Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a highly capable Outriders experience across all tested resolutions. The data indicates that this pairing is well-balanced, with the GPU typically being the limiting factor at higher settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower settings and resolutions. The measured frame rates show a clear path to a smooth experience, with the optimal settings depending heavily on the target display resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Benchmark results for Outriders show that the High preset offers the most balanced experience for this combination of CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 197 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth and leaves significant headroom for a high-refresh-rate monitor. At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 124 FPS on average, which is still excellent for a responsive experience. Even at 3840x2160, High settings maintain an average of 65 FPS, which is playable, though not as fluid as lower presets.

The Ultra preset is demanding for this GPU. At 2560x1440, it produces an average of 90 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 124 FPS seen at High. At 3840x2160, Ultra settings yield an average of just 47 FPS, which falls below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience in a fast-paced looter shooter. For most users, the visual uplift from High to Ultra may not justify the substantial performance cost, particularly at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset provides a strong alternative for those prioritizing higher frame rates. At 1920x1080, it achieves 251 FPS on average, and at 2560x1440, it reaches 166 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: High settings provide the best compromise between visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions, while Medium is a better choice for maximizing frame rates at 1440p or above. The Low preset offers the highest frame rates, hitting 283 FPS at 1080p, but it compromises visual quality.

The choice ultimately depends on the user's display and preference. For 1080p and 1440p displays, the High preset is the recommended starting point due to its strong frame rates. For 4K displays, dropping to Medium settings, which average 87 FPS, is a more advisable route than sticking with High or Ultra, as it provides a smoother experience closer to the 60 FPS target.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The High preset is recommended for 1920x1080, delivering an average of 197 FPS. The Low preset achieves 283 FPS, and the Medium preset achieves 251 FPS, but the High preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance for most users.

Q: Can this system handle Outriders at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, it can handle 4K, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 65 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 47 FPS. The Medium preset provides a more comfortable 87 FPS average, making it the most viable option for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: Across all settings, the frame rate drops significantly. At High settings, the average FPS decreases from 197 at 1080p to 65 at 4K, a reduction of over 65%. At Low settings, the drop is from 283 FPS to 119 FPS, and at Ultra settings, from 142 FPS to 47 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The frame rate drops substantially as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU is working harder. At 1080p with Low settings, the very high frame rate of 283 FPS suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU, but the GPU's performance ceiling prevents higher frame rates at more demanding settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and Ultra presets?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 166 on Medium to 90 on Ultra. At 3840x2160, it drops from 87 FPS on Medium to 47 FPS on Ultra. This indicates a large performance cost for the highest visual settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among other tested systems for Outriders?

A: This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 364th out of 3710 tested combos for Outriders. This places it in the top 10% of all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 283 FPS and the High preset at 197 FPS. When moving to 2560x1440, there is a substantial decrease: the High preset drops from 197 FPS to 124 FPS, and the Low preset from 283 FPS to 228 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's rendering workload is scaling significantly with pixel count.

The transition to 3840x2160 shows the most dramatic impact. At 4K, the High preset falls to 65 FPS, a 47% reduction from the 1440p result. The Ultra preset is particularly affected, dropping to 47 FPS. This steep decline at 4K strongly suggests that the RTX 5070's processing capabilities are the primary constraint. The CPU, with its high core count and boost clock, appears to have sufficient headroom at these resolutions, as the frame rate is not limited by the processor's ability to prepare frames but by the GPU's ability to render them.

This scaling behavior is typical for a modern, high-performance CPU paired with a mid-range GPU. The CPU can easily handle the game's logic and draw calls at 1080p, resulting in frame rates that are not CPU-bound. As the resolution increases, the GPU's fill rate and shading units become the bottleneck, leading to the observed performance decline. The data shows that the gap between settings presets also narrows at 4K, as the GPU is overwhelmed regardless of the visual complexity, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the system at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination holds a rank of 364 out of 3710 tested combos for Outriders. This places the system in the top 10% of all configurations tested, indicating a strong overall performance level. The rank is a composite measure that reflects the system's ability to run the game across various settings and resolutions.

This high ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates. The system achieves very high performance at 1080p, with even the Ultra preset averaging 142 FPS. At 1440p, it maintains high frame rates on all but the most demanding settings, and at 4K, it remains playable on Medium and High presets. This level of performance across the board justifies its position near the top of the database.

In comparison to other combos, this pairing demonstrates that a 14-core, 14-thread CPU with a 5.10 GHz boost clock is more than sufficient for a looter shooter like Outriders. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, especially at higher resolutions. The ranking suggests that users with this CPU could potentially achieve higher frame rates by pairing it with a more powerful GPU, but the current RTX 5070 provides a well-rounded experience that is better than the vast majority of tested systems.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This processor is part of the Arrow Lake architecture and has a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In Outriders, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, which is typically not a primary bottleneck for a looter shooter, but it needs to be fast enough to keep up with the GPU.

The benchmark data shows that this CPU is highly capable of supporting the RTX 5070. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 283 FPS, a frame rate that suggests the CPU is not limiting performance. The single-threaded performance is strong, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, which is crucial for games that rely on a few fast cores. The multi-core score of 32924 in the same test shows that the CPU also has ample throughput for any background tasks.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is noteworthy. It has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. This puts it in a competitive position. For Outriders, the data indicates that the CPU provides a solid foundation, allowing the GPU to be the main factor in determining frame rates. The high frame rates at lower resolutions are proof of the CPU's ability to process frames quickly and efficiently.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high across all presets. The Low preset averages 283 FPS, the Medium preset averages 251 FPS with a minimum of 214 and a maximum of 289 FPS, the High preset averages 197 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 142 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease but remain very playable. The Low preset averages 228 FPS, the Medium preset averages 166 FPS with a minimum of 141 and a maximum of 191 FPS, the High preset averages 124 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to an average of 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more constrained, reflecting the GPU's workload. The Low preset averages 119 FPS, the Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100 FPS, the High preset averages 65 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS. The data shows a consistent step-down in performance as both resolution and settings increase, with the Medium preset being the only one at 4K that provides a smooth experience above 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. It has a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. In Outriders, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

The data clearly shows the GPU's impact. At 1080p, the GPU is capable of producing very high frame rates, even at Ultra settings (142 FPS). However, as the resolution increases to 1440p and then to 4K, the frame rates drop significantly. This is a direct result of the GPU's rendering workload increasing with the number of pixels. The drop from 197 FPS at 1080p High to 65 FPS at 4K High highlights the GPU's limitations at the highest resolution.

The GPU's performance is also reflected in its benchmark scores. It has a Passmark G3D score of 29137, which is 2% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile and 0.1% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 580. This places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 5070's 48 RT cores and 192 Tensor cores provide advanced features, but for Outriders, the rasterization performance is the key factor. The data indicates that while the GPU is powerful enough for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, it is the component that prevents the system from achieving a consistent 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings.