Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable combination for Outriders, placing this specific test system in the 529th position out of 2913 tested combos. That puts it comfortably inside the top 20 percent of all configurations tested for this title, a strong showing for a mobile CPU paired with a flagship desktop GPU. The data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU holds its own at 1080p, where frame rates stretch well past the 200 FPS mark in lighter settings. This is a combo that delivers high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1440p and remains playable at 4K, but with some notable caveats at the most demanding presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 529 out of 2913 tested combinations places this system in the 82nd percentile of all tested hardware pairings for Outriders. This is a strong result, though it is worth remembering the ranking does not mean this is a top-tier system; rather, it reflects the reality of a high-end GPU being paired with a mobile-class CPU. The top of the ranking is occupied by combos that pair the RTX 5090 with desktop-class processors, which can sustain higher minimum frame rates and feed the GPU more consistently at lower resolutions. The 185H, while a competent 16-core processor, is still a 45-watt mobile part, and its performance ceiling is lower than that of a high-end desktop chip.

The data shows that this combo is not bottlenecked in a way that ruins the experience, but the CPU does cap the system's potential in certain scenarios. At 1080p with Low settings, the average frame rate is 227 FPS. This is high, but it is likely lower than what the RTX 5090 could achieve with a stronger desktop CPU, as the GPU is not being fully utilized at such a low resolution and settings level. The ranking of 529 out of 2913 suggests that while the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, the CPU is not holding it back to the point of severe underperformance. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked ones is likely most pronounced at 1080p, where the CPU becomes the limiting factor. At 4K, the ranking would be much higher, as the GPU is fully saturated and the CPU difference matters less. The benchmark results indicate a system that is well-balanced for a laptop, but not one that will top the charts against desktop rigs.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670. Its closest competitor, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, a delta of -0.1%. The Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35802, a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909, a delta of -0.7%. The data shows the 185H is essentially on par with these rivals, all within a single percentage point of each other. This means the CPU's overall compute capability is not a differentiator in this market segment. For Outriders specifically, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant than its multi-thread score, and the benchmark results show a Geekbench single-core score of 1794, which is solid for a mobile part. The GPU, on the other hand, is in a different league. Its average benchmark score of 79842 places it far above its nearest rivals, with a delta of +0.3% over the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and +1.1% over the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. This is a GPU that dominates in raw compute, and the measured FPS in Outriders reflects that.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the undisputed star of this combo, and its role in Outriders is to provide massive raw rasterization performance. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This is a critical specification for a game like Outriders, which loads large environments and many texture assets. The 32 GB frame buffer is more than enough to handle the game's highest resolution and texture settings without any risk of running out of memory. The GPU also has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, which are high clocks for a card of this size. The boost clock is what matters for sustained gaming performance, and the data shows it is able to maintain high frame rates across all tested settings.

The GPU's architecture is Blackwell 2.0, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. This is a massive chip with 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. In practical terms, this translates to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS is staggering and provides ample headroom for the game's particle effects and lighting calculations. In Outriders, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 64. At Medium settings, it rises to 85 FPS, and at Low, it jumps to 117 FPS. The jump from Medium to Low is a 32 FPS increase, showing that the GPU is the main bottleneck at this resolution. The Ultra preset, however, drops the average to 46 FPS, which is a significant hit.

The GPU's role at 1440p is to push frame rates high enough for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average is 122 FPS. Medium settings yield 163 FPS, and Low settings yield 195 FPS. These are excellent numbers for a 1440p monitor with a 144Hz or 165Hz refresh rate. The Ultra preset drops to 88 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for competitive play. The GPU's memory bandwidth is also crucial at this resolution, as the game's textures are large and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures no stuttering. At 1080p, the GPU is almost overkill. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 227, and even at Ultra, it maintains 140 FPS. The GPU is so fast at this resolution that the CPU becomes the limiting factor, preventing the system from achieving frame rates that would truly showcase the GPU's power.

The benchmark results also show the GPU's percentile ranking is 92, meaning it outperforms 92% of all GPUs in the database. This is a top-tier part, and its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are not even consumer gaming cards but rather professional compute products like the NVIDIA Tesla P100. The data clearly shows that the RTX 5090 is a generation ahead of its direct predecessors in terms of raw compute, and in Outriders, this translates to high frame rates at 1440p and playable frame rates at 4K, provided the settings are managed appropriately.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has a more nuanced role in this combo. It is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz, and its boost clock is 5.10 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and a dual-channel memory bus that supports DDR5, providing a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. For Outriders, which is not a heavily threaded game, the CPU's single-thread performance is what matters most. The Geekbench single-core score of 1794 is solid, and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1810.5 confirms this. The CPU can handle the game's game logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck at most settings.

However, the data shows that the CPU’s performance ceiling becomes apparent at 1080p with Low settings. The average FPS at 1920x1080 Low is 227. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 202 FPS, and at High, it drops to 181 FPS. These are all high numbers, but the scaling from Low to Medium is a 25 FPS drop, while the scaling from Medium to High is a 21 FPS drop. This suggests that the GPU is still the primary driver of performance even at 1080p, as the CPU is able to feed it enough frames. The real test is the Ultra preset, where the average FPS drops to 140. This is a significant drop from High, and it indicates that the Ultra preset is taxing the GPU more heavily, rather than the CPU being the limiting factor. The CPU's role is to ensure that it does not bottleneck the GPU, and the data suggests it does not, at least not severely. At 4K, the CPU has even less impact, as the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The average FPS at 4K High is 64, and at 4K Low, it is 117. The CPU is not holding the system back at these resolutions.

The CPU's multi-thread performance is less relevant for Outriders, but it is worth remembering its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17984.5 is respectable for a mobile part. The Passmark multithread score of 29376 and the Geekbench multicore score of 11657 place it in the upper echelon of mobile processors. The CPU's percentile ranking is 85, meaning it outperforms 85% of all CPUs. This is a strong result, but it is not a top-tier CPU like a desktop Core i9 or Ryzen 9. The nearest rivals, as shown in the benchmark data, are all within a 1% delta of the 185H, indicating that there is little to differentiate it from its immediate competitors. For Outriders, the CPU's job is to maintain a stable frame pacing and avoid stutters, and the benchmark results suggest it does this well. The average FPS numbers are consistent across all settings, and the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 171, which is a good indicator of stable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. Starting at 4K, the highest resolution tested, the system manages an average of 64 FPS at High settings. This is a playable frame rate for a single-player looter shooter, but it is not ideal for a game that requires precise aiming. At Medium settings, the average rises to 85 FPS, which is a more comfortable level. The minimum FPS at Medium is 72, and the maximum is 98, showing a range of 26 FPS. This is a relatively stable experience. At Low settings, the average jumps to 117 FPS, which is a significant improvement and shows that the GPU has more headroom when the graphical load is reduced. The Ultra preset, however, brings the average down to 46 FPS, which is a substantial drop and suggests that the Ultra preset is extremely demanding on the GPU's resources.

Moving to 1440p, the system performs much better. At High settings, the average is 122 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz monitor. At Medium settings, the average is 163 FPS, and the minimum is 139, with a maximum of 188. This is a very stable and smooth experience. At Low settings, the average is 195 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields an average of 88 FPS, which is still playable but requires a monitor with a high refresh rate to make the most of it. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: dropping from High to Medium gives a 41 FPS increase, and dropping from Medium to Low gives a 32 FPS increase. This indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p, as the frame rate scales directly with the graphical load.

At 1080p, the system is at its strongest. At High settings, the average is 181 FPS. At Medium settings, the average is 202 FPS, with a minimum of 171 and a maximum of 232. This is a very smooth experience. At Low settings, the average is 227 FPS, which is near the top of what any monitor can display. The Ultra preset yields an average of 140 FPS, which is still high. The scaling from High to Ultra is a 41 FPS drop, which is the largest single-setting drop at this resolution. This suggests that the Ultra preset has a significant impact on the GPU's workload, even at 1080p. The data also shows that the CPU is not a major bottleneck at 1080p, as the frame rates are consistently high across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling shows how the system’s performance degrades as the resolution increases, and it reveals which component is the limiting factor. From 1080p High to 1440p High, the average FPS drops from 181 to 122, a 59 FPS decrease, or about 33%. From 1440p High to 4K High, the average drops from 122 to 64, a 58 FPS decrease, or about 48%. This is a much steeper drop, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated at 4K. The data shows a similar pattern at other settings. At Low, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32 FPS (from 227 to 195), and the drop from 1440p to 4K is 78 FPS (from 195 to 117). The drop from 1440p to 4K is much larger, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less steep, suggesting that the CPU is still able to feed the GPU effectively at 1440p. However, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is where the GPU's limitations become apparent. The RTX 5090 is a powerful card, but 4K is an extremely demanding resolution, and the data shows that even this flagship GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K with the Ultra preset. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU is more relevant, but the data shows that it is not a severe bottleneck, as the frame rates are still high. The resolution scaling indicates that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates at most settings, and that 4K is possible but requires a compromise in settings to achieve a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides clear guidance on which settings to use for the best experience. At 4K, the High preset with an average FPS of 64 is the most balanced option. It provides a playable frame rate with good visual quality. The Medium preset at 85 FPS is a better choice if you prefer a smoother experience, but the visual difference between High and Medium may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 46 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as the frame rate is too low for consistent gameplay. The Low preset at 117 FPS is an option if you prioritize performance over visuals, but it will make the game look significantly worse.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 163 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a high frame rate that is suitable for a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, and the visual quality is still good. The High preset at 122 FPS is also a solid choice, especially if you have a 120Hz monitor. The Ultra preset at 88 FPS is playable, but it is not ideal for fast-paced combat. The Low preset at 195 FPS is the best choice for competitive play, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. For most players, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of performance and quality. At 1080p, the system is so fast that any preset is viable. The High preset at 181 FPS is a great choice for a 144Hz monitor, and the Ultra preset at 140 FPS is also excellent. The Low preset at 227 FPS is overkill for any monitor, but it is there if you want the absolute highest frame rate. Given the data, the recommended settings are 1440p Medium for a high-refresh-rate experience, and 4K High for a visual showcase, with the understanding that the latter will not hit the frame rates of the former. The Ultra preset is best reserved for 1080p, where the system can still maintain a high frame rate.