Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 with AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

This combination pairs AMD's 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 5500 with NVIDIA's flagship RTX 5090, creating a notably imbalanced pairing for Red Dead Redemption 2. The benchmark data shows a system that delivers playable performance across all resolutions, but the scaling patterns reveal a configuration where the CPU becomes an increasingly significant constraint as resolution drops. With the RTX 5090 sitting at the 94th percentile among all GPUs and the Ryzen 5 5500 at the 79th percentile among CPUs, this is a pairing where the processor is clearly the weaker link in the chain.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS behavior across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives in this system. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 182.9 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 107.5 FPS — a reduction of roughly 41% when pixel count quadruples. That scaling is far less steep than what a purely GPU-limited system would show, indicating the CPU is holding back performance at lower resolutions.

Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS falls from 139.8 to 104.6, a 25% drop. The 1440p to 4K transition at High settings shows a more severe decline, from 104.6 down to 68.8 FPS, which is a 34% reduction. This pattern — moderate losses at lower resolutions and larger losses at higher resolutions — suggests the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor only when pixel counts climb substantially.

At Ultra settings, the scaling becomes more dramatic. The combo produces 102.7 FPS at 1080p, 72.9 FPS at 1440p, and just 51 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 29% and the 1440p-to-4K drop of 30% are remarkably consistent, pointing to a more balanced load between CPU and GPU at this quality level. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, making it the single scenario where the system struggles to maintain smooth frame pacing.

The Low settings scaling reveals the CPU constraint most clearly. At 1080p Low, the system produces 182.9 FPS, but at 1440p Low it still manages 163.9 FPS — only a 10% reduction. Even at 4K Low, the system holds 107.5 FPS. These relatively small gaps between resolutions at Low settings indicate that the Ryzen 5 5500 is saturating long before the RTX 5090 reaches its limits.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 brings a massive amount of graphics horsepower to this pairing, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz drive 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. The GPU's 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores provide the architectural foundation for the game's visual effects.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role becomes dominant as resolution and settings increase. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS shows the RTX 5090 being pushed hard, while the 1080p Low result of 182.9 FPS demonstrates how much headroom the GPU has when the CPU can keep up. The memory configuration is particularly relevant here — 32 GB of VRAM is far more than Red Dead Redemption 2 requires, meaning memory capacity is never a limiting factor in these results.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its Passmark G3D score of 39,650 and average benchmark score of 84,306 place it at the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84,241 with a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning the two are effectively identical in synthetic tests. The RTX 5090's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,411 further confirms its top-tier standing.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing ranks 42nd out of 1,687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. That places it in the top 2.5% of all combos in the database, which is notable given the CPU's relatively modest position in the broader processor landscape. The rank reflects the game's ability to leverage the RTX 5090's raw power even when paired with a mid-range processor.

The ranking makes sense when considering the component percentiles. The RTX 5090's 94th percentile standing among GPUs is the primary driver of this combo's high rank, while the Ryzen 5 5500's 79th percentile among CPUs is the limiting factor. In a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which scales reasonably well across multiple threads, the 6-core/12-thread processor can feed the GPU adequately at most settings, but it prevents the combo from reaching the very top of the rankings.

The gap between this combo's rank and what the GPU alone might achieve is telling. With a stronger CPU, the RTX 5090 would likely push this combination higher than 42nd place. The data suggests that the CPU is costing the system several positions in the ranking, particularly in the lower-resolution and lower-settings scenarios where CPU overhead matters most.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p: The system delivers its highest frame rates at this resolution. Low settings produce 182.9 FPS, Medium settings reach 161.9 FPS, and High settings achieve 139.8 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 102.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 80.2 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on quality preferences.

1440p: Performance remains strong at this resolution. Low settings average 163.9 FPS, Medium settings hit 122.1 FPS, and High settings reach 104.6 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 72.9 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 91 FPS, indicating that the GPU is taking on more load as resolution increases.

4K: This is where the system faces its toughest challenge. Low settings produce 107.5 FPS, Medium settings achieve 81.7 FPS, and High settings reach 68.8 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 51 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread of 56.5 FPS is the smallest of any resolution, reflecting the GPU-bound nature of 4K rendering in this title.

The settings scaling at each resolution follows a consistent pattern: Low to Medium gains are substantial, Medium to High gains are moderate, and High to Ultra gains are the smallest. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium is 21 FPS, from Medium to High is 22.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 37.1 FPS. At 4K, the corresponding jumps are 25.8 FPS, 12.9 FPS, and 17.8 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features 16 MB of L3 cache, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 64 KB of L1 cache per core. It connects to the system via PCIe Gen 3 and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's influence is most visible at lower resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low result of 182.9 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 107.5 FPS demonstrates that the processor can push well over 180 FPS in this game when the GPU isn't burdened by high pixel counts. However, the fact that 1080p Low doesn't reach higher frame rates suggests the CPU is nearing its practical limit in this title.

The CPU's benchmark results provide context for its gaming performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16,429 and single-core score of 2,319 indicate solid all-around performance for a 6-core part. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 19,330 and single-thread score of 3,058 reinforce this assessment. The processor's average benchmark score of 20,875 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, scoring 20,897 with a deltaPct of -0.1%.

The 3DMark thread scaling results show how the CPU handles increasing thread counts: 1,645 for 2 threads, 3,151 for 4 threads, 4,593 for 8 threads, and 5,411 for max threads. This scaling pattern indicates that the processor benefits from additional threads but reaches diminishing returns beyond 8 threads, which aligns with its 6-core/12-thread configuration in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 that typically uses fewer than 8 threads effectively.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60+ FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings or lower. The system achieves 81.7 FPS at 4K Medium and 107.5 FPS at 4K Low, but drops to 68.8 FPS at 4K High and 51 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in this game?

A: 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The system delivers 122.1 FPS at Medium, 104.6 FPS at High, and 72.9 FPS at Ultra settings at this resolution, all comfortably above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the drop from 182.9 FPS to 107.5 FPS represents a loss of 75.4 FPS, or roughly 41%. At High settings, the drop from 139.8 FPS to 68.8 FPS is a loss of 71 FPS, or about 51%.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 being held back by the Ryzen 5 5500?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The relatively small FPS differences between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings (182.9 vs 163.9 FPS) indicate the CPU is limiting performance before the GPU reaches full utilization.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: It ranks 42nd out of 1,687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 2.5% of all combinations in the database.

Q: What settings should be used for a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K?

A: Medium settings provide the safest margin at 81.7 FPS. High settings at 68.8 FPS still exceed 60 FPS, but with less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra settings at 51 FPS do not meet the 60 FPS threshold.