Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 with AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The data presents a fascinating pairing: a 2019 mid-range CPU (AMD Ryzen 5 3600) driving a 2022 flagship GPU (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080) in a 2018 open-world title. The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU's influence becomes visible as resolution drops and frame rates climb. This analysis examines how the Ryzen 5 3600's six Zen 2 cores interact with the RTX 4080's Ada Lovelace architecture in Red Dead Redemption 2, using only the measured rows from the FACT PACK to interpret the bottleneck dynamics.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component limits performance at each step. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 121 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 90 FPS, a reduction of 31 FPS (roughly 25.6% lower). At 3840x2160 High, the average falls further to 60 FPS, another 30 FPS drop (33.3% lower than 1440p). That pattern—nearly identical absolute FPS losses for each resolution step—suggests the rendering workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is classic GPU-bound behavior.

But the Low settings row complicates that picture. At 1080p Low, the system hits 153 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it achieves 139 FPS, only a 14 FPS drop. At 4K Low, it still maintains 96 FPS, another 43 FPS reduction. The 1080p-to-1440p gap at Low is much smaller than the 1440p-to-4K gap, hinting that at lower resolutions and minimal settings, the CPU begins to assert itself. The Ryzen 5 3600's single-thread performance, measured at 696 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2124 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, likely becomes a limiting factor when the GPU has less work to do per frame.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture with min/max FPS values. At 4K Medium, the average is 72 FPS with a 61-82 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the average jumps to 108 FPS (92-125 range), and at 1080p Medium, it reaches 137 FPS (117-158 range). The FPS spread between min and max widens from 21 FPS at 4K to 33 FPS at 1440p and 41 FPS at 1080p. That widening range at lower resolutions indicates frame time variance increases when the CPU has to feed frames faster—the 3600's six cores and twelve threads are being pushed harder relative to the GPU's capability.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 87 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and just 43 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result drops below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for action-adventure games, and the 44 FPS gap between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra demonstrates how pixel count and shader complexity compound. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth handle the texture loads, but the sheer compute demand at 4K Ultra overwhelms even this GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 4080 bottleneck the Ryzen 5 3600 in this game?

A: At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor—the 43 FPS average falls far below what the CPU could feed, given its 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs. At 1080p Low, however, the 153 FPS average suggests the CPU's single-thread performance (696 in 3dmark_single_thread) may cap the system, as the GPU has headroom to render more frames.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS with High settings?

A: Both 1080p High (121 FPS) and 1440p High (90 FPS) comfortably exceed 60 FPS, while 4K High lands exactly at 60 FPS average. The data shows 1440p High offers a strong balance, providing 50% more pixels than 1080p while staying 30 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to Low in terms of FPS cost?

A: At 1080p, Medium costs 16 FPS over Low (137 vs 153). At 1440p, the gap widens to 31 FPS (108 vs 139). At 4K, Medium costs 24 FPS (72 vs 96). The Medium preset delivers noticeably better visuals for a moderate FPS penalty, especially at lower resolutions.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset playable with this combo?

A: The 43 FPS average at 4K Ultra is below the 60 FPS standard, and no min FPS data is available, but the trend from Medium settings (61 FPS min at 4K) suggests Ultra could dip into the 30s during demanding scenes. Users seeking smooth 4K should consider Medium or High presets.

Q: How does the combo's rank in this game compare to its overall hardware percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 393rd out of 3,714 tested combos (top 10.6%), which aligns with the RTX 4080's 86th percentile among GPUs but exceeds the Ryzen 5 3600's 71st percentile among CPUs, indicating the GPU dominates the performance picture.

Q: Does the 3600's memory bandwidth (51.2 GB/s) limit the RTX 4080?

A: The CPU's dual-channel DDR4 support provides 51.2 GB/s, far below the GPU's 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth. However, the measured FPS at 4K High (60 FPS) and 4K Medium (72 FPS) suggests the CPU memory bandwidth is sufficient for this game, as the GPU stays saturated at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080's memory configuration is crucial for Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world rendering. With 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, the card provides 716.8 GB/s bandwidth—ample for the game's high-resolution textures. The measured 4K High average of 60 FPS and 4K Medium of 72 FPS indicate the GPU handles the memory-intensive scenes without stuttering, though the min FPS at 4K Medium (61 FPS) shows occasional dips that could be texture streaming-related.

Clock speeds play a significant role in the GPU's scaling behavior. The base clock of 2205 MHz and boost clock of 2505 MHz allow the Ada Lovelace architecture to maintain consistent performance across resolutions. The 4K Medium result of 72 FPS with a 61-82 FPS range suggests the boost clock holds well under load, but the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS reveals the card's limits when all settings max out. The 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the key metric here—at 4K Ultra, the shader workload from Red Dead Redemption 2's detailed lighting and shadow systems exceeds what the GPU can process at 60 FPS.

The GPU's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present in the FACT PACK but not directly tested in the measured FPS. However, the game's use of advanced rendering effects at Ultra settings likely engages these units, explaining the steep FPS drop from High (60 FPS) to Ultra (43 FPS) at 4K. The 112 ROPs and 304 TMUs provide the pixel and texture throughput needed for the game's dense environments, but at 4K Ultra, the 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 153 FPS average, Medium achieves 137 FPS with a 117-158 FPS range, High reaches 121 FPS, and Ultra drops to 87 FPS. The 66 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p shows the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution, even with the CPU's single-thread score of 696 in 3dmark. The Medium setting's min FPS of 117 is above the 60 FPS standard, making 1080p Medium a smooth experience for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low settings yield 139 FPS, Medium averages 108 FPS (92-125 range), High produces 90 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65 FPS. The 74 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is larger than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is working harder but still not fully saturated. The Medium min FPS of 92 remains high, and even Ultra's 65 FPS average exceeds 60 FPS, making 1440p a versatile resolution for this combo.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low settings deliver 96 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (61-82 range), High achieves exactly 60 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43 FPS. The 53 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest absolute spread across resolutions, and the Ultra result falls well below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium setting's min FPS of 61 shows that even mid-level settings at 4K can occasionally dip to the edge of smoothness, while Low remains the only preset with substantial headroom.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium as the optimal preset for this combo in most scenarios. At 1080p Medium, the 137 FPS average with a 117 FPS minimum provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors while maintaining visual quality. At 1440p Medium, the 108 FPS average (92 FPS min) offers an excellent balance of sharpness and performance. Even at 4K Medium, the 72 FPS average with 61 FPS minimum keeps gameplay fluid, though it sits closer to the 60 FPS floor.

High settings remain viable for users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1440p High, the 90 FPS average exceeds the 60 FPS standard by 50%, while at 4K High, the 60 FPS average meets the threshold but leaves no margin for demanding scenes. The lack of min FPS data for High settings means the worst-case performance is unknown, but the Medium preset's min FPS values suggest High at 4K could dip below 60 FPS in heavy action sequences.

Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p, where the 87 FPS average provides adequate headroom. At 1440p Ultra, the 65 FPS average is playable but close to the floor, and at 4K Ultra, the 43 FPS average is not smooth enough for most players. Low settings offer the highest frame rates (up to 153 FPS at 1080p) but compromise visual quality significantly; they are best suited for competitive play or when using the system as a 4K high-refresh solution.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 3600's six cores and twelve threads at 3.60 GHz base and 4.20 GHz boost provide the processing foundation for this combo. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,045 and single-core score of 2,124 place it in the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i7-1260P (0.2% higher average score) and Intel Core i5-11400 (0.2% lower). For Red Dead Redemption 2, which typically uses multiple threads for AI, physics, and world streaming, the 3600's twelve threads help maintain frame pacing.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s from dual-channel DDR4 is adequate for this game, as the measured FPS at higher resolutions shows GPU-bound behavior. However, at 1080p Low (153 FPS), the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant. The 3dmark single-thread score of 696 and 3dmark 2-thread score of 1,361 suggest that when the GPU renders frames quickly, the CPU must keep up with draw calls and game logic. The 1080p Low result of 153 FPS is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game.

The 3600's 32 MB shared L3 cache and 512 KB L2 per core help with the game's large open-world data sets. Its 7 nm Zen 2 architecture, with a 65 W TDP, provides efficient processing that doesn't bottleneck the RTX 4080's frame output except in the most CPU-light scenarios. The combo's rank of 393 out of 3,714 tested combinations (top 10.6%) reflects the CPU's ability to feed the GPU effectively in most settings, with the GPU's 86th percentile performance driving the overall result.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 393rd rank out of 3,714 tested combos places it in the top 10.6% of all system configurations tested in Red Dead Redemption 2. This ranking aligns closely with the RTX 4080's 86th percentile among all GPUs, suggesting the GPU is the primary determinant of game performance. The Ryzen 5 3600's 71st percentile among CPUs indicates it is a mid-to-upper-tier processor, but its ranking does not drag the combo down significantly in this GPU-heavy title.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking interpretation. At 4K Ultra, the 43 FPS result is consistent with a top-tier GPU struggling with maximum settings, not a CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the 153 FPS result shows the system can deliver high frame rates when the GPU is underutilized, but the CPU's single-thread performance (696 in 3dmark) likely prevents it from reaching the 200+ FPS that a faster processor might achieve with the same GPU. The 3600's nearest CPU rivals—the i7-1260P and i5-11400—have nearly identical average benchmark scores (within 0.2%), so swapping the CPU would likely yield minimal FPS changes in this game.

The rank of 393 also reflects the RTX 4080's position relative to other GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% ahead in average benchmark score, meaning the two cards would perform nearly identically in this game. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% behind) and Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% behind) show the 4080's competitive position, but the measured FPS data shows the 4080 handles Red Dead Redemption 2's demands well at most settings, with only 4K Ultra falling below the 60 FPS smoothness threshold. Overall, this combo delivers a strong experience for the game, with the CPU playing a supporting role to the dominant GPU.