Outriders

# How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700F with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 lands at rank 2844 out of 3710 tested combinations for Outriders. That places this setup in the lower 23% of all recorded configurations, which is a notable position given the hardware involved. The CPU itself is a powerhouse — its average benchmark score of 53620 puts it in the 91st percentile among all processors, and it sits just 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X in aggregate CPU performance. The GPU, however, tells a different story: the RX 6600’s average benchmark score of 19036 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, is statistically identical with a deltaPct of 0.0%.

This rank disparity suggests the combo is heavily GPU-limited in Outriders. The CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can feed it, yet the overall ranking reflects the weakest link in the chain. When compared to other combos that pair high-end CPUs with mid-range GPUs, this configuration sits below the median, indicating that the RX 6600 is the primary bottleneck for achieving higher frame rates. The data implies that users with this CPU who upgrade their GPU would see a dramatic jump in rank, as the processor has headroom to spare — its single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4958 and multi-core score of 35122 are both exceptional for gaming workloads.

Interestingly, the combo rank is not catastrophic; it still outperforms roughly 23% of all tested combinations, which includes many systems with older or weaker components. The takeaway is that this pairing works, but it leaves performance on the table. For Outriders specifically, the game’s demands on the GPU are significant enough that the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are largely underutilized, as the frame rates will show in the measured data below.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. Its memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 1626 MHz, with a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz — the latter being the more relevant figure for sustained gaming loads. Memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective.

In Outriders, the GPU’s role is decisive across all tested settings and resolutions. Looking at the measured FPS, the RX 6600’s performance scales predictably with the graphics preset. At 1080p Ultra, the card averages 75 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for a looter shooter where fast reactions matter. Dropping to High at the same resolution yields 103 FPS, a 37% improvement that suggests the Ultra preset imposes a heavy shading or post-processing load. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 138 FPS, while Low hits 189 FPS — the latter being near the ceiling for many 144Hz monitors.

The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Outriders at these resolutions, as the game does not appear to exceed that capacity based on the frame rates remaining stable. However, the card’s 64 ROPs and 1792 shading units are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 25, which is essentially unplayable, while 4K High manages 34 FPS and 4K Medium reaches 45 FPS. Only at 4K Low does the card achieve a playable 62 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s compute throughput is insufficient for heavy pixel workloads.

The RX 6600’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) means it can handle Outriders’ modern rendering features, but the hardware lacks the raw power to push high frame rates at high resolutions with maxed settings. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 15096 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1492 reflect its mid-range positioning, which aligns with the measured in-game results.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware in Outriders?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1080p High provides 103 FPS on average, which is the sweet spot for smooth gameplay without sacrificing visual quality. For 144Hz displays, 1080p Low at 189 FPS is the only preset that fully saturates such a refresh rate.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Outriders?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 62 FPS. At Medium, it drops to 45 FPS, and at High it falls to 34 FPS. Ultra is not viable at 4K with an average of 25 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6600’s average benchmark score of 19036 is virtually identical to the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030, deltaPct 0.0%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049, deltaPct -0.1%). It is 0.3% ahead of the Tesla K20m and 0.4% behind the RTX 2000 Ada Generation.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F holding back the RX 6600 in Outriders?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores are far above the GPU’s needs, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and single-core of 4958. The measured FPS patterns indicate the GPU is the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions where frame rates drop significantly.

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

A: At 2560x1440, High averages 65 FPS, while Ultra averages 47 FPS — a 28% decrease in performance for the higher preset. Medium sits at 87 FPS, and Low reaches 119 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Outriders at maximum settings?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory appears sufficient, as the game does not show signs of stuttering or texture thrashing in the measured data. The frame rate drops from High to Ultra are consistent with compute and shading load increases, not memory capacity limits.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of the RX 6600’s capabilities in Outriders. At 1920x1080, the card demonstrates its strength: Low settings yield an average of 189 FPS, which is exceptional for a mid-range GPU. Medium averages 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 and maximum of 158, showing consistent frame pacing. High averages 103 FPS, and Ultra averages 75 FPS — the latter being the first preset where the GPU’s limitations become apparent, as the drop from High to Ultra is 28 FPS, a 27% reduction.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance curve steepens. Low settings deliver 119 FPS on average, which is still highly playable. Medium averages 87 FPS with a range of 74 to 100 FPS, indicating some variance but overall smoothness. High drops to 65 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 72 FPS, illustrating the heavy cost of maxing out settings at this resolution. The gap between Medium and High is 22 FPS, while High to Ultra is 18 FPS, suggesting that each preset tier carries a similar penalty.

At 3840x2160, the RX 6600 struggles to maintain playable frame rates except at the lowest settings. Low averages 62 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience. Medium averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 52, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS — both are below the threshold for comfortable gaming. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a drop from 103 FPS to 34 FPS, a 67% reduction, which highlights the GPU’s pixel throughput limitations.

The data shows that the RX 6600 is best suited for 1080p gaming with High or Medium settings, or 1440p with Low or Medium settings. The 4K results are only viable with the Low preset, and even then, the 62 FPS average is close to the edge of playability.

# Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware combination, the optimal experience depends on the user’s display and performance priorities. At 1080p, the High preset at 103 FPS is the recommended choice for most players, as it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds 100 FPS. Those with 144Hz monitors should consider the Low preset at 189 FPS, which fully utilizes high refresh rates, or the Medium preset at 138 FPS, which still exceeds 120 FPS while offering better visuals.

At 1440p, the data suggests that Medium at 87 FPS is the best compromise between image quality and smoothness. The High preset at 65 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced play, but Outriders’ gunplay benefits from higher frame rates. Low at 119 FPS is the choice for competitive play, though it sacrifices shadows and texture detail. Ultra at 47 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate dips below 50 and would feel sluggish in combat.

For 4K, the only viable option is Low at 62 FPS. While this is technically playable, the visual downgrade is severe, and users with 4K displays would be better served by lowering the resolution to 1440p and using Medium or High settings for a better overall experience. The 4K Medium preset at 45 FPS is a middle ground, but the minimum of 39 FPS could cause noticeable stutter during intense action sequences.

The measured data implies that the RX 6600 is not a 4K card for Outriders, and pushing it beyond 1440p results in diminishing returns. The recommended path is to prioritize frame rate over resolution, using 1080p High or 1440p Medium as the primary targets depending on the display’s native resolution.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its large L3 cache of 33 MB shared across cores, combined with 2 MB L2 per core, gives it substantial bandwidth for gaming workloads. The CPU’s benchmark results are impressive: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 35122, single-core 4958, and Geekbench multi-core 19620 with single-core 2429. These numbers place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620.

In Outriders, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and the i7-14700F is more than adequate for this task. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 189 FPS, which is a CPU-intensive scenario where the processor must keep up with a high frame rate. The fact that it reaches this level indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor even in the least GPU-bound preset. Similarly, at 1440p Low, the 119 FPS average further confirms that the CPU has headroom, as the frame rate is still high enough to stress the processor’s per-core performance.

Comparing the i7-14700F to its nearest rivals, it sits 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon 6505P and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290. It is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and 0.8% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the i7-14700F is competitively positioned among high-end processors. However, in Outriders, the GPU’s performance ceiling means that the CPU’s benchmark superiority does not translate to higher frame rates — the RX 6600 maxes out before the CPU can exert its full potential.

The CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are largely overkill for Outriders, which is not a heavily threaded title. The game likely uses only a handful of cores, and the i7-14700F’s high boost clock of 5.40 GHz on a single core is what matters most. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4958 is strong, ensuring that the CPU can handle the game’s primary thread without bottlenecking.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that indicates the GPU is the dominant limiting component. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 38% across all settings: High goes from 103 to 65 FPS, Low from 189 to 119 FPS, Medium from 138 to 87 FPS, and Ultra from 75 to 47 FPS. This consistent percentage drop is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels being rendered increases by 78% (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million), but the performance loss is less than proportional due to other bottlenecks.

From 1440p to 4K, the drop becomes more severe. High goes from 65 to 34 FPS, a 48% reduction; Low from 119 to 62 FPS, a 48% reduction; Medium from 87 to 45 FPS, a 48% reduction; and Ultra from 47 to 25 FPS, a 47% reduction. The pixel count increases by 125% (from 3.69 million to 8.29 million), yet the frame rate drops by less than half, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and ROP throughput are becoming limiting factors rather than pure pixel fill rate.

The 1080p to 4K scaling at High settings shows a 67% drop in FPS (103 to 34), which is exactly what would be expected if the GPU were the sole bottleneck, as the pixel count quadruples. The fact that the FPS does not drop by 75% indicates some memory bandwidth headroom, but the overall trend is clear: the RX 6600 is not capable of maintaining high frame rates at higher resolutions.

This scaling behavior has implications for the CPU’s role. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 189 FPS, which is close to the limit of what the GPU can output. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see a plateau in FPS regardless of resolution, but the data shows continuous scaling with resolution, confirming that the GPU is limiting. The i7-14700F’s performance headroom is evident: it could push much higher frame rates if paired with a stronger GPU, as evidenced by its 91st percentile CPU ranking versus the RX 6600’s 63rd percentile GPU ranking.

The resolution scaling data suggests that users should stay at 1080p or 1440p to get the most out of this hardware, as the 4K results are consistently below playable thresholds except at Low settings. The GPU’s 224.0 GB/s bandwidth and 128-bit bus are simply insufficient for 4K workloads, while the CPU is never challenged even at the lowest resolution and settings.