Outriders

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Outriders secures a combined rank of 1069 out of 1693 tested configurations. This places the combo in the lower third of the database, a surprising result given the sheer computational power of the RTX 5090. The data suggests that the six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake processor, which sits at the 50th percentile against all CPUs, is the primary bottleneck, preventing the GPU from demonstrating its full potential. While the RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84306 places it at the 94th percentile globally, the overall system performance is dragged down by the CPU's modest 2305 average benchmark score, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 1069 out of 1693 is a decisive verdict on this pairing's balance. The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals highlight how tight the competition is at this performance tier. The i5-9400 is a virtual tie with the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% delta), and it is only 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134. The sole rival it trails, the Intel Core i7-8809G, does so by a mere -0.6%. This demonstrates that the i5-9400 is performing exactly within its expected bracket; it is not a defective or underperforming unit, but rather a processor whose capabilities are simply exceeded by the attached GPU in this specific title.

Benchmark results indicate that the GPU is operating in a severely constrained environment. The RTX 5090's nearest rivals in the database include the RTX 5090 D (0.1% delta) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% delta), showing the GPU alone is at the apex of performance. However, the measured in-game FPS tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 91.3 FPS, which is a solidly playable number but nowhere near what the GPU's compute capabilities (104.8 TFLOPS FP32) would suggest. The rank of 1069 reflects this mismatch; the system is not slow, but it is being held back from entering the upper echelons of the ranking where the GPU belongs. The data implies that many combos with mid-range CPUs and high-end GPUs, or even high-end CPUs with slightly lower-tier GPUs, are achieving better overall results in Outriders.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090's role in this configuration is paradoxical: it provides a massive foundation of VRAM and bandwidth, yet its clock speeds are largely underutilized. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This pool of memory is far beyond the requirements of Outriders at any of the measured settings. The foundation is also built on a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. These high clocks, combined with the memory subsystem, should allow for immense frame rates.

However, the measured FPS data reveals the reality of the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 65.4 FPS. When the resolution drops to 1080p Ultra, the FPS only rises to 91.3. This 25.9 FPS increase (from 65.4 to 91.3) is far less than what the GPU is capable of delivering when scaling down resolution, as the GPU's raw power (with a Passmark G3D score of 39650) should see a much larger gain. The limiting factor is the CPU's inability to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates. The RTX 5090 is effectively waiting on the i5-9400's 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock to process the game's state. The GPU's 176 ROPs and 21760 shading units are idling, waiting for instructions.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured rows, the data suggests that the High preset offers the most sensible balance for this specific combination, particularly at higher resolutions. At 4K, High yields 68.8 FPS, which is 3.4 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 65.4 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra costs performance without a proportional visual guarantee, as the FPS drops by 3.4 frames. Conversely, dropping from High to Medium at 4K only improves FPS to 76.5, a 7.7 FPS gain, but this is likely not worth the visual downgrade in texture and shading quality that High offers over Medium.

The situation is more pronounced at 1440p. The High preset delivers 88.6 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Moving to Ultra drops this to 78.7 FPS. While the Ultra preset is playable, the High preset provides a better experience by maintaining a higher frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset produces 101.4 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, while Ultra falls to 91.3 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 126.2 FPS, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual fidelity. The recommendation is to use High across all resolutions, as it provides the most stable and high-quality experience without the diminishing returns seen in the Ultra preset. The Low preset should be reserved for users prioritizing maximum frame rate over all else.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in Outriders?*

A: Yes. The data shows the combo ranks 1069 out of 1693, and the FPS scaling from 1080p (101.4 High) to 4K (68.8 High) is only a 32.6 FPS difference. This indicates the CPU is limiting the GPU, as the RTX 5090's performance should scale much more dramatically with resolution changes.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS experience at 4K?

A: The High preset at 4K achieves 68.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset also achieves 65.4 FPS, but High offers a higher frame rate and is recommended to avoid the performance drop associated with the Ultra settings.

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

A: The Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134, and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G. It is statistically tied with all of them.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 perform better at 1440p or 1080p with this CPU?

A: The measured FPS shows 1080p High at 101.4 FPS and 1440p High at 88.6 FPS. The 1080p setting is faster, but the 1440p High preset offers a strong balance of visual quality and performance, staying above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the overall performance percentile of the GPU?

A: The RTX 5090 sits at the 94th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84306. This places it near the top of the database, but the system's overall rank in Outriders is much lower due to the CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions is the clearest indicator of the CPU bottleneck. From 1080p to 1440p, the High preset drops from 101.4 FPS to 88.6 FPS, a 12.8 FPS decrease. This is a relatively modest drop, suggesting that the CPU is still managing to keep up at this resolution. The more telling drop occurs from 1440p to 4K, where the High preset falls from 88.6 FPS to 68.8 FPS, a 19.8 FPS decrease. While this is a larger drop, it is still not proportional to the 2.25x increase in pixel count that 4K represents over 1440p.

A GPU-bound system would see a much more dramatic falloff at 4K, often halving frame rates. Here, the RTX 5090's immense bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) and processing power are able to handle the pixel workload, but the frame time is still gated by the CPU. The data shows that at 4K Low, the system produces 90.8 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it produces 65.4 FPS. This 25.4 FPS difference due to settings at the same resolution is larger than the 32.6 FPS difference from 1080p High to 4K High. This indicates that the GPU is sensitive to graphical settings, but the CPU is the wall preventing higher absolute frame rates. The limiting component is unequivocally the processor, as the RTX 5090 is able to scale its output with settings changes, but the overall FPS ceiling is determined by the i5-9400's six physical cores.