Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 889th out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 24% of all systems tested. This is a strong position that reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is a clear bottleneck. The CPU sits at the 84th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is at the 81st percentile among all graphics cards, indicating both parts are well above average in their respective categories. In practical terms, this combo delivers smooth gameplay at most settings and resolutions, though the most demanding configurations will push it to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 889 out of 3714 tested systems places this pairing comfortably in the upper quartile of all tested configurations. This positioning suggests that the Ryzen 7 3700X and RTX 4070 work well together for this title, with no single component dragging the overall experience down. The CPU's average benchmark score of 34260 puts it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222, +0.1%) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (34220, +0.1%), while slightly trailing the Intel Core i5-13450HX (34333, -0.2%). This means the 3700X is delivering performance right at the level of much newer processors, making it a capable partner for the RTX 4070.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, +0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, +0.4%), while sitting about 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135). This places the RTX 4070 in a competitive mid-to-high tier position. When combined, these two components produce a system that ranks in the top quarter of all tested combos, which is a meaningful achievement given the age of the CPU relative to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 152 FPS on average, which is far beyond what any display can show. The Medium preset drops to 114 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings at 1080p produce 95 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS. For most players, the High preset at 1080p offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, maintaining 95 FPS while delivering significantly better graphics than Medium.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more nuanced. Low settings hit 113 FPS, Medium manages 85 FPS, and High produces 71 FPS. Ultra drops to 51 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target for many players. The Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot here, maintaining 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS, ensuring no noticeable stutter during demanding scenes. For players prioritizing visual quality over raw frame rate, High at 1440p with 71 FPS is still playable, but Medium offers a more comfortable margin.

At 4K, the choices become more constrained. Low settings produce 75 FPS, Medium drops to 56 FPS, and High falls to 47 FPS. Ultra is the only preset that drops below 40 FPS at 34 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the recommended choice, as it maintains 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced games like Red Dead Redemption 2. Players who cannot tolerate any frame drops should consider Low settings at 4K, which delivers 75 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about which component is limiting performance. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 95 at 1080p to 71 at 1440p (a 25% reduction) and then to 47 at 4K (a 34% reduction from 1440p). This pattern shows a consistent scaling curve that suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate drops proportionally with the increase in pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 152 FPS at 1080p drops to 113 FPS at 1440p (a 26% reduction) and then to 75 FPS at 4K (a 34% reduction). The fact that even at Low settings the frame rate continues to drop significantly with resolution indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound, even when graphical features are minimized. The CPU does not appear to be holding back performance at any resolution, as the frame rate scales consistently with pixel count.

The Medium settings data provides additional insight through the minimum FPS figures. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 97 FPS, at 1440p it is 72 FPS, and at 4K it is 48 FPS. The minimum FPS drops by roughly the same percentage as the average FPS, indicating that the frame time consistency remains stable across resolutions. This suggests that the GPU is handling the workload evenly without sudden spikes in demand, which is characteristic of a well-optimized game running on a capable graphics card.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At Medium settings, the average FPS is 56 with a minimum of 48, which is playable. High settings drop to 47 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. Players seeking a consistent 60 FPS at 4K will need to use Low settings, which deliver 75 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260, which is within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34222) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (34220). It trails the Intel Core i5-13450HX (34333) by 0.2%, making these four processors essentially equivalent in raw performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium is the optimal balance, delivering 85 FPS average with a minimum of 72 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay with good visual quality. At 1080p, High settings achieve 95 FPS, but the visual improvement over Medium is less noticeable than the frame rate difference.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 hold up well against its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 37648 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) by 1.3%, placing it in the same performance ballpark as these alternatives.

Q: How much does Ultra settings cost in performance?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 68 FPS compared to 95 FPS on High, a 28% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 51 FPS from High's 71 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K, Ultra produces 34 FPS versus High's 47 FPS, a 28% reduction. The consistent 28% penalty across resolutions indicates the settings impact is resolution-independent.

Q: Is the 8-core CPU configuration sufficient for this game?

A: The data indicates yes. The Ryzen 7 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads provide enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4070, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling across resolutions. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all processors further confirms its adequacy for this title.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2 at all tested settings and resolutions, as evidenced by the stable minimum FPS figures at Medium settings across all three resolutions. The GPU's 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operations processors work together to deliver the measured frame rates, with the 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores available for enhanced visual features.

The clock speeds of 1920 MHz base and 2475 MHz boost are moderate for this generation, but they generate 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This raw compute power translates directly into the observed frame rates, with the GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all graphics cards confirming its strong position. The 12 GB VRAM capacity proves adequate even at 4K Ultra settings, where the game still runs at 34 FPS average, showing that memory capacity is not the limiting factor at any resolution.

The GPU's performance characteristics are well-matched to this game's demands. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide sufficient fill rate for the detailed environments of Red Dead Redemption 2. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4070 is the primary driver of performance, with frame rates scaling predictably with resolution changes, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 3700X provides 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This configuration delivers strong multi-threaded performance, as shown by its Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2092 and Geekbench multicore score of 8899. The 32 MB of L3 cache provides adequate data storage for game assets, while the 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the GPU without causing bottlenecks.

Single-threaded performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 204 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1593. These scores place the CPU at the 84th percentile among all processors, indicating it is well above average for gaming workloads. The Passmark multithread score of 22458 further confirms its capability, with integer math scoring 66399 and floating point math scoring 39005.

The CPU's role in Red Dead Redemption 2 appears to be secondary to the GPU, as the frame rate scaling shows no signs of CPU limitation. The 65W TDP and 7nm process node from TSMC allow the 3700X to maintain consistent performance without thermal throttling, which is important for sustained gaming sessions. The CPU's release date of July 2019 makes it an older component, but its performance remains competitive with much newer processors, as shown by its near-identical benchmark scores to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and Intel Core i5-13450HX.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the measured average FPS values show a clear progression: Low settings achieve 152 FPS, Medium settings drop to 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and maximum of 131, High settings deliver 95 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 68 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction from Low to Ultra, with each settings tier costing approximately 20-25 FPS. The Medium settings data shows good frame time consistency, with the minimum FPS staying above 90% of the average.

At 2560x1440 resolution, Low settings deliver 113 FPS, Medium settings achieve 85 FPS with a minimum of 72 and maximum of 97, High settings produce 71 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 51 FPS. The scaling from 1080p shows a consistent 25-27% reduction across all settings levels, indicating the GPU is handling the increased pixel count uniformly. The Medium preset maintains a minimum FPS of 72, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160 resolution, Low settings yield 75 FPS, Medium settings deliver 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 64, High settings produce 47 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 34 FPS. The 4K results show more significant drops from 1440p, with reductions ranging from 34% at Low to 33% at Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 48 FPS indicates some frame drops occur, but they remain within acceptable bounds for this game's pace. The complete dataset shows that this combo delivers playable performance at all settings up to 4K, with only the Ultra preset at 4K falling below 40 FPS average.