Outriders

This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 in Outriders. The data provided offers a detailed look at how this specific combination handles the looter shooter across various resolutions and settings presets. The following breakdown interprets the benchmark results, placing them in context against the component's broader performance profiles.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Outriders?

A: The highest recorded average is 290 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested system configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 254th out of 2913 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.7% of all recorded configurations for Outriders.

Q: What is the performance difference between the lowest and highest quality presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 228 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 90 FPS. This represents a 138 FPS difference, with the Ultra preset delivering approximately 60% lower performance than Low.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark score place it closer to any particular rival?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 40377 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which scores 40318, showing a delta of just 0.1%. The closest rivals are all within a 2% range of the RTX 5070's score.

Q: What is the largest single-frame performance drop recorded in the measured data?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 shows an average of 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS. This 38 FPS drop represents the largest delta between average and minimum FPS in the dataset.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 4464P but 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, showing it sits in a tightly contested performance band.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of frame rates in Outriders, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for the game's texture streaming demands at all tested settings. The GPU's base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz are relatively modest for a 50-series card, but the architecture's efficiency is evident in the measured results.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows strong compute performance, with a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 172660. These figures place the RTX 5070 in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it sits comfortably in the upper tier of graphics hardware. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 suggests solid DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for Outriders given its modern API usage.

The relationship between VRAM capacity and settings is clear in the data. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 47, suggesting the combination of high resolution and maximum settings pushes against the 12 GB memory limit. Conversely, the Low preset at 4K achieves 119 FPS, demonstrating that when memory pressure is reduced, the GPU has ample headroom. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 74 and maximum of 100, indicating that even mid-tier settings at 4K create noticeable frame pacing variability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 254 out of 2913 tested combos for Outriders. This places the system in the top 8.7% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing. The percentile ranking suggests that the system outperforms the vast majority of tested setups while remaining below the top tier of extreme hardware configurations.

The CPU's overall percentile of 93 versus all CPUs indicates that the Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-performing processor in its own right. Its average benchmark score of 64640 places it within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 7343 and within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 9124. This competitive positioning in synthetic benchmarks translates to the game's performance, where the CPU provides enough throughput to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5070 at most settings.

The GPU's percentile of 82 versus all GPUs is slightly lower than the CPU's standing, suggesting that the graphics card is the more limiting factor in this pairing. This is consistent with the measured results, where the GPU's performance ceiling becomes apparent at higher resolutions and settings. The combination's rank of 254 indicates that while the system is strong, there are many configurations with more powerful GPUs that achieve higher frame rates in Outriders.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the optimal balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium preset offers the most compelling option. At 1920x1080, it delivers an average of 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS, providing a smooth experience well above the threshold for high refresh rate displays. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 166 FPS with a minimum of 141 FPS, which remains excellent for competitive play. The Medium preset at 4K produces an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that maintains playable frame rates without significant dips.

The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual fidelity over maximum frame rates. It achieves 197 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 65 FPS at 4K. While the 4K performance is below the 60 FPS threshold for some players, the 1440p and 1080p results are strong. The High preset at 1440p offers a substantial improvement in visual quality over Medium while maintaining an average above 120 FPS.

The Low preset provides the highest frame rates but sacrifices visual quality. It achieves 290 FPS at 1080p, 228 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. This preset is best suited for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors who prioritize frame rate above all else. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, delivers only 142 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance scaling across settings is substantial. The Low preset averages 290 FPS, Medium averages 257 FPS, High averages 197 FPS, and Ultra averages 142 FPS. The progression shows a 51% performance drop from Low to Ultra, with the largest single-step decrease occurring between High and Ultra at 55 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 219 FPS indicates consistent frame delivery, while its maximum of 296 FPS approaches the Low preset's average.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more significant scaling. Low averages 228 FPS, Medium averages 166 FPS, High averages 124 FPS, and Ultra averages 90 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra represents a 60% reduction in performance. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a tighter range with minimum 141 FPS and maximum 191 FPS, suggesting the GPU is working harder but still maintaining solid frame pacing.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low averages 119 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS, High averages 65 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which would be noticeable as stuttering or reduced smoothness. The Medium preset remains the only 4K option that consistently stays above 70 FPS, with its minimum of 74 FPS still providing acceptable gameplay. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 72 FPS, representing a 60% performance drop.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 provides substantial processing power that supports the GPU in Outriders. With 20 cores and 20 threads, the CPU offers high parallel throughput, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960. This combination of high core count and high clock speed is well-suited for modern games that can utilize multiple threads.

The CPU's benchmark results show it operates in a competitive band. Its average benchmark score of 64640 places it within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 7343 and within 0.7% of the AMD EPYC 9124. The Passmark multithread score of 49682 and single-thread score of 4689 demonstrate balanced performance across different workload types. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps maintain smooth frame delivery in Outriders' open environments.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role becomes more critical at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the CPU must feed the GPU enough data to sustain 290 FPS. The Core Ultra 7 265's strong single-thread performance ensures that the game's main thread can process game logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck. The 65W TDP suggests the CPU maintains its boost clocks without thermal throttling, which is important for sustained gaming sessions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals how the system's components interact under increasing load. At the Low preset, performance drops from 290 FPS at 1080p to 119 FPS at 4K, a 59% reduction. This scaling indicates that even at low settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for low settings at 4K, but the rendering workload increases significantly with pixel count.

The Medium preset shows more dramatic scaling, with performance dropping from 257 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 4K, a 66% reduction. The minimum FPS values also scale accordingly, from 219 at 1080p to 74 at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset at 4K is approaching the GPU's practical limit for smooth gameplay, with the minimum frame rate barely staying above 70 FPS.

The High and Ultra presets exhibit the steepest scaling curves. High drops from 197 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 4K, a 67% reduction. Ultra drops from 142 FPS at 1080p to 47 FPS at 4K, a 67% reduction. The consistent 66-67% reduction across these presets indicates that the rendering complexity scales predictably with resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K, with its average of 47 FPS, demonstrates that this combination is not suitable for maximum settings at 4K, as the GPU cannot maintain smooth frame rates under the combined load of high resolution and high quality settings.

The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU maintains sufficient headroom across all resolutions. Since the performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, the Core Ultra 7 265 is not creating a bottleneck at lower resolutions. Instead, the RTX 5070's rendering capabilities become the determining factor as resolution increases. For players targeting 1440p, the system offers excellent performance across all settings, while 4K gaming is feasible only at Low or Medium settings.