Outriders

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination delivers a wide performance envelope in Outriders, ranging from a highly playable 43.3 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 270.1 FPS at 1080p Low. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, while the CPU's substantial thread count ensures the framerate ceiling remains high at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured results to understand where each component's influence begins and ends.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, indicating a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 178 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 66.1 FPS, and then further down to 60.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This trajectory shows that the RTX 3080's rendering load increases dramatically with pixel count, which is expected for a 10 GB GDDR6X card with a 320-bit memory bus.

The scaling pattern shifts dramatically when looking at the Low preset. Here, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 64.8 FPS (270.1 to 205.3), but the drop from 1440p to 4K is a massive 100.7 FPS (205.3 to 104.6). This larger absolute drop at the higher resolution step suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors at 4K, whereas at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is able to feed frames fast enough to keep the GPU busier.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 4K performance (43.3 FPS) being less than one-third of the 1080p result (130 FPS). This indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive at higher resolutions, likely taxing the RTX 3080's 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores heavily. The data implies that for 4K gaming, the user must be willing to drop from Ultra to High to maintain a 60 FPS baseline, as the gap between those two presets at 4K is 17.2 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads provide a strong foundation for Outriders, a game that can utilize multiple threads for physics, AI, and streaming. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a Geekbench multicore score of 17731, indicate high sustained throughput. The data suggests this headroom is why the 1080p Low preset can reach 270.1 FPS; the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

The processor's boost clock of 5.40 GHz and single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505) are critical for maintaining high framerates. At 1080p, the difference between Low (270.1 FPS) and Medium (237 FPS) is 33.1 FPS, which is a smaller relative gap than what is seen at 4K. This suggests that while the CPU can push high framerates, the game's engine still relies on single-core performance for certain tasks, and the 13700K's 5.40 GHz boost clock is well-suited for this.

The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support help keep data flowing to the cores. However, the benchmark results show that the CPU's influence wanes as resolution increases. The fact that the 1080p Ultra score (130 FPS) is higher than the 4K High score (60.5 FPS) confirms that the CPU can handle the game's logic at high framerates, but the GPU's ability to render pixels at 4K is the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, with its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, is the dominant factor in this combo's performance. The GPU's benchmark scores, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407 and a Passmark G3D score of 25086, place it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. The data shows that its performance scales predictably with resolution, but the VRAM capacity becomes a concern at 4K Ultra.

The 4K Ultra result of 43.3 FPS is the lowest in the dataset, indicating that the combination of high resolution and Ultra settings exceeds the comfortable operating range for this card. The 10 GB VRAM buffer may be insufficient for the Ultra preset's texture and geometry demands at 3840x2160, leading to the significant performance drop. In contrast, the 4K High preset (60.5 FPS) is much more playable, suggesting that High settings stay within the memory and compute limits of the GPU.

The RTX 3080's boost clock of 1710 MHz and 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 performance are substantial, but the data reveals that the card's performance is not linear with resolution. For example, moving from 1440p Medium (151.1 FPS) to 4K Medium (74.8 FPS) is a 76.3 FPS drop, which is a 50.5% reduction. This indicates that the memory bandwidth and pixel fillrate (164.2 GPixel/s) are heavily taxed at 4K, making the GPU the clear bottleneck in this configuration at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average framerate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average framerate is 270.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only with the High settings preset, which yields an average of 60.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 74.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 43.3 FPS.

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

A: The average framerate drops from 178 FPS at 1080p to 60.5 FPS at 4K, a difference of 117.5 FPS. This represents a 66% reduction in performance.

Q: Which component is the limiting factor at 1080p resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is less of a bottleneck at 1080p, as the framerates are exceptionally high. The GPU is still the primary limiter, as evidenced by the significant framerate differences between Low (270.1 FPS) and Ultra (130 FPS) presets at this resolution.

Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM sufficient for all settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows that 1440p Ultra achieves 82.9 FPS, which is playable. This indicates that 10 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1440p Ultra, but the 4K Ultra result of 43.3 FPS suggests it may be a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset achieves 151.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 82.9 FPS. This is a difference of 68.2 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 4K gaming, the High preset is the clear choice, as it is the only one that provides a framerate above 60 FPS (60.5 FPS). The Medium preset at 4K (74.8 FPS) is also viable and offers a higher framerate, but the jump to Ultra (43.3 FPS) is too costly for the visual gain.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (111.9 FPS) provides an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset (151.1 FPS) is ideal for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, while Ultra (82.9 FPS) remains playable for those who prioritize visual fidelity. The 1080p resolution offers the most flexibility, with all presets exceeding 130 FPS.

For competitive play or maximum framerates, the 1080p Low preset (270.1 FPS) is the optimal choice. For a balanced experience at 1080p, the Medium preset (237 FPS) is recommended, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Low with a modest 33.1 FPS penalty. The data suggests that the Ultra preset at 4K should be avoided, as the 43.3 FPS average is below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average framerates are as follows: Low is 270.1 FPS, Medium is 237 FPS, High is 178 FPS, and Ultra is 130 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 140.1 FPS drop, showing the substantial cost of the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low is 205.3 FPS, Medium is 151.1 FPS, High is 111.9 FPS, and Ultra is 82.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 54.2 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 29 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is less punishing at this resolution than at 4K.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low is 104.6 FPS, Medium is 74.8 FPS, High is 60.5 FPS, and Ultra is 43.3 FPS. The difference between Low and High is 44.1 FPS, and the drop from High to Ultra is 17.2 FPS. This breakdown shows a clear hierarchy where the Low preset is the most playable at 4K, but the High preset is the highest quality option that still meets the 60 FPS standard.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 286th out of 1693 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the top 17% of all tested configurations, indicating strong overall performance. The CPU's own percentile rank (93rd among all CPUs) and the GPU's rank (80th among all GPUs) are both high, but the combo's rank suggests that the pairing works well together for this specific game.

The CPU has a negligible performance delta compared to its nearest rivals, with a -0.1% difference versus the Intel Core i7-13700KF and a 0.4% difference versus the Intel Core i9-12900F. This indicates that the 13700K is on par with other high-end processors. The GPU shows a similar pattern, with a -0.2% delta versus the AMD Radeon Pro Duo and a -0.9% delta versus the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE. These close margins suggest that the combo's rank is not due to an underperforming component, but rather the inherent demands of Outriders at high resolutions and settings.