Red Dead Redemption 2

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 104th out of 1,687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the combination in the top 6.2% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the substantial generational gap between the CPU and GPU. The ranking reflects a system that is heavily GPU-bound at most settings, but the CPU's 76th percentile standing among all processors (with an average benchmark score of 18,129) means it is not holding back the flagship GPU in this title as much as one might expect.

The data indicates that this pairing produces a playable experience across all tested resolutions and settings, with the weakest result being 46.8 FPS at 4K Ultra and the strongest being 151.6 FPS at 1080p Low. The combination's rank is buoyed by the RTX 4090's dominance; the GPU sits in the 91st percentile among all graphics cards with an average benchmark score of 66,473. However, the CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-11400 with an average score of 18,150 (0.1% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 18,101 (0.2% behind) — show that the Ryzen 5 3600 is in a tightly contested performance bracket, meaning any CPU bottleneck would manifest similarly across these processors.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best 4K setting for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: High settings at 3840x2160 deliver 66.5 FPS, which is the highest average above the 60 FPS threshold among 4K presets. Ultra drops to 46.8 FPS, while Medium yields 81.6 FPS and Low reaches 108.9 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 3600 bottleneck the RTX 4090 at 1080p?

A: The data suggests a partial CPU limit at 1080p. The FPS gap between Low (151.6) and Ultra (96.8) at 1920x1080 is 54.8 FPS, but the scaling from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings is only 15.7 FPS (135.9 to 151.6), indicating diminishing returns as resolution drops.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 3600 compare to its nearest CPU rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600 averages 18,129, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-11400 (18,150) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (18,101). The differences are negligible in practice.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: At the measured settings, Red Dead Redemption 2 does not appear to exceed the GPU's memory capacity, as even 4K Ultra maintains 46.8 FPS without reported stutter from VRAM exhaustion. The 24 GB GDDR6X buffer provides ample headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: Moving from Medium (120.4 FPS) to High (99.4 FPS) at 2560x1440 costs 21.0 FPS, a 17.4% reduction. This is a noticeable drop but keeps gameplay well above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this combo hit 144 FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Only at 1080p Low (151.6 FPS) and 1080p Medium (139.8 FPS) does the system approach or exceed 144 FPS. At 1440p, the highest result is 135.9 FPS on Low, falling short of the 144 FPS target.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse), with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This 7 nm processor, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache, posts a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,045 and a single-core score of 2,124. In Red Dead Redemption 2, these specifications translate to a CPU that can feed the RTX 4090 adequately at higher resolutions, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

At 4K, the CPU's influence is muted: the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings is 62.1 FPS (108.9 to 46.8), suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor across the board. However, at 1080p, the CPU's 12 threads are more relevant. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4,605 and max-thread score of 4,603 indicate strong multithreaded throughput for a 2019 processor, which helps maintain minimum frame stability in a game known for CPU-heavy scenes like Saint Denis. The single-thread score of 696 in 3DMark and 2,124 in Cinebench R23 show adequate per-core performance, though the 4.20 GHz boost clock is modest by modern standards.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this title. The PassMark multithread score of 17,700 and physics score of 1,152 suggest that the processor handles the game's simulation and physics workloads without becoming a severe constraint. The 76th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms this is a mid-to-upper-tier processor, but the nearest rival data — with the Intel Core i5-11400 just 0.1% faster on average — shows that the Ryzen 5 3600 is at the edge of its performance class for this game.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 151.6 FPS on Low, 139.8 FPS on Medium, 127.5 FPS on High, and 96.8 FPS on Ultra. The step from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 30.7 FPS, the largest single-preset drop at this resolution, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy GPU load even at the lowest tested resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 135.9 FPS (Low), 120.4 FPS (Medium), 99.4 FPS (High), and 74.3 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p results show a compression of the performance envelope compared to 1080p: the gap between Low and Ultra shrinks from 54.8 FPS at 1080p to 61.6 FPS at 1440p, but the absolute FPS values remain high enough for smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors. Notably, 1440p High at 99.4 FPS is only 28.1 FPS slower than 1080p High, a modest penalty for the resolution upgrade.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 108.9 FPS (Low), 81.6 FPS (Medium), 66.5 FPS (High), and 46.8 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold, while 4K High comfortably exceeds it. The 4K Low result of 108.9 FPS demonstrates that the RTX 4090 has substantial headroom even at this resolution when settings are reduced. Across all measurements, the average FPS values follow a consistent pattern: Low > Medium > High > Ultra, with no anomalies or unexpected inversions.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU load in this pairing. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (151.6 FPS) to 3840x2160 (108.9 FPS) represents a 28.2% reduction in frame rate. This relatively modest drop — compared to what a purely GPU-bound system might show — indicates that the CPU is partially limiting at 1080p Low. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores cannot push frame rates much beyond 150 FPS in this game, so the GPU has spare capacity at lower resolutions.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper: 127.5 FPS at 1080p drops to 99.4 FPS at 1440p (22.0% reduction) and then to 66.5 FPS at 4K (33.1% reduction from 1440p). This pattern suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, with the CPU's role diminishing. The 4K High result of 66.5 FPS is 61.0 FPS lower than 1080p High, a 47.8% drop that is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

The Ultra preset shows the largest absolute scaling impact: 96.8 FPS at 1080p falls to 74.3 FPS at 1440p (23.3% reduction) and then to 46.8 FPS at 4K (37.0% reduction from 1440p). The 50.0 FPS total drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra indicates that the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are taxed heavily by the game's most demanding settings. The data implies that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is the unequivocal bottleneck, while at 1080p Low, the CPU's 12 threads are the limiting factor. This hybrid behavior is typical for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU.

# Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a baseline, the measured data supports specific preset choices at each resolution. At 4K, High settings (66.5 FPS) are the optimal choice: Ultra drops below the threshold at 46.8 FPS, while Medium (81.6 FPS) and Low (108.9 FPS) sacrifice visual quality for marginal gains. The 20.1 FPS difference between High and Medium at 4K is significant, but High maintains the playable threshold while offering better visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the recommendation is High settings (99.4 FPS) for a balanced experience, as it provides ample headroom above 60 FPS while delivering superior graphics compared to Medium (120.4 FPS). For players with 144 Hz displays, Low settings (135.9 FPS) are the only preset approaching that refresh rate, but Medium (120.4 FPS) offers a better visual trade-off for a 20.1 FPS penalty. Ultra at 1440p (74.3 FPS) is playable but not recommended given the steep 25.1 FPS drop from High.

At 1080p, the system can handle Ultra (96.8 FPS) comfortably above 60 FPS, making it the best choice for visual quality. High (127.5 FPS) is the sweet spot for high-refresh monitors, as it clears 120 FPS while maintaining strong visuals. Medium (139.8 FPS) and Low (151.6 FPS) are viable for competitive play, but the visual degradation is substantial. Across all resolutions, the data suggests that High settings offer the best balance of performance and quality, with Ultra reserved for 1080p or players willing to accept sub-60 FPS at 4K.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Red Dead Redemption 2's large open-world textures. The GPU's 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, explaining its ability to sustain high frame rates across all measured settings.

The core clocks are notable: a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, drive the measured results. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is fully utilized, producing 46.8 FPS despite its massive compute resources. The PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 confirm the GPU's position in the 91st percentile among all graphics cards.

The nearest rival data shows the RTX 4090 averaging 66,473, with the NVIDIA Tesla T4 0.4% ahead (66,733) and the Tesla P40 0.5% behind (66,127). These comparisons are synthetic benchmarks, but in-game, the RTX 4090's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores provide additional headroom for future titles, though Red Dead Redemption 2 does not heavily leverage these features. The GPU's 450 W TDP and 850 W suggested PSU indicate a power-hungry component, but its performance in this game justifies the requirement. The 4K scaling data — from 108.9 FPS on Low to 46.8 FPS on Ultra — shows a 62.1 FPS range, demonstrating that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance at higher resolutions, with the Ryzen 5 3600 only becoming a factor at 1080p Low.