Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a combination that is heavily constrained by the graphics card in Outriders. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of GPU limitation across all resolutions, with the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded capability providing little benefit once graphical load increases. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, relative ranking, and specific performance metrics for this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and directly illustrates where the bottleneck resides. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 61.7 FPS, but this falls to 39.3 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 19.5 FPS at 4K. That represents a 68% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RX 580’s rendering throughput is the dominant factor.

The scaling pattern is even more revealing when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 107.8 FPS, which drops to 71.8 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease) and then to 36.9 FPS at 4K (a further 49% decrease from 1440p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result is below 40 FPS confirms that the GPU’s pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution output, regardless of the CPU’s headroom.

Comparing the Ultra preset across resolutions shows the most dramatic collapse: 44.1 FPS at 1080p, 28.7 FPS at 1440p, and just 12.1 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra is 35%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Ultra is 58%. This non-linear degradation suggests that the RX 580’s 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become progressively more saturated as resolution increases, with the 8 GB GDDR5 frame buffer also becoming a limiting factor at higher settings.

The data indicates that the i7-12700K is never the limiting component in this configuration. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be more stressed, the 107.8 FPS result does not approach the processor’s theoretical ceiling based on its 3DMark scores (9,276 in the 16-thread test and 9,979 in max-thread test). The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom that goes largely unused in this GPU-bound scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 1,567 out of 1,693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the bottom 7% of all configurations. This low ranking is directly attributable to the RX 580’s age and performance class, not the i7-12700K. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 53 (versus all GPUs) is modest, but its average benchmark score of 13,559 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,564, 0% delta) and GTX 950 (13,549, 0.1% delta).

The CPU, by contrast, performs far better in isolation. The i7-12700K holds an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802, -0.3% delta) and Intel Core i7-13700T (35,468, 0.6% delta), showing that the processor is competitive with newer parts. The mismatch between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s low rank underscores that the GPU is the primary constraint.

In practical terms, this combo sits in the lower quartile of performance for Outriders specifically. The game’s looter-shooter genre typically benefits from consistent frame rates, and this configuration struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 1080p except on Low settings. The 4K results are uniformly below playable thresholds, with even the best 4K setting (Low at 36.9 FPS) falling short of smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the decisive component in this pairing. Its architecture is GCN 4.0, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, with a die size of 232 mm² containing 5,700 million transistors. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, which are modest figures that directly impact its rendering capabilities.

Memory configuration is critical for this game’s performance. The 8 GB GDDR5 frame buffer operates at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is insufficient for 4K workloads, as evidenced by the dramatic frame rate drops at that resolution. The pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s further explain why High and Ultra settings at 1440p produce only 39.3 and 28.7 FPS respectively.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are equally constrained. Its FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS is low by modern standards, and the 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs are all modest figures. The card’s 185 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its 2017-era Polaris architecture, and its end-of-life production status reflects its age. The GPU’s nearest rival in average benchmark score is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,564, 0% delta), which highlights how this card competes with hardware from an earlier generation.

The RX 580’s DirectX 12 (12_0) support and Vulkan 1.3 API compatibility are sufficient for Outriders, but the hardware itself lacks the raw throughput needed for high-fidelity rendering at higher resolutions. The 6.175 TFLOPS FP32 figure and 8 GB memory are the primary bottlenecks, as the game’s asset streaming and shader complexity overwhelm the GPU at 1440p and above.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data reveals a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset produces 107.8 FPS, Medium 82 FPS, High 61.7 FPS, and Ultra 44.1 FPS. These results show that the RX 580 can maintain playable frame rates at 1080p with medium-to-high settings, but Ultra requires compromises.

At 1440p, the numbers drop considerably: Low yields 71.8 FPS, Medium 50.7 FPS, High 39.3 FPS, and Ultra 28.7 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is the only configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS experience, while High and Ultra fall below typical playability thresholds.

The 4K results are uniformly poor: Low achieves 36.9 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 19.5 FPS, and Ultra 12.1 FPS. None of these are suitable for serious gameplay, and the Ultra preset at 4K produces a frame rate that is barely interactive. The drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K is 50% (24 to 12.1 FPS), indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are completely overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings.

Comparing settings within each resolution, the scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly 2.4x at 1080p (107.8 to 44.1 FPS), 2.5x at 1440p (71.8 to 28.7 FPS), and 3.0x at 4K (36.9 to 12.1 FPS). This increasing performance penalty at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU’s memory subsystem is the critical bottleneck, as the relative cost of Ultra settings grows disproportionately with pixel count.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: Only the 1080p Low setting (107.8 FPS) comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The 1080p Medium setting (82 FPS) also achieves this target, while 1080p High (61.7 FPS) barely reaches it. At 1440p, only the Low preset (71.8 FPS) maintains 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score is 13,559, which is virtually identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13,564, 0% delta) and GTX 950 (13,549, 0.1% delta). It is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 455 (13,416) and 1.1% behind the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,716).

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35,684, while the combo ranks 1,567 out of 1,693 in Outriders. The GPU’s lower performance class (53rd percentile) is the primary constraint.

Q: What happens to performance when moving from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 61.7 at 1080p to 39.3 at 1440p (a 36% decrease) and then to 19.5 at 4K (a 50% decrease from 1440p). The overall reduction from 1080p to 4K is 68%.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 44.1, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 28.7 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 12.1 FPS. Ultra settings are only marginally playable at 1080p.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The RX 580 has 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 8 GB GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. At 4K, the highest average FPS is 36.9 (Low settings), while Ultra produces just 12.1 FPS, indicating that the bandwidth is a major limiting factor at this resolution.