Outriders

The pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in Outriders presents a study in contrasts. The CPU is a 24-core, 24-thread Arrow Lake Refresh part with a 5.80 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is a 6 GB Turing-era card that launched in 2019. Benchmark results indicate that this combination lands in the 2257th position out of 2913 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower half of the field. This rank is not a measure of raw component quality, but rather a reflection of how these two specific pieces of hardware interact with the demands of Outriders, a looter shooter that appears to scale significantly with graphical settings and resolution.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-end desktop processor built on a 3 nm process. It features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This is a significant amount of compute power, reflected in its strong synthetic benchmarks: it scores 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 and multithread score of 60,860 further confirm its top-tier status, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested. The CPU's L3 cache is 36 MB shared, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus offering 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth. With a TDP of 125W, it is a power-hungry part, but the data suggests its performance ceiling is exceptionally high.

However, in the context of Outriders, the CPU's role is less about raw throughput and more about feeding frames to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, where the GPU load is minimal, the average frame rate is 189 FPS. This is a very high number, suggesting that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic and draw calls at this level. The fact that the CPU sits in the 96th percentile against all other CPUs, while the combo itself ranks in the lower half, reinforces the idea that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has an average benchmark score of 83,807, a mere 0.2% higher, showing that this chip is at the very top of its class. The bottleneck in Outriders will almost certainly be the GPU, as the CPU's immense headroom is left largely unused in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the RTX 2060 ranks 2257th out of 2913 tested combinations in Outriders. This places it in the 22nd percentile, meaning roughly 77% of tested system pairings deliver higher average frame rates. This is a surprisingly low rank for a CPU with a 96th percentile standing, and it underscores a critical point: the ranking is a measure of the entire system's performance in a specific game, not just the CPU's capability. The data implies that this particular CPU is being held back dramatically by the GPU it is paired with. A top-tier CPU cannot compensate for a mid-range GPU that struggles with the game's graphical load.

The rank becomes more telling when you consider the GPU's own standing. The RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, a solidly mid-range position. The combination of a top-4% CPU and a mid-50s-percentile GPU results in a system that performs in the bottom 23% of tested combos for this game. This suggests that Outriders is heavily GPU-bound, and the system's overall performance is dictated by the graphics card. The data indicates that the pairing is inefficient for this workload; the CPU's potential is wasted, and the GPU is the clear limiting factor. This is a classic case of a mismatch, where upgrading the GPU would yield far greater performance gains than any CPU upgrade.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 189 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 119 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 62 FPS, a 67% decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep drop-off is a strong indicator that the GPU is being overwhelmed as pixel count rises. The CPU is not the cause; a CPU bottleneck would show less variation across resolutions, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU's pixel-pushing duties increase.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 103 at 1080p, to 65 at 1440p, and finally to 34 at 4K. The scaling is consistent, with the 4K figure being approximately one-third of the 1080p figure. This linear relationship between resolution and frame rate is a textbook example of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU has ample headroom to process the game's data, but the RTX 2060 cannot render the frames fast enough. The data strongly suggests that to improve performance in Outriders, the focus should be entirely on the graphics card. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not the bottleneck; it is waiting for the GPU to deliver frames.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 189. Medium settings produce an average of 137 FPS, with a minimum of 117 and a maximum of 158. High settings yield an average of 103 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, bringing the average down to 74 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the system is capable of high refresh rate gaming on lower presets, but Ultra settings still maintain a playable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low settings average 119 FPS. Medium settings average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 99. High settings average 65 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 47 FPS. This resolution is a significant step up in GPU load, and the RTX 2060 begins to show its limitations. At 4K (3840x2160), the system struggles. Low settings average 62 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52. High settings average 34 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average of just 24 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows a clear gradient where only the Low preset at 4K is viable for a consistent experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1365 MHz, with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS. The GPU's benchmark scores are modest, with a PassMark G3D score of 14,111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,242. It sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15,290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, has an average score of 15,283, a 0% difference, indicating the RTX 2060 is barely ahead of a much older card in synthetic tests.

The data points to the GPU being the primary limiting factor in this system. The 6 GB VRAM is likely a constraint at higher resolutions and settings, as Outriders is a modern game with detailed textures. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, and the Ultra preset at 4K produces an unplayable 24 FPS average. The GPU's role is to render the frame, and the data shows it is being saturated. The fact that the CPU is vastly more powerful than the GPU further confirms this. The RTX 2060 is a capable card for 1080p gaming, but it is out of its depth at 4K with high settings in this title. The GPU's performance, or lack thereof, is the single most important factor in this combo's low rank.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth 60+ FPS experience, the data shows that 1080p with Medium settings is a solid choice, delivering an average of 137 FPS. High settings at 1080p also provide a good experience at 103 FPS. For those seeking the highest visual fidelity, 1080p Ultra at 74 FPS is still playable. At 1440p, the data indicates that Low settings at 119 FPS or Medium settings at 87 FPS are the best options for maintaining high frame rates. High settings at 1440p drop to 65 FPS, which is still acceptable for many players, but Ultra at 47 FPS may feel less smooth.

At 4K, the choices are more limited. The only preset that achieves a consistently playable frame rate is Low, with an average of 62 FPS. Medium settings at 4K dip to 45 FPS, which is borderline. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they average 34 FPS and 24 FPS, respectively. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium are the most sensible targets. If 4K is a requirement, the player must accept Low settings to get a playable frame rate. The data clearly shows that the RTX 2060 is a 1080p-class card for this game, and any attempt to push it beyond that will result in significant compromises.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus the reason this combo ranks so low in Outriders?*

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the combo ranks 2257th out of 2913. The data indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a high frame rate above 100 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 189 FPS. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, it averages 119 FPS. Both are excellent options for high refresh rate monitors.

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

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 62. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS, and High and Ultra settings produce 34 FPS and 24 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 2060's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15,290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15,283, a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15,270, a 0.1% difference.

Q: What does the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K tell us about the system's bottleneck?

A: The FPS drops significantly as resolution increases (e.g., from 189 FPS at 1080p Low to 62 FPS at 4K Low). This steep decline is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution.

Q: Is it better to play at 1440p Medium or 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 87, while at 1080p Ultra, it is 74. The data suggests that 1440p Medium offers a higher frame rate and a higher resolution, making it the better choice for a smoother and sharper image.