Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but uneven experience in Outriders, with frame rates that depend heavily on resolution and preset. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial headroom becomes apparent only at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance curve that clearly identifies the RTX 2060 as the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 103 FPS at 1920x1080 to 65 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 38 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 yields just 34 FPS, representing a 67% decline from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior—the load on the graphics card increases geometrically with pixel count, and the 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory interface of the RTX 2060 struggle to keep pace.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 189 FPS, which drops to 119 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 62 FPS at 3840x2160. Even at Low, the 4K result is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the GPU’s raw throughput—6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance—is the bottleneck. The Medium preset shows the same trend: 137 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K.

Ultra settings exacerbate the issue. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields only 24 FPS, which is effectively unplayable. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is 21 FPS (45 vs. 24), indicating that the highest preset imposes a significant additional load on the GPU’s shading units, ROPs, and memory subsystem. The data suggests that resolution scaling is consistent across all presets, but the starting point at 1080p determines whether the final 4K result remains within playable bounds.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Outriders, this pairing holds the 2257th position out of 2913 total combos. That places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is expected given the GPU’s age—the RTX 2060 was released in early 2019 and is now end-of-life. The percentile data for the GPU alone shows it outperforms 58% of all tested graphics cards, but in the context of this specific game, the combination’s rank indicates that most other pairings deliver higher average frame rates.

The CPU component, by contrast, ranks in the 96th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 93,785. This disparity between CPU and GPU standing is the crux of the combo’s performance profile. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a 5.50 GHz boost clock, and its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are server-class chips like the Intel Xeon 6520P (deltaPct 0) and AMD EPYC 4564P (deltaPct -1.5). The GPU, meanwhile, sits near the RTX 3050 OEM (deltaPct 0.6) and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (deltaPct 0.8) in average scores.

This combination’s rank of 2257 out of 2913 suggests that while the CPU is overqualified for the task, the GPU holds the combo back. The data implies that swapping in a more powerful graphics card would dramatically improve the ranking, whereas upgrading the CPU would yield diminishing returns in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process. Its base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz are modest by modern standards, but the card’s real limitation in Outriders is its memory configuration. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is insufficient for 4K Ultra textures and effects.

The measured FPS data correlates directly with these specifications. At 1920x1080 Medium, the card produces 137 FPS, which drops to 87 FPS at 2560x1440 and 45 FPS at 3840x2160. The Medium preset’s min and max FPS values—38/52 at 4K, 74/99 at 1440p, and 117/158 at 1080p—show that the GPU maintains reasonably stable frame pacing when not overburdened. The RTX 2060’s 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s, which explains why 4K is so demanding.

The card’s 58th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15,290, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 580, scores nearly identically (15,283, deltaPct 0), which highlights how far GPU architecture has advanced—the RTX 2060 achieves this score with DirectX 12 Ultimate support and ray tracing cores, features the GTX 580 lacks. In Outriders, the GPU’s 12.90 TFLOPS of FP16 performance and 30 RT cores are largely irrelevant, as the game’s heavy load falls on the traditional rasterization pipeline.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 103 FPS, which is smooth for most displays, while Medium achieves 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS—a better choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 74 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 30% reduction from High for marginal visual gains. Low at 1080p hits 189 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 65 FPS, which is playable but near the edge of comfort for fast-paced action. Medium at 1440p offers 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, making it the recommended sweet spot—it provides a 22 FPS improvement over High while maintaining frame stability. Ultra at 1440p drops to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for most gamers. Low at 1440p reaches 119 FPS, but the visual downgrade is severe.

For 3840x2160, no preset achieves a truly smooth experience. Medium produces 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS, which is borderline playable for slow-paced moments but will stutter in combat. High drops to 34 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS. Low at 4K hits 62 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS, but it requires sacrificing nearly all visual fidelity. The data suggests that 4K is not viable for this combo beyond Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of presets shows a wide performance spread. Low averages 189 FPS, Medium 137 FPS (min 117, max 158), High 103 FPS, and Ultra 74 FPS. The 115 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the GPU’s sensitivity to settings complexity, with the Medium preset offering the best balance of frame rate and stability.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 119 FPS, Medium 87 FPS (min 74, max 99), High 65 FPS, and Ultra 47 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 74 FPS ensures consistent gameplay, while High’s 65 FPS average leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra’s 47 FPS is below the playable threshold for most users.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 62 FPS, Medium 45 FPS (min 38, max 52), High 34 FPS, and Ultra 24 FPS. The Medium preset’s min of 38 FPS indicates significant frame drops during intense action, making even this mid-tier setting risky for competitive play. The 4K results confirm that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the pixel count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a formidable processor that is vastly underutilized in this configuration. Its 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, provide enormous compute headroom. Synthetic benchmarks reflect this: the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44,253 and single-core score of 2,439 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The Passmark multithread score of 68,574 and single-thread score of 5,068 reinforce its position as a top-tier desktop chip.

In Outriders, the CPU’s role is minimal at higher resolutions, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The fact that frame rates scale so dramatically with resolution—from 189 FPS at 1080p Low to 62 FPS at 4K Low—indicates that the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower pixel counts. The processor’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5 dual-channel) ensure that data delivery is never a constraint.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are server processors like the AMD EPYC 4564P (deltaPct -1.5) and EPYC 9175F (deltaPct -1.9), which have different core configurations and TDP profiles. The Ultra 7 270K Plus has a 125 W TDP, which is modest for its core count, and its 3 nm TSMC process node (with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die) contributes to its efficiency. However, in this game, the CPU’s performance headroom is irrelevant—the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor in nearly every scenario.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At Medium settings, the combo achieves 137 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS, while High settings deliver 103 FPS. At 2560x1440, even the Medium preset drops to 87 FPS, and 4K performance is below 62 FPS at all presets.

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

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 62 FPS. Medium drops to 45 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS. The 4K results are consistently below the 60 FPS target for all presets except Low, making 4K a marginal experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the GPU in this pairing?

A: The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 93,785, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile with a score of 15,290. The CPU’s 24 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock vastly exceed the requirements of Outriders, whereas the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors.

Q: What preset should I use at 1440p for the smoothest experience?

A: Medium is the best choice, averaging 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS. High averages 65 FPS, which is playable but has less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra falls to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at 1080p?

A: Ultra at 1080p averages 74 FPS, which is 29 FPS slower than Medium (103 FPS at High, 137 FPS at Medium). The visual improvement from High to Ultra is minimal compared to the 28% frame rate penalty, making High or Medium the better choice.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2257th out of 2913 combos in the Outriders database. The GPU’s 58th percentile standing drags the overall rank down, while the CPU’s 96th percentile performance is not reflected in gaming results due to the GPU bottleneck.