Outriders

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a strong showing in Outriders, securing a combo rank of 205 out of 1,693 tested configurations. This placement puts the pairing in the top 12% of all recorded combos, reflecting a system that is well-equipped for high-refresh-rate play at mainstream resolutions. The data indicates a platform that is rarely the bottleneck, with the GPU scaling predictably as resolution and visual fidelity increase.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 205 out of 1,693 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems for Outriders. This position is supported by the individual component standings; the Core i7-14700K sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4070 lands in the 81st percentile for GPUs. The processor’s dominance is clear in synthetic tests, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534 and a single-core score of 6,287, ensuring that frame pacing is never CPU-limited in this looter shooter. The GPU, while not as elite as the CPU, still outperforms its nearest rivals; the data shows the RTX 4070 is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M, though it trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 2.2% in average benchmark score. This combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-midrange GPU creates a balanced system where the graphics card is the primary variable in frame rate, but the processor provides a massive, stable headroom that prevents stutter. The overall result is a system that should consistently deliver smooth gameplay, with the measured frames per second confirming its high standing relative to the other 1,692 combos.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the definitive performance driver in this setup, and its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is ample for Outriders, a game that does not exhibit extreme VRAM pressure at the tested settings. The GPU’s clock speeds are also a key factor, with a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The boost behavior is critical in this title, as the sustained clock rate directly influences the average frame rate. The data shows a clear relationship between the GPU’s workload and its output; at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 46.8, indicating the GPU is fully saturated, while at 1080p Low, the average FPS jumps to 278.1, showing the card can push very high frame rates when the pixel count is reduced. The GPU’s 5 nm process and Ada Lovelace architecture allow it to handle the game’s particle effects and physics without significant frame drops, but the measured results show it is the component that dictates the ceiling for performance. The RTX 4070’s 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the raw power behind these numbers, and the data confirms that scaling settings from Low to Ultra has a more pronounced effect on FPS than scaling resolution, underscoring that the GPU is the active bottleneck in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 185.8 FPS. This is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors and provides a substantial visual upgrade over the Low preset, which hits 278.1 FPS but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal gain in smoothness. The Medium preset at 241.9 FPS is also viable for competitive play, but High offers the best balance of image quality and speed. At 1440p, High is again the recommended setting, producing 116.7 FPS. This is ideal for 144Hz monitors, as it consistently stays above the refresh rate threshold. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 86.7 FPS, which, while playable, introduces a noticeable decrease in fluidity that is not worth the extra graphical effects. For 4K gaming, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset yields only 58.8 FPS, which is smooth enough for slower-paced gameplay but not for fast action. The Medium preset at 82.2 FPS is the best choice for 4K, as it offers a significant performance boost over High while maintaining acceptable visual quality. The Ultra preset at 46.8 FPS should be avoided, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and compromises the experience. Therefore, the data recommends High at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K for the best playable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions, with performance scaling inversely with both resolution and graphical fidelity. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 278.1 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Moving to Medium drops the average to 241.9 FPS, a decrease of 13% that is offset by improved textures and lighting. The High preset delivers 185.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset bottoms out at 134.1 FPS. This 134.1 FPS figure is still exceptionally high, demonstrating the CPU’s strength in feeding the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1440p, the same hierarchy is present. Low produces 214.8 FPS, Medium follows at 156.6 FPS, and High comes in at 116.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 86.7 FPS, which is the first instance where the frame rate dips below the 100 FPS mark. The transition to 4K shows a more severe performance penalty. The Low preset at 4K averages 112.9 FPS, which is still high, but the Medium preset falls to 82.2 FPS. High at 4K drops to 58.8 FPS, and Ultra plunges to 46.8 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is 12 FPS, a smaller gap than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a compute limit where additional settings have diminishing returns. The data shows that the RTX 4070 handles 1080p and 1440p with ease, but 4K requires a compromise on settings to maintain a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the limiting component in this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 185.8 at 1080p to 116.7 at 1440p, a reduction of 37%, and then to 58.8 at 4K, a further reduction of 50% from the 1440p figure. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is not the constraint, as its performance is consistent regardless of resolution. The frame rate decline from 1080p to 4K is nearly linear with the increase in pixel count, indicating that the RTX 4070 is the sole factor limiting performance. For instance, the jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings nearly halves the FPS, aligning perfectly with the 2.25x increase in pixel count. This is a clear sign that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is saturated. The data also shows that lowering settings has a similar effect to lowering resolution; at 4K, dropping from Ultra to Low increases FPS from 46.8 to 112.9, a 141% improvement. This suggests that for users seeking higher frame rates at 4K, reducing in-game detail is more effective than relying on the CPU to push more frames. The scaling pattern confirms that the Intel Core i7-14700K provides ample headroom, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the definitive bottleneck, particularly at higher resolutions where its 12 GB of memory and 192-bit bus are fully utilized.