Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

Red Dead Redemption 2’s frame rate response to resolution changes reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher pixel counts, with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 providing ample headroom to keep the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 fed. The measured data shows a clear and consistent pattern: as resolution drops, average FPS climbs substantially, indicating that the graphics card, not the processor, is the primary limiter in this pairing.

At 4K (3840x2160), the RTX 4090 delivers 66 FPS on High settings, 79 FPS on Medium, and 106 FPS on Low. The jump from High to Low at this resolution is a 60% increase in frame rate, which is a significant swing that illustrates how much pixel throughput costs the GPU. The Ultra preset, however, tells a different story: it drops to 48 FPS, a 27% reduction from High. This steep falloff suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive at 4K, likely pushing the GPU to its limits in terms of memory bandwidth and compute shader work.

Moving to 1440p (2560x1440), the same settings hierarchy shows a noticeable improvement. High produces 100 FPS, Medium reaches 120 FPS, and Low hits 160 FPS. The delta between Low and High here is 60 FPS, a 60% uplift, which mirrors the 4K scaling behavior. Ultra at 1440p manages 72 FPS, which is 50% higher than its 4K counterpart, confirming that the Ultra preset’s cost scales steeply with pixel count. The frame rate gap between 4K and 1440p at High settings is 34 FPS, meaning the RTX 4090 is roughly 52% faster at the lower resolution.

At 1080p (1920x1080), the data shows the least resistance for the GPU. High settings yield 134 FPS, Medium hits 161 FPS, Low reaches 214 FPS, and Ultra still holds at 96 FPS. The progression from 4K to 1080p at Low settings is particularly telling: 106 FPS to 214 FPS is a 102% doubling of performance, which strongly indicates that the RTX 4090 is never starved for data at 1080p and that the Ryzen 5 7600 is capable of feeding it at these rates. The 1080p Ultra result of 96 FPS is only 45% higher than 4K Ultra, suggesting that at Ultra settings, the game’s engine imposes a more consistent load regardless of resolution.

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K on High settings—134 to 100 to 66 FPS—shows a 26% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 34% drop from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear decay is typical for a GPU-bound title where the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The RTX 4090’s 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth is clearly being taxed at 4K, as the frame rate declines are sharper than what a purely compute-limited scenario would produce.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications explain why resolution scaling behaves as it does. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. Its boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz, and it carries 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. These figures are not just theoretical; they directly correlate with the measured FPS across all resolutions.

The 24 GB frame buffer is more than sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2’s demands at any resolution, including 4K Ultra, which is why the game never appears to hit a memory capacity wall in the data. Instead, the bottleneck is the GPU’s compute and memory throughput. At 4K Ultra, the 48 FPS average suggests the RTX 4090 is saturated, as the Ultra preset likely enables high-resolution textures and complex shading that require extensive bandwidth and pixel processing. The 79 FPS at 4K Medium versus 106 FPS at 4K Low indicates that Medium settings reduce the load enough to allow the GPU to operate more efficiently, while Low removes enough effects to nearly double the frame rate compared to Ultra.

The RTX 4090’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its PassMark G3D score is 38,194, and its average benchmark score is 60,347, placing it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, have average scores within 0.3% of the RTX 4090, but those are professional workstation parts, not gaming cards. This context shows that the RTX 4090 is not just fast in this game but sits at the top of the performance hierarchy, which is why the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is more a reflection of the game’s engine limitations than the GPU’s capability.

The GPU’s clock speed of 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost provides a solid foundation for sustained performance. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the measured FPS at 1440p High (100 FPS) and 1080p High (134 FPS) are consistent with a GPU that can maintain high utilization without thermal throttling, as the data shows no anomalous dips. The 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are designed for this kind of sustained load, and the results indicate the card is delivering its expected performance across all settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing Red Dead Redemption 2 with this hardware if I want a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that 4K High achieves 66 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 79 FPS. At 1440p, High hits 100 FPS and Ultra manages 72 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS floor, 4K High is viable, while 1440p Ultra offers higher visual quality with a 72 FPS average.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 4K, Ultra averages 48 FPS versus High’s 66 FPS, a 27% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra drops from High’s 100 FPS to 72 FPS, a 28% cut. At 1080p, Ultra is 96 FPS against High’s 134 FPS, a 28% decrease. The cost is consistent across resolutions at roughly a quarter of the frame rate.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: The measured FPS at 1080p Low reaches 214 FPS, which is very high and indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at that level. The consistent scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU, as frame rates drop steeply with increasing resolution.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded in the data?

A: The only rows with min and max FPS are the Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the range is 67 to 91 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 102 to 138 FPS. At 1080p Medium, it is 136 to 185 FPS. Other settings do not have min or max values listed.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60,326, which is a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140, a 0.3% delta. The RTX 4090 is effectively tied with these parts, but they are professional GPUs, not gaming-focused cards.

Q: Does the game’s frame rate double when going from 4K to 1080p?

A: At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 106 FPS at 4K to 214 FPS at 1080p, which is a 102% increase, effectively doubling. At High settings, it goes from 66 FPS to 134 FPS, a 103% increase. The doubling is consistent across these settings, but at Ultra, it only goes from 48 FPS to 96 FPS, a 100% increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is organized by resolution and settings preset. Each row represents an average frame rate, with some rows including minimum and maximum values.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are as follows. High settings produce an average of 66 FPS. Low settings produce an average of 106 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, showing a dramatic range based on preset choice.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the data shows High settings at 100 FPS, Low settings at 160 FPS, Medium settings at 120 FPS (with min 102 FPS and max 138 FPS), and Ultra settings at 72 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 88 FPS, which is a larger absolute gap than at 4K, indicating the GPU has more headroom at this resolution.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), High settings reach 134 FPS, Low settings hit 214 FPS, Medium settings average 161 FPS (with min 136 FPS and max 185 FPS), and Ultra settings settle at 96 FPS. The Low to Ultra spread is 118 FPS, the largest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU is least constrained at 1080p.

Notably, the Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 67 FPS is just above the High average of 66 FPS, suggesting that Medium provides a more stable frame pacing than High. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 102 FPS is close to the High average of 100 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, the minimum of 136 FPS is slightly above the High average of 134 FPS. This pattern indicates that Medium settings offer a smoother experience with less variance than High.

The Ultra preset consistently delivers the lowest frame rates: 48 FPS at 4K, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 1080p. These figures are all playable, but they represent a significant sacrifice in smoothness compared to High, which is 66, 100, and 134 FPS respectively. The data shows that the RTX 4090 can handle Ultra at all resolutions, but the frame rate cost is substantial.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the measured data suggests it does so without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU’s benchmark results are strong. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 12,735 and single-core is 1,852. Its Geekbench multicore score is 13,413 and single-core is 2,521. These scores place it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26,324. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, which scores 26,274 (a 0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i9-11900KF, which scores 26,212 (a 0.4% delta). The Ryzen 5 7600 is effectively on par with these parts, showing it has sufficient single-thread and multi-thread performance for modern games.

In this game, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 214 FPS. This is a very high number that requires the CPU to process game logic and issue draw calls at a rapid pace. The fact that the RTX 4090 can achieve this frame rate indicates the Ryzen 5 7600 is not holding it back. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate at 1080p Low would plateau regardless of resolution scaling, but the data shows a clear drop to 160 FPS at 1440p Low and 106 FPS at 4K Low, which is a GPU-driven decline.

The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is adequate for Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known to scale well with multiple threads but does not require an excessive number of cores. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.10 GHz provides the single-thread performance needed for the game’s main thread, and the 32 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency. The DDR5 memory support and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth also contribute to keeping the CPU fed with data.

The data shows no signs of CPU-induced stuttering or frame drops, as the min FPS values for Medium settings (67 FPS at 4K, 102 FPS at 1440p, 136 FPS at 1080p) are all above the corresponding High averages, indicating the CPU is delivering consistent frame times. The Ryzen 5 7600’s performance is sufficient to extract the full potential of the RTX 4090 in this title, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. The data provides a clear hierarchy: Low yields the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra, which is the most demanding.

For 4K resolution, the recommended preset is High, which averages 66 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and it offers significantly better visual quality than Medium (79 FPS) or Low (106 FPS). Ultra at 48 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive, so High is the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity and performance. If a higher frame rate is preferred, Medium at 79 FPS is a solid alternative that still maintains good image quality.

For 1440p resolution, High is again the recommended preset, delivering 100 FPS. This provides a very smooth experience and is only 20 FPS short of Medium’s 120 FPS, but with better visuals. Ultra at 72 FPS is also viable for those who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, as it remains above 60 FPS. Low at 160 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices too much visual fidelity.

For 1080p resolution, High at 134 FPS is the recommended preset. It offers a high frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, and it provides a good balance of visuals and performance. Medium at 161 FPS is an option for esports-style play, but the visual difference between Medium and High is worth the 27 FPS drop. Ultra at 96 FPS is also acceptable, but High is the best overall choice. Low at 214 FPS is only useful for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount.

The data shows that the Medium preset has the most stable frame pacing, with min FPS values that are close to the High averages. For users who experience frame time inconsistency, Medium may be a safer choice, as its minimum FPS (67 at 4K, 102 at 1440p, 136 at 1080p) are all higher than the corresponding High averages. This suggests that Medium provides a more consistent experience without the occasional dips that High might exhibit.

In summary, High is the recommended preset across all resolutions for this hardware combination. It delivers frame rates of 66 FPS at 4K, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 134 FPS at 1080p, which are all smooth and responsive. Ultra is only recommended for users with high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p or 1440p who are willing to accept lower frame rates, while Low and Medium are best suited for competitive play or when frame rate consistency is the top priority.