Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 presents a well-balanced configuration for Outriders, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combination delivers high frame rates that suggest the CPU is doing the heavy lifting, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, causing a significant performance drop. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality settings to explain how this combo behaves in the looter shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable yet steep decline as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 149.2 FPS at 1080p to 94.8 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 36%. Moving further to 4K, the average falls to 51.9 FPS, which is a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

The Low settings data reinforces this trend. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 245.7 FPS, but this plummets to 177 FPS at 1440p and further to 89.9 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 63% reduction, almost identical to the High settings decline. This consistency suggests that the scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's pixel throughput, not by CPU limitations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates at lower resolutions would plateau or show smaller relative differences.

The Ultra settings curve provides the clearest evidence of the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 106.5 FPS, which is still playable, but at 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 35.1 FPS. The gap between 1440p Ultra (66.5 FPS) and 4K Ultra (35.1 FPS) is a 47% drop, showing that the RTX 3070’s compute and memory bandwidth are stretched thin at 4K with maxed-out graphics. The data suggests that for smooth 4K gameplay, users must lower settings significantly—the jump from Ultra to High at 4K yields a 48% FPS improvement (from 35.1 to 51.9), which is a substantial gain for one step down in quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the dominant component in this pairing for frame rate output, particularly at 1440p and above. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for Outriders at most settings but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra where the average FPS falls to 35.1. The GPU’s boost clock of 1725 MHz and its 5888 shading units are the primary drivers of the pixel and texture fill rates, evidenced by the pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s.

The clock behavior is not directly measured in the FPS data, but the performance scaling suggests that the RTX 3070 is running at or near its boost ceiling for most of the test. At 1080p Low, the average of 245.7 FPS indicates that the GPU is not fully utilized, as the CPU likely cannot feed it enough frames to saturate its compute units. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting component. At 4K High, the 51.9 FPS result shows that the GPU is working hard, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity may be a concern for Ultra settings, where the frame rate drops to 35.1 FPS, possibly due to memory pressure or shader complexity.

The GPU’s overall benchmark percentile of 72 versus all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 28238, place it in a mid-to-high tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, scores 27985 with a deltaPct of 0.9, indicating that the RTX 3070 is slightly ahead of that card. This context is useful for understanding that the RTX 3070 is not a flagship, but it is capable of handling Outriders at 1440p with high settings, as shown by the 94.8 FPS average.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Outriders, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 641 out of 1693 combos. This places it in the 37th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning that roughly 62% of the tested combos deliver higher average frame rates. The rank is influenced by the CPU’s performance characteristics, which are strong, but the GPU’s mid-range standing prevents this combo from reaching the top tier.

The CPU itself ranks in the 89th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, scores 35802 with a deltaPct of -0.3, meaning the Intel chip is essentially on par with that processor. The i7-12700K’s multi-core strength is evident in its Cinebench R23 score of 29241, which is a strong result for a 12-core, 20-thread part. However, the combo rank is dragged down by the GPU, which only sits in the 72nd percentile versus all GPUs.

The rank of 641 out of 1693 suggests that while this combo is not a top performer, it is also not a weak one. For a looter shooter like Outriders, the rank indicates that users will get a solid experience at 1080p and 1440p, but they will need to compromise at 4K. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, so any upgrade path for better 4K performance would involve replacing the RTX 3070 rather than the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 245.7 FPS for Low, 200.3 FPS for Medium, 149.2 FPS for High, and 106.5 FPS for Ultra. These numbers show that at 1080p, even Ultra settings are playable, and Low settings exceed the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The gap between Low and Ultra is 139.2 FPS, which is a 57% reduction, indicating that the graphical settings have a significant impact on performance even at the lowest resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 177 FPS for Low, 128.9 FPS for Medium, 94.8 FPS for High, and 66.5 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable, with the High setting falling from 149.2 to 94.8 FPS, a 36% reduction. At this resolution, the Ultra setting is still above 60 FPS, which is acceptable for most gamers, but the Low setting at 177 FPS shows that the CPU is still capable of pushing high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 89.9 FPS for Low, 67.8 FPS for Medium, 51.9 FPS for High, and 35.1 FPS for Ultra. The 4K results are the most telling, as the Ultra setting falls below 40 FPS, which is not ideal for a fast-paced looter shooter. The Medium setting at 67.8 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K, offering a balance between visual quality and playability. The Low setting at 89.9 FPS is surprisingly high for 4K, suggesting that Outriders scales well on lower settings with this GPU.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings yields an average of 94.8 FPS, which is smooth and visually solid. 1080p at Ultra also works well at 106.5 FPS, but 1440p offers a better balance of image quality and performance.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Outriders?*

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Medium, the average is 67.8 FPS, and at 4K Low, it is 89.9 FPS. The 4K Ultra setting is not recommended due to its 35.1 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rival in this context?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT’s score of 27985. The data indicates the RTX 3070 is slightly ahead of that card.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average of 245.7 FPS suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, indicating the Intel Core i7-12700K is the limiting component at this resolution. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance is what enables these high frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The High setting delivers 94.8 FPS, while the Ultra setting delivers 66.5 FPS. This is a 28.3 FPS difference, meaning Ultra is 30% slower than High at this resolution.

*Q: How does this combo rank overall for Outriders?*

A: The combo ranks 641 out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the 37th percentile. This is a mid-tier ranking, reflecting the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.