measured FPS deltas between settings are far more attributable to GPU load than CPU limits.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, with the RTX 5090’s rendering workload dominating the performance curve. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 210.1 FPS at 1080p to 172.1 FPS at 1440p, and then to 90.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 56.8% reduction in FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases. The same trend holds for Medium settings, where FPS falls from 235.6 at 1080p to 203.2 at 1440p, and then to 118.7 at 4K — a 49.6% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the 4K average of 62.5 FPS is only 33.1% of the 1080p Ultra score of 189 FPS. This steep decline underscores the immense pixel throughput required at 4K Ultra, which taxes the RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Conversely, at Low settings, the frame rate remains high across resolutions, with 261.1 FPS at 1080p, 224.2 FPS at 1440p, and 162.7 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low still delivers over 160 FPS suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck; if it were, we would see a more uniform FPS regardless of resolution.

The data indicates that the i5-14600KF has sufficient headroom to support the RTX 5090 even at 4K Low, where the GPU is still the primary driver. The gap between 4K Low (162.7 FPS) and 4K Ultra (62.5 FPS) — a 100.2 FPS difference — is almost entirely due to GPU rendering complexity. This resolution scaling analysis confirms that the combo is GPU-limited in Outriders, with the CPU only becoming a potential factor at extremely high frame rates (above 260 FPS), which are rarely sustained across all scenes.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Among the 1,693 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Outriders, the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 16th overall. This top 1% placement places the combo near the apex of the performance hierarchy, though not at the very top. The rank reflects a system that excels in most scenarios, but the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU’s position relative to its synthetic rivals — such as the i5-14600K (0.4% higher avg score) and the Ryzen 9 5950X (0.6% higher) — has a minor impact on the final ranking.

The 16th rank out of 1,693 combos indicates that there are 15 configurations that outperform this one in Outriders. Given the GPU’s percentile of 94 versus all GPUs, it is likely that the higher-ranked combos include CPUs with even stronger single-thread performance or additional cache, which could shave off a few frames in CPU-bound sections. However, the data does not provide specific details on those rival combos, so the analysis must rely on the observed FPS. The combo’s rank is impressive, but it is not the absolute best, suggesting that the i5-14600KF, while capable, may leave a small amount of performance on the table compared to top-tier CPUs.

The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 1.4% of its average benchmark score, which is well within the margin of error for gaming performance. This means that in Outriders, the combo’s 16th-place rank is more a function of the RTX 5090’s brute force than the CPU’s specific model. The data shows that the combo is in the top 1% of all tested configurations, and the FPS figures at each resolution and setting confirm this is a high-end pairing suitable for demanding gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the combo performs across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 210.1 FPS on High, 261.1 FPS on Low, 235.6 FPS on Medium, and 189 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system can easily drive high-refresh-rate monitors, with even the most demanding Ultra preset staying above 180 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 72.1 FPS, showing a significant GPU load increase with visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS remains high but begins to show the GPU’s strain. High settings yield 172.1 FPS, Low delivers 224.2 FPS, Medium provides 203.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 123.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first point where frame rates fall below 150 FPS, but the system still delivers a smooth experience for competitive play. The drop from 1080p Ultra (189 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (123.3 FPS) is 65.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary factor in this decline.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5090’s limits become apparent. High settings average 90.9 FPS, Low settings reach 162.7 FPS, Medium settings hit 118.7 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 62.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration where the average FPS drops below 60, which is notable for a game that is not a graphically intensive benchmark title. The gap between 4K Low and 4K Ultra is 100.2 FPS, highlighting the massive cost of enabling high-quality shadows, textures, and post-processing at this resolution. Overall, the data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high refresh rates, while 4K play requires turning down settings to achieve smooth frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, all settings deliver above 189 FPS, with Low hitting 261.1 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra still averages 123.3 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh monitors, while 4K Ultra drops to 62.5 FPS, so High or Medium settings (90.9 FPS and 118.7 FPS, respectively) are recommended for smoother play.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in this game?

A: The data does not show a CPU bottleneck. At 4K Low, the combo produces 162.7 FPS, and at 1080p Low it reaches 261.1 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, frame rates would not scale as dramatically with resolution, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.

Q: How does the combo’s performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra average of 62.5 FPS is exactly 33.1% of the 1080p Ultra score of 189 FPS. This represents a 126.5 FPS drop, showing that the GPU’s rendering load at 4K Ultra is extremely demanding.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 16th out of 1,693 tested CPU-GPU combinations, placing it in the top 1% of all configurations. This rank is consistent with the high FPS figures observed across most settings.

Q: Are there any resolutions where the frame rate exceeds 240 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 261.1, and at 1080p Medium, it is 235.6. These are the only settings that break the 240 FPS barrier, with all other configurations falling below that threshold.

Q: Does the CPU’s synthetic benchmark performance correlate with the game’s FPS?

A: The i5-14600KF has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and a single-core score of 4,643, which are strong. The game’s FPS scaling suggests that these scores are sufficient to avoid CPU limits, as the GPU is the dominant factor in the measured results.