Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination, with the measured frame rates revealing a clear narrative about where the performance ceiling lies. The data indicates that this pairing is capable of delivering playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with adjustments to quality settings, but the demands of 4K resolution push the system to its limits. The following analysis breaks down the measured results across resolutions and settings, situating this combo within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and significant drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, but the magnitude of that drop varies by preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 117 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 30 FPS, and then to 58 FPS at 4K, another 29 FPS decrease. This suggests that at Low settings, the scaling is fairly consistent, with the GPU bearing the brunt of the increased pixel count.

Moving to Medium settings, the averages are 88 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. This represents a drop of 23 FPS from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 22 FPS from 1440p to 4K. The pattern of roughly a 20-30 FPS reduction for each resolution step continues, indicating that the workload is scaling linearly with the pixel density. However, the min FPS data for Medium settings shows a tighter frame time at 1440p, with a min of 56 FPS and a max of 75 FPS, compared to 4K's min of 37 FPS and max of 50 FPS.

The High preset shows a similar trend: 73 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. This is a 18 FPS decline from 1080p to 1440p, and a 19 FPS decline to 4K. The Ultra preset, however, reveals the most severe scaling, going from 53 FPS at 1080p to 39 FPS at 1440p and then crashing to 26 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is 13 FPS, which is proportionally large relative to the already low 39 FPS at 1440p.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts between resolutions. At 1080p and 1440p, particularly with lower presets, the CPU is likely a significant factor, as the frame rate does not increase as much as the GPU's raw potential would allow. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, is heavily taxed at 4K, especially with High and Ultra settings, where the average frame rates of 36 FPS and 26 FPS respectively fall below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, a drop from 87 to 58 FPS, confirms that even at the lowest quality, the pixel throughput demands of 4K are too much for this combo to maintain high frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 96 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 16 MB L3. This CPU was released in 2018 and holds a percentile rank of 75 against all CPUs in the database, indicating it performs better than the majority of tested processors.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 117 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it only drops to 87 FPS. The relatively modest decline suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU is still not fully saturated. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by a Geekbench single-core score of 1154 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 157.3, is a limiting factor for achieving very high frame rates in this game.

The 12 threads do help in multi-threaded scenarios, as evidenced by a Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 1248 and a Passmark multithread score of 13160. However, the game's engine likely benefits from fewer, faster cores. Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900H, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9454, while being 0.7% behind the Intel Xeon D-1746TER. These small deltas show that the CPU is competitive with those processors in general benchmarks, but in gaming, the older architecture and clock speeds may hold back the RTX 5060 at 1080p.

The data implies that at 1080p with Medium and High settings, the CPU is a contributing factor to the frame rate not being higher. The jump from 88 FPS at Medium to 117 FPS at Low suggests that reducing CPU overhead from game logic and draw calls allows for higher throughput. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes, as the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with even Low settings only yielding 58 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo can achieve in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 117 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only setting where the combo surpasses the 100 FPS mark.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 58 at Low settings to 26 at Ultra settings. High settings yield 36 FPS, and Medium settings produce 43 FPS, indicating that 4K is only playable at Low settings, and even then, barely.

Q: What are the frame times like at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured FPS shows a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 75, with an average of 65. This indicates a relatively stable frame rate with a 19 FPS variance between min and max.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 or the RTX 5060 the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is a limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rate scaling from Low (117 FPS) to Medium (88 FPS) shows a 29 FPS drop, which is likely due to increased CPU workload, whereas the GPU has more headroom at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo's overall rank compare to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1673 out of 3714 tested combos in the database for this game, placing it in the upper half of all configurations.

Q: What is the difference in performance between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 55 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 39 FPS. This is a difference of 16 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for the highest quality preset.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a smooth experience at 1920x1080, High settings are the best choice, delivering an average of 73 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p drops the average to 53 FPS, which is a noticeable decline, but still playable for some. The Low preset at 1080p offers 117 FPS, but the visual fidelity is significantly reduced, making it less desirable for a game with such a detailed world.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point, as it produces an average of 65 FPS with a min of 56 FPS. This ensures that frame rates stay above 55 FPS even in demanding scenes. High settings at 1440p yield an average of 55 FPS, which is acceptable for players who prefer higher visual fidelity and can tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is not recommended, as the 39 FPS average is too low for a fluid experience.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset is viable, with an average of 58 FPS. Medium settings at 4K drop to 43 FPS, and High settings to 36 FPS, both of which are too low for comfortable gameplay. The data indicates that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory interface are insufficient for high-quality 4K rendering in this title. Therefore, the best experience is achieved by targeting 1080p High or 1440p Medium, depending on the display's native resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Red Dead Redemption 2, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 achieves a rank of 1673 out of 3714 tested combos. This places it in the 45th percentile, meaning it outperforms 45% of all tested configurations. This is a solid mid-range result, reflecting the balanced nature of the components.

The GPU's performance is a key driver of this rank. The RTX 5060 has a percentile rank of 72 against all GPUs, indicating it is a capable card. Its average benchmark score is 26331, and it sits very close to its nearest rivals: it is 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 860M, 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. This shows that the GPU is competitive with these cards in synthetic benchmarks.

The CPU, while older, still holds up well. The Ryzen 5 2600's rank of 75 against all CPUs is respectable. However, the combo's overall rank of 1673 is likely dragged down by the CPU's age, as newer processors with higher single-thread performance would allow the RTX 5060 to reach higher frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios at 1080p. The measured frame rates confirm that the combo is not a top-tier performer, but it is certainly capable of delivering a good experience at 1080p and 1440p, which is reflected in its position in the upper half of the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete list of measured average FPS values for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2:

• 3840x2160 (4K): Low settings produce an average of 58 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 43 FPS, with a min of 37 FPS and a max of 50 FPS. High settings produce an average of 36 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 26 FPS.

• 2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings produce an average of 87 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 65 FPS, with a min of 56 FPS and a max of 75 FPS. High settings produce an average of 55 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 39 FPS.

• 1920x1080 (1080p): Low settings produce an average of 117 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 88 FPS, with a min of 75 FPS and a max of 101 FPS. High settings produce an average of 73 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 53 FPS.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Low is the fastest, followed by 1080p Medium, then 1440p Low. The gaps between settings are consistent, with Ultra always being the slowest. The min and max FPS data for Medium settings across all resolutions shows that 1080p has a wider variance (75-101) than 1440p (56-75) and 4K (37-50), suggesting that the CPU can cause frame pacing issues at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of graphical performance in this combo. It features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and it is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 3840 shading units. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz, effective 28 Gbps.

The GPU's specifications directly explain the measured frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a limiting factor at 4K with High and Ultra settings, where the high texture requirements likely exceed the available memory, causing performance to drop to 36 FPS and 26 FPS respectively. The 128-bit memory bus, while fast due to GDDR7, is still constrained compared to wider-bus cards, which is evident in the significant FPS drop from 1440p to 4K.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5060 scores 20891 in Passmark G3D and 3628 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its Vulkan score in Geekbench is 113321, and its OpenCL score is 112787. These scores indicate a strong GPU, but its real-world performance in this game is heavily influenced by the memory subsystem. The GPU's TDP is 145 W, which is modest, and it requires a 300 W suggested PSU, making it an efficient card.

The GPU's role is most critical at 1440p and 4K. At 1440p Medium, the GPU is able to maintain an average of 65 FPS, showing that it has enough power for this resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is often not the bottleneck, as the CPU limits performance. The data shows that the RTX 5060 is a capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus prevent it from being a high-refresh-rate 4K card in Red Dead Redemption 2. The GPU's performance is consistent with its 72nd percentile rank among all GPUs, confirming it is a solid mid-range option that excels at lower resolutions.