Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700K pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 to form a mid-range contender for Outriders, a looter shooter released in 2021. The CPU brings 12 cores and 20 threads from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This combination of high thread count and strong single-core performance is relevant because Outriders tends to scale with both. The benchmark data shows the CPU’s 3DMark scores climbing steadily from 2,065 in the 2-thread test to 9,276 in the 16-thread test, and peaking at 9,979 with max threads. That scaling suggests the processor can feed the GPU effectively across different workload intensities, but the game’s engine may not fully utilize all 20 threads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 indicates that even lightly threaded scenes should see responsive frame pacing, which matters for a game filled with rapid-fire combat and ability spam. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs reinforces that this is a capable chip for gaming, sitting just 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 in average benchmark score, with a negligible 0.6% lead over the Intel Core i7-13700T. For Outriders, the data implies the processor is unlikely to be the bottleneck at most settings, leaving the GPU to dictate performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy across presets, and the data points to Medium as the sweet spot for this combo. At 1080p, Low delivers 207.8 FPS, which is excellent but likely exceeds what most displays can show, while Ultra drops to 80 FPS—a playable number but one that sacrifices headroom. Medium at 1080p produces 153.2 FPS, which is 33% higher than High’s 115.3 FPS, and the gap grows at higher resolutions. At 1440p, Medium holds 93.3 FPS, which remains smooth, whereas High falls to 68.6 FPS and Ultra dips to 51.3 FPS. The trend continues at 4K, where Medium manages 50.2 FPS, barely above the 30 FPS threshold, while High drops to 39.8 FPS and Ultra becomes unplayable at 24.4 FPS. Given that Ultra at any resolution costs more than 30% performance versus Medium—at 1080p, the drop from Medium to Ultra is 73.2 FPS—the visual uplift from Ultra likely does not justify the frame loss. Low settings, conversely, leave performance on the table, especially at 1080p where the 207.8 FPS result suggests the GPU is not being taxed. Medium offers the best balance, providing frame rates that comfortably exceed 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining a playable experience at 4K. For users with high-refresh monitors, the data suggests that sticking to Medium at 1440p is the most consistent choice, as it avoids the steep penalties seen when pushing to High or Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals where the bottleneck lies. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 153.2 at 1080p to 93.3 at 1440p—a 39% reduction—and then to 50.2 at 4K, which is another 46% drop. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where the RX 7600’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become strained at higher pixel counts. The Low preset shows a similar trend: 207.8 FPS at 1080p, 133.4 at 1440p, and 68.6 at 4K. The fact that 4K Low (68.6 FPS) nearly matches 1440p High (68.6 FPS) is telling—it suggests that the GPU’s rendering load, not the CPU, is the primary constraint. If the i7-12700K were the limiting factor, we would expect the FPS to plateau or drop less steeply at lower resolutions, but the data shows a nearly linear scaling with pixel count. At 1080p, the Ultra preset hits 80 FPS, which is still well below the Low preset’s 207.8 FPS, indicating that even at the lowest resolution, the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth are taxed by higher-quality effects. The 4K Ultra result of 24.4 FPS is the clearest sign of a GPU bottleneck, as the i7-12700K’s 3DMark max-thread score of 9,979 would not cause such a dramatic collapse. The data implies that for 4K gaming, users should stick to Low or Medium presets, as the card lacks the raw throughput to handle Ultra settings at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the i7-12700K and RX 7600 ranks 1,126 out of 1,693 combos for Outriders. That places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, which is surprising given the CPU’s strong standalone performance. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35,684 puts it in the 89th percentile, but the GPU’s average score of 20,258 and 63rd percentile drags the combo down. The rank suggests that while the processor is overqualified for this pairing, the graphics card holds the system back in a game that scales heavily with GPU load. Compared to other combos, this one sits in a crowded field—the RX 7600’s nearest rivals include the RX 7600 XT (0.6% faster) and the RTX 3070 Mobile (1.3% slower), meaning that swapping the GPU for a slightly stronger card could move the combo up significantly in the rankings. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, show that the processor itself is not the weak link, as it trades blows within 0.8% of those chips. The data indicates that this combo is balanced toward CPU capability, but the GPU’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are the constraining factors in Outriders, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Users looking to improve this ranking would need to focus on GPU upgrades rather than CPU changes, as the i7-12700K already provides ample headroom.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, featuring 2,048 shading units and 32 ray-tracing cores. Its clock speeds are notable: a base of 1720 MHz, a game clock of 2250 MHz, and a boost of 2655 MHz. These clocks, combined with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yield a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s and a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s. In Outriders, the GPU’s role is dominant, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. The card’s passmark G3D score of 16,634 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the RX 7600 XT (0.6% faster) and the Intel Arc B570 (1.5% slower). The data shows that the GPU’s compute power is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at Medium settings, but it struggles at 4K Ultra, where the 24.4 FPS result indicates a hard limit. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a factor at 4K, as the High and Ultra presets consume more memory for textures and effects, pushing the card to its limits. The FP32 compute of 21.75 TFLOPS is respectable, but the 128-bit memory bus becomes a bottleneck when the resolution increases, explaining the steep FPS drops. The GPU also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which Outriders can leverage, but the measured results suggest that the card’s rasterization performance, not its feature set, is what determines playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide range of performance across presets. Low delivers 207.8 FPS, Medium drops to 153.2 FPS, High falls to 115.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 80 FPS. This 127.8 FPS spread between Low and Ultra highlights how much headroom the GPU has at this resolution, and the fact that even Ultra exceeds 60 FPS makes 1080p a comfortable zone for this combo. At 2560x1440, the numbers tighten: Low produces 133.4 FPS, Medium 93.3 FPS, High 68.6 FPS, and Ultra 51.3 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is 17.3 FPS, which is a 25% reduction, indicating that Ultra’s added effects heavily tax the GPU. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal: Low hits 68.6 FPS, Medium 50.2 FPS, High 39.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24.4 FPS. Only Low at 4K stays above 60 FPS, while Medium is just above 50 FPS, and anything higher becomes difficult to play smoothly. The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Medium offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, as it always lands within 20-30% of Low’s performance while providing a significant upgrade over High. For example, at 1440p, Medium’s 93.3 FPS is 24.8 FPS higher than High’s 68.6 FPS, making it the clear choice for smooth gameplay. At 4K, Medium’s 50.2 FPS is arguably playable, but High’s 39.8 FPS starts to feel sluggish, and Ultra’s 24.4 FPS is not recommended for action-heavy scenes.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Medium settings provides 93.3 FPS, which is smooth and visually detailed. At 1920x1080, Medium hits 153.2 FPS, but the higher resolution offers a better balance of immersion and performance.

Q: Why does Ultra settings perform so poorly at 4K?

A: The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra is 24.4 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. This is due to the GPU’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus, which cannot handle the increased rendering load at that resolution and quality level.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K bottlenecking the RX 7600?

A: No, the CPU’s 3DMark max-thread score of 9,979 and 89th percentile ranking indicate it is not the limiting factor. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a GPU-bound scenario, as the drops align with pixel count increases.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar setups?

A: The combo ranks 1,126 out of 1,693 tested combinations for the game. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RX 7600 XT, is 0.6% faster in average score, meaning a slight GPU upgrade could improve the rank.

*Q: Can the RX 7600 handle 4K gaming in Outriders?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 68.6 FPS. Medium drops to 50.2 FPS, and High falls to 39.8 FPS, so 4K is only viable with significant quality compromises.

Q: What does the CPU’s benchmark data suggest about its gaming performance?

A: The i7-12700K scores 4,128 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 29,241 in multi-core, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043. These numbers indicate strong single-thread performance, which helps in games like Outriders that rely on fast per-core response times.