Outriders

# Outriders with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience across most of Outriders' settings, but the data reveals a system that shifts from CPU-bound at 1080p to increasingly GPU-bound at 4K. This combination ranks 116th out of 3,710 tested configurations, placing it in the top 3.1% of all recorded combos for this game. The measured frames per second range from a playable 56 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 283 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating that the hardware's behavior changes dramatically depending on resolution and quality preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component becomes the bottleneck. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 226 FPS at 1920x1080 to 149 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 78 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 48% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is doing most of the heavy lifting, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

At Low settings, the same trend is even more pronounced. The system produces 283 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 243 FPS at 1440p (a 14% decrease) and then to 143 FPS at 4K (a 41% decrease from 1440p). The relatively small drop between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings indicates that the CPU is saturating at these frame rates, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs. Once the resolution increases to 4K, the GPU workload grows substantially, and the frame rate falls accordingly.

Ultra settings show the steepest curve: 170 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that dips below 60 FPS, suggesting that this preset pushes the hardware to its limits. Medium settings follow a similar but less extreme pattern, with 251 FPS at 1080p, 198 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the RTX 4080, but the GPU is not being taxed heavily. Moving to 1440p begins to balance the load, while 4K clearly shifts the bottleneck to the graphics card. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM and 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for all tested resolutions, but the GPU's raw compute capabilities limit 4K performance more than memory capacity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to the table, running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, shows strong synthetic benchmark results that correlate with Outriders' CPU demands at lower resolutions. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,924 and single-core score of 4,648 indicate a processor that can handle both multi-threaded workloads and the lightly-threaded game logic that often limits FPS at 1080p.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 90 versus all processors places it in the top decile, with an average benchmark score of 48,995. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% faster), the Intel Core i5-14600K (0.8% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% faster). These close margins in synthetic tests suggest that the Core Ultra 5 245 is competitive with mid-range and upper-mid-range desktop chips from both AMD and Intel.

In Outriders specifically, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 283 FPS. That frame rate is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game, as the GPU is far from saturated at that resolution. The L3 cache of 24 MB shared and dual-channel DDR5 memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data flow for the game's asset streaming. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,394 reinforces that this CPU has strong per-core performance, which matters for a game that may not fully utilize all 14 threads.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes. The frame rate differences between 1080p and 1440p at High settings (226 to 149 FPS) are substantial, but the gap between 1440p and 4K High (149 to 78 FPS) is even larger. This suggests that once the resolution increases, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU has spare headroom. The 14-thread count is sufficient for Outriders' engine, as no measured scenario shows a CPU-induced stall below the GPU's capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, provides the graphical firepower for this combination. Its 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units deliver substantial fill rates. The pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are high enough to handle Outriders' particle effects and environmental detail at most settings, though the 4K Ultra preset proves challenging.

The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Outriders at any tested resolution, as the game's textures and geometry do not appear to exceed the VRAM capacity. The 22.4 Gbps effective memory speed and 1400 MHz memory clock ensure that data transfer is not a bottleneck at 4K.

The RTX 4080's benchmark performance shows a percentile of 86 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its nearest rivals are the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% faster), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% faster), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% faster), and AMD Radeon 8060S (2.7% faster). The extremely close margin to the RTX 4080 SUPER indicates that this GPU is performing at the expected level for its class.

In Outriders, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K. At 4K High, the system produces 78 FPS, which is 35% lower than the 1440p High result of 149 FPS. At 4K Ultra, performance drops to 56 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute resources are fully utilized. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but Outriders' Ultra preset appears to demand more than the GPU can deliver at 4K. The 320 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU indicate that this is a power-hungry card, but the measured performance reflects its capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combination across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers consistently high frame rates: 283 FPS at Low, 251 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 214 and maximum of 289), 226 FPS at High, and 170 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting shows the widest variance, with a 75 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, while other settings do not report min/max values.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but drops noticeably: 243 FPS at Low, 198 FPS at Medium (169 min, 228 max), 149 FPS at High, and 108 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting again shows the largest variance, with a 59 FPS range. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 41 FPS, a 27% reduction, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant GPU load even at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more modest: 143 FPS at Low, 104 FPS at Medium (88 min, 119 max), 78 FPS at High, and 56 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Medium result is the only configuration with reported min/max values that stays above 60 FPS, with an 88 FPS minimum. The 4K Ultra result of 56 FPS is the only measured average below 60 FPS, making it the least playable configuration in this dataset.

The progression shows that Low settings scale well across resolutions, with only a 50% drop from 1080p to 4K. Medium settings drop by 59% from 1080p to 4K, High settings drop by 65%, and Ultra settings drop by 67%. This suggests that higher quality presets are more demanding on the GPU, and the RTX 4080's performance degrades more rapidly as resolution increases when quality settings are higher.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + RTX 4080 combination ranks 116th out of 3,710 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 3.1% of all recorded systems. This rank reflects the strong performance of both components, though it is not the top-tier configuration. The CPU's 90th percentile and GPU's 86th percentile in their respective benchmark categories indicate that both parts are above average, but not the absolute best available.

The combo rank suggests that Outriders benefits from both high-core-count CPUs and high-end GPUs, but the game's engine may favor one over the other depending on resolution. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core i5-14600K, would likely produce similar results when paired with the same GPU, given their benchmark scores are within 0.8% of the Core Ultra 5 245. Similarly, the GPU's close rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, would perform nearly identically in this game.

The 116th rank out of 3,710 combos means that 115 other configurations achieve higher frame rates in Outriders. These are likely combinations with even more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4090 or newer GeForce 50-series cards, or CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, the data shows that this combo still delivers excellent playability at most settings, with only 4K Ultra falling below 60 FPS.

The gap between this combo and higher-ranked ones is likely small, as the RTX 4080's nearest rival (the RTX 4080 SUPER) is only 0.1% faster in synthetic benchmarks. This suggests that the ranking is influenced by CPU differences as much as GPU differences, and that Outriders at 1080p may be CPU-limited for many top configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the user's resolution and frame rate target. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 170 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many monitors support. High settings at 226 FPS provide additional headroom for competitive play, while Medium at 251 FPS offers even higher frame rates with only a modest visual trade-off. For most 1080p users, High settings strike the best balance between visual quality and performance, as the 56 FPS difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to be noticeable on standard 60 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 149 FPS are ideal for 144 Hz monitors, while Ultra at 108 FPS is still smooth for 100 Hz displays. Medium at 198 FPS provides extra headroom for high-refresh-rate panels, but the visual downgrade from High may not be worth the 49 FPS gain for most players. The Ultra preset at 1440p remains playable and is recommended for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. High settings at 78 FPS are playable on 60 Hz displays and provide good visual fidelity. Medium at 104 FPS is smoother and still looks good, making it the recommended preset for 4K users who want a consistent experience above 60 FPS. Low at 143 FPS is an option for competitive play at 4K, but the visual sacrifices are substantial. Ultra at 56 FPS is the only measured setting that falls below 60 FPS, and it is not recommended for most users.

The Medium preset at 4K, with its 88 FPS minimum and 119 FPS maximum, offers the best combination of smoothness and visual quality for 4K displays. For users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K monitors, Low settings at 143 FPS are the only way to approach those refresh rates, but the visual trade-off is significant.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Outriders?

A: The highest measured average is 283 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 251 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 243 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this system run Outriders at 60 FPS on 4K Ultra?

A: No, the measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 56 FPS, which is below 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K, with an 88 FPS minimum and 104 FPS average, is the recommended way to stay above 60 FPS at 4K.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48,995, which is 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600K. It is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1440p High and 4K High?

A: The 1440p High setting averages 149 FPS, while 4K High averages 78 FPS. This represents a 71 FPS reduction, or a 48% decrease, when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's benchmark performance match its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54,247, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 4080 SUPER and 1.1% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. It is 2.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and 2.7% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S.

Q: What settings provide the highest minimum FPS at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 4K reports a minimum FPS of 88, which is the only 4K setting with a reported minimum above 60 FPS. The Low and High presets at 4K do not have reported min/max values, but their averages are 143 and 78 FPS respectively.