Outriders

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 in Outriders is a study in mid-range balance, but the benchmark data reveals a configuration that leans heavily on resolution and settings for its playability. At 1080p, the combo delivers strong performance, but the frame rate curve drops sharply as pixel count climbs, exposing the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The measured FPS results show a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions, yet struggles to maintain smooth motion at 4K, particularly under higher graphical loads. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the GPU’s role, and how this specific pairing ranks against the broader pool of tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a classic resolution scaling curve, where performance degrades predictably as the number of rendered pixels increases. At 1920x1080, the combo is clearly CPU-bound or at least well-balanced, with average frame rates that remain high across all settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop by a substantial margin, indicating the GPU is starting to feel the load. The steepest decline occurs at 3840x2160, where the average FPS at High settings falls to 33, a figure that is only marginally playable for a looter shooter. This pattern strongly suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 6600’s 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory interface are the limiting factors, rather than the six-core processor.

The transition from 1440p High (68.1 FPS) to 4K High (33 FPS) represents a performance halving, which is a heavier hit than the resolution difference alone would suggest. This indicates that the GPU is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth at 4K. The fact that 4K Low (60.2 FPS) nearly doubles the 4K High result confirms that the game’s higher settings are disproportionately taxing the GPU's resources. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is also telling; at 1080p, the spread is from 126.7 FPS (Low) to 72.2 FPS (Ultra), a 43% reduction. At 4K, the same Low-to-Ultra comparison shows a drop from 60.2 FPS to 22.1 FPS, a 63% reduction, underscoring that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution for this pairing, as it is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 100 FPS on High settings (104.5 FPS). At 2560x1440, High settings remain playable at 68.1 FPS, but 4K is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, +0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, +0.2%). It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319) by 0.6%, showing that the 9400 sits in a dense pack of mid-range processors.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 6600 a balanced match for the Core i5-9400 in this game?

A: At 1080p, yes. The frame rates are high enough to suggest a balanced workload. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, with the CPU likely having headroom to spare. The 6600’s performance percentile of 69 places it above average, but its 8 GB VRAM is a constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the performance delta between the RX 6600 and its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 25235. It is statistically identical to the AMD Radeon 890M (25246, 0% delta). It is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (25287) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180). It also edges out the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (25120) by 0.5%.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best performance-to-quality ratio at 1080p?

A: The data shows that Medium settings (113.9 FPS) offer a substantial improvement over Ultra (72.2 FPS) while maintaining a high frame rate. High settings (104.5 FPS) is also a strong choice, representing a 31.8% performance loss compared to Low, but a much better visual experience.

*Q: Can this combo handle Outriders at 4K with any settings?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves an average of 60.2 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 44 FPS, and at High it falls to 33 FPS, making sustained 4K play difficult outside of the lowest preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 1426 out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the lower half of the database, which is a significant finding given the component specifications. The rank suggests that while the individual parts are competent, the pairing does not scale well to the highest performance tiers in this specific title. The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking (vs all CPUs) and the GPU’s 69th percentile (vs all GPUs) would suggest a stronger overall placement, but the measured FPS data tells a different story.

The rank is heavily influenced by the 4K results, where the combo falls behind many other configurations that can handle higher resolutions with more grace. This is not a high-end combo, and the rank reflects that. The sheer number of combos ahead of it (267) indicates that many other pairings, likely those with more powerful GPUs or newer CPUs, can achieve higher frame rates in Outriders. The combo’s strength is in the 1080p and 1440p segments, but the ranking is a global measure that includes 4K performance, dragging it down to the 1426th spot. The data suggests that this is a pairing best suited for budget-conscious 1080p gaming, rather than a high-resolution powerhouse.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 126.7 FPS, which drops to 113.9 FPS on Medium and 104.5 FPS on High. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding 72.2 FPS. This indicates a playable experience across all presets, with only Ultra falling below the 100 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings still provide a smooth 109.9 FPS, but Medium falls to 83.5 FPS and High to 68.1 FPS. Ultra settings dip to 47.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 56.6% reduction in frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings manage an average of 60.2 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability. Medium drops to 44 FPS, High to 33 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22.1 FPS. The data shows that this configuration is not suited for 4K gaming beyond the lowest settings. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 52.5% performance loss, demonstrating the GPU’s limitations at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 plays the dominant role in this combo’s Outriders performance, and the data points directly to its memory subsystem as the bottleneck. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. In a game like Outriders, which is a looter shooter with dense particle effects and large environments, this bandwidth is likely saturated at 1440p and 4K resolutions. The GPU’s base clock of 1626 MHz and boost clock of 2491 MHz are respectable, but they cannot compensate for the memory constraints when the resolution increases.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 69 places it above the median, and its average benchmark score of 25235 is competitive with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (25120) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180). However, in Outriders, the measured FPS at 4K High (33 FPS) suggests that the 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit bus are insufficient for high-fidelity textures at that resolution. The GPU’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with Ultra settings. The data implies that the RX 6600 is a capable 1080p card with moderate 1440p headroom, but its role in this combo is strictly limited by its memory architecture when pushing higher resolutions.