Outriders

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread desktop processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake-R refresh. It operates with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, supported by a 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache. This CPU sits in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,620, placing it within 1% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (deltaPct 0.6) and the AMD EPYC 7313P (deltaPct 0.8). In multi-threaded workloads, its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35,122 and Geekbench multicore score of 19,620 indicate substantial headroom for modern game engines that leverage multiple threads.

In Outriders, a looter shooter built around combat encounters with numerous enemy actors and destructible environments, the CPU's high thread count and boost clock matter for maintaining consistent frame pacing. The game's CPU demands are moderate compared to heavy strategy titles, but the i7-14700F's 28 threads ensure that background physics, AI pathfinding, and streaming logic rarely bottleneck the frame pipeline. The single-core performance is equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 singlecore score of 4,958 and a Geekbench singlecore score of 2,429, which directly supports the game's main-thread rendering and game logic. Given that the measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 99 FPS average, the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor at lower resolutions; instead, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution scales.

The CPU's 65W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus provide flexible platform pairing options, though the memory bandwidth is not specified in the dataset. The processor's PCIe Gen 5 support (16 lanes CPU-only) ensures the GPU interface is not a bottleneck, even with an older PCIe 3.0 graphics card like the RX 570. In this combo, the i7-14700F's performance headroom is largely untapped at 4K, where the GPU is overwhelmed, but at 1080p Low the CPU demonstrates it can push well beyond 100 FPS if paired with a stronger GPU.

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Medium settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 72 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. This represents the best balance of visual quality and smoothness among the tested presets at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Outriders?

A: The combo ranks 3,533 out of 3,710 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 5% of all configurations. This low rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU, which has a 74th percentile standing among all GPUs but is paired with a CPU in the 91st percentile.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 13, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 39 FPS. The scaling pattern—an approximately 67% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings (54 to 18 FPS)—indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom is not the constraint.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 63 FPS, while Medium drops to 46 FPS. For a target of 60 FPS or higher, Low is the only viable option, though Medium may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over a hard 60 FPS lock.

Q: How much FPS is gained by switching from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, switching from Ultra (39 FPS) to Low (99 FPS) produces a 60 FPS improvement, representing a 154% increase in average frame rate. This suggests that the game's Ultra preset imposes significant GPU load that the RX 570 cannot sustain.

Q: Does the RX 570's 4GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The measured 4K results show a steep decline from Low (33 FPS) to Medium (24 FPS) and Ultra (13 FPS). While the 4GB GDDR5 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely exceeded at 4K with higher texture settings, the consistent FPS drops across all presets indicate that raw compute limits, not just VRAM capacity, are the dominant factor.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 54 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p and finally to 18 at 4K—a stepwise reduction of 37% and 47% respectively. This nonlinear decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The RX 570's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in Outriders, as the game's shading and post-processing demands scale with pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling is more favorable: 99 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result still represents a 67% drop from 1080p Low, which confirms that even with reduced shading complexity, the GPU's rasterization throughput is the primary constraint. The Medium preset shows intermediate results: 72 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K, with the gap between 1080p and 1440p (36%) being smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K (48%). This suggests that memory bandwidth (224.0 GB/s) and texture fetch rates become more strained as resolution increases, particularly when the 4GB VRAM is exceeded at 4K.

The Ultra preset is the least playable across all resolutions, with 39 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the threshold for consistent frame pacing, making it unsuitable for any competitive or immersive play. The data indicates that the limiting component shifts entirely to the GPU at 1440p and above; the i7-14700F's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 33 MB L3 cache provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the CPU's 91st percentile standing. If the GPU were upgraded, the CPU could likely sustain much higher frame rates, but with the RX 570, the resolution scaling curve is steep and unforgiving.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3,533 out of 3,710 tested combinations in Outriders, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations. This rank is striking because the individual components have divergent performance profiles: the CPU ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 74th percentile among all GPUs. The mismatch between these two components is the primary reason for the low combo rank—the CPU is overkill relative to the GPU in this game, which is heavily GPU-bound at most settings.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits just above the bottom 177 configurations. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct -0.8) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct -0.4), indicating that the RX 570's performance is clustered with older mid-range parts. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (deltaPct 0.6), underscore that the processor is capable of driving far more powerful GPUs. In Outriders specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p Low (99 FPS) is the only result that approaches a high-refresh experience, while all other presets fall below 75 FPS.

The rank implies that users of this combo are likely GPU-limited in nearly every scenario. At 1080p Medium, the 72 FPS average is reasonable for a 60Hz display, but the 61 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips below the refresh threshold. At 1440p, only Low settings (63 FPS) approach playability. The low combo rank is not a condemnation of the CPU, but rather a reflection that the RX 570's 2017-era GCN 4.0 architecture cannot keep pace with modern game demands. For context, the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 42,752 place it in the lower tier of contemporary graphics cards.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14nm process by GlobalFoundries. It features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1,168 MHz and a boost clock of 1,244 MHz. The 4GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 1,750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration yields 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate, and 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate—figures that were competitive for 1080p gaming in 2017 but are severely challenged by Outriders' 2021 rendering demands.

In Outriders, the GPU's role is the dominant performance limiter across all resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the RX 570 achieves 99 FPS, but this drops to 54 FPS at High and 39 FPS at Ultra. The scaling between presets at a fixed resolution reveals the GPU's compute and memory constraints: at 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS (99 to 72), and from Medium to High costs another 18 FPS (72 to 54). These reductions are consistent with increased shading complexity and texture sampling that stress the 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS compute.

The 4GB VRAM capacity is a notable limitation for Outriders, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 24, with a minimum of 20 and maximum of 27, indicating severe frame time variance likely caused by texture swapping. The GPU's 74th percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28,766, places it near the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (deltaPct 0.7) and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (deltaPct 1.2). Its 150W TDP and 1x 6-pin power connector make it a modest power draw, but the performance ceiling is firmly set by the Polaris 20 chip's 5.7 billion transistors and 232 mm² die size. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 2017 release date further underscore its age relative to the CPU.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 570 delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 99 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded, indicating stable performance. Medium settings yield 72 FPS average, with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 83, providing a smooth experience on standard 60Hz displays. High settings drop to 54 FPS average, which is playable but not consistently smooth. Ultra settings fall to 39 FPS average, which is below the threshold for comfortable action gameplay.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low settings achieve 63 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. Medium settings drop to 46 FPS average, with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53, indicating noticeable frame dips during combat. High settings fall to 34 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 25 FPS average—both are below 30 FPS thresholds for consistent playability.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 33 FPS, which is borderline but will stutter in heavy action. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 and maximum of 27, showing severe frame time inconsistency. High settings average 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS—both are far below minimum playability standards. The data shows a clear trend: this combo is only viable for 1080p gaming, with Low or Medium settings providing the best experience, while 1440p requires Low settings for acceptable performance, and 4K is not a realistic option.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset (72 FPS average, 61 FPS minimum) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. It maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay during most encounters, while the visual upgrade from Low is substantial. The High preset (54 FPS) is playable but risks dips below 50 FPS in dense combat, and Ultra (39 FPS) should be avoided due to inconsistent frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset (63 FPS) is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, and even then, it will likely experience dips in heavy scenes. Medium (46 FPS) may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but the 39 FPS minimum could cause noticeable stutter. High and Ultra presets are not recommended at 1440p, as their average FPS (34 and 25, respectively) fall below the threshold for responsive gameplay.

At 3840x2160, no preset is truly playable. Low (33 FPS) is the closest to a playable experience, but even this will suffer from frame drops during intense action. Medium (24 FPS) and below are not viable for a looter shooter where reflex-based gameplay is central. For the best experience with this combo, the data strongly recommends 1080p Medium as the default, with 1080p Low for players who prefer higher frame rates (99 FPS) or have 144Hz displays. At 1440p, only Low is recommended, and 4K should be avoided entirely unless the user is willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance.