Outriders

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a highly playable Outriders experience across most settings, but the data reveals a clear performance hierarchy driven by resolution. At 1920x1080, the combination produces a 244.8 FPS average on Low settings, which drops to 200.7 FPS on Medium, 151 FPS on High, and 111 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 54.6% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra at 1080p, indicating that while the CPU has ample headroom, the GPU is already being tasked heavily by the game’s higher preset options. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall to 173 FPS on Low, 127.4 FPS on Medium, 92.9 FPS on High, and 69.4 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a 38.5% performance drop, which is substantial and points to the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises. At 3840x2160, the trend intensifies: Low settings yield 93 FPS, Medium 68.2 FPS, High 50 FPS, and Ultra 38.8 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is a 44.1% reduction, confirming that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are stretched thin at the highest resolution. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, users should stick to Medium or Low presets to maintain fluid motion, while 1440p High and 1080p Ultra represent the sweet spots for visual fidelity without sacrificing responsiveness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 13596 and single-core score of 2526. In the context of Outriders, these numbers are more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 244.8 FPS average is likely near the CPU’s practical limit for this title, as the rendering workload is light enough that the processor’s thread scheduling and clock speed become relevant. The CPU’s 3DMark scores reinforce this: 16-thread performance hits 9282, while max-thread performance reaches 9983, showing that the processor scales well with increased load. However, the game’s engine does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded, as evidenced by the relatively modest difference between the 8-thread score of 7211 and the 16-thread score of 9282. This means that the i7-12700KF’s high single-thread performance (a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043) is what matters most for Outriders’ frame pacing. Compared to nearest rivals, the i7-12700KF’s average benchmark score of 35355 sits 0.1% above the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336) and 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416), indicating that its computational power is on par with newer mobile parts. For Outriders specifically, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU efficiently, and the data shows it does so without becoming a constraint until frame rates exceed 200 FPS, which only occurs at 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 630th out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the upper third of all configurations tested. This percentile position is modest given the hardware’s individual strengths, suggesting that either the game is not fully utilizing the available resources or that other combos in the database feature more optimized pairings. The CPU’s percentile vs. all CPUs is 89, meaning it outperforms 89% of tested processors, while the GPU’s percentile vs. all GPUs is 72, indicating it sits above 72% of tested graphics cards. The discrepancy between these percentiles and the combo’s overall rank (630/1693, roughly the 63rd percentile) implies that the pairing is slightly less effective than its components’ individual standings would predict. This is likely because Outriders is more GPU-bound at higher settings, and the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, dragging down the average performance relative to combos with larger frame buffers. The data shows that the combo’s rank is not a reflection of CPU weakness—the i7-12700KF’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-12900HX, scores within 0.2%—but rather a consequence of the GPU’s memory constraints in a game that scales heavily with resolution. For users comparing builds, this rank suggests that while the combo is competent, it does not punch above its weight class in Outriders, and the GPU is the component to upgrade first if seeking higher placement.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: Low 244.8 FPS, Medium 200.7 FPS, High 151 FPS, and Ultra 111 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium incurs an 18.0% drop, while Medium to High costs 24.8%, and High to Ultra costs 26.5%. This pattern shows that each step up in settings has a compounding effect, with the largest relative penalty occurring between High and Ultra. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 173 FPS, Medium 127.4 FPS, High 92.9 FPS, and Ultra 69.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low is a 29.3% reduction, but at Ultra it is 37.5%, reinforcing that higher presets amplify the resolution penalty. The 4K results at 3840x2160 are: Low 93 FPS, Medium 68.2 FPS, High 50 FPS, and Ultra 38.8 FPS. Here, the drop from Low to Medium is 26.7%, Medium to High is 26.7%, and High to Ultra is 22.4%. Interestingly, the High-to-Ultra penalty is smaller at 4K than at lower resolutions, likely because the GPU is already saturated and the incremental cost of Ultra settings is proportionally less. The minimum and maximum FPS values are not provided, so the analysis relies solely on averages, but the data indicates that 1440p Ultra (69.4 FPS) is the highest fidelity setting that maintains a 60+ FPS average, while 4K High (50 FPS) is borderline and 4K Ultra (38.8 FPS) is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the GA104 chip with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 1725 MHz, and it features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. In Outriders, the GPU is the dominant factor at 1440p and above, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the 38.8 FPS average suggests that the 8 GB VRAM is insufficient for the game’s high-resolution textures, causing memory pressure that limits performance. The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range position: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162 and a Passmark G3D score of 22214, with a percentile vs. all GPUs of 72. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 3070’s average score of 28238 is 0.9% above the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985) and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956), but 0.6% below the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409). This indicates that while the GPU is competitive with mid-range cards, it does not have the headroom for 4K Ultra in a demanding title like Outriders. The 220 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are consistent with its performance class, but the data shows that the GPU’s memory capacity, not its compute power, is the bottleneck at 4K. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the RTX 3070 provides excellent frame rates, but users targeting 4K should consider lowering settings to Medium (68.2 FPS) or Low (93 FPS) to stay within the card’s comfort zone.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains a 60 FPS average at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves an average of 92.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 69.4 FPS. Both exceed 60 FPS, but Ultra is the highest preset that stays above that threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 151 at 1920x1080 to 50 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 66.9%. This demonstrates the GPU’s heavy scaling penalty at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the 244.8 FPS average is likely CPU-limited, as the GPU has spare capacity. The i7-12700KF’s single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark suggests it is handling the game’s logic efficiently, but frame rates above 200 FPS are near the processor’s practical ceiling.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to the RX 6600 XT in average benchmark scores?

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. This indicates a slight performance advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K Ultra, and is it playable?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 38.8, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Users seeking 4K should use Medium settings, which yield 68.2 FPS, or Low at 93 FPS.

Q: What is the combo’s rank in Outriders, and what does it imply?

A: The combo ranks 630th out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the 63rd percentile. This is lower than the CPU’s 89th percentile and GPU’s 72nd percentile, suggesting the pairing is slightly suboptimal for this game due to GPU memory limitations at high resolutions.