Outriders

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination delivers a versatile 1080p and 1440p experience in Outriders, with the data showing a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution and settings scale. The measured results indicate that while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary constraint at 4K Ultra, where frame rates dip below playable thresholds. This analysis explores the measured FPS data, component roles, and ranking within the broader database to determine the optimal configuration for this looter shooter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best-performing settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The data shows the Low preset achieves the highest average frame rate at 1920x1080, hitting 259.5 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 187 FPS, High at 142.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 102.3 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance gap exists between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 162.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 64.5 FPS. This represents a substantial 98 FPS difference, or approximately 2.5 times the performance of the Ultra setting.

Q: Does the combo achieve a playable frame rate at 4K with the High preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo averages 47.1 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered standard for smooth gameplay, indicating a challenging scenario for 4K High.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations for Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 699th out of 1693 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This position is based on the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark score compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, scores 47334, a delta of -0.1%. The AMD EPYC 4364P scores 47131, which is 0.3% lower.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is in the 73rd percentile for all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, has a nearly identical score of 30097.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings presets, with the most balanced experience appearing at the Medium preset across all resolutions. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium reduces the average frame rate by 72.5 FPS (from 259.5 to 187 FPS), but this trade-off likely yields significant visual improvements. The High preset at 1080p still maintains a strong 142.9 FPS average, making it a viable option for those prioritizing visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best compromise, delivering 118.7 FPS on average. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS target for most displays and leaves substantial headroom for demanding action sequences. The High preset at 1440p drops to 92.1 FPS, which remains playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame drops could become noticeable. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 64.5 FPS, is the minimum viable option for a standard 60 Hz monitor, but its proximity to the limit makes it risky for consistent performance.

For 4K, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the only reasonable choice, yielding 63.2 FPS on average. The High preset falls to 47.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard, while the Low preset at 87.4 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for a resolution meant to showcase detail. The Ultra preset at 32.9 FPS is effectively unplayable for smooth action. Benchmark results indicate that users targeting 4K should stick to Medium to maintain a consistent frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a Geekbench multicore score of 17731. The processor holds the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a high-end part with substantial processing headroom for gaming workloads.

In Outriders, the CPU's role appears to be providing a stable foundation that rarely bottlenecks the GPU at lower settings. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 259.5 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at very high frame rates. However, the game's engine may not scale perfectly with the processor's 16 cores, as the 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 is notably lower than the max-thread score of 12412, indicating some diminishing returns with additional threads.

The CPU's cache configuration, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache, is substantial and likely helps with the asset streaming common in looter shooters. The processor's single-thread performance, evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 4333, is also robust, which is critical for games that rely on a few primary threads for game logic. The data suggests that for Outriders, the i7-13700K is rarely the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU takes on more of the rendering load.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 699th out of 1693 tested combinations in the database for Outriders, placing it in the 41st percentile of all tested systems. This position is respectable but not top-tier, reflecting the mid-range nature of the RTX 5060 GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The ranking indicates that many other combos, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher average frame rates in this game.

The CPU's own ranking is strong, at the 93rd percentile, which contrasts with the GPU's 73rd percentile. This disparity suggests that the combo's overall ranking is constrained by the GPU rather than the CPU. In fact, the data implies that the i7-13700K could support a more powerful graphics card to push the combo higher in the rankings. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700KF with a delta of -0.1%, show that the processor is essentially tied with its closest competitors, meaning the CPU is not a differentiator in this ranking.

For users seeking higher rankings, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (102.3 FPS) indicates the combo is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming, but the 4K Ultra result of 32.9 FPS highlights the GPU's limitations. The combo's position in the middle of the pack suggests it is a balanced system for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not a top performer for 4K enthusiasts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 3840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. It has a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 19.18 TFLOPS, and it includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads.

In Outriders, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p Low, the GPU delivers 259.5 FPS, but this drops to 102.3 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate at higher settings, with the CPU providing sufficient support. At 4K, the GPU's limitations are stark, with the Ultra preset yielding only 32.9 FPS, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K Ultra in this title.

The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-to-upper range, but its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT with a delta of 0%, indicating performance parity. The RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory is a notable characteristic, as Outriders at 4K High (47.1 FPS) and 4K Medium (63.2 FPS) suggests that memory capacity may not be the sole bottleneck, but rather the overall throughput. The GPU's passmark scores, such as 20891 for G3D, show it is a capable DirectX 12 performer, with a DirectX 12 score of 77 in the specific benchmark.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows a wide performance spread across settings. The Low preset averages 259.5 FPS, which is exceptionally high and suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The Medium preset drops to 187 FPS, a 28% reduction, while High delivers 142.9 FPS, a further 24% reduction. The Ultra preset averages 102.3 FPS, which is 61% lower than Low, but still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the performance scaling is similar but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 162.5 FPS, which is 37% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 118.7 FPS, High drops to 92.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 64.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is notably close to the 60 FPS minimum, suggesting that users should avoid Ultra if they want a consistent experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low averages 87.4 FPS, which is 46% lower than the 1440p Low result. Medium averages 63.2 FPS, High averages 47.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32.9 FPS. The data shows a 62% reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K, highlighting the GPU's struggle with the resolution's pixel count. The High and Ultra presets are below the 60 FPS standard, making them unsuitable for most users.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the system's limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 259.5 at 1080p to 162.5 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 87.4 at 4K (a 46% drop from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom to handle the lower-resolution frame rates.

At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (187 FPS) to 1440p (118.7 FPS) is 37%, and the drop from 1440p to 4K (63.2 FPS) is 47%. This consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU's rendering workload scales proportionally with pixel count, which is expected for a rasterization-heavy title. The High settings show a similar pattern, with a 36% drop from 1080p (142.9 FPS) to 1440p (92.1 FPS) and a 49% drop to 4K (47.1 FPS).

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with a 37% drop from 1080p (102.3 FPS) to 1440p (64.5 FPS) and a 49% drop to 4K (32.9 FPS). This suggests that at Ultra, the GPU is pushed to its limits, and the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s becomes a bottleneck. The data implies that the system is CPU-bound at 1080p Low, but GPU-bound at 4K Ultra, with the crossover point occurring somewhere in the Medium or High settings at 1440p. Users should expect that any resolution above 1440p will be heavily GPU-limited with this combo.