Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers playable frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2 only at the lowest settings and resolution, with the data showing a hard performance ceiling imposed by the graphics solution. Across all twelve measured configurations, the average frame rate never exceeds 51 FPS, and the system ranks 2568th out of 2902 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all hardware pairings for this title. The following analysis breaks down exactly how this combo behaves across resolutions and settings, what the GPU is doing to limit performance, and where users should set their expectations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent penalty as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, with the gap between the lowest and highest resolutions widening dramatically at higher settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 51 FPS at 1920x1080 to 38 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 25 FPS at 3840x2160 — a total loss of 26 FPS, or roughly 51% of the 1080p performance. This scaling curve indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component at every resolution, as the Ryzen 5 7600’s six-core, twelve-thread Zen 4 architecture should have ample headroom for a game from 2018.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when examining the High preset. At 1920x1080, the combo averages 32 FPS; at 2560x1440, that drops to 24 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it collapses to 16 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 33%, showing that the penalty accelerates as pixel count grows. This non-linear degradation is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of raw throughput, not a CPU bottleneck — the Ryzen 5 7600’s 3.80 GHz base and 5.10 GHz boost clocks are more than sufficient for this workload.

Medium settings tell a similar story: 39 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, meanwhile, is essentially unplayable across the board, with 23 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. Notably, the Medium preset at 4K is the only 3840x2160 configuration with min/max data — 16 FPS minimum and 22 FPS maximum — suggesting that other 4K runs were too inconsistent to record full ranges. The data strongly indicates that users targeting 4K with this combo should expect single-digit to low-20s performance, which falls far below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playable action-adventure games.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive factor in this combo’s performance, and its specifications explain why every resolution and setting combination struggles. The GPU operates as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 300 MHz base clock and 2500 MHz boost clock, but its memory configuration is the critical limitation: it uses System Shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM pool. The memory bus width is also listed as System Shared, and bandwidth is described as System Dependent — all of which point to the GPU borrowing from system DDR5 memory rather than accessing its own high-bandwidth cache.

The Arc B390’s raw compute numbers reinforce this bottleneck. With 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, the GPU delivers 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate. Its FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). While these figures are not negligible, the 80 W TDP and IGP form factor mean the GPU is thermally and power-constrained compared to discrete solutions. The GPU’s benchmark percentile tells the real story: it sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the bottom decile of the database.

The nearest rivals for the Arc B390 are all legacy low-end NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% slower), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% slower), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 in the company of decade-old entry-level mobile and OEM GPUs, which explains why Red Dead Redemption 2 — a graphically demanding open-world title — produces such low frame rates. The Ryzen 5 7600, by contrast, sits at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26324 and nearest rivals like the Ryzen 9 6900HX (0.2% faster) and Ryzen 7 7435HS (0.3% faster). The CPU is dramatically overqualified for the GPU it is paired with.

The combination of a top-quartile CPU and bottom-decile GPU creates a situation where the GPU is the sole bottleneck in every measured scenario. The system shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and the 83.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 bandwidth of the Ryzen 5 7600 platform is shared rather than dedicated to graphics. This explains why even at Low settings, the 4K resolution produces just 25 FPS — the GPU simply cannot fill pixels fast enough, regardless of how much CPU headroom exists.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not at playable frame rates. The best 4K result is 25 FPS average at Low settings, dropping to 16 FPS at High, 19 FPS at Medium, and 11 FPS at Ultra. None of these reach the 30 FPS threshold generally considered the minimum for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in this game?

A: The highest measured average is 51 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that breaks the 50 FPS mark, and it is achieved by sacrificing all visual quality.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 puts it just ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). All of these are legacy entry-level parts.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this pairing?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 7600 performs at the 78th CPU percentile with an average benchmark score of 26324, while the Arc B390 sits at the 9th GPU percentile. The CPU’s nearest rivals are within 0.5% of its score, showing it is a mid-to-high-tier part, whereas the GPU competes with products from over a decade ago.

Q: What kind of performance difference exists between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 51 FPS average, while Ultra produces 23 FPS average — a difference of 28 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers less than half the frame rate of Low. The Medium preset lands at 39 FPS, and High at 32 FPS.

Q: Does the combo have any configuration that maintains a consistent frame rate?

A: The only settings that report both minimum and maximum FPS are the Medium presets: 33-44 FPS at 1080p, 24-33 FPS at 1440p, and 16-22 FPS at 4K. These ranges suggest Medium is the most stable preset, though still not smooth at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results, though they remain modest. Low settings yield an average of 51 FPS, which is the single best measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 39 FPS average, with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 44 FPS, showing a tight 11 FPS range. High settings fall to 32 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 23 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 55% performance loss, from 51 FPS down to 23 FPS, which is a steep price for the visual fidelity gains.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings still manage 38 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings produce 29 FPS average, with a minimum of 24 FPS and maximum of 33 FPS — the frame pacing will be noticeable during busy scenes. High settings drop to 24 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 17 FPS average. The 1440p results show a 55% drop from Low to Ultra, from 38 FPS to 17 FPS, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern almost exactly.

At 3840x2160, the combo is effectively out of its depth. Low settings produce 25 FPS average, which is the only 4K configuration that approaches playability. Medium settings yield 19 FPS average, with a minimum of 16 FPS and maximum of 22 FPS. High settings drop to 16 FPS average, and Ultra collapses to 11 FPS average. The 4K results show a 56% drop from Low to Ultra, from 25 FPS to 11 FPS, consistent with the other resolutions but at an unusable baseline. Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently delivers roughly 2.2 to 2.3 times the frame rate of the Ultra preset, indicating a predictable scaling relationship between settings levels.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2568th out of 2902 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 11.5% of all hardware pairings in the database. This rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU component is far more competitive. The Ryzen 5 7600’s average benchmark score of 26324 places it at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, with its nearest rivals — the Ryzen 9 6900HX at 26274 (0.2% faster), Ryzen 7 7435HS at 26402 (0.3% slower), Core i9-11900KF at 26212 (0.4% faster), and Ryzen 5 8540U at 26187 (0.5% faster) — all within a fraction of a percent. This indicates the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class.

The GPU, by contrast, ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 from its single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 run. Its nearest rivals are all significantly older and less capable parts, with the GeForce GT 520MX trailing by just 1.3% and the GeForce GT 710 trailing by 2.7%. The delta between the CPU and GPU percentiles — 78 versus 9 — is a 69-point gap that illustrates the extreme imbalance of this pairing. In practical terms, this means the combo’s rank of 2568 out of 2902 is likely to be near the bottom of any list that pairs modern mid-range CPUs with integrated graphics solutions.

Given that the Arc B390 is an IGP with system shared memory, the rank reflects a fundamental architectural limitation rather than a defect. The Ryzen 5 7600’s six cores and twelve threads, running at up to 5.10 GHz boost, are more than capable of feeding a discrete GPU, but the Arc B390’s 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for a game as GPU-intensive as Red Dead Redemption 2. Users who upgrade the GPU while keeping the CPU would see a dramatic rank improvement, but as configured, this combo is firmly in the bottom tier for this title.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to a single viable configuration for this combo: 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers 51 FPS average. This is the only measured result that exceeds 50 FPS, and it provides the smoothest experience available with this hardware. All other 1080p settings produce averages below 40 FPS, with High at 32 FPS, Medium at 39 FPS, and Ultra at 23 FPS. For users who prioritize frame rate over visuals, Low at 1080p is the clear choice.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more challenging. Low settings produce 38 FPS average, which is playable for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 that does not require twitch reflexes, but it will not feel smooth. Medium settings at 1440p produce 29 FPS average, which dips below the 30 FPS threshold and will exhibit noticeable stutter during heavy scenes. The 1440p configuration is only recommended for users who accept sub-40 FPS gameplay.

For 3840x2160, no configuration is recommended for actual play. The best 4K result is 25 FPS average at Low settings, which is below the minimum playability threshold for most users. The Medium preset’s 19 FPS average, with a minimum of 16 FPS, would be a frustrating experience. The data suggests that users with this combo should either run at 1080p Low for the best playable experience or accept that higher resolutions are not viable.

The Medium preset at 1080p offers a reasonable compromise for users who want some visual quality: 39 FPS average with a 33-44 FPS range. This provides a 33 FPS floor, which is just above the 30 FPS minimum for playability, and the 11 FPS range indicates relatively stable frame pacing. However, the 12 FPS difference between Medium and Low at 1080p (39 versus 51 FPS) represents a 24% performance penalty for moderate visual gains. Given the GPU’s limited capabilities, Low at 1080p remains the only setting that delivers a consistently smooth experience, and it is the recommended configuration for this hardware pairing.