Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the data reveals a predictable ceiling at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results show this combo ranks in the 91st percentile of all tested configurations, placing it at rank 320 out of 3714 combos. While the GPU dominates at lower resolutions, the 4K Ultra setting exposes a significant performance drop that indicates the limits of this specific pairing under maximum graphical load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 193 FPS at 1080p to 144 FPS at 1440p, then falls further to 95 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, indicating that even at Low settings, the rendering load at 4K substantially challenges the system.

The scaling behavior shifts dramatically when examining the High and Ultra presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 121 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p, and finally to 59 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is a 34.4% reduction, which is steeper than the 25.6% reduction seen from 1080p to 1440p. This suggests that at 4K High, the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor, as the pixel count increase demands more from the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

Ultra settings tell an even more revealing story. The average FPS plummets from 87 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p, and then to just 43 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Ultra figure, representing a 50.6% drop. This steep decline at the highest preset and resolution combination indicates that the game's most demanding settings, which likely include advanced shadow and lighting effects, are saturating the GPU's capabilities. The data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the bottleneck, while at 1080p Low, the CPU may be limiting performance given the 193 FPS ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3714 tested combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 320, placing it in the top 8.6% of all configurations tested for Red Dead Redemption 2. This high ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's exceptional performance, as the RTX 4080 SUPER sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54209.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is more modest. The Ryzen 5 8400F holds the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25005. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964 and is only 0.2% behind, and the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24935, which trails by 0.3%. The data shows that the 8400F is positioned squarely in the upper-midrange of CPU performance, and while it does not hold the combo back significantly, it also does not boost the ranking beyond what the GPU alone would achieve.

The gap between the combo's overall rank and the GPU's percentile suggests that in most scenarios, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant factor. However, the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS indicates a scenario where the combination's overall performance is constrained, potentially by the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads when handling the game's simulation and AI workloads alongside the massive graphical load.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This configuration, built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 25,000 million transistors, delivers strong single-threaded performance as evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 951 and Cinebench R23 single-core result of 2943.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the scaling from 1080p to 4K at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 193 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 6091 and max-thread score of 6165 indicate that the CPU can handle multi-threaded workloads, but the game's engine may not fully utilize all 12 threads. The passmark multithread score of 24389 and the Cinebench R23 multicore result of 20851 confirm solid multi-core capability, yet the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS suggests that at extreme settings, the CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s may become limiting factors.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node allow for sustained boost clocks, but the data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate does not scale indefinitely with GPU capability. The 193 FPS at 1080p Low versus 144 FPS at 1440p Low indicates that the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates, but the 95 FPS at 4K Low reveals that the GPU's rendering load at 4K still takes precedence. This suggests that for most settings above Low, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary bottleneck, while the CPU only becomes a constraint at very high frame rates with low graphical settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 193 at Low to 87 at Ultra, with High at 121 and Medium at 144. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS, indicating a stable experience with the 144 average. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 87 FPS, which is playable but notably lower than the other presets.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops across all settings: Low produces 144 FPS, High achieves 90 FPS, Medium delivers 108 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a narrow range with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS, suggesting good frame pacing. The 1440p Ultra result of 65 FPS represents a 25.3% reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure, which is less severe than the 50.6% drop seen when moving from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the results become more constrained. Low settings produce 95 FPS, Medium averages 71 FPS with a range of 61 to 82 FPS, High achieves 59 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 71 FPS is particularly notable as it provides a playable experience while maintaining some visual fidelity, whereas the 4K High result of 59 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, and the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is below the typical 60 FPS target.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the clear performance driver in this combination, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 45,900 million transistors, delivers 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 10240 shading units. The boost clock of 2550 MHz and 320 W TDP provide ample headroom for demanding titles.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's capabilities are evident in the 1080p and 1440p results. At 1080p High, the 121 FPS average and 1440p High's 90 FPS demonstrate that the RTX 4080 SUPER handles the game's detailed environments and character models with ease. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 260075 indicate strong DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance, which aligns with the game's API requirements.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 4K textures, but the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth or compute throughput becomes a limiting factor at maximum settings. The passmark G3D score of 34245 and GPU compute score of 19822 reflect the GPU's raw power, yet the 4K Ultra scenario demands more than the 816.0 GTexel/s texture rate can deliver. The comparison to the RTX 4080, which scores 54247 and is only 0.1% behind, indicates that the SUPER variant offers marginal gains, and the game's 4K Ultra preset likely stresses both cards similarly.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 121 FPS delivers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, while the Medium preset at 144 FPS offers a smoother experience for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 87 FPS is viable but does not provide a significant visual improvement over High to justify the 28.1% frame rate reduction.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 90 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it maintains a high frame rate while preserving graphical fidelity. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is preferable for those seeking a higher refresh rate experience, but the 1440p Ultra result of 65 FPS is marginal and may result in noticeable stutters during intense scenes. The data shows that the 1440p Medium preset, with its 92 to 124 FPS range, provides the most consistent experience at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 71 FPS is the best option, offering a playable frame rate with a 61 to 82 FPS range that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High preset at 59 FPS is borderline, and the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is too low for smooth gameplay. Given that the 4K Medium result is 20.3% higher than 4K High, users should prioritize the Medium preset at 4K to maintain acceptable performance. The 4K Low preset at 95 FPS is available for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals, but the visual compromise may be too significant for a game known for its detailed world.