Outriders

# Outriders with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a formidable Outriders experience, with the combo ranking in the 94th percentile (184th of 2913 tested combinations). At 1080p High settings, the system pushes 205 FPS average, while 4K Ultra still manages a playable 49 FPS. The data reveals a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock ensure no bottleneck even at lower settings where frame rates exceed 290 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings in Outriders?

A: The system achieves 205 FPS average at 1920x1080 with High settings. This jumps to 298 FPS at Low settings and settles at 148 FPS at Ultra, showing a wide performance envelope depending on visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU delivers 68 FPS at High settings and 49 FPS at Ultra. The 12 GB GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient capacity for Outriders at 4K, as evidenced by playable frame rates even at Ultra settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads, combined with a 5.80 GHz boost clock, keep pace with the GPU. At 1080p Low (298 FPS) and 1440p Low (238 FPS), the system maintains very high frame rates, indicating the processor is not limiting performance.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems in Outriders?

A: The combination ranks 184th out of 2913 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.3% of all configurations tested for this game. This is a strong result, though not at the absolute top tier.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 43223 in average benchmark score, sitting within 1% of the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262), RTX 5050 Mobile (43268), and Quadro M6000 (43301). The RTX 4090 Mobile leads this group at 43667, a 1% advantage.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system averages 173 FPS, with minimums of 147 FPS and maximums of 199 FPS. This represents a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER serves as the primary performance driver in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for Outriders' texture-heavy environments. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz, up from a 1980 MHz base, allows it to maintain high utilization during extended play sessions.

The card's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors, provides 7168 shading units and 80 ROPs. These specifications translate into a 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability, which is reflected in the benchmark data. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 29995 places it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, confirming its mid-to-high tier positioning.

In Outriders specifically, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales. At 1080p, the system delivers 298 FPS at Low settings, suggesting the GPU has headroom. However, at 4K Ultra, performance drops to 49 FPS, indicating the GPU is fully saturated. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores, while not directly utilized in this non-ray-traced title, contribute to the card's overall efficiency and thermal management.

The GPU's memory configuration deserves attention: 12 GB at 21 Gbps effective speed. This is sufficient for Outriders at all tested settings, as evidenced by the playable 4K results. The 80 ROPs handle pixel fill at a rate of 198.0 GPixel/s, which becomes critical at 4K where pixel throughput demands are highest. The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the 49 FPS average is the lowest result across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system achieves 205 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 130 FPS; and at 4K High, it falls to 68 FPS. This represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 48% further drop to 4K, consistent with the increasing pixel count demanding more from the GPU.

The Low settings tell a similar story: 298 FPS at 1080p, 238 FPS at 1440p, and 124 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is particularly telling—it remains above 120 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU can handle 4K when graphical complexity is reduced. This suggests that Outriders' visual effects, rather than raw resolution, drive the performance cost at higher settings.

Ultra settings amplify the resolution impact. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 148 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 94 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 49 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K Ultra represents a 67% reduction, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck at the highest fidelity settings. The CPU's role becomes negligible at these resolutions, as the 24-core processor easily feeds the GPU.

The Medium settings provide the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the system ranges from 225 to 304 FPS with an average of 265. At 1440p Medium, the range is 147 to 199 FPS with a 173 average. At 4K Medium, the range is 77 to 104 FPS with a 90 average. These ranges show consistent frame time behavior, with no severe stuttering or drops, indicating stable performance across the resolution spectrum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): At Low settings, the system achieves 298 FPS average—the highest result of any configuration tested. Medium settings deliver 265 FPS average, with a range of 225 to 304 FPS. High settings produce 205 FPS average, while Ultra settings yield 148 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 150 FPS, demonstrating significant scaling with graphical fidelity.

2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings maintain 238 FPS average, still well above high-refresh-rate display capabilities. Medium settings average 173 FPS, with minimums of 147 FPS and maximums of 199 FPS. High settings drop to 130 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 94 FPS. The 1440p results show that even at Ultra, the system remains comfortably above 90 FPS for smooth gameplay.

3840x2160 (4K): Low settings achieve 124 FPS average, making 4K gaming viable when visual effects are minimized. Medium settings average 90 FPS, with a range of 77 to 104 FPS—this is the only setting where minimum FPS drops below 80. High settings produce 68 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 49 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, indicating that users targeting 4K should consider High or Medium settings for consistent performance.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER handles 1080p and 1440p with ease, even at Ultra settings. The 4K Ultra result of 49 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS outcome across all 12 tested configurations, suggesting that Outriders at 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. Players with 4K displays would likely prefer Medium settings (90 FPS) or High settings (68 FPS) for a better balance of visual quality and frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 184th out of 2913 tested combos in Outriders, placing it in the top 6.3% of all configurations. This is a strong result, though not elite-tier. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-to-high tier positioning rather than the CPU's capabilities—the processor itself ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 83rd percentile.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provide context for its contribution. The Core Ultra 9 285K scores 83807 in average benchmark, just 0.2% behind the 290K Plus's 84003. The AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1% behind) and EPYC 9135 (82980, 1.2% behind) are close competitors, while the EPYC 7F72 leads slightly at 85072, a 1.3% advantage. These margins are small, indicating that the 290K Plus is well-positioned among high-end processors.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a tighter cluster. The Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262), RTX 5050 Mobile (43268), and Quadro M6000 (43301) all score within 0.2% of the RTX 4070 SUPER's 43223. The RTX 4090 Mobile leads at 43667, a 1% advantage. This grouping suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER delivers performance consistent with its market segment, and the Outriders ranking reflects this positioning.

Given that 2913 combos were tested, the 184th rank places this system in the top percentile tier. The high CPU performance (96th percentile) combined with the solid GPU performance (83rd percentile) creates a balanced system that excels in CPU-light scenarios like Outriders. The ranking would likely be higher in CPU-intensive titles, given the processor's 51731 Cinebench R23 multi-core score and 60860 PassMark multithread score.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides substantial processing headroom in Outriders, a game that primarily stresses the GPU. With 24 cores and 24 threads operating at a 3.70 GHz base clock and 5.80 GHz boost, the processor ensures that frame rates are never CPU-limited in this configuration. The CPU's L3 cache of 36 MB shared across cores, combined with 3 MB L2 per core, minimizes memory latency during gameplay.

The processor's benchmark results indicate exceptional multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 51731, while single-core reaches 7303. PassMark results show 60860 for multithread and 4823 for single-thread (recorded as both passmark_single_thread and passmark_singlethread). These scores place the CPU in the 96th percentile among all processors, demonstrating its capability for demanding workloads beyond gaming.

In Outriders specifically, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU efficiently. The evidence for this comes from the frame rate scaling: at 1080p Low, the system hits 298 FPS, which would be impossible if the CPU were a bottleneck. The 5.80 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread performance needed for game logic and physics, while the 24 cores handle background tasks and streaming without impacting frame times.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 115.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures that data flows to the GPU without starvation. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 CPU lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 4070 SUPER's PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. The processor's 3 nm process node from TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, contributes to its efficiency and thermal characteristics.

At 4K Ultra where the GPU is fully saturated (49 FPS), the CPU's utilization likely drops significantly, as the processor waits for the GPU to complete frames. The data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame drops—the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (225 at 1080p, 147 at 1440p, 77 at 4K) are all consistent with GPU-bound behavior. This confirms that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not a limiting factor in this configuration.