Outriders

The data for Outriders on the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination shows a clear progression of performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p, the system is exceptionally fast, with average frame rates ranging from 273.9 FPS at Low settings down to 142.1 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the average frame rates remain high, with the High preset delivering 126.5 FPS and Low reaching 229.7 FPS. The jump to 4K introduces the most significant performance shift, where the High preset drops to 67.3 FPS and Ultra falls to 46.2 FPS.

The scaling pattern between 1080p and 4K reveals the point where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by the relatively small frame rate gap between Low and Ultra presets; the difference between these two settings is only 131.8 FPS. This suggests that even at lower graphical loads, the processor is able to feed the GPU efficiently, and the GPU is not yet saturated. However, as resolution increases to 1440p and then 4K, the pixel fill rate demand grows, and the frame rate deltas between presets widen considerably. At 4K, the spread from Low to Ultra is 72.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being taxed more heavily, with the CPU playing a less dominant role in limiting performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates demonstrate a non-linear relationship with resolution. From 1080p High (200.7 FPS) to 1440p High (126.5 FPS), there is a 37% reduction in average frame rate. This drop is substantial and indicates that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of increased pixel count. Continuing from 1440p High to 4K High (67.3 FPS), the frame rate falls by another 46.8%, which is a steeper decline than the previous step. This accelerating degradation is a classic sign that the rendering pipeline is becoming increasingly GPU-bound, as the number of fragments to shade grows geometrically with resolution.

The 4K results, in particular, highlight the GPU's limitations. While 4K Low achieves 118.8 FPS, which is playable, the High preset at 67.3 FPS is closer to the threshold for smooth gameplay on high refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 46.2 FPS, shows that this combination is not suited for maximum quality at this resolution without compromises. The data suggests that the RTX 5070, with its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 192-bit bus, is the limiting component at 4K, as the CPU's performance headroom is unlikely to be the constraint given the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The GPU's specifications provide context for these results. The RTX 5070 features a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, paired with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. In Outriders, a looter shooter with dense particle effects and environmental detail, this memory configuration is likely sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings. However, at 4K, the combination of higher resolution textures and increased shading complexity places greater demands on both the memory capacity and bandwidth. The 4K Ultra result of 46.2 FPS suggests that the GPU's raw compute throughput, rated at 30.87 TFLOPS FP32, is being fully utilized, and the 80 ROPs are struggling to keep up with the pixel output requirements.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance scales predictably with preset quality. At 1440p, the jump from Low (229.7 FPS) to Medium (166.7 FPS) is a 27.4% decrease, while from Medium to High (126.5 FPS) the decrease is 24.1%. These consistent step-downs indicate that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are being progressively loaded. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present, but the standard rasterization results in this data do not isolate ray tracing effects. For a game like Outriders, the data indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rate at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU is capable of pushing the GPU to high utilization.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average frame rates, the High preset offers the most balanced experience across resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 200.7 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, making it an excellent choice for high refresh rate displays. At 1440p, the High preset at 126.5 FPS remains highly playable, positioning this combination as a strong option for competitive play without sacrificing significant visual quality. Even at 4K, the High preset's 67.3 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a smooth experience for most players.

The Ultra preset, while visually superior, presents a more demanding scenario. At 1080p, Ultra achieves 142.1 FPS, which is still fast, but the 1440p Ultra result of 87.7 FPS shows a notable drop. At 4K, Ultra falls to 46.2 FPS, which is below the standard for fluid gameplay. For users prioritizing frame rate stability, the Medium preset offers a compelling alternative. At 1440p, Medium yields 166.7 FPS, which is 31.8% higher than High, while at 4K, Medium achieves 87.5 FPS, a substantial improvement over High's 67.3 FPS. Choosing Medium at 4K would provide a smoother experience than High, with a modest reduction in visual fidelity. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (273.9 FPS at 1080p), is generally not recommended for this hardware, as the visual compromise is significant given the available performance headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested hardware combinations, the Intel Core i7-14700K and RTX 5070 pairing ranks 143rd out of 1693 total combos for Outriders. This places the setup in the top 8.4% of all tested configurations, indicating a strong overall performance tier. The CPU itself ranks in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 83rd percentile against all GPUs. This disparity suggests that the processor is a higher-performing component relative to its peers than the graphics card is relative to its own peer group.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41687 is within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441) and 0.2% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610). This indicates that the RTX 5070 sits in a competitive performance bracket, with its nearest rivals being a mix of previous-generation high-end cards and professional workstation parts. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, shows a deltaPct of 0, meaning they perform identically in general benchmarks, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.5% ahead. This data suggests that the combo's rank is likely driven more by the GPU's mid-tier positioning than the CPU's high-end capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K provides substantial compute resources with 20 cores and 28 threads, based on a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 2 MB of L2 per core and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. For Outriders, which is a game that can benefit from multiple cores for physics, AI, and streaming, this processor is well-equipped. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates are consistently high across all settings, from 273.9 FPS at Low to 142.1 FPS at Ultra, which indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution.

The CPU's performance is further evidenced by its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287. These results place the CPU in the 96th percentile, far above the GPU's 83rd percentile. At 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, but this is attributable to the GPU's workload, not CPU starvation. The high frame rates at 1080p, especially the 273.9 FPS at Low, suggest that the CPU can process game logic and draw calls far faster than the GPU can render frames. The 28 threads allow for efficient handling of background tasks and streaming, which is beneficial for a looter shooter with online multiplayer elements. In this configuration, the CPU provides a stable foundation that allows the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rate at higher resolutions.