Outriders

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT pairing delivers a highly playable Outriders experience across most settings, but the data reveals a clear ceiling at 4K Ultra. This combo ranks in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that while it handles 1080p and 1440p with ease, it struggles to maintain high frame rates at maximum graphical fidelity in 4K. The benchmark results show a strong balance between the six-core CPU and the RDNA 2 GPU, with the latter typically being the primary driver of performance in this looter shooter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60+ FPS?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080, all four tested settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) deliver average frame rates above 85 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low, Medium, and High presets also exceed 74 FPS, making both resolutions suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The measured results show 4K (3840x2160) performance ranges from 28 FPS at Ultra to 71 FPS at Low. Only the Low preset at 4K provides a consistently playable frame rate, while Medium averages 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. It is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, 0.2% slower) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, 0.4% slower). It is slightly faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246) by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile compared to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19765. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, scores 19885, which is 0.6% higher.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between Medium and High settings?

A: Yes, the gap varies by resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 12 FPS (114 vs 102). At 1440p, it grows to 24 FPS (98 vs 74). At 4K, the gap narrows to 13 FPS (52 vs 39), showing that the GPU is more constrained at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate scales well with settings, but at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 28, indicating the RX 6650 XT is overwhelmed regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. With a 65W TDP and a shared 9 MB L3 cache, this CPU provides the foundational processing power for Outriders. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a mid-range performer. In the context of this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the benchmark results indicate it is sufficient for the GPU to reach its potential in most scenarios.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is remarkably tight. It is 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i3-10305, while being 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i7-10710U and 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. This clustering suggests that the i5-9400's six physical cores are well-matched to the demands of Outriders, which is not heavily multithreaded. The single-core performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 1389, likely contributes to the game's frame pacing, as the title does not appear to scale significantly with additional threads.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's impact is most visible at lower resolutions and lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 128 FPS, which is the highest recorded average across all tests. This suggests that the CPU can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to render frames as fast as possible. However, the CPU's lack of hyper-threading means it has only six threads to work with, which is adequate for this title but does limit headroom for background tasks or heavily threaded scenarios. The data shows that as resolution increases, the performance drop is more attributable to the GPU, indicating the CPU is not the primary constraint in this pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a RDNA 2.0 architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. It operates at a base clock of 2055 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz. This GPU is built on a 7 nm process from TSMC and has a TDP of 176 W. Its average benchmark score of 19765 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, making it a solid mid-to-high-range option for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

The GPU's performance is the dominant factor in Outriders' frame rates. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 85 at Ultra to 128 at Low, which is a 43 FPS spread. At 1440p, the spread is even larger, from 53 FPS at Ultra to 110 FPS at Low. At 4K, the spread is 43 FPS (28 at Ultra to 71 at Low), but the absolute numbers are much lower. This indicates that the RX 6650 XT's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but they become a limiting factor at 4K, especially with higher texture quality settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all professional or workstation cards, such as the NVIDIA Tesla K40m and AMD FirePro W7000, which shows that the RX 6650 XT is a different class of product optimized for gaming. The measured performance in Outriders confirms this, as the card handles the game's particle effects and lighting well at lower resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS is the only data point that falls below the playable threshold, suggesting that the GPU's 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is not enough for maximum settings at that resolution. Conversely, the 1080p Ultra result of 85 FPS shows that the GPU has ample headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors at the most common resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 2957 out of 3710 tested combos in Outriders. This puts it in the bottom 20% of all configurations, which might seem low, but it is important to interpret this rank in context. The combo rank is a holistic measure that includes all tested hardware pairings, many of which feature much higher-end CPUs and GPUs. Given that the individual components rank at the 47th percentile (CPU) and 65th percentile (GPU), the combined rank is lower than either component's percentile, suggesting that the pairing is not optimal for this specific game.

The rank indicates that while this combo is capable of running Outriders, it does not excel relative to the broader hardware landscape. The data shows that the CPU is a moderate performer, and the GPU is above average, but the combination does not boost the system to a high ranking. This is likely due to the CPU's six-core/thread configuration, which may limit performance in games that are more CPU-intensive, although Outriders appears to be more GPU-bound based on the FPS scaling across resolutions.

In practical terms, the rank means that users with this combo should expect average performance compared to the entire pool of tested systems. The measured FPS data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it falls short at 4K, particularly with high settings. The rank of 2957 out of 3710 serves as a benchmark for how this specific hardware pairing performs, and the data indicates that it is a competent but not exceptional setup for Outriders.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's resolution and performance priorities. For 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, with an average of 102 FPS. While Ultra delivers 85 FPS, the 17 FPS difference is a reasonable trade-off for the visual improvements. The Medium preset at 114 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize higher frame rates, but High is the sweet spot for most players.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the best choice, delivering an average of 74 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the visual fidelity is significantly better than Medium, which averages 98 FPS but with less detail. The Low preset at 110 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where frame rate is paramount, as the visual downgrade is substantial. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is playable but not ideal, as it dips below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations change dramatically. The Low preset is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 71 FPS. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, which is borderline playable, but the minimum of 44 FPS indicates potential stuttering. The High preset at 39 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are not recommended for a good experience. For 4K users, the data suggests using Low settings or reducing the resolution to 1440p to maintain higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the performance is strong across the board. The Low preset achieves an average of 128 FPS, which is the highest of any test. The Medium preset averages 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. The High preset averages 102 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 85 FPS. All of these results are above 60 FPS, indicating that the combo can handle 1080p gaming with ease, even at maximum settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains solid but shows more variation. The Low preset averages 110 FPS, which is still excellent. The Medium preset averages 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 112 FPS. The High preset averages 74 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset averages 53 FPS, which is below 60 FPS and may result in noticeable frame drops during intense combat.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 71 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, indicating inconsistent frame times. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. These results show that 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset, as the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings.