Red Dead Redemption 2

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds rank 483 out of 1,687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the upper 28.6% of all pairings. This is a strong result for a combination that pairs a 2018-era six-core processor with a 2023 Ada Lovelace GPU. The data shows the combo sits comfortably in the top third of the tested pool, though it does not crack the top 400.

To contextualize this rank, the CPU's average benchmark score of 19,616 places it within 0.7% of the Intel Core i7-10700F (19,485) and just 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19,508). The GPU's average score of 37,283 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507, delta of -0.6%) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008, delta of -1.9%). These near-identical synthetic scores suggest the pairing is well-balanced in aggregate, though game-specific results tell a more nuanced story.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 specifically, the combo's mid-pack rank reflects a system that can deliver playable framerates across most settings, but the older Zen+ CPU architecture becomes a limiting factor at lower resolutions where the GPU has headroom to spare. The rank of 483 is not a reflection of the GPU's capability—the RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs—but rather a composite of how the entire system behaves in this demanding open-world title.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four preset levels. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 135.1 FPS, Medium drops to 115.6 FPS, High settles at 95.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 67.8 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 19.5 FPS (14.4% reduction), while the step from Medium to High costs another 20.1 FPS (17.4% reduction). The largest single step is from High to Ultra, which loses 27.7 FPS (29.0% reduction).

For the best experience, the data suggests the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. It maintains 95.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while still offering substantial visual fidelity over Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 67.8 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. At 1440p, High delivers 72.6 FPS, which remains smooth, while Medium hits 86.4 FPS if you prefer higher framerates over visual quality. The 4K High preset at 48.3 FPS falls below the 60 FPS mark, making it borderline for competitive play but acceptable for cinematic experiences.

The data indicates that Low presets are unnecessary for this combo at 1080p or 1440p—even Ultra at 1440p produces 51.9 FPS, which is playable. The real decision point is between High and Ultra at each resolution. High consistently offers a roughly 30-40% framerate advantage over Ultra, and the visual difference in Red Dead Redemption 2's open world is often subtle at these settings.

# Resolution Scaling

The framerate scaling across resolutions reveals where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, moving from 1080p (95.5 FPS) to 1440p (72.6 FPS) results in a 24.0% drop, and moving from 1440p to 4K (48.3 FPS) causes another 33.5% drop. The total 1080p-to-4K reduction is 49.4% of the original framerate. This pattern is consistent with a system where the GPU becomes increasingly stressed at higher resolutions, but the CPU is not the primary constraint at any resolution.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper: 1080p (135.1 FPS) to 1440p (111.4 FPS) is a 17.5% drop, and 1440p to 4K (76.7 FPS) is a 31.1% drop. The fact that Low settings produce such high framerates at 1080p (135.1 FPS) suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately at this resolution—if the CPU were severely limited, we would expect the gap between Low and High at 1080p to be smaller than the 39.6 FPS observed.

The data suggests the RTX 4070 is the limiting component at 4K, where even Low settings only reach 76.7 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU has enough headroom that the Ryzen 5 2600's six cores and twelve threads can keep up. The 49.4% framerate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is a classic GPU-bound signature—the CPU's workload does not increase proportionally with resolution, while the GPU's pixel-pushing burden grows quadratically.

# FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: No, not at High or Ultra settings. The measured 4K High average is 48.3 FPS and 4K Ultra is 35.3 FPS. To reach 60 FPS at 4K, you would need to use Low settings, where the average is 76.7 FPS, or Medium, where it is 55.4 FPS.

Q: What is the best 1080p preset for this combination?

A: The High preset at 95.5 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and framerate. Ultra drops to 67.8 FPS, which is still playable, but High provides a 40.9% framerate advantage while requiring fewer GPU resources.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600's average benchmark score of 19,616 is 0.4% below the Intel Core i5-1345U (19,691), 0.6% below the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19,740), and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19,508). The differences are minimal, indicating comparable overall compute performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game at 4K?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM limitations—the 4K High preset still runs at 48.3 FPS, and even 4K Ultra produces 35.3 FPS. There are no signs of texture thrashing or stutter in the average FPS figures, suggesting the 12 GB GDDR6X memory is adequate for Red Dead Redemption 2's requirements.

Q: What framerate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured 1440p Medium average is 86.4 FPS. This is 19.0% higher than High at the same resolution (72.6 FPS) and provides a smooth experience for most display refresh rates.

Q: How does the GPU's synthetic benchmark score relate to its in-game performance?

A: The RTX 4070's PassMark G3D score of 26,927 and average benchmark score of 37,283 place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. In Red Dead Redemption 2, this translates to playable framerates at all tested resolutions, though 4K Ultra (35.3 FPS) is below the 60 FPS target.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the AD104 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Its memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock of 1920 MHz boosts to 2475 MHz, and the card operates at a 200 W TDP.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's 5 nm architecture and Ada Lovelace design deliver substantial headroom. The measured results show the RTX 4070 handles 1080p High at 95.5 FPS and 1440p High at 72.6 FPS, indicating it is more than capable for these resolutions. The 4K High result of 48.3 FPS is lower but still respectable for a demanding open-world title. The GPU's 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate contribute to its ability to maintain consistent framerates even at High settings.

The GPU's 81st percentile ranking (against all GPUs) and average benchmark score of 37,283 suggest it outperforms the majority of graphics cards. However, its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507, -0.6%) and NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008, -1.9%)—have nearly identical scores, yet the in-game results show the RTX 4070's modern architecture provides better real-world gaming performance. The measured FPS data indicates the GPU is the dominant component in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions where its 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes more critical.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a six-core, twelve-thread processor from the 2000 series, built on the Zen+ (Pinnacle Ridge) architecture using GlobalFoundries' 12 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts to 3.90 GHz, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, providing 46.9 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 135.1 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU is not severely bottlenecking the system. However, the 77th percentile ranking (against all CPUs) and average benchmark score of 19,616 indicate this is a mid-range processor by modern standards. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11,186 and single-core score of 1,579 show that while the CPU can handle multi-threaded workloads, its single-thread performance is modest.

The CPU's six cores and twelve threads are sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world engine, which typically scales well with multiple cores. The data shows that at 1440p High (72.6 FPS) and 4K High (48.3 FPS), the CPU is not the primary constraint—the GPU's workload dominates at these resolutions. However, at 1080p Ultra (67.8 FPS), the gap between Low (135.1 FPS) and Ultra is 67.3 FPS, suggesting the CPU may be limiting the GPU's potential at lower settings where the GPU could otherwise produce even higher framerates.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 213 mm² die size make it an efficient, though not current-generation, component. Its nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-1345U (19,691, -0.4%), Intel Core i5-11600KF (19,740, -0.6%), and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19,508, 0.6%)—all have similar average scores, yet the Ryzen 5 2600's older architecture means it lacks the newer instruction sets and efficiency improvements found in those competitors. In this specific game, the CPU delivers adequate performance but does not boost the pairing beyond its mid-pack rank.