Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the Intel Arc B370 is a combination defined by extreme imbalance, and Red Dead Redemption 2 highlights this brutally. The data shows a system that is almost entirely GPU-limited, with the processor's significant headroom going unused as the integrated GPU struggles to maintain playable framerates at any modern resolution. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and what settings offer the least painful experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent decline in performance as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 47 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings drops the average to 35 FPS, a 25% reduction. Climbing to 4K at Low settings further craters the average to 23 FPS, representing another 34% drop from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern is not linear but exponential, indicating that the rendering pipeline is saturated well before the CPU can become a factor.

The gap between resolutions becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the 1080p average of 29 FPS falls to 22 FPS at 1440p (a 24% loss) and then to just 14 FPS at 4K (a 36% loss from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic falloff: 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and only 10 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Ultra performance (10 FPS) is less than half of 1080p High performance (29 FPS) underscores how quickly the GPU's limited resources are exhausted by pixel count and shader complexity.

What this scaling says about the limiting component is unambiguous. The Ryzen 5 3600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the bottleneck here. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see framerates plateau or even improve at higher resolutions as the GPU takes longer per frame, giving the CPU more time to prepare draw calls. Instead, the framerate collapses, proving that the Intel Arc B370's 1280 shading units are overwhelmed by the sheer pixel throughput required at 1440p and 4K. The 1080p results are the only ones that approach a playable range, and even then, only at the lowest preset does it break past 30 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the decisive factor in this system's performance, and its specifications explain why. This is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is a modest 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz. While the boost clock is respectable, the sheer size of the GPU is not. With 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and only 20 raster output units, the B370 is positioned at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. Its percentile rank of 5 against all GPUs confirms this, placing it in the lowest 5% of all tested graphics solutions.

The most critical limitation is the memory configuration. The B370 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM of its own. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means performance is tied to the speed of the system's DDR4 RAM. This is a severe handicap for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which requires substantial texture memory for its open world. The lack of dedicated VRAM likely contributes to the poor scaling at higher resolutions, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth and latency, further reducing effective throughput.

The GPU's compute capabilities are equally telling. The FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, but this is not enough to drive modern titles at high settings. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the B370 scores just 1184 points. This score places it in direct competition with legacy parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190 points) and the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168 points), according to the nearestRivals data. The performance delta between the B370 and these decade-old parts is within 1.4%, which shows that the B370's raw rendering power is comparable to entry-level GPUs from 2010. This is why 4K High settings yield only 14 FPS—the GPU simply does not have the fill rate or compute throughput to handle the workload.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a competent and capable processor that is entirely wasted in this pairing. The data shows a 6-core, 12-thread CPU based on the Zen 2 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It has a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This is a desktop-class processor designed for mid-range gaming systems, and its benchmark scores reflect that. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15045 points in multi-core and 2124 points in single-core. In Geekbench, it achieves 7372 multi-core and 1536 single-core.

The CPU's percentile rank of 71 against all CPUs indicates it outperforms the majority of processors on the market. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007, delta 0.2%) and the Intel Core i5-11400 (17067, delta -0.2%), both of which are within a fraction of a percent of the Ryzen 5 3600's average score of 17035. This places the CPU in a strong position for gaming, as it has enough single-thread performance and multi-core headroom to feed a much more powerful discrete GPU.

However, in this specific combination, the CPU's role is almost negligible. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and setting. For example, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 47 FPS. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would see similar framerates regardless of resolution, but the drop to 23 FPS at 4K Low proves the CPU is waiting idly for the GPU to finish rendering. The Ryzen 5 3600 could easily handle Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60+ FPS with a mid-range discrete GPU, but with the Arc B370, its potential is capped by the integrated solution's inability to produce frames fast enough.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking of this combination is abysmal, reflecting the GPU's severe limitations. The comboRankInGame data places this pairing at rank 2670 out of 2902 tested combinations. This puts it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for Red Dead Redemption 2. This ranking is not surprising given the measured performance, but it is important to contextualize it. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a solid CPU that would typically place in the top 30% of processors, but the Arc B370 drags the entire system down to the bottom tier.

The ranking is almost entirely driven by the GPU's performance. If we were to pair the Ryzen 5 3600 with a modern mid-range GPU, the combination would likely rank in the top 50% or better. However, the B370's 5th percentile GPU ranking ensures that the combined system is near the bottom of the pile. The delta between the CPU's strong standing (71st percentile) and the GPU's weak standing (5th percentile) creates a massive imbalance that no amount of CPU headroom can overcome. The data shows that the 2670th rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to maintain playable framerates, not a reflection of the CPU's capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS data, the only viable path to a remotely playable experience is to sacrifice visual fidelity aggressively. The data shows that the system cannot achieve a consistent 30 FPS at any resolution above 1080p, and even at 1080p, only the Low preset manages to stay above that threshold. The 1080p Low setting yields an average of 47 FPS, which is the only configuration that provides a smooth enough experience for action-oriented gameplay. This should be the default recommendation for any user attempting to play Red Dead Redemption 2 on this hardware.

The 1080p Medium preset drops the average to 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. While this is technically playable, it is borderline, and the frame pacing may feel inconsistent. The 1080p High preset falls to 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold and will likely feel stuttery. The 1080p Ultra preset is a non-starter at 21 FPS.

For users who insist on higher resolutions, the data is clear: it is not recommended. The 1440p Low preset offers 35 FPS, but this is only marginally better than 1080p Medium and still below 60 FPS. The 4K Low preset at 23 FPS is unplayable for a game that requires precise aiming and movement. The conclusion is that users should stick to 1080p and use the Low preset, possibly with some manual adjustments to increase texture quality if the system memory bandwidth allows, but the measured data only supports Low as the best option for consistent performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that provides a playable experience, yielding an average of 47 FPS. All other tested resolutions (1440p and 4K) fail to reach 30 FPS at any preset.

Q: Can this system run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K?

A: The data shows that 4K performance is severely limited. At Low settings, the average is 23 FPS; at Medium, it drops to 17 FPS; at High, 14 FPS; and at Ultra, just 10 FPS. None of these are playable framerates.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: No. The CPU has a high benchmark score (15045 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) and ranks in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. The framerate drops with resolution increases, which indicates the Intel Arc B370 GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to other GPUs in terms of raw performance?

A: The GPU scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190 points) and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186 points), showing it is comparable to legacy entry-level parts.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 22 FPS. This is below the minimum threshold for playable performance and is not recommended for this hardware combination.

Q: Does the CPU have enough cores and threads for this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 has 6 cores and 12 threads, which is more than sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2. The bottleneck is the GPU, not the CPU, as evidenced by the significant framerate drops at higher resolutions.