Outriders

# Outriders Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The measured frame rates for this mobile combination reveal a system that behaves predictably across Outriders' four quality presets, with the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface emerging as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This combo ranks 1749 out of 2913 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the scaling patterns suggest the laptop GPU is capable of delivering smooth 1080p gameplay at most settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, but the magnitude of that drop tells an important story about where the bottleneck lives. At Low settings, the system produces 215 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K — a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers fall from 119 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p and 39 FPS at 4K, a 67% drop. This near-identical percentage decline across settings strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component throughout the resolution range.

The Medium preset tells a similar tale: 159 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing — a 48% reduction at Medium, 48% at High, and 48% at Low. This consistency suggests that pixel throughput, not CPU limitations or memory bandwidth quirks, is governing performance. The RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus width are the likely culprits; Outriders appears to be demanding more memory throughput than this mobile GPU can deliver as pixel count rises.

Ultra settings amplify the problem further. At 4K Ultra, the system manages just 28 FPS, which is unplayable by any standard. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 44 FPS (72 vs 28), while at 1080p that same gap is 129 FPS (215 vs 86). As resolution increases, the cost of each quality tier becomes proportionally more expensive, confirming that the GPU's raw shading capacity and memory subsystem are being saturated.

The data implies that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo in Outriders. At 1440p High, the system delivers 75 FPS, which is smooth enough for most players. Pushing to 4K at any setting above Low results in sub-60 FPS performance, and even 4K Low at 72 FPS is only marginally playable with noticeable frame time variance likely present.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience on this hardware. At 1080p, the Medium preset at 159 FPS offers an excellent balance — the minimum of 135 FPS ensures no drops below typical 144Hz refresh rates, while the average is high enough to feel responsive in combat. The High preset at 119 FPS is also viable for players with 120Hz displays, but the 40 FPS gap between Medium and High suggests diminishing returns.

For 1440p, Medium at 100 FPS is the standout choice. The minimum of 85 FPS keeps gameplay above the 60 FPS threshold, and the 15 FPS range between minimum and maximum (85-115) indicates decent frame consistency. High at 75 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced moments but may feel less fluid during intense firefights. Ultra at 54 FPS is borderline, and the lack of recorded minimums makes it risky to recommend.

At 4K, the recommendations become stark. Low at 72 FPS is the only preset that cracks 60 FPS, but the visual quality hit is significant. Medium at 52 FPS with a 45 FPS minimum will produce noticeable stutter during busy scenes. High and Ultra at 39 and 28 FPS respectively are not recommended for active play.

The best overall experience, according to the data, is 1080p Medium. The 159 FPS average with a 135 FPS minimum provides headroom for 144Hz displays while maintaining the medium-quality visual baseline that Outriders' art style can tolerate. For players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, 1440p Medium offers the best compromise, with 100 FPS average and acceptable minimums.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060's specifications align with the measured results in several meaningful ways. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Outriders, a looter shooter with dense particle effects and large enemy counts, memory bandwidth is often the first resource to deplete at higher resolutions. The steep FPS drops from 1440p to 4K — roughly halving at each preset — point directly to this 128-bit interface struggling to feed the render pipeline.

The core configuration includes 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are modest by desktop standards, which explains why Ultra settings at 4K collapse to 28 FPS. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz is healthy, but the Ada Lovelace architecture's efficiency cannot overcome the physical limits of the memory subsystem in this game.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at those resolutions. However, the 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS suggests the game may be pushing against VRAM limits or at least the bandwidth required to manage high-resolution textures. The fact that Low at 4K reaches 72 FPS while High drops to 39 FPS — a 33 FPS penalty — indicates that texture streaming and memory pressure escalate sharply with quality presets.

The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability is theoretically sufficient for 4K gaming in less demanding titles, but Outriders' combination of visual effects and the memory bottleneck curtail that potential. The passmark G3D score of 19545 places it at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, but the nearest rivals — AMD Radeon HD 7790, Radeon 780M, Radeon Pro 560, and Radeon Pro 460 — are all older or integrated parts, highlighting that the RTX 4060 is closer in real-world gaming performance to those than to high-end discrete cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 215 FPS, which is exceptional for a mobile GPU. Medium averages 159 FPS with a minimum of 135 FPS and maximum of 183 FPS, providing a 48 FPS range that indicates some scene-dependent variance. High drops to 119 FPS, a 40 FPS reduction from Medium that feels steep for the visual gains. Ultra averages 86 FPS, which is playable but represents a 33 FPS loss from High.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers show the GPU beginning to strain. Low still achieves an excellent 138 FPS, but the step to Medium brings 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and maximum of 115 FPS. This 30 FPS range suggests more pronounced frame pacing issues than at 1080p. High at 75 FPS is the first preset to fall below the 80 FPS threshold that many players consider "smooth" for fast-paced shooters. Ultra at 54 FPS is the first sub-60 result, and the lack of minimum/maximum data makes it difficult to assess consistency.

At 3840x2160, the limitations become severe. Low manages 72 FPS, which is surprising given the resolution, but Medium drops to 52 FPS with a 45 FPS minimum and 60 FPS maximum. The 15 FPS range at Medium 4K is actually tighter than at 1440p Medium, suggesting the GPU is consistently saturated rather than spiking. High falls to 39 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. The 44 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest across all resolutions, underscoring how quality settings compound the resolution penalty.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes, the data shows 119 FPS average at 1080p High, which is well above the 60 FPS target. Even Ultra at 1080p delivers 86 FPS.

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

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 72 FPS. Medium drops to 52 FPS with a 45 FPS minimum, and High/Ultra fall to 39 and 28 FPS respectively, making them impractical for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 100+ FPS?

A: At 1080p, Medium (159 FPS) and High (119 FPS) both exceed 100 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (138 FPS) and Medium (100 FPS) reach that threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be the limiting factor at 4K and high presets, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops and the consistent scaling patterns across settings.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck this GPU in Outriders?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K declines uniformly across settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H's cinebench R23 multicore score of 11875.5 suggests adequate processing headroom.

Q: Which preset offers the most consistent frame pacing?

A: Medium presets show the only recorded minimum/maximum values. At 1080p, the range is 135-183 FPS (48 FPS spread); at 1440p, it is 85-115 FPS (30 FPS spread); at 4K, it is 45-60 FPS (15 FPS spread). The tighter range at higher resolutions suggests more consistent GPU utilization.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor from the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In Outriders, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, based on the measured frame rates.

The CPU's cinebench R23 multicore score of 11875.5 and single-core score of 1700 indicate solid performance for a mobile part. Its percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs places it comfortably in the upper tier, and its nearest rivals — AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (-0.1% delta), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (-0.5% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (+0.5% delta), and Intel Core i5-13500HX (-0.6% delta) — are all capable desktop or high-end mobile processors. The fact that this mobile chip trades blows with desktop CPUs from previous generations suggests it is not the limiting factor in this setup.

The passmark multithread score of 22422 and single-thread score of 3521 further confirm the CPU's capability. In Outriders, a game that benefits from multiple cores for enemy AI and physics calculations, the 14-core configuration with 18 threads provides ample parallelism. The 18 MB L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing the frequency of memory fetches that could stall the render pipeline.

The data supports the conclusion that the CPU is not constraining performance. If it were, we would expect frame rates to plateau or vary inconsistently across resolutions. Instead, the FPS scales predictably with pixel count, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's 7 nm process node and 28 W TDP are noteworthy for a mobile part, but they do not directly impact Outriders' performance beyond ensuring the processor does not thermal throttle during extended sessions.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + RTX 4060 combination ranks 1749 out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the 40th percentile of configurations in the database. This is a modest ranking that reflects the GPU's position rather than the CPU's, given the evidence of GPU-bound performance.

The GPU itself ranks at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals in the GPU database — AMD Radeon HD 7790 (-0.2% delta), AMD Radeon 780M (+0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (+0.5% delta), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (+0.7% delta) — are a mixed bag of older discrete and newer integrated parts. This suggests the RTX 4060's raw compute is roughly on par with those, but its modern features like DLSS and ray tracing are not factors in Outriders' measured results.

The CPU's better relative standing — 81st percentile with an average benchmark score of 29093 — means the combo's ranking is dragged down by the GPU. In Outriders specifically, the 1749th rank out of 2913 combos indicates that many systems with older or lower-tier CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this combination. This is not surprising given the game's apparent sensitivity to GPU memory bandwidth and shading throughput.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are all within ±0.6%, meaning the Ultra 5 135H is effectively tied with those processors in synthetic benchmarks. Yet in Outriders, the combo's rank suggests the game does not heavily reward the CPU's extra cores or threads. Players considering this system should understand that their performance ceiling is defined by the RTX 4060, and that CPU upgrades would yield minimal gains in this particular title.

The ranking also implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it delivers the most competitive frame rates relative to the broader database. At 1440p, it becomes average, and at 4K, it falls behind many desktop configurations that pair mid-range CPUs with higher-tier GPUs. For a mobile platform, this is an expected trade-off, but it does mean that Outriders players should temper their resolution expectations.