Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 pairs 20 cores with 20 threads, a combination that relies on a high boost clock of 5.30 GHz to drive single-threaded performance. This architecture, built on Arrow Lake-S, shows a substantial gap between its base clock of 2.40 GHz and its maximum boost, which is critical for a game like Outriders that responds to per-core throughput. In CPU-centric benchmarks, the chip’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 demonstrates strong parallel capability, but the single-core score of 5960 is what often dictates frame pacing in looter shooters, where enemy AI and physics calculations can create bottlenecks. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency that could otherwise impact frame times. The Core Ultra 7 265 sits in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, placing it above the vast majority of tested processors, but its nearest rivals show how tight the competition is at this tier; the AMD EPYC 4464P scores marginally higher with a delta of -0.3%, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F is nearly identical with a delta of 0.3%. This data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in Outriders, as its multi-threaded headroom and strong single-core performance are more than sufficient to feed a high-end GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for high-resolution textures in Outriders. The GPU’s boost clock of 2505 MHz, paired with 9728 shading units, allows it to process the game’s particle effects and lighting without stuttering. In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 and ranks in the 86th percentile against all GPUs, indicating strong rasterization performance. Its nearest rivals highlight the subtle performance deltas at this level: the RTX 4080 SUPER is essentially tied with a delta of 0.1%, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by -1.1%. The 4080’s 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are underutilized in Outriders, which does not heavily rely on ray tracing, but the raw FP32 throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS ensures that the game’s screen-space effects and post-processing are handled with ease. Because the GPU is so capable, the measured frames per second are likely to be constrained by the game engine’s draw calls or the CPU’s ability to issue them, rather than by the graphics card’s raw compute power.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 94 out of 3710 tested combinations in Outriders. This places the pairing in the top 2.5% of all configurations, which is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU’s 93rd percentile and the GPU’s 86th percentile. The data suggests that the combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, but the rank also indicates that there is a small group of higher-performing pairings, likely featuring even more powerful CPUs or GPUs such as the RTX 4080 SUPER, which shows a 0.1% improvement in GPU benchmarks. The high rank is not surprising given that the RTX 4080’s 16 GB VRAM prevents memory-related drops, while the CPU’s 20 cores provide headroom for background tasks and game logic. However, the rank of 94 also implies diminishing returns; the gap between this combo and the top-ranked ones is likely small in percentage terms, as the benchmark deltas among the nearest CPU rivals are all within 1%. This combination is a high-end pairing that should deliver consistent performance without being the absolute fastest, but it is clearly optimized for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and playable 4K, as the measured data confirms.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates, with the Low preset achieving an average of 290 FPS, Medium reaching 257 FPS, and High hitting 232 FPS. The Ultra preset, which likely enables the most demanding effects, still manages an average of 170 FPS, but this is a significant drop from the Low setting, showing a 41% reduction in average frame rate. At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds: Low averages 248 FPS, Medium 198 FPS, High 149 FPS, and Ultra falls to 108 FPS. The 1440p High result of 149 FPS is notable because it is nearly identical to the 4K Low result, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to become the primary constraint at this resolution. At 3840x2160, the frame rates scale down as expected: Low averages 143 FPS, Medium 104 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Ultra drops to 56 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K provides a minimum FPS of 88 and a maximum of 119, indicating that the frame pacing is stable, but the Ultra preset’s 56 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players target. The data shows that the combo is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K Ultra is the only setting that pushes the system to its limits, with the 4K High setting at 78 FPS being a more reasonable choice for a 60 Hz display.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 290, which drops to 248 at 1440p (a 14% reduction) and then to 143 at 4K (a 42% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions. For the Ultra preset, the 1080p average of 170 FPS drops to 108 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 56 FPS at 4K (a 48% reduction from 1440p). This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 4080’s compute units are saturated by the increasing pixel count. Conversely, at 1080p, the difference between Low (290 FPS) and Ultra (170 FPS) is only 41%, which suggests that the CPU can handle the extra draw calls, but the GPU’s shading workload is what limits performance. The data indicates that for competitive play, 1080p Low or Medium settings are optimal, as they exceed 250 FPS, while 4K Ultra is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, given the 56 FPS average.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for playing Outriders with this combo?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, as the High preset averages 149 FPS Here, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many monitors, while 4K High averages 78 FPS, which is still smooth but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS, which is a 28% drop from the High preset’s 78 FPS. The Ultra preset is likely enabling additional effects that heavily tax the GPU, making High the better choice for a stable 60 FPS experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting in this configuration?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate drops by 42% from 1440p to 4K, while the CPU’s 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide sufficient performance at lower resolutions where the GPU is not saturated.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 has a minimum FPS of 88, while at 2560x1440 it is 169, and at 1920x1080 it is 219. These minimums indicate that the frame pacing remains stable even under load.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% faster in the average benchmark score, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% slower. These deltas are minimal, suggesting that the RTX 4080 is competitively positioned.

Q: What is the performance percentile of the CPU?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640, placing it just below the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3%.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers an average of 290 FPS, which is ideal for fast-paced combat, but the Medium preset at 257 FPS offers a better balance between visual quality and speed, with a minimum FPS of 219 ensuring no noticeable stutter. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 149 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (198 FPS) while still maintaining frame times that are smooth on 144 Hz displays. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 78 FPS is the best experience, as the Ultra preset’s 56 FPS average is too close to the 60 FPS threshold, and the Medium preset at 104 FPS does not offer enough visual improvement over High to justify the reduced frame rate. The data shows that the Ultra preset is only viable at 1920x1080 (170 FPS), where the GPU has enough headroom to handle the extra effects, but at higher resolutions, it should be avoided due to the significant performance penalty. Overall, the optimal settings are High at 2560x1440 for competitive play, and High at 3840x2160 for visual fidelity, as both configurations keep the average FPS above the 60 FPS mark while utilizing the RTX 4080’s full capabilities.