Red Dead Redemption 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The chip carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 512 KB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core. Its PassMark single-thread score is 2872, while the multithread score reaches 19236, with an overall average benchmark score of 36945.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 110 FPS average, which is the highest figure across all tested configurations. This suggests that at lower settings and moderate resolutions, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck — the frame rate scales clearly with GPU load. The single-thread performance, ranking in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, indicates solid responsiveness for the game's single-threaded components, while the 12 threads handle background tasks and streaming.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600F sits within a narrow band: the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 (-0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 (-0.4%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (-0.5%). This clustering means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 5600F is indistinguishable from these alternatives — any FPS differences in RDR2 would come from other system components, not this CPU.

The boost clock of 4.00 GHz is moderate, but the Zen 3 architecture's efficiency ensures consistent performance under sustained gaming loads. The DDR4 memory support with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this game, which does not demand extreme memory throughput. The 6-core/12-thread layout is well-suited to RDR2's engine, which typically utilizes multiple threads for rendering, physics, and AI.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

At 1080p, the data shows a clear progression: Low yields 110 FPS average, Medium drops to 82 FPS, High to 69 FPS, and Ultra to 49 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 82 FPS average with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS, which represents a strong balance — the frame rate stays well above 60 FPS even in demanding moments. For players with standard 60 Hz displays, Medium at 1080p is the recommended starting point, as it provides a comfortable margin above the refresh threshold.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again stands out: 61 FPS average with a minimum of 52 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS. While the minimum dips below 60 FPS, the average remains playable. High at 1440p drops to 51 FPS average, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Low at 1440p reaches 82 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. For 1440p users, Medium is the best measured option that balances fluidity and fidelity.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Medium averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, while High averages 34 FPS and Ultra falls to 24 FPS. Low at 4K reaches 54 FPS, but this preset strips away many graphical features that define RDR2's visual identity. The data indicates that Ultra is not viable at any resolution for this combo — even at 1080p it only hits 49 FPS average. The measured rows suggest that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering the highest average FPS that maintains visual quality without sacrificing playability.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Examining the Medium preset across resolutions reveals the scaling behavior: 1080p Medium averages 82 FPS, 1440p Medium averages 61 FPS, and 4K Medium averages 41 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p represents a 25.6% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 32.8% reduction. From 1080p to 4K, the average FPS falls from 82 to 41, exactly halving. This proportional relationship strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component — as pixel count increases, the RTX 4060's workload scales accordingly.

For the Low preset, the scaling is similar: 110 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop here is 50.9%. High preset shows 69 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K — a 50.7% drop. Ultra preset drops from 49 FPS at 1080p to 37 FPS at 1440p to 24 FPS at 4K, a 51% reduction.

The consistent ~50% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings confirms that the GPU is fully saturated at every preset. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect smaller FPS differences at higher resolutions (since the CPU's workload stays constant), but the data shows linear scaling with pixel count. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM may also contribute to the performance ceiling at 4K, particularly at higher settings where texture memory demands increase.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Red Dead Redemption 2 with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p Medium provides 82 FPS average with a minimum of 70 FPS, offering the smoothest experience. 1440p Medium averages 61 FPS, which is playable but with occasional dips to 52 FPS. 4K does not achieve 60 FPS on any preset.

Q: Can this system run RDR2 at Ultra settings?

A: Ultra settings are not recommended. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 49; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 37; at 4K Ultra, it falls to 24. These frame rates are below the threshold for smooth gameplay at any resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600F compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The 5600F scores 36945 on average benchmarks, essentially tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% faster, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is 0.4% faster, and the Intel Core i9-12900T is 0.5% faster. Differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent ~50% reduction across all settings, which indicates the GPU is fully saturated. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and strong multithread scores suggest it can keep up with the GPU's demands.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. This is suitable for gaming on a 60 Hz monitor, though framerate dips below 60 may occur during intense scenes.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17666 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (0.7%). The 4060 sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip at TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). The card includes 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores, delivering 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor at higher resolutions. The measured 4K results show steep performance drops — 41 FPS at Medium and 34 FPS at High — which likely reflects both the GPU's compute limits and potential VRAM pressure. The 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and RDR2's large open-world textures can stress this configuration.

The boost clock of 2460 MHz is reasonably high, helping the card maintain competitive performance at 1080p and 1440p. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are adequate for this game's visual complexity. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 19545 places it in the 61st percentile, confirming its mid-range positioning.

The RTX 4060's launch MSRP is 299 USD. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, which covers RDR2's rendering requirements. The PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is sufficient for this workload, and the 115 W TDP with a suggested 300 W PSU indicates efficient power delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 110 FPS average
• Medium: 82 FPS average, 70 FPS minimum, 95 FPS maximum
• High: 69 FPS average
• Ultra: 49 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 82 FPS average
• Medium: 61 FPS average, 52 FPS minimum, 71 FPS maximum
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 37 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 54 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum
• High: 34 FPS average
• Ultra: 24 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern: Low settings at 1080p deliver the highest frame rate (110 FPS), while Ultra at 4K delivers the lowest (24 FPS). The Medium preset provides the only configurations with measured minimum and maximum values, suggesting these runs captured the full range of performance. Across all resolutions, the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial — at 1080p it is 61 FPS, at 1440p it is 45 FPS, and at 4K it is 30 FPS. This indicates that the graphical settings have a greater impact at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom.

The transition from High to Ultra is particularly punishing: at 1080p it drops from 69 to 49 FPS (a 29% reduction), at 1440p from 51 to 37 FPS (27% reduction), and at 4K from 34 to 24 FPS (29% reduction). The consistent percentage drop suggests Ultra adds a uniform computational burden across resolutions, likely from effects like volumetric lighting and shadow quality.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1544 out of 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the 53rd percentile of all systems tested — slightly above the median but not in the upper echelon. Given that the CPU ranks in the 85th percentile and the GPU in the 61st percentile, the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's mid-range positioning.

The rank of 1544 suggests that the RTX 4060 is the limiting factor in this pairing. Many combos with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would outperform this system in RDR2, which is a graphically demanding title. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation — at 1080p Medium, the system achieves 82 FPS, which is solid but not exceptional for a mid-range card.

The combo's position in the lower half of the top 54% indicates that while it can handle RDR2 at playable frame rates, it is not optimized for maximum settings or high refresh rates. For comparison, the CPU's nearest rivals show nearly identical benchmark scores, so any ranking differences among combos using these CPUs would be driven by the GPU choice. The GPU's nearest rivals are older or integrated solutions, indicating that the RTX 4060 competes with lower-tier options in raw benchmark terms, despite its modern architecture.

The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can maintain 60+ FPS on Medium and High settings. At 1440p, it remains playable on Medium, but at 4K it falls below 60 FPS on all presets. The rank of 1544 reflects this mid-range capability — it is a competent system for mainstream gaming but not a high-end configuration.