Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 pairing delivers a solid 1080p experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the data shows clear limits as resolution climbs. The measured results indicate that the RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus become the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 5600 provides ample processing headroom for this 2018 title. This analysis breaks down the optimal settings, scaling behavior, and component roles based strictly on the benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 FPS target at 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 74 FPS average, which is the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness. The Medium preset sits at 84.6 FPS, offering a 14% performance uplift over High but with reduced graphical quality. Ultra is playable at 54.5 FPS but dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a choice for those prioritizing visuals over frame rate consistency. Low at 116.1 FPS is the only preset that approaches high-refresh-rate territory, but the visual sacrifice is substantial for a game with this level of environmental detail.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more demanding. High drops to 51.4 FPS, slightly below the 60 FPS target, while Medium holds at 63.7 FPS — the only preset that maintains playable smoothness at this resolution. Ultra falls to 38.3 FPS, which is borderline for action sequences. For 1440p users, the data suggests Medium as the practical ceiling, as High’s 51.4 FPS is a 31% reduction from the 1080p High result, indicating the GPU is becoming the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Low averages 56 FPS, which is close but still short, while Medium drops to 40.6 FPS and High to 35.8 FPS. Ultra is effectively unplayable at 23.3 FPS. The recommendation for 4K is to stick with Low if playability is the goal, but the data clearly shows this combo is not designed for 4K gaming. The best overall experience is 1080p High, where the 74 FPS average provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining most visual features.

FAQ

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

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 56 FPS on Low settings. Medium scores 40.6 FPS, High scores 35.8 FPS, and Ultra scores 23.3 FPS. No preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average is 74 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops the average to 51.4 FPS, a 31% reduction. This indicates the GPU’s memory bandwidth is strained as pixel count increases.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060’s average benchmark score is 30109, which is effectively identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30158, -0.2% delta). It also sits close to the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29969, 0.5% delta) and RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, 0.6% delta).

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600 a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 116.1 FPS, and the CPU’s multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multicore at 18309) are strong for a 6-core part. The frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (116.1 to 54.5 FPS) shows the GPU is the primary limiter, not the CPU.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium at 63.7 FPS is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS. High at 51.4 FPS is playable but may exhibit stutter in busy scenes. Ultra at 38.3 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: It ranks 868 out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the 51st percentile. This means roughly half of tested systems perform better, but it is still a capable mid-range setup for 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of decline reveals the bottleneck. At High settings, 1080p yields 74 FPS, 1440p yields 51.4 FPS, and 4K yields 35.8 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 22.6 FPS (31%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 15.6 FPS (30%). This nearly linear scaling suggests the GPU is consistently the limiting factor across all resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper: 1080p hits 116.1 FPS, 1440p hits 88.9 FPS, and 4K hits 56 FPS. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 27.2 FPS (23%), while 1440p to 4K drops 32.9 FPS (37%). The larger 4K penalty at Low settings indicates that even with reduced graphical load, the RTX 5060’s 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB capacity cannot sustain high frame rates at 3840x2160.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 54.5 FPS at 1080p, 38.3 FPS at 1440p, and 23.3 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p reduction is 16.2 FPS (30%), and the 1440p to 4K reduction is 15 FPS (39%). This pattern confirms that the GPU is the limiting component — the CPU’s performance (Cinebench R23 single-core at 2584) remains constant, but the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth struggle as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 868 out of 1687 tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 51st percentile. This is a middle-of-the-pack result, indicating that while the RTX 5060 is a capable GPU (73rd percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 30109), the overall system performance is tempered by the resolution and settings tested.

Compared to its GPU rivals, the RTX 5060’s average benchmark score of 30109 is essentially tied with the RX 7700 XT (30097) and RX 570 (30158). In actual game measurements, this translates to the frame rates listed above. The CPU’s percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs (avg score 21765) is higher than the GPU’s percentile, suggesting the processor is not the weak link in this pairing.

The rank of 868 means that 819 tested combos performed better, likely featuring higher-end GPUs or more powerful CPUs. However, for a 1080p gaming setup, the 74 FPS High preset result is respectable. The rank also reflects that this game is heavily GPU-bound, so combos with stronger graphics cards will naturally score higher regardless of CPU choice.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename). It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 2584 single-core and 18309 multi-core, which are strong numbers for a mid-range desktop chip.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU. The frame rates at 1080p Low (116.1 FPS) show that the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower settings. At High settings, the 74 FPS average suggests the game is not CPU-limited, as the CPU’s single-thread score (2584) is well above what would be needed for 60 FPS in most scenes.

The CPU’s 3DMark scores support this: 1737 in 2-thread, 3313 in 4-thread, and 4798 in 8-thread tests. These indicate strong multi-threading capability for a 6-core part, which helps in open-world games that spawn multiple NPCs and physics objects. The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node (TSMC) mean the CPU runs efficiently, leaving thermal headroom for sustained boost clocks.

However, the CPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635, 0.6% delta) and AMD EPYC 9554P (21899, -0.6% delta), which are server-class parts. This shows the Ryzen 5 5600’s desktop performance is competitive, but the game’s results are more influenced by the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling patterns.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 delivers its best results. Low settings average 116.1 FPS, Medium 84.6 FPS, High 74 FPS, and Ultra 54.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 61.6 FPS (53%), showing the GPU’s performance scales significantly with graphical load. Medium offers a 14% improvement over High, while High provides a 36% improvement over Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 88.9 FPS (Low), 63.7 FPS (Medium), 51.4 FPS (High), and 38.3 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset is the only one above 60 FPS, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 50.6 FPS (57%). Compared to 1080p, the 1440p results show a 23% reduction at Low, a 25% reduction at Medium, a 31% reduction at High, and a 30% reduction at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 56 FPS (Low), 40.6 FPS (Medium), 35.8 FPS (High), and 23.3 FPS (Ultra). No preset reaches 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 32.7 FPS (58%), consistent with the other resolutions. The 4K results show a 52% reduction from 1080p at Low, a 52% reduction at Medium, a 52% reduction at High, and a 57% reduction at Ultra.

The data reveals that the RTX 5060’s performance ceiling is at 1080p, where it can handle High settings comfortably. At 1440p, Medium is the practical choice, and at 4K, only Low is marginally playable. The 8 GB memory capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely limiting factors at higher resolutions, as the game’s texture and shadow data exceed what the GPU can efficiently process.