Outriders

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.80 GHz. In the context of Outriders, a looter shooter, this high core count and boost clock provide substantial headroom for game logic, physics, and background tasks. The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its capability: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 and multi-thread score of 60,860 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is unlikely to be a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios. The data suggests that at lower resolutions, where frame rates are extremely high, the CPU’s strong single-core performance is crucial for maintaining stability, but its multi-core prowess ensures that even with numerous entities on screen, the frame pacing remains consistent.

The processor’s cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB of L3 cache. This large L3 cache is beneficial for gaming, as it can store frequently accessed game data, reducing latency. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a theoretical bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, which is ample for feeding the RTX 5090’s data demands. When compared to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 9135. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. These are narrow margins, suggesting that in Outriders, the CPU is performing at the top tier of what is available, with its performance being a negligible factor in the overall frame rate at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the 83,807 average score of the Core Ultra 9 285K. This indicates a marginal performance lead, which in gaming terms translates to a negligible difference in frame rates, especially when the GPU is the primary limiter.

Q: At what resolution and settings does this combo achieve the highest average FPS?

A: The highest average frame rate is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the system reaches 298 FPS. This is followed closely by 2560x1440 on Low at 255 FPS, and 1920x1080 on Medium at 265 FPS. The data shows that the system is more than capable of pushing frame rates well beyond 200 FPS at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the impact of switching from High to Ultra settings on the frame rate?

A: The impact is substantial. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 88 on High to 64 on Ultra, a 27% decrease. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 168 to 122 FPS, a 27% decrease as well. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 238 to 193 FPS, a 19% decrease. This indicates that Ultra settings place a significant additional load on the GPU.

Q: Does the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM ever become a limiting factor in Outriders?

A: Given the measured frame rates, there is no evidence to suggest VRAM is a limiting factor. The game runs at playable to high frame rates even at 4K Ultra, which requires significant memory for textures. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, the GPU has more than enough memory bandwidth and capacity to handle the game's assets without stuttering or texture pop-in, based on the data.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1920x1080 resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 298, which is high but not infinite. The gap between Low (298 FPS) and Ultra (193 FPS) at 1080p is 105 FPS, showing that GPU load still significantly impacts performance. However, the CPU’s high single-core score of 4,823 in PassMark ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s frame generation, preventing a CPU bottleneck.

Q: How does the combo's performance rank among other tested combinations?

A: The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 14th out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders. This places it in the top 0.5% of all tested systems, indicating that it is one of the highest-performing configurations available for this game.

Resolution Scaling

Analyzing the measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance scaling. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average frame rate drops from 238 FPS to 168 FPS, a 29% reduction. This is a significant drop, but the resulting 168 FPS is still incredibly smooth. The scaling continues when moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 on High settings, where the frame rate falls from 168 FPS to 88 FPS, a 48% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being increasingly taxed as pixel count quadruples, which is the expected behavior for a game that is heavily reliant on the graphics card.

The trend is consistent across all settings. On Low settings, the drop from 1080p (298 FPS) to 1440p (255 FPS) is 14%, and then to 4K (161 FPS) is a further 37%. On Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (265 FPS) to 1440p (225 FPS) is 15%, and then to 4K (117 FPS) is a further 48%. On Ultra settings, the drop from 1080p (193 FPS) to 1440p (122 FPS) is 37%, and then to 4K (64 FPS) is a further 48%. The data implies that while the CPU is powerful enough to handle the frame generation at lower resolutions, the GPU’s rendering capabilities are the definitive bottleneck at 4K, especially with higher graphical presets. The consistent ~48% drop from 1440p to 4K across High, Medium, and Ultra settings suggests a direct relationship between pixel count and render time, confirming the GPU is the limiting component in this scenario.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the system delivers its most demanding performance profile. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 161 FPS, which is exceptionally high for 4K. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 117 FPS, with a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS. This shows a 27% performance hit for the visual upgrade. On High settings, the average FPS is 88, and on Ultra, it falls to 64 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 97 FPS, representing a 60% reduction in performance. This indicates that while the RTX 5090 is incredibly powerful, Ultra settings at 4K are still a significant workload, though 64 FPS remains playable.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance scales up considerably. On Low settings, the system achieves an average of 255 FPS, which is near the refresh rate of many high-end monitors. Medium settings yield 225 FPS average, with minimums of 191 and maximums of 258 FPS. High settings see a drop to 168 FPS average, while Ultra settings still maintain a robust 122 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 133 FPS drop, or 52%. This resolution appears to be the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming, as even Ultra settings provide frame rates well above 100 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system is clearly at its most comfortable. Low settings produce an average of 298 FPS, which is near the limit of what most displays can show. Medium settings average 265 FPS, with a minimum of 225 and a maximum of 304. High settings drop to 238 FPS average, and Ultra settings average 193 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 105 FPS, or 35%. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is so powerful that it is approaching the limits of CPU capability for frame generation, although the GPU is still responsible for the performance scaling between presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, is the undisputed driving force behind the high frame rates in Outriders. Its core configuration includes 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The GPU is equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This immense bandwidth is critical for a game like Outriders, which features detailed textures and effects. The GPU’s boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with its 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, allows it to process the complex geometry and lighting calculations required by the game’s environments. The data shows that the GPU’s performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, confirming its role as the primary determinant of frame rate.

In benchmark tests, the RTX 5090 scores 39,650 in PassMark G3D and 18,355 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its average benchmark score of 79,842 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.3% faster than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, 0.6% faster than the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, and 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. It trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4%. These comparisons highlight that the RTX 5090 is at the very top of the performance hierarchy. The GPU’s 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores also suggest it is well-prepared for any ray-traced or DLSS-enhanced content, although the measured data for Outriders does not specify these features. The GPU’s high TDP of 575 W and suggested 950 W PSU indicate its power demands, but its performance output justifies this in the context of high-end gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For users with 4K displays, the High preset at 3840x2160 offers the best balance, delivering an average of 88 FPS. This is significantly smoother than the 64 FPS average on Ultra, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is often less perceptible than the 37% performance cost. While 4K Low provides 161 FPS, it likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal gain over High. For those prioritizing maximum smoothness on a 1440p high-refresh-rate monitor, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended choice, achieving an average of 168 FPS. This provides a great balance of visual quality and speed, and it is only 33 FPS shy of the 255 FPS low preset. The Ultra preset at 1440p also remains viable at 122 FPS, but the step down to High offers a substantial 46 FPS improvement.

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset is the best option, as it still produces a very high average of 193 FPS. This allows for the full visual experience without sacrificing the high frame rates that competitive players might desire. The High preset at 1080p, with 238 FPS, is also excellent, but the visual upgrade to Ultra is worthwhile given the performance headroom. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides a solid fallback, with frame rates ranging from 117 FPS at 4K to 265 FPS at 1080p. However, the data suggests that with this hardware, there is little reason to settle for Medium when High is available, as the performance cost is relatively modest at lower resolutions. The recommended presets prioritize frame rate stability and visual fidelity, leveraging the GPU’s power to maintain a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 14th out of 2,913 tested combos in Outriders. This top-tier ranking places it in the elite 0.5% of all systems tested, confirming that this is one of the fastest configurations available for this game. The ranking reflects the synergy between the top-tier CPU and GPU, where neither component is a significant bottleneck. The CPU’s high single-thread performance ensures it can feed the GPU with enough frames at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s immense power handles the heavy lifting at higher resolutions and settings. The 96th percentile CPU and 92nd percentile GPU rankings individually suggest they are both near the top of their respective fields, and their combination yields a result that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The data indicates that while other combinations may have higher raw benchmark scores in other tests, this specific pairing excels in Outriders due to its balanced performance. The 14th place ranking out of thousands of combos is a strong statement of its capability. For context, the nearest CPU rivals, such as the Core Ultra 9 285K and the AMD EPYC series, have similar average scores, but the gaming performance in Outriders is also influenced by the GPU, which is a top performer here. The fact that this combo ranks in the top 14 means that there are only 13 other system configurations that can outperform it in this specific game, a signal of its high-end nature. This ranking solidifies the RTX 5090 and Ultra 9 290K Plus as a formidable pairing for enthusiasts looking to maximize their Outriders experience.