Outriders

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a strictly 1080p-oriented experience in Outriders. Across the measured configurations, the data indicates that this combination is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it achieves playable frame rates at Medium and High settings, while 1440p and 4K resolutions push the hardware beyond its comfortable limits. The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy of performance tied directly to resolution and graphical preset, with the GPU acting as the primary limiting factor in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to 1080p Medium as the optimal balance for this combo. At this configuration, the system delivers an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. This provides a smooth, stable frame rate that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for responsive gameplay. The minimum frame rate of 68 FPS ensures that even demanding scenes with multiple enemies and particle effects will not drop below playable levels.

For users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, 1080p High is a viable alternative, achieving an average of 60 FPS. This preset provides a noticeable improvement in graphical detail while still maintaining a playable average. However, the lack of a reported minimum FPS at this setting suggests potential frame-time variance that could lead to occasional stutter in intense combat.

The 1080p Low preset is not recommended for general play, as it achieves 110 FPS average but sacrifices too much visual quality in a game that relies on environmental storytelling. Conversely, 1080p Ultra is unsuitable, dropping to an average of 43 FPS, which falls below the smoothness standard set by the Medium preset.

At 1440p, the data shows that only the Low preset (70 FPS average) achieves playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS, which is borderline for a looter shooter where precision aiming matters. Users who must play at 1440p should stick to Low settings, while those who want Medium quality should drop to 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 serves as the definitive performance ceiling for this combo in Outriders. The GPU's specifications directly explain the frame rate patterns observed in the measured data. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p textures but becomes strained at higher resolutions.

The RX 580's clock behavior is notable: a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz. This relatively modest boost margin indicates that the card operates near its thermal and power limits under sustained load, which is consistent with the 185 W TDP. The 2304 shading units and 144 texture units provide adequate pixel throughput for 1080p, delivering a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 53 places it in the middle of all tested GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (0.4% faster) and the AMD Radeon 740M (0.5% slower). This positioning explains why the combo performs adequately at 1080p but falls off rapidly at higher resolutions. The card's FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is the raw compute resource that Outriders leverages for its physics and particle systems, and this figure directly correlates with the FPS drops observed when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 80 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Medium drops this to 51 FPS, a 36% reduction. Moving further to 4K Medium yields only 26 FPS average, with a minimum of 23 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS — an additional 49% reduction from 1440p.

This scaling pattern strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, provides consistent frame pacing, but the RX 580's fill rate and memory bandwidth cannot keep pace with the increasing pixel count. The 4K High preset (20 FPS) and 4K Ultra preset (14 FPS) are effectively unplayable, confirming that this resolution is outside the card's design envelope.

The data shows that the transition from 1080p to 1440p is the critical decision point. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 60 FPS, but at 1440p High it drops to 38 FPS. This 37% reduction mirrors the 36% drop seen at Medium settings, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s) is the limiting factor rather than compute throughput. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not exhausted at 1080p, but the larger frame buffer requirements at 1440p and 4K strain the memory controller.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 3377 out of 3710 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the bottom 9% of all systems. This percentile ranking is consistent with the component-level benchmarks: the CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. The combo's low ranking reflects the fact that Outriders is a demanding title that favors newer, higher-end hardware.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% faster). This indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck; swapping to a comparable processor would yield negligible gains. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, is only 0.4% faster, suggesting that the RX 580 is performing at its expected level.

The low combo rank is driven by the interaction of these mid-tier components with a demanding game. The data shows that this system is positioned for 1080p gaming, where it ranks acceptably, but it cannot compete with high-end combos at higher resolutions. The 3377 rank is a statistical reflection of the hardware's age and tier, not a sign of any specific defect or incompatibility.

FAQ

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

A: The data clearly shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where the combo maintains playable frame rates across multiple presets. At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves 80 FPS average, and High achieves 60 FPS. Both 1440p and 4K result in average frame rates below 60 FPS for all presets except 1440p Low (70 FPS).

Q: How does the 4K Medium preset perform?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 26 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS. This is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay in a looter shooter, where precise aiming and fast reactions are required. The 4K High (20 FPS) and 4K Ultra (14 FPS) presets are even less viable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The RX 580 ranks at the 53rd percentile among GPUs, while the i5-9400 ranks at the 47th percentile among CPUs. The FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p (36% at Medium) and from 1440p to 4K (49% at Medium) directly correspond to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints, not CPU processing power.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: The data shows that 1440p Low is the only playable preset, achieving 70 FPS average. The 1440p Medium preset drops to 51 FPS average with a 43 FPS minimum, which is borderline for competitive play. The 1440p High (38 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (27 FPS) presets are not recommended.

Q: How does this combo compare to the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: The RX 580 is 0.4% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER in average benchmark scores. This means the GTX 1660 SUPER would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Outriders, with any differences being within measurement noise. The two cards are effectively interchangeable for this game.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory is not the primary bottleneck. The card's 256.0 GB/s bandwidth and 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p textures, but the memory bandwidth cannot sustain the data transfer rates required at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves 110 FPS average, providing maximum responsiveness. Medium settings yield 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS and maximum of 92 FPS. High settings produce 60 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 43 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS standard.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low settings deliver 70 FPS average. Medium settings produce 51 FPS average with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS. High settings drop to 38 FPS average. Ultra settings fall to 27 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playability. Low settings achieve 36 FPS average. Medium settings yield 26 FPS average with a minimum of 23 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS. High settings produce 20 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 14 FPS average.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each settings tier at a given resolution costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate compared to the tier below. The gap between Low and Medium is consistent across resolutions (1080p: 110 to 80 FPS; 1440p: 70 to 51 FPS; 4K: 36 to 26 FPS), indicating that the GPU's compute resources scale linearly with the workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides a stable foundation for this combo, but its influence on Outriders' frame rates is secondary to the GPU. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads operate at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost to 4.10 GHz. This single-core boost capability is critical for game logic and physics, and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 indicates adequate performance for the game's main thread.

The CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) provide sufficient data throughput for the GPU to remain fed. The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 2784 shows that the CPU can handle the game's background tasks, such as asset streaming and AI, without bottlenecking the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 47 places it below average, but this does not translate to a significant gaming deficit. The nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% faster), demonstrate that the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range options from its era. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; the FPS drops at higher resolutions are entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to render more pixels.

In summary, the i5-9400 provides a solid, unremarkable foundation that allows the RX 580 to perform at its expected level. The combo's low overall rank (3377 out of 3710) is a function of the GPU's mid-tier performance in a demanding title, not a CPU deficiency. Users seeking better frame rates should consider upgrading the GPU, as the CPU has headroom to support a faster card without becoming a bottleneck.