Outriders

# Outriders Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 5 135H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H mobile processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 discrete GPU delivers a fascinating performance profile in Outriders, with measured frame rates ranging from 40 FPS at 4K Ultra to 215 FPS at 1080p Low. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but transitions to a more balanced workload as resolution drops, making it a versatile but nuanced pairing for this looter shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across the three tested resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as pixel count increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly depending on the quality preset. Starting with the High preset, the system delivers 169 FPS at 1080p, drops to 107 FPS at 1440p, and falls further to 56 FPS at 4K. That represents a 36.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 47.7% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is steep but consistent, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at every step.

The Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p, the system achieves 215 FPS, which drops to 184 FPS at 1440p (a 14.4% decrease) and then to 102 FPS at 4K (a 44.6% decrease from 1440p). The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames at lower resolutions, but the massive 4K drop reveals where the GPU's raw throughput becomes the bottleneck. This is classic behavior for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range mobile processor.

Medium settings show a similar trend but with more moderate absolute numbers: 191 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 25.7%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 47.9%. Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across the board: 122 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and just 40 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p reduction is 36.9%, and the 1440p to 4K reduction is 48.1%. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS is barely playable for a fast-paced looter shooter, marking the practical ceiling of this configuration.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is doing substantial work, since frame rates exceed 200 FPS on Low and approach 200 FPS on Medium. At 4K, however, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as even the jump from Low to Medium costs 28 FPS and from Medium to High costs another 18 FPS. This resolution scaling analysis suggests that for 4K gaming, users should expect to stay within Low or Medium presets to maintain playable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it features a substantial 18 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 cache per core. This processor sits at the 81st percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 29093. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123 average score, 0.1% lower), the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245, 0.5% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, 0.5% higher), and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, 0.6% lower). These comparisons place the Ultra 5 135H in a competitive position, essentially matching desktop processors from a previous generation in synthetic workloads.

In Outriders, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining frame rates at 1080p. The measured 215 FPS on Low settings indicates that the processor can handle the game's physics, AI, and game logic without becoming a severe bottleneck at this resolution. The 14-core configuration with 18 threads provides ample parallelism for a modern game engine, and the 4.60 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance. However, the data also shows that at 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 184 FPS—a smaller relative decline than the 4K drop—suggesting that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully to overall performance at this resolution.

Synthetic benchmarks reinforce this processor's capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and single-core score of 1700 demonstrate balanced performance, while the PassMark multi-thread score of 22422 and single-thread score of 3521 indicate strong throughput in both heavily threaded and lightly threaded scenarios. The PassMark physics score of 1482 is particularly relevant for game performance, as physics calculations often stress CPUs heavily. These numbers suggest that the Ultra 5 135H is more than capable of driving high frame rates in Outriders, but the game's GPU demands at higher resolutions mean the CPU's potential headroom is only fully realized at 1080p.

The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, delivered via dual-channel DDR5, provides adequate data throughput for feeding the GPU. The 18 MB L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency. The combination of 14 cores, high boost clocks, and a large cache makes this processor well-suited for a game like Outriders, which features dense environments and numerous enemies that require consistent CPU attention.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Outriders experience with this hardware. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 191 FPS with a minimum of 162 FPS and a maximum of 220 FPS, which provides a smooth and responsive experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 169 FPS is also viable, but the 22 FPS gain from dropping to Medium comes with only a modest visual compromise. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS is still playable, but the 69 FPS difference between Ultra and Medium makes Medium the sweet spot for competitive play at 1080p. The Low preset at 215 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize maximum frame rates over visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance. The measured 142 FPS average, with a minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 164 FPS, keeps the experience well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining solid visual quality. The High preset at 107 FPS is acceptable for single-player exploration, but the 35 FPS drop from Medium makes it less ideal for fast-paced combat scenarios. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is borderline, dipping below the 80 FPS mark but remaining playable. The Low preset at 184 FPS is excessive for most players, as the visual degradation is not worth the frame rate gain over Medium.

For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 102 FPS is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience, though it sacrifices significant visual detail. The Medium preset at 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS, hovers near the edge of what most players would consider playable for a looter shooter, but the occasional dips below 70 FPS could impact gameplay feel. The High preset at 56 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are below the threshold for smooth gameplay, making them poor choices even for visually focused players. Based on the data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, balancing frame rate stability with visual quality across the measured configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting combination for this system in Outriders?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best balance, delivering 142 FPS average with a minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 164 FPS. This keeps the experience smooth while maintaining good visual quality.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Low, the system achieves 102 FPS, which is playable. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS, which is borderline. High and Ultra presets at 4K produce 56 FPS and 40 FPS respectively, which are below the smooth gameplay threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H scores 29093 on average, placing it 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123), 0.5% below the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245), 0.5% above the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940), and 0.6% below the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 215 FPS while Ultra achieves 122 FPS, a difference of 93 FPS. The Medium preset at 191 FPS and High at 169 FPS fall between these extremes, with the Medium preset offering the best balance of performance and visual quality.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops significantly from 1440p to 4K across all settings, with reductions between 44.6% and 48.1%, while the CPU's performance at lower resolutions suggests it has headroom remaining.

Q: How does this combination rank among all tested combos in Outriders?

A: This combination ranks 844th out of 2913 tested combinations, placing it in the upper 29% of all configurations tested for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end desktop GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units provide substantial raw compute power, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. The 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores enable advanced rendering features, though Outriders does not heavily utilize ray tracing. The GPU sits at the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (54209, 0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, 1.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, 2.6% lower), and the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757, 2.7% lower). These comparisons show the RTX 4080 performing essentially identically to the 4080 SUPER and slightly above several competing AMD options.

In Outriders, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates at 4K show a clear GPU bottleneck: Low settings produce 102 FPS, but increasing to Medium drops the average to 74 FPS, High to 56 FPS, and Ultra to 40 FPS. This 60.8% performance reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K highlights the GPU's struggle with the game's higher-fidelity settings at this resolution. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Outriders at any setting, as the game does not require massive memory allocations, so the limiting factor is raw compute throughput and memory bandwidth.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s provides ample data transfer capability for the game's textures and geometry. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s indicate strong fill-rate capabilities, but the frame rate data shows that Outriders' rendering demands at 4K Ultra exceed what this GPU can deliver at 60 FPS. At 1440p, the RTX 4080 performs much more convincingly, with Low at 184 FPS and Medium at 142 FPS, demonstrating that this resolution is the GPU's comfort zone for high-refresh-rate gaming. At 1080p, the GPU has headroom to spare, with 215 FPS on Low, suggesting that the CPU becomes the limiting factor at this resolution.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 and PassMark G3D score of 34457 provide additional context for its performance capabilities. The PassMark DirectX 12 score of 132 and DirectX 11 score of 314 are less relevant to Outriders specifically, but they show the GPU's versatility across different API workloads. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779 indicates strong performance in Vulkan-based titles, though Outriders primarily uses DirectX 12.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for this combination reveals a performance envelope that spans from 40 FPS to 215 FPS depending on the resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 215 FPS average, Medium achieves 191 FPS with a minimum of 162 FPS and maximum of 220 FPS, High achieves 169 FPS, and Ultra achieves 122 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 162 FPS ensures that even demanding scenes maintain high frame rates, making it the most consistent option at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 184 FPS, Medium delivers 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and maximum of 164 FPS, High delivers 107 FPS, and Ultra delivers 77 FPS. The Medium preset here offers a minimum above 120 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz displays. The High preset's 107 FPS is still smooth on 100Hz+ monitors, but the Ultra preset's 77 FPS drops below the 80 FPS threshold that many players find acceptable for fast-paced action.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 102 FPS, Medium achieves 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 86 FPS, High achieves 56 FPS, and Ultra achieves 40 FPS. The Low preset is the only option that stays above 100 FPS, while Medium hovers near the 60-75 FPS range that is minimally acceptable for the genre. The High and Ultra presets at 4K produce frame rates below 60 FPS, making them unsuitable for competitive play. The Medium preset's minimum of 63 FPS means there will be occasional dips below 60 FPS in heavy scenes, but the overall experience remains borderline playable.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 844th out of 2913 tested combinations for Outriders, placing it in the top 29% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, where it delivers high frame rates, but also accounts for its limitations at 4K Ultra settings. The rank suggests that while this is a capable gaming system, there are many other combinations that outperform it, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or more powerful GPUs.

The CPU's 81st percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate that both components are above average, but neither is at the very top of the performance hierarchy. The combination's 844th rank in Outriders specifically suggests that the game's performance profile is more demanding on the GPU than the CPU, since the GPU's higher percentile ranking does not translate into a proportionally better in-game ranking. The data implies that players using this combination should focus on optimizing settings to achieve their target frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

The fact that the RTX 4080 performs within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER in synthetic benchmarks suggests that the non-SUPER variant is nearly as capable, but the system's overall ranking in Outriders is likely constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions and the GPU at higher resolutions. This makes the combination a well-rounded but not exceptional performer, suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K gaming limited to lower presets.