Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable but constrained experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck across all tested resolutions. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p gaming comfortably at medium settings, but struggles to maintain fluid framerates at higher resolutions and quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values reveal a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 79 FPS, but this falls to 59 FPS at 1440p and 39 FPS at 4K. That represents a 25% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 34% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the Intel Arc B570's rendering throughput is the limiting factor rather than the CPU.

Looking at the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum FPS data, the trend becomes even clearer. At 1080p Medium, the average is 59 FPS with a range of 50-68 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 44 FPS with a range of 38-51 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 29 FPS with a range of 25-34 FPS. The consistent narrowing of the frame range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is being pushed closer to its maximum capacity, leaving less headroom for frame variance.

The High preset shows a similar pattern: 49 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 36 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and just 18 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with roughly a 35% performance loss across all presets. This is expected behavior for a GPU with a 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, as higher resolutions demand more memory throughput and fill rate.

The fact that even the Low preset at 4K only reaches 39 FPS reinforces the GPU-bound nature of this pairing. A CPU-bound scenario would typically show less dramatic scaling between resolutions, but here the framerate nearly halves from 1080p Low to 4K Low. The Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for the game's needs, but the raw compute throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 appears to be the constraining factor at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 operates at a fixed 2500 MHz for both base and boost clocks, which is notable for a GPU in this class. This constant clock speed means the card does not rely on dynamic boosting to reach its performance target, providing consistent behavior across different workloads. The memory runs at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed, feeding a 160-bit bus for a total bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s.

The GPU's 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput, with a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. These specifications align with the measured results in Red Dead Redemption 2, where the card delivers competitive performance at 1080p but falls short at 4K Ultra. The 18 ray tracing cores are present but the game's rasterization workload appears to dominate the performance profile.

Comparing to the nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the Arc B570 sits at 65th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 with a delta of 0.1%. The Intel Arc A750 is nearly identical at 20582 with a delta of -0.1%. These scores suggest the B570 is competitive with mid-range offerings, but the measured FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2 shows that real-world gaming performance is more modest.

The 10 GB VRAM capacity is worth noting in the context of Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world environments. While the game does not appear to exceed this capacity at the tested settings, the 160-bit bus width limits memory bandwidth compared to wider-bus competitors. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gameplay, but the 4K results suggest the memory subsystem is struggling to feed the GPU's shading units effectively at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this combo. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 79 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 59 FPS still provides a solid experience with improved visual quality, and the minimum frame rate of 50 FPS ensures no major stutters. The High preset at 49 FPS is playable but begins to approach the edge of comfort for fast-paced action sequences.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for this combination at 1080p. It offers a 20% improvement over High in average FPS while maintaining a minimum of 50 FPS, which is generally considered the floor for responsive gameplay. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS is not recommended, as the visual gains do not justify the significant performance cost. The jump from Medium to Ultra costs 23 FPS on average, which represents a 39% performance penalty.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset achieves 59 FPS, matching the 1080p Medium result, and provides a playable experience. The Medium preset at 44 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 38 FPS that may cause noticeable frame drops in crowded scenes. The High preset at 37 FPS and Ultra at 27 FPS are difficult to recommend for sustained gameplay, though some players may tolerate these framerates for visual fidelity.

At 4K, none of the presets deliver a consistently smooth experience. The Low preset at 39 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, while Medium at 29 FPS, High at 24 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS all fall below acceptable thresholds. Players targeting 4K with this hardware should expect to use the Low preset and accept reduced visual quality, or consider lowering the resolution to achieve better framerates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 2335 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the 20th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 80% of combinations deliver higher performance in this game. The ranking reflects the balanced but modest nature of both components, with the Ryzen 5 8400F performing well in synthetic benchmarks but the Arc B570 limiting overall gaming performance.

The CPU itself ranks at the 77th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 25005. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with a score of 24964 and a delta of 0.2%, the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24935 with a delta of 0.3%, and the Intel Core i7-13620H at 24911 with a delta of 0.4%. The AMD EPYC 9474F is the only rival that outperforms it, scoring 25103 with a delta of -0.4%. These narrow margins indicate the 8400F is well-positioned within its performance class.

The combination's rank of 2335 suggests that while the CPU is capable, the GPU is holding back overall performance in this specific title. The Arc B570's 65th percentile ranking among GPUs, combined with the demanding nature of Red Dead Redemption 2, results in a system that sits below the median for all tested combos. Players considering this pairing should focus on the GPU as the component most likely to limit their experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The data shows 1080p is the most viable resolution, with the Medium preset achieving 59 FPS average and 50 FPS minimum. At 1440p, only the Low preset reaches 59 FPS, while 4K results are below 40 FPS across all settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570 scores 20556 on average benchmarks, placing it at the 65th percentile. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534 with a 0.1% delta, while the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 with a -0.1% delta. These differences are negligible in practical terms.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck for the Arc B570 in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. Framerates drop by roughly 25-35% from 1080p to 1440p and again from 1440p to 4K, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking suggests it has sufficient headroom.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 37 FPS with this preset. This is below the 60 FPS target most players prefer, and the lack of minimum FPS data for this setting means frame consistency cannot be fully assessed from the available metrics.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Medium in terms of performance?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 36 FPS compared to Medium's 59 FPS, a 39% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra hits 27 FPS versus Medium's 44 FPS, a 39% reduction. At 4K, Ultra achieves 18 FPS compared to Medium's 29 FPS, a 38% reduction.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 2335 out of 2902 tested combos, placing it in the lower 20% of all systems tested. This reflects the GPU's mid-range position rather than the CPU's stronger relative performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 79 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and maximum of 68 FPS. High settings produce 49 FPS on average, while Ultra drops to 36 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 54% performance range, giving players significant flexibility in choosing between visual quality and framerate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 59 FPS, matching the 1080p Medium result. Medium settings average 44 FPS with a range of 38-51 FPS. High settings drop to 37 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25% of performance across all presets, confirming the GPU's sensitivity to resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option above 30 FPS, averaging 39 FPS. Medium settings average 29 FPS with a minimum of 25 FPS and maximum of 34 FPS. High settings produce 24 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The 4K results indicate this combo is not suited for high-quality 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2, with even the lowest settings failing to reach 40 FPS.

The complete dataset shows that the Medium preset is the only configuration with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions, providing the most complete picture of frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 50-68 FPS range shows reasonable stability. At 1440p Medium, the 38-51 FPS range tightens, and at 4K Medium, the 25-34 FPS range narrows further, suggesting the GPU is operating closer to its limits at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, based on the Zen 4 architecture on a 4 nm TSMC process. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by the 3dmark single-thread score of 951 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all processors indicates it is well above average for general computing tasks.

In terms of multi-threaded capability, the CPU scores 20851 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 6165 in 3dmark max threads. These results demonstrate that the 8400F can handle the multi-threaded workloads common in modern games, though Red Dead Redemption 2's engine appears to rely more heavily on GPU performance based on the resolution scaling data. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth with DDR5 support provide adequate data throughput for gaming workloads.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database all score within 0.4% of its average, indicating that the 8400F sits in a highly competitive segment. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F at 0.2% delta, Intel Core i7-11850H at 0.3%, and Intel Core i7-13620H at 0.4% are all essentially equivalent performers. Only the AMD EPYC 9474F exceeds it, but by a negligible 0.4%. This suggests that the CPU choice is unlikely to be the differentiating factor in gaming performance when paired with the Arc B570.

The measured FPS data supports this conclusion, as the framerate drops consistently with resolution increases regardless of settings preset. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions and more variation between settings at the same resolution. Instead, the data shows the opposite pattern, confirming that the Ryzen 5 8400F provides sufficient processing power while the Intel Arc B570 determines the overall gaming experience.